A good or bad run at the box office is not always indicative of the actual quality of a film. Movies can be a smash hit during their opening weekends but be forgotten overnight, and vice versa. Cult classics, for example, demonstrate how a film can slowly become beloved over time, despite its performance at the time of its initial release.

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Box office failure can happen for many reasons, whether due to poor or untimely marketing or the closure of theaters due to the recent global pandemic. Regardless of why they underperformed, box office bombs can sometimes contain noteworthy performances from some of the industry’s best, performances that audiences would be remiss in overlooking.

Brad Pitt in 'Ad Astra' (2019)

Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) in 'Ad Astra'

Ad Astra is an Oscar-nominated science-fiction drama directed by James Gray. Released in 2019, the film stars Brad Pitt as Roy McBride, an astronaut who journeys through space to find his missing father, who vanished while researching the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Pitt — an accomplished actor capable of pulling off both the charismatic criminal and an action hero — takes care in portraying the conflicted McBride. Despite his efforts, Ad Astra only grossed $135 million worldwide, making it a box office bomb, considering its $80-100 million budget. And yet, the film received positive reviews; according to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Ad Astra holds an impressive approval rating of 83%. It’s possible that Pitt’s work here was overshadowed by the release of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a historical comedy-drama film (which also prominently featured the Fight Club and Se7en star) directed and released by Quentin Tarantino that same year.

Ariana DeBose in 'West Side Story' (2021)

Anita (Ariana DeBose) on a fire escape smiling at the camera in West Side Story.
Image via 20th Century Studios 

West Side Story is Steven Spielberg’s 2021 adaptation of the romantic musical drama of the same name. Unfortunately, it is also one of the biggest modern box office bombs, grossing $76 million worldwide against its production budget of $100 million.

The film’s commercial failure upon its release is a terrible shame for apparent reasons, but more notably due to the stellar performance of Ariana DeBose, who plays Anita in Spielberg’s film. The Hamilton star was so inarguably brilliant that she won both the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Anita. Underrated might not be the word for DeBose’s efforts, but given the film’s underwhelming commercial success, it’s apparent that not enough people bore witness to DeBose’s talent.

Ana de Armas in 'Blade Runner 2049' (2017)

Officer K (Ryan Gosling) looking at a pink holographic projection of Joi (Ana de Armas)

Now a household name for appearances in recent hits like Knives Out and No Time To Die, Ana de Armas starred in Blade Runner 2049, the 2017 sequel to the classic science-fiction film 1982’s Blade Runner. Despite critical acclaim and massive earnings, the movie’s $259 million worldwide earnings were a disappointment compared to its considerable production budget of $150-185 million.

Under the direction of Denis Villeneuve (Dune), de Armas plays Joi, the holographic companion of the film’s protagonist K (Ryan Gosling). The film sees de Armas not only playing K’s virtual girlfriend but also the various other versions of the artificial intelligence that appear throughout the film. Her hard work is largely overshadowed by the more extensive and story-significant appearances of Harrison Ford’s Deckard and Jared Leto’s Niander Wallace, but that doesn’t make her performance any less impressive.

Charlie Hunnam in 'The Lost City of Z' (2016)

Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) is attacked on his journey through the Amazon rainforest

Director James Gray can’t seem to catch a break. Before directing Ad Astra, Gray directed The Lost City of Z, another box office bomb. A biographical drama about one man’s attempts to find a hidden city in the Amazon rainforest, the 2016 film failed to make back its production expenses of $30 million, grossing only $19 million worldwide.

The film stars Charlie Hunnam as the real-life explorer Percy Fawcett. Hunnam convincingly conveys the ambition and inner turmoil of the British adventurer and works alongside other recognizable stars, Robert Pattinson (The Batman), Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home), and Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) in Gray's film. Despite its cast and positive reception (the film holds an approval rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes), The Lost City of Z’s underwhelming performance means that, in this instance, Hunnam and the rest of the cast went largely unseen.

