13 Horror Movies That Bombed at the Box Office but Became Classics After Home Video Release

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Synopsis: In 1794, in the Arctic Sea, Captain Robert Walton is a man obsessed to reach the North Pole, pushing his crew to exhaustion. When his ship hits an iceberg, it is stranded in the ice. Out of the blue, Captain Walton and his men overhear a dreadful cry and they see a stranger coming to the ship. He introduces himself and Victor Frankenstein and he tells to the captain the story of his life since he was a little boy in Geneva. Victor is a brilliant student and in love with his stepsister Elizabeth, an orphan that was raised by his father Baron Frankenstein. In 1793, Victor moves to Ingolstadt to study at the university and he promises to get married to Elizabeth. At the university, Victor befriends Henry Clerval who becomes his best friend. Victor gets close to Professor Waldman and decides to create life to cheat death, but Waldman advises him that he should not try this experiment since the result would be an abomination. When Waldman dies, Victor steals his notes and tries to create…

Domestic Box Office: $22 million

Budget: $45 million

Opening Weekend: #2

The Verdict: While this rendition of the Frankenstein tale wasn’t a total and complete disaster, it did under-perform, severely. Sony no doubt had lofty numbers in mind when they rolled this one out, but those lofty numbers didn’t come from the domestic market. Internationally the film did fairly well, picking up an additional $90 million in ticket sales, but that did little to change to complexion of things stateside. However, the film stole the hearts of home viewers immediately. I don’t have sales figures to share with you, and I can only speak from experience in the scene, but this is a highly valued film that was very well-shot and acted. People loved it enough to snatch up the VHS, they just didn’t love it enough to fork out the cash for a movie ticket.

Day of the Dead

Synopsis: Zombies rule the world, except for a small group of scientists and military personnel who reside in an underground bunker in Florida. The scientists are using the undead in gruesome experiments; much to the chagrin of the military. Finally the military finds that their men have been used in the scientists’ experiments, and banish the scientists to the caves that house the Living Dead. Unfortunately, the zombies from above ground have made their way into the bunker.

Domestic Box Office: $5 million

Budget: $3.5 million

Opening Weekend: #12

The Verdict: Day of the Dead is considered by many to be the finest film in George A. Romero’s original Dead trilogy. It’s loaded with so much powerful social commentary it’ll leave your head spinning, and while it tanked at the Box office it has gone on to become a certified smash hit among zombie fans. Tracking VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray sales is all but impossible, but numbers aren’t necessary to convince readers of how successful this movie is. It’s a staple for genre collector’s and it’s deeply admired by genre fans to this very day. Hands down one of the greatest zombie films in existence, Day of the Dead has become an unquestionable success post theatrical run.

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