5 Movies That 'Flopped' On Opening Weekend But Still Became Box Office Hits

Many hit movies launch with tremendous opening weekends. The biggest opening weekend record holders of all time, for instance, each redefined what films could achieve in their first few days of release alone. However, not all box office hits debuted to $150+ million in their initial weekend. Sometimes, they come from steadier, leggy movies that initially open to just "fine" results. Some of these long-term hits even emerged from outright disastrous opening weekends.

These films are memorable examples of everyone rushing to dub a movie a bomb after just three days. All five, though, eventually rebounded to such an impressive degree that they became legendary box office hits. This isn't a typical outcome for films that underwhelm on opening weekend, but these five movies reflect that this scenario is possible. How they accomplished such a remarkable feat varies wildly from one title to the other.

These movies illustrate that a film's journey is doesn't need to be defined by its opening weekend box office. Sometimes, they can build up steam over time and wring gold out of a dreadful debut.

Even Disney, a company known for being incredibly strict on its image, eventually admitted that "Elemental" had "a slow start" at the domestic box office. That's an astonishing understatement, as this title experienced the second-worst start ever (at the time) for a Pixar feature. Opening to only $29 million in June 2023, it was easy to say "Elemental" bombed at the box office. Many looked at these financial figures as the ultimate sign that original animated movies no longer worked as theatrical releases. 

But then a funny thing happened. Over the next two weekends, it kept chugging at the North American box office. It delivered incredible daily grosses over the Fourth of July weekend, while its average decline over its fourth and fifth weekends was 13%. "Elemental" never dropped more than 39% from one weekend to the next for eight weeks.

Eventually, "Elemental" grossed $154.42 million domestically, just a smidge over 5.3 times its opening weekend. Worldwide, it made $496.44 million, a haul that ensured its profitability. Tremendously positive word of mouth , not to mention the lack of major animated features in July 2023, ensured that "Elemental" burned bright at the box office for weeks after its lackluster debut.

Thanks to its many major holidays, December is known as a place where even big titles opening to $60+ million can eventually do five times their domestic debuts. However, not every December newcomer has such luck. Some films like  "An American Werewolf in Paris," "Mortal Engines," and "Holmes & Watson" opened below $10 million in North America and vanished quickly even with those prosperous holidays at their back. 

"The Greatest Showman's" $8.8 million domestic debut suggested it could be headed for box office failure. Initial perceptions of its box office numbers (especially its $2.45 million opening day) were bleak. Lacking any popular pre-existing source material, it seemed destined to become the newest musical movie flop. As December 2017 marched on, though, "The Greatest Showman" kept cranking out $5+ million daily grosses. Even more impressively, it held like a champ from one weekend to the next throughout January 2018. Across this month, "Greatest Showman" never dipped more than 14% from one weekend to the next. While its initial three-day debut was $8.8 million, "Greatest Showman's" sixth weekend gross was $9.5 million. 

One of the leggiest theatrical releases in recent memory, the upbeat aesthetic and self-confident anthems of "The Greatest Showman" made it utter catnip for audiences. Those qualities also made "Greatest Showman" the poster child for the resilience of December newcomers.

Christmas Eve is always a quieter day at the box office, with many preferring to go to their local multiplex on December 25 instead. Ironically, though, this was the day in 2024 that signified that "Mufasa: The Lion King" was going to become a box office beast. Released on the December 20, 2024 weekend, the film was dubbed a box office bomb thanks to its dreary $35 million opening. Surely there was no way this costly movie could rebound from a debut down 82% from the $191 million launch of 2019's "The Lion King."

However, on December 24, 2024, "Mufasa" went up 1.1% from its gross the previous day. Meanwhile, all other titles in the top 10 dropped 13-38% from Monday's grosses. "Mufasa's" strong Christmas day gross secured it the number one spot at the domestic box office for the first time. From there, "Mufasa" held like a champ at the box office (it was even number one at the weekend box office in its fifth frame of release) and eventually grossed $254.56 million domestically and $722.63 million worldwide. 

With catchy tunes penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda and endless small details to obsess over, this "Lion King" prequel secured mighty strong word-of-mouth. The biggest animated movie ever released in December, "Mufasa" flourished even on Christmas Eve.

Initially, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," which hit theaters just before Christmas 2022, was so immediately dismissed that the header image of The Hollywood Reporter's 2022 box office bombs essay featured Puss getting splashed by a Na'vi driving over a puddle. Opening to only $18.53 million in its first five days of release, "The Last Wish" certainly didn't look like it was headed for profitability. However, its unique animation style and quality storytelling eventually drummed up much better than expected word of mouth. 

By the time "The Last Wish" was in its fourth three-day weekend, it was still delivering hauls above its initial three-day bow. In late January 2023, it experienced  drops as small as 11%. The dearth of new animated family movies certainly didn't hurt "The Last Wish's" box office run, but the film itself was also responsible for driving such numbers. Eventually, "The Last Wish" grossed $186.09 million domestically, 15 times its $12.42 million opening weekend. It also amassed $480.46 million worldwide, a fantastic sum considering its $110 million budget.

Despite the massive gap between the two "Puss in Boots" movies, audiences came out in droves to see "The Last Wish" once its specialness was apparent. Thus, those initial reports of "The Last Wish" being financial DOA proved comically inaccurate.

Part of the untold truth about "Scream" is that it wasn't a box office force to be reckoned with right away. Over the December 20-22, 1996 weekend, "Scream" debuted to just $6.35 million. Among 1996 movies, "Scream" opened below "Harriet the Spy," "First Kid," and "Down Periscope." Even with new December releases often hanging on for weeks, there initially seemed to be doubt that "Scream" would rebound. Were people going to check out a gruesome slasher movie during "the most wonderful time of the year?"

While initially "Scream" played to empty auditoriums, word quickly spread that this movie was something special. For those yearning for something new in the horror space, "Scream" was a dream come true. The film experienced two consecutive weekend-to-weekend increases after its debut and subsequently lingered in the box office long enough to clear $103 million in North America. After opening so low, "Scream" ended up becoming the 13th biggest film of 1996 domestically, outgrossing titles attached to big properties including "Star Trek: First Contact," "Space Jam," and "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America."

Decades later, "Scream" follow-ups like "Scream 7" slice up gigantic opening weekends without breaking a sweat. However, the 1996 original, which today ranks among the best horror movies of all time, needed to develop its fanbase and box office prowess. Once it did, though, Ghostface became an instant license to print money.