MovieChat Forums > Big Trouble in Little China (1986) Discussion > Why was this a box office flop

Why was this a box office flop

posted 11 years ago by przemek-m
41 replies | jump to latest

People in 1986 must have been retards. This is one of my favourite movies and one of the best films ever made. The film is fantastic and there is no logical explanation, why at a time when it was released, it was a commercial failure. I think that in those days people expected movies to be deadly serious or ultra funny. Nothing in between. They didn't actually understand that it should be watched like Godzilla movies or wrestling. And I also have another theory, that in those times people could not cope with such a mix of genres. Here we have sensation, sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, adventure, and kung-fu. Well at least it became a huge hit on video later on. Russell's role is freakin' Oscar worthy and his every line is a classic and makes me laugh.

Polska rules !!!

[–] stesta621 10 years ago

because these people were not put into this world to GET IT!

[–] Dutch0524 10 years ago

because these people were not put into this world to GET IT!

Outstanding

[–] docdespicable 10 years ago

I think people just didn't get it, honestly. Also marketing failure, and the fact that people had come to expect a certain kind of movie from John Carpenter - HALLOWEEN; ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK; THE THING. This just wasn't really like anything he'd done before and audiences weren't sure how to take it. Some people, even now, forget that John Carpenter wrote and directed it. Which is weird, because it's one of my favorite Carpenter movies.

[–] Zuider_Zee 10 years ago

I'm glad you liked it. I thought it sucked.

[–] darkstorm97 10 years ago

Are you crazy? Is that your problem?

Call me Snake.

[–] Zuider_Zee 10 years ago

I could be but that doesn't keep the movie from sucking.

[–] milstar 10 years ago

People see what they want to see. Many well known movies are form 1986. Certainly Top Gun and Aliens stole it, but there are Karate Kid II, Platoon, Back to School, The Golden Child, Ferris Bueller and I almost forgot Cobra (which owns its success to Rambo 2 year before it). Simply there was no room for Big Trouble... Thankfully we have video and DVD.

[–] cybopath 10 years ago

I believe Carpenter said it was down to poor marketing. Fox didn't know how to sell the movie, as an Action film? As a horror film...

You can't really equate box office to quality or even taste as you have to want to see the film in order to judge whether or not you like it.

BUT it was a huge success on VHS leading to it's cult status.

[–] carnifex2005 10 years ago

As a teenager in 1986, my younger brother and I decided to watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off because it had a longer line to watch it at the theater so it must be good. Now Day Off was a great movie but when my brother and I finally got to watch Big Trouble on video, we loved the hell out of it. Ended up watching the movie back to back 12 times during the 3 day rental period. God I love that movie. Easily my favourite of all time.

[–] siccmaderecz 9 years ago

its a shame it only gross 11 million

25 million budget, i'm pretty sure this was the largest budget of ant carptner film

i love the movie, i was just 8 when i saw it in like the late 80s and fell in love

would of been cool to have a seqeal or two..the ending was a strong hint at a sequel..but it never happened, because it tanked.

but it has more than made enough money in home video sales, etc since 1986.

[–] Snake_MacReady82 9 years ago

No film sequel, but there is a comic book sequel being published by Boom! Studios right now, about five issues into it. Funny as Hell.

Thit and thpin!

[–] okwong-e 9 years ago

In hindsight the film was barely marketed because Fox realised it wasn't exactly Indiana Jones like...and yet if there's any successful film BTILC resembled during that period it was GHOSTBUSTERS. A supernatural comedy/adventure with a smart ass hero who isn't for most of the film heroic or even competent at times it seems.

In a summer where Cronenberg's(and the same studio's) THE FLY did gangbusters despite being gory and bleak a picture like Carpenter's shouldn't have been too difficult to promote especially considering the money they spent on it (it cost more to make than TOP GUN).

[–] ghostly_host 9 years ago

I think some people probably thought it was "racist" or politically incorrect or something and was just exploiting the Chinese-American community for their stereotypical Chinatown/martial arts/Zen Buddhism cliches. A lot of people saw beyond that, fortunately (because it was made and released after all). What it really is is a sort of poetic East-meets-West homage to both classic Hong Kong films and American Westerns. If you want to see Chinese doctors and lawyers then watch a different film. This one isn't about that particular aspect of Chinese-American society and culture. It is pure fantasy. It probably turned more people onto Chinese films and culture than it offended people.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 5 years ago

It was no more racist than the Kill Bill movies. These films were established white directors’ homages to martial art films. Period. They were a LONG overdue Hollywood tribute to what Bruce Lee brought to Hollywood.