I sure wish I had known about this movie back when I was only 8 years old back when it came out. I just watched it today and it was really good. Reminded me of a favorite of mine Heavy Weights. Only, this movie might be even better.
shareA quick attempt at an answer is to just observe that it was a low budget film.
However, it's probably more involved. How do people get to know about non-blockbuster, minor movies? Did you see it on Netflix, or cable, or on-demand? Where has it been available? Did Blockbuster have an ample supply in their outlets?
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The story is king.[royal]
It recently aired on one of the movie channels. I can't remember which one. Starz, maybe?
This movie was a favorite of mine when I was younger, along with Heavyweights (like OP mentioned). I purchased it in the $5 bin at Walmart about 6 months ago.