10 2021 Movie Flops That Could End Up As Cult Hits | ScreenRant
Not every film is a huge success when it is released, and, often, a movie will gain recognition in the decades after its initial release due to new fan discovery. No matter how bad the reviews are for a movie at the time of its debut, there is always the opportunity for a resurgence in sales, love, and praise in the future from a new audience.
Movies like White Chicks, Practical Magic, and Office Space were not successes when they first came out but have since gained a cult following in the years that followed. 2021 has been a weird year as far as movies are concerned—coming off of a year more or less without movies—and not all of them have been fan-favorites or critically acclaimed. That's not to say that they won't be cult hits in the future, though.
10 Things Heard & Seen
Things Heard & Seen premiered on Netflix in April 2021. The horror film stars Amanda Seyfried and James Norton as a couple who move into a new home and believe it to be haunted and carrying deep secrets. This is proven to be true, with neither half of the couple making it out of the movie unscathed.
The film currently holds a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes and has a 5.3/10 on IMDb, garnering lots of mediocre reviews. However, due to Seyfried's strong performance and the resurgence of popularity in horror films around Halloween, Things Heard & Seen could become a beloved cult classic in the genre years in the future.
9 Gunpowder Milkshake
Karen Gillian starred as Sam in the action/thriller movie Gunpowder Milkshake that debuted on Netflix in July. Sam is an assassin tasked with protecting a young girl and teaming up with her estranged mother.
While Gunpowder Milkshake was a film many were looking forward to coming out in 2021, it ended up being a bit of a letdown overall. It earned mixed reviews, scoring a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes and 6/10 on IMDb. The female-led action film could fare well if new fans discover it in the future, but, unfortunately, it missed the mark in 2021.
8 Cherry
The AppleTV film Cherry starring Ciara Bravo and Tom Holland as troubled lovers arrived on the streaming service in late February. Despite having a big name like Holland in a leading role, the film didn't do so well among critics.
Cherry holds a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.6/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. Additionally, it is currently only available on AppleTV, making its audience limited to subscribers of the newer streaming service. The film gives off an indie vibe that could gain a lot of new fans when people revisit Holland's catalog a decade from now.
7 Breaking News In Yuba County
Breaking News In Yuba County had an all-star cast including Allison Janney, Regina Hall, Mila Kunis, and Akwafina. However, it's been regarded as one of the worst movies of 2021 with a 12% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film is about a woman's growing popularity as the news reports that her husband is missing when, in reality, he is dead. It is labeled as a comedy, drama, and a crime movie, but critics have found it to be unfunny. This movie is the perfect recipe for future cult success, however, resembling Idiocracy in its famous stars and ridiculous premise.
6 Chaos Walking
Chaos Walking was another 2021 movie release that fans were eagerly anticipating, mostly due to the leading parts being played by Daisy Ridley (of Stars Wars fame) and Tom Holland (Spider-Man). The dystopian film centers around the relationship between Viola (Ridley) and Todd (Holland) as she lands on his planet.
The movie only has a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, being criticized for not fleshing out its characters or background story. However, dystopian films tend to do best when they're revisited by viewers years later or when they're taken less seriously than originally intended. If Chaos Walking could be rebranded as more of a less sincere satire, it could gain lots of new fans and become a cult hit.
5 The Woman In The Window
The Woman In The Window is a Netflix horror film starring Academy Award-winning actress Amy Adams. It is quite literally about a woman witnessing something that she shouldn't from her window and then having to grapple with it.
Despite Amy Adams leading the film, it only has a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and has been criticized for its predictability, something that tends to happen in the horror drama. As with Things Heard & Seen, it debuted on Netflix, lacking that theatrical release horror movies thrive from. If given a few years, it could be back on people's radar simply because of how unoriginal it is, which could make viewers find it ironically entertaining.
4 Space Jam: A New Legacy
One of the few films to actually be released in theaters this year, the remake of Space Jam, stars LeBron James as a basketball player who gets trapped in the world of Bugs Bunny and friends.
The film was marketed as a comedy but looks a little ridiculous on-screen as superstar LeBron James plays basketball against Bugs Bunny in order to escape from a digital world. The ridiculousness in the premise and execution will absolutely make it beloved as more audiences discover it, rendering the poor reviews less impactful.
3 A Week Away
A Week Away stars former Disney stars Bailee Madison and Kevin Quinn as unlikely lovers at a summer camp. The faith-based film is also a musical and takes place over the course of one week. It got fairly average reviews after its March debut on Netflix.
If A Week Away is anything like other musical cult classics of the past (Hairspray, Hedwig, The Rocky Horror Picture Show) then it will do just fine in years to come. The leads are talented and the story has been done before, but it is joyful enough to get a resurgence of new fans as more people discover it in years to come.
2 Locked Down
Locked Down was HBOMax's take on the quarantine and pandemic that originated in 2020. Starring Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor as a pair of burnt-out lovers who want to go their separate ways just when the world shuts down. In addition to being a romantic comedy, it is a heist film.
As commented on by TheAtlantic, before its release, Locked Down was criticized for making light of the pandemic. It has a 41% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.2/10 IMDb. It has been regarded as very average as far as films go, but it will definitely get the attention of viewers in the future who are looking to learn more about the 2020 pandemic. It could especially be popular for an audience of people who didn't live through the pandemic and are looking for art that imitates it.
1 Midnight In The Switchgrass
The movie that allowed Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox to become the power couple that they are today was 2021's Midnight In The Switchgrass, a thriller also starring Bruce Willis. Despite resulting in a highly publicized relationship, the film itself did pretty bad commercially and has a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Megan Fox is no stranger to cult classics. Her 2009 film Jennifer's Body has regained popularity in the decade following its release, with many calling it her best work. Midnight could be the same way, with viewers not seeing its value now but praising it much later.