'Word-of-mouth' films?

[evilC]

The massive - and intrusive - advertising campaign for 'Avatar' and my reaction to it (less likely to go see it due to the advertising) made me wonder about something: What are the most successful films in relation to the size of their promotional campaigns - if only in terms of being cult-ish 'slow-burners'? Also, which were the least successful? It's not going to be very quantifiable, but...

I wouldn't be surprised if 'Avatar' turns out to be a commercial flop relative to its marketing budget. At the other end of the scale, though, 'Withnail & I' springs to mind. I don't think I ever saw a trailer for that and, although I only saw it soon after it went to video rental release, it didn't seem to catch on until some time after that.

So... any other prominent 'word-of-mouth' successes out there?

[Stumpy Pepys]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

There are several films that did modestly at the box office, but sold very strongly (and cemented their reputation) on VHS/DVD afterwards.

The Shawshank Redemption, This is Spinal Tap, Donnie Darko and The Big Lebowski, off the top of my head.

[erwin]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

Blair Witch Project was all viral, wasn't it?

[evilC]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

I didn't realise 'The Shawshank Redemption' only "did modestly". I thought it was quite successful.

I agree on the others, though. Nice one.

[evilC]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

erwin wrote:

Blair Witch Project was all viral, wasn't it?

Good point. I'd forgotten about that.

[Stumpy Pepys]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

evilC wrote:

I didn't realise 'The Shawshank Redemption' only "did modestly". I thought it was quite successful.

I agree on the others, though. Nice one.

Barely broke even at the box office.

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

Paranormal Activity.

Budget: $15,000
Gross Revenue: $141,492,527

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

I finally watched A Serious Man last night at Warwick Arts Centre, as I can't find it in any of the 'named' cinemas locally (not even the multiplexes).

It really does deserve better.

[Amor de Cosmos]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

The recently discussed Easy Rider was massively word of mouth. Other huge films from that era that built reps without much — or any — advance publicity were Elvira Madigan, A Man and a Woman (both broke out of the "art" cinema ghetto.) A Fistful of Dollars blindsided everyone, as did Rosemary's Baby. Actually I think it was much more common back then, or maybe I was more attentive, not sure.

[Purves Grundy]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

The first Austin Powers movie is said to have done very poorly at the box office and became a big hit through DVD word-of-mouth.

[evilC]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

No sooner said than...

(Actually, I know that one is a bit different, since it's only a short, but I thought I'd mention it because of the buzz it's created. Also, if that bloke made it for only $300, then he's a miracle-worker! How much did 'Independence Day' cost?)

[Incandenza]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

I have to object to the Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity--they didn't start out with big ads on TV or billboards, but there was a big online campaign to both of them. I take "word-of-mouth" to mean little to no advertising, something that people tell each other about. Granted, that's also part of the success of BWP and PA, but it wasn't like there was no advertising campaign (they were both quite shrewd).

As Amor says, word of mouth creating successful movies happened a lot in the 60s and 70s. Pretty much every midnight movie that ran back then survived on word of mouth. The documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream really documents this phenomenon by looking at the success of 6 films here in the US that succeeded pretty much solely on word of mouth--El Topo, Night of the Living Dead, The Harder They Come, Pink Flamingos, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Eraserhead. Some didn't get reviewed in any major papers, they didn't have any advertising budgets, and this was back when there was only one theater showing these movies, and only in big cities, but they were very successful.

[Incandenza]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

Purves Grundy wrote:

The first Austin Powers movie is said to have done very poorly at the box office and became a big hit through DVD word-of-mouth.

Hmm...not in the US. It recouped its budget after the second weekend. I remember the theater being packed when I saw it, and I know lots of people that went twice.

Office Space did rather poorly at the box office, but it's famous for becoming a hit on DVD.

[Stumpy Pepys]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

Surprised no-one's mentioned Fight Club yet. It flopped at the box office but has made something like $100 million through DVD and home video sales.

Personally, I think the reason I avoided Fight Club was that the trailer made it look something like The Karate Kid or Rocky, only with bare-knuckle fighting.

It was only when someone made me watch the DVD that I realised it was something completely different.

[Reed John]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

I don't recall the first Austin Powers being a big hit in the theaters. It took off on video.

Office Space is the best example. An all time classic.

[WOM]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

Stumpy Pepys wrote:

Personally, I think the reason I avoided Fight Club was that the trailer made it look something like The Karate Kid or Rocky, only with bare-knuckle fighting.

It was only when someone made me watch the DVD that I realised it was something completely different.

Same here. I think they marketed it all wrong.

[Guest]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

The best word of mouth film I have ever seen was Brotherhood. It brilliantly showed the relationship of 2 brothers forced to fight in the Korean war.
A friend told me it was the best war film he's ever seen so I gave it a try. He wasn't wrong! I'm not one for getting emotional at films but this one caused a real knot in the throat. The fight scenes and general direction of the film were first class.

[Guest]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

Christ. I watched that about 16 times (work). It was OK. But I assumed forrin films etc shouldn't be on the thread, as they practically all come into this category.

[Ginger Yellow]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

Talking of Korean films, Oldboy's foreign success must have been largely driven by word of mouth.

[linus]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

Good one Hatch, and welcome aboard.

[Sam]

'Word-of-mouth' films?

On a slightly different note, but...

Citizen Kane picked up some good reviews on release but was largely panned by reviewers who missed the point. As the film's Wiki entry doesn't quite make clear, Jorge Luis Borges was one of relatively few critics who actually appreciated it first time round.

Then after World War 2, it was released in Europe. The rest is (cinematic) history.