Should've been released in the summer

Don't agree? Here's an article on Entertainment Weekly on "10 summer surprises":

"There comes a time every summer-usually somewhere between Pirates of the Spider-Matrix 6 and Lara Croft and the Chocolate Factory of Azkaban-when blockbuster fatigue evokes desperate thoughts. But just then, like magic, a few movies sneak into multiplexes, without tentpole marketing or boffo expectations, to become hits-and to save all our free-popcorn coupons from incineration in the backyard barbecue. Here are the 10 biggest summer surprises of recent years.-Joshua Rich

1. There's Something About Mary (1998): Why it shouldn't have worked: Gooey gross-out gags, an audience-limiting R rating, and no major stars (Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz were relatively small-time then). Nearly two decades had passed since Porky's made that formula squeal. Why it did: Can you say "hair gel"? Mary opened in July at just $14 million, but audiences liked its audacious originality compared with the prefab Armageddon and Lethal Weapon 4. It topped out at #176 mil.

2. The Sixth Sense (1999): Why it shouldn't have worked: It was hard to imagine another horror film breaking out just three weeks after Blair Witch-especially one from an aging star (Bruce Willis) and a nobody filmmaker (M. Night Shyamalan). Why it did: "I see dead people." A pitch-perfect ad campaign featured Haley Joel Osment uttering that magnetic tagline. But an even bigger factor helped push it to $294 mil: It was really good (see its six Oscar nominations). Always helps.

3. The Blair Witch Project (1999): Why it shouldn't have worked: Produced deep in the woods, far from Hollywood, by a few friends for $35,000, the faux documentary suffered from poor production values, no big names, and a super-small-time distributor (Artisan) that had never made more than $15 mil on a theatrical release. Why it did: That newfangled bundle of tubes called the Internet, still in its adolescence, turned the Sundance entry into a $141 million sensation. A clever website drew some 22 million hits and sparked interest by suggesting that maybe the movie was based in truth.

4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002): Why it shouldn't have worked: An unknown cast; a too-silly premise; a small indie release. Here was a true ugly duckling. Why it did: Star/writer Nia Vardalos had charm to spare, spurring the movie (which bowed in April but didn't go wide until August) to stay in theaters for a year. It became the biggest word-of-mouth hit of all time-and, at $241 million, the top romantic comedy.

5. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004): Why it shouldn't have worked: Michael Moore's election-year screed condemning the president was sure to infuriate potential viewers. Disney certainly thought so, refusing to let Miramax release it. Why it did: Forced to distribute independently, the Weinsteins harnessed that divisiveness, giving blue-staters a rallying point and providing a convenient antipode to that year's The Passion of the Christ. Fahrenheit earned $119 million and blew open the documentary record book.

6. The Notebook (2004): Why it shouldn't have worked: The bittersweet romance, with two little-known stars (Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling), just didn't seem like anything special. Critics bemoaned its Southern-baked banality, and, Lord knows, nobody with a Y chromosome planned to go within 500 feet of it. Why it did: During the biggest-grossing summer ever, it stood out amid the Shreks and Spideys and Harry Potters. Women were hooked, fellas went along, and the film sprouted legs, making $81 million in a five-month run.

7. Napoleon Dynamite (2004): Why it shouldn't have worked: You mean besides its bizarre title, $400,000 budget, juvenile humor, and goofy lead character with a limited vocabulary and gaping stare? Why it did: In hindsight, the jokes may have been childish, but Napoleon's PG rating meant it could play to a wide crowd (that ponied up $45 million). The film later caught fire on college campuses, where "Vote for Pedro" T-shirts are more popular than varsity letter jackets.

8. March of the Penguins (2005): Why it shouldn't have worked: When Warner Independent paid $1 mil for the Sundance hit, Penguins was a French-language nature doc with a confusing title (The Emperor's Journey) and no people. So the studio dropped the French, axed the dopey penguin "dialogue," added narration, and changed the title...leaving a nature doc..and no people. Why it did: Those cute little buggers! Thanks to clever filmmaking that anthropomorphized the movie's stars, viewers found kindred spirits in them. The film earned $77 million (becoming the second-highest-grossing doc ever) and waddled back to Antarctica with an Oscar.

9. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005): Why it shouldn't have worked: Even if there were a market for a star-free sex comedy about a loser on the make, Wedding Crashers had likely deflowered potential viewers a month earlier. Thus, Virgin became yet another big-studio flick given little chance to catch a breeze in the late-August doldrums. Which hurt. ("Ahhh! Kelly Clarkson!") Why it did: A subtle yet smart marketing campaogn (how about that poster?!), strong reviews, and rising star Steve Carell, who helped Virgin earn $109 mil with a sweet portrayal that eschewed camp and creepiness.

10. An Inconvenient Truth (2006): Why it shouldn't have worked: Um, well, let's see: Al Gore, lecture, global warming. What else? Oh yeah: Al Gore, lecture, global warming. Why it did: Perhaps folks have taken to the all-new Man Who Used to Be the Next President. Perhaps environmentalism has reached a tipping point. Perhaps the movie is just plain entertaining. Regardless, Truth will soon pass $21 million and has officially outgrossed Madonna's Truth or Dare. It's already this year's top summer movie surprise-yep, Al Gore's finally won something.

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