I just don't get it, it wasn't a succeess but later it became a hit on video and DVD over the years.
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40 million in domestic box office in 1982 = over 100 million in 2012 dollars.
It was the #14 movie of the year- box office wise.
So, not even close to a bomb. It was a hit.
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very simple - niche audience. dis is like anime. no anime film is ever a big hit bec its a done in a medium 4 kidz wid adult themez. very niche.
adult audience generally need real actorz 2 take film seriously, otherwize they will not watch it or take it seriously.
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There were a lot of HUGE films happening all through 1982 - which in my opinion has been one of, if not THE most important year for cinema since its inception.
Another cult classic, The Thing, was also released the same year, but was totally eclipsed by ET - as were a lot of good movies.
Its likely there were simply more attractive films to be seen by moviegoers, and it wasnt until the home video explosion that people got to experience just how good some of the other films of that year were.
This film wasn't a box office bomb during its original theatrical release. It cost fifteen million and made forty million altogether at the box office, so it made back over twice what it cost to produce and thus didn't bomb at the box office.
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All other sources said it costed 25 millions. Which is more realistic IMO.
This is only anecdotal, but when I attended this film at the age of 12 back in 1982 very young children were actually being escorted out of the theater in tears by their parents because they found the Skeksis too frightening. I think the film was perhaps somewhat too dark for very young children and consequently the rewatch family factor that Star Wars and E.T. had was missing somewhat, or at least missing to the point of preventing the film from achieving mass popularity at the time.
shareJim Henson wanted to make an intelligent, dark, yet whimsical film that could challenge children with very real fears and dangers present in life. I can imagine many critics at the time weren't sure who the film's intended audience was, and in this confusion, many parents could not determine if it was a safe film for their household, skipping it altogether out of uncertainty. Unfortunately, this meant the film ended up being a very risky endeavor as you note compared to other fare at the box office and I assume advertisers were harder pressed to promote the film due to its content.
shareIt is VERY well made. The puppetry, the visual effects like the matte paintings, the film score, etc. I think that a lot of people just weren't able to suspend their disbelief enough to connect with the film.
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