It's easy to forget, but with all the discussion about film as art and the lack of originality in Hollywood, it's important to remember that, for better or for worse, the film industry is a business, and money talks. If a certain film doesn't make money, there is an indication to studios that these kinds of films just aren't appealing to the public for whatever reason.

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And sometimes a film bombs so hard that it makes history in its own right. While these films vary in quality, they will forever live in infamy for how hard they tanked with audiences - and how they almost ended studios and creatives at the height of their careers.

'Blade Runner' (Lost $2.4 million)

Harrison Ford in 'Blade Runner'
Image via Warner Bros. 

While it's seen now as one of the best films of the 1980s and one of the most important science fiction films of its era, the original Blade Runner actually failed to make a profit during its initial 1982 theatrical run. Its budget of $30 million was no slouch for the time, and while its opening weekend of $6 million was seen as a decent start, it quickly fell in later weeks due to heavy competition from other summer movies like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, ending its run at a measly $27.6 million.

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Most of this is likely due to bad timing - the film was purposefully released at the tail end of May, which was seen by a lucky date by producer Alan Ladd Jr. who had prior success with Star Wars and Alien which also premiered at the end of May. This unfortunately was its doom, as the competition as well as the polarized reception from audiences and critics, ultimately led to the movie underperforming.

'Labyrinth' (Lost $12.1 million)

Jareth, the Goblin King in Labyrinth.
Image via Tri-Star Pictures

Despite Jim Henson having an enormous amount of prestige with The Muppets, his work outside the famous comedy troupe of puppets never really caught up with general audiences initially. The Dark Crystal, while a small success at the box office, was divisive among critics, and the same could be said for his ambitious follow-up Labyrinth, which ended up as a financial failure, grossing only $12.9 million in the US.

While it ended up surpassing its $25 million budget worldwide with $34 million, the damage was already done and Labyrinth's failure weighed heavily on Jim Henson. This would be the final film directed by him before his death in 1990, and the film would later become a cult classic in the years following its release - something Henson unfortunately never lived to see.

'Highlander (Lost $13.1 million)

Immortal highlander Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) wields a samurai sword in an underground parking lot.
Image via 20th Century Fox

While the original Highlander is one of the most famous cult films nowadays, back in its original release in 1986 it was pretty much ignored. The story of the last group of immortals coming together to battle it out for "the Prize" makes for a fantastic, if cheesy, action film, but audiences mostly away at the time as it only made $5.9 million in the US on a budget of $19 million. Its worldwide gross didn't help either, as its total of $12.8 million still fell short.

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Despite this, similar to many other films in the 80s, it managed to gather a large cult following and even inspired a TV show that ended up lasting for six seasons and was widely successful in its own right. And while its many sequels are seen as some of the worst films ever made - Highlander II: The Quickening is truly abysmal - this original film has withstood the test of time, and its initial failure to become a classic in its own right.

'Krull' (Lost $33.5 million)

Krull

In the wake of Star Wars, pretty much every studio was trying to find their answer to its massive success, to varying results. One of the more famous, or infamous depending on the person you ask, attempts was Krull, which was very clearly Columbia Pictures' attempt to try and recapture the success of the science fantasy films that were suddenly blowing up the box office.

It didn't work though, as Krull was a massive financial failure across the board, losing the studio somewhere in the ballpark of $33.5 million once you count advertising and distribution. And while the film has had a second life like many 80s movies and oddities, Krull's losses were enough that it pretty much derailed the career of producer Ron Silverman.

'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' (Lost $38.5 million)

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Terry Gilliam is no stranger to box office failures - his film prior to this, Brazil, was also a small flop - but The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ranks as maybe his most infamous one in the bunch. Plagued by production issues due to disagreements with Columbia Pictures, and a new CEO who didn't care for Gilliam, the film was released in a limited release despite its hefty $46.7 million budget and lost the studio somewhere around $38.5 million.

Gilliam blames the film's failure on Columbia Pictures' meddling in the marketing and considered it an act of internal sabotage spurred on by the executives' dislike of his prior films. Gilliam likely got the last laugh though, as the film was a massive critical hit and ended up being nominated for 4 Oscars, which for a box-office bomb like this is exceptionally rare.

'Heaven's Gate' (Lost $40.5 million)

Heaven's Gate

The success of at the time newcomer Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter, which won Best Picture in 1979, meant that his next film would be seen with more critical eyes. Heaven's Gate, however, would go on to become one of the biggest box office bombs in cinematic history at the time. The film, which cost $44 million to make, ended up losing the studio $40.5 million after it only made $3.5 million at the box office.

Its failure would have significant effects on the industry to come, leading to the end of the director-driven era of the 70s and shifting studios into a more controlling position throughout the 80s and early 90s, as well as derailing Cimino's career permanently and bankrupting United Artists, the distributors on the film. While Heaven's Gate has been somewhat redeemed by time - its 2012 recut is seen as a masterpiece by some critics - its failure at the box office will forever cloud its reputation among filmgoers and casual audiences.

'Ishtar' (Lost $40.6 million)

dustin hoffman warren beatty ishtar
Image via Columbia Pictures

Absolutely one of the more infamous comedy failures of the 80s, and of all time, Ishtar's box office failure and critical derision are still legendary to this day. The adventure comedy epic had a budget of nearly $51 million and only made back $14.4 million. Numerous reasons have been cited for its failure, but the most likely is due to internal Hollywood politics that shrouded the entire film in a negative light.

Ishtar's failure was exacerbated by finger-pointing and blaming for the years after its release, though its reputation has grown since then. Filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Edgar Wright have cited it as among their favorite films, and the film has received critical re-evaluation in recent years as a possible comedy classic.

'Inchon' (Lost $40.8 million)

Inchon

Terence Young's war epic about the turning point of the Korean War should have been a slam dunk box office-wise and critically. On paper, this is a film that has everything going for it, but Inchon ran into numerous problems during production that ballooned its budget to a massive $46 million.

The film ended up only making $5.2 million at the box office, becoming the biggest bomb of the 1980s when not adjusted for inflation. This failure was compounded by almost universally negative reception across the board from critics, who derided the film for its poor writing, glorification of the Korean War, and its weak acting.

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