Cillian Murphy in 'Sunshine' (2007)

Robert Capa (Cillian Murphy) is one of the crew among the Icarus II

After playing Thomas Shelby in the hit TV show Peaky Blinders and appearing in movies like Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, Inception, Cillian Murphy is now a household name. It is, however, unclear whether Sunshine contributed to Murphy’s status as one of the film and television industry’s most respected actors, as the 2007 sci-fi thriller financially underperformed upon its release. The film grossed $32 million worldwide, marginally short of its production budget of $40 million.

Directed by Danny Boyle (28 Days Later), Sunshine follows the desperate mission of a group of astronauts attempting to reignite the dying Sun. Murphy shines as physicist Robert Capa and was nominated for the 2007 British Independent Film Award for Best Actor. Sunshine features an ensemble cast boasting the likes of Chris Evans (Captain America: Civil War), Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once), and Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), though Murphy’s performance is incredibly mesmerizing.

Karl Urban in 'Dredd' (2012)

Judge Dredd aiming his gun at something off-camera in Dredd.

With excitement amassing around future projects like DC’s Black Adam and Marvel StudiosThor: Love and Thunder, comic book movies are all the rage. Despite the long arc of the MCU reaching its zenith with Avengers: Endgame’s release in 2019, shows like the Disney Plus series Ms. Marvel are still being released to great acclaim. It’s a shame that 2012’s Dredd, or "Dredd 3D," was not met with the same fanfare. Directed by Pete Travis, and written by Alex Garland (of Annihilation fame), the action-packed film revival of the ruthless Judge Dredd only made $41 million on an estimated budget of $30-45 million. The film’s mature rating likely contributed to its underwhelming box office returns, but the comic book film has developed a cult following since its release.

RELATED: Why 'Dredd' Is an Underrated Superhero Movie for Adults

Of note is its fans’ adoration of the movie’s cast, which boasts stars like Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and Olivia Thirlby (Y: The Last Man). But it would be a crime not to confess that Karl Urban (The Boys) shines as the titular character. Though Judge Dredd is somewhat reserved and to-the-point, Urban’s nuanced portrayal of the ruthless enforcer might be one of the actor’s best performances yet.

Asa Butterfield in 'Hugo' (2011)

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) talks with Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz)

Directed by Martin Scorsese and boasting a cast that included the likes of Ben Kingsley (Schindler’s List), Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass), and Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), 2011’s Hugo seemed like a surefire success. Unfortunately, Scorsese’s film grossed just $185 million, making it a commercial failure against its estimated $150 million budget. But a highlight of the film was, without a doubt, the performance of Asa Butterfield as the eponymous Hugo Cabret.

At only thirteen years old, Butterfield made the leading role his own, moving audiences with a touching portrayal of a boy drawn toward the world and the legacy of real-world filmmaker Georges Méliès. Despite Hugo’s performance at the box office, it helped propel Butterfield’s career to new heights. The actor later starred in major movies and TV shows like Ender’s Game and Netflix’s Sex Education.

Joaquin Phoenix in 'The Master' (2014)

Joaquin Phoenix playing Navy veteran Freddie Quell in 'The Master'

Paul Thomas Anderson’s psychological drama The Master explores the relationship between Navy veteran Freddie Quell and Lancaster Dodd, the L. Ron Hubbard-esque leader of a religious movement dubbed "The Cause." Despite its thought-provoking subject matter and peerless performances by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman (of The Hunger Games movies) and Amy Adams (Arrival), The Master ultimately underperformed at the box office, earning $50 million worldwide against its production budget of $37 million.

The relatively low box office earnings didn’t stop Joaquin Phoenix from giving one of the best performances of his career. Though the Gladiator and Joker star is no stranger to commercial success, the fact that audiences have missed some of his best work proves that Phoenix remains one of the industry’s most underrated actors.

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