Things That Initially Flopped But Later Became Classics

More often than not, hindsight is 20/20.

It takes looking back to appreciate or revitalize certain things in life.

Sometimes, appreciation and success come through the slow burn effect.

Not everything created is a win right out of the starting gate. Certain things take time to grow.

That's why people get so moody about TV shows being canceled too soon or Broadway shows shuttering quickly.

It can take time to find an audience.

The same can be said about getting somebody to love you.

You may have to grow on them.

Redditor Maxi_Turbo92 wanted to discuss what things in life just needed time to grow, so they asked:

"What's something that initially flopped, but later became a classic?"

Thanks, Theo

"Van Gogh's paintings. He died poor and relatively unknown - he had painter friends like Gaugin that knew of his work. It was his brother Theo that got him recognition posthumously."

- ok-milk

Van Gogh Reaction GIF by GIF IT UPGiphy

Make it Bigger and Better

"The 737 initially sold so poorly that Boeing considered selling off the design in the 1970s. It later became the best-selling aircraft family in the world (though it's since been surpassed)."

- Fleetwood_Mork

"They made it bigger, longer range, and more fuel efficient. The original 737 seated 100 with a range of 1500 miles, which is nearly exactly what the sh*tty regional CRJ-900 does today. At the time, the DC-9 and 727 had very similar specs but were cheaper; the 737 didn't offer anything you couldn't get from the others. When they started making them bigger and the 1970s arrived, the 737 had a leg up as the fuel economy of a twin-engine plane was a big advantage over all the trijets."

- boxofducks

Flopped

"Firefly, due to poor marketing and studio mismanagement, was a total flop at release and then got a cult following that spiked in the late 00s to early 10s'

- AWACS_Bandog

"I think the hype started to die in part because the hope of the show and or movies coming back went from being somewhat plausible and doable to pretty much impossible as everyone is much older and Joss Whedon ended up kinda being a d**k. I remember being on Reddit in the early ‘10s. There was a palpable feeling that the show could come back, and it led to a lot of discourse and overall excitement for the show. Now it’s just an old, good show that coulda shoulda woulda has been awesome if it had gotten more seasons."

- jonnycrush87

On Repeat

"The Big Lebowski."

- StinkypieTicklebum

"I tell everyone who's never seen it that they have to watch it 3x within about two weeks. The first time is a cursory watch, and you get some surface Jones to buy. That's about it. The second time, you pick up a couple of the connections and more subtle jokes. The third time really ties the movie together, man. Subsequent viewings get even better."

- CaptainPunisher

Christmas Tradition

"It's a Wonderful Life."

- JimmyJab459

"I always thought it was a hit from the start, but it actually recorded a loss at the box office and was kind of forgotten until the 1970s when a clerical error prevented the copyright from being renewed. So, TV networks started airing it at Christmas because they could do so without paying royalties. Then, after repeated airings every holiday season, it became a beloved classic!

- _suPARman_

Oh, Buttercup

"The Princess Bride. The studio didn’t know how to market the film upon its release, and its box office suffered as a result. Fortunately, it found its audience on home video, and the rest is history."

- karma_the_sequel

the princess bride GIFGiphy

Meeting Dorothy

"The Wizard of Oz. Didn’t even cover the production cost until after a re-release 10 years later. It wasn’t until it started being shown on TV broadcasts that it really took off."

- squirrel-phone

"So wild that the WOO was a flop at first given that the massively popular stage musical (which was based on a book) Wicked is pretty much Wizard of Oz fanfiction, and that did so well that it’s been running for 21 years and has been turned into a movie-musical which seems to be similarly popular."

"And that’s not even getting into the countless WOO knock-offs and spin-off films outside of Wicked."

- HamilWhoTangled

1980

"The TR-808 bass you have probably heard many times in the last week."

"It was a drum machine made in 1980 for electronic music production, but it didn't sound realistic compared to the competitors and they ceased production shortly after (83) due to how badly it was selling. Years later, people rediscovered it for its unique sound, and even today it's still a very prominent element in more music than you realise... It's not just a classic, it's THE classic."

- -Cannon-Fodder-

Lack of Interest

"The Gibson Les Paul. Introduced in 1952. By 1959-60, the classic construction and shape was dropped because so few were being sold. By the late 1960s guitarists were clamoring for used ones and Gibson had to reintroduce them (there’s more details and nuance but this is the sorta TLDR version. Also, the Gibson Flying V and Explorer were introduced in 1958 and were canceled by 1960 due to lack of interest."

- i_steal_your_lemons

Redemption

"Oh man, 'The Shawshank Redemption' is the perfect example of this s**t. When it hit theaters in '94, it was a total box office flop. Like, embarrassingly bad. Barely made back half its budget. Critics dug it, but audiences just weren't showing up."

"But then? Magic happened. It got a bunch of Oscar nods, and when it hit video and TV, people finally caught on. Word of mouth spread like wildfire. Suddenly everyone and their mom was talking about this amazing prison flick."

"Fast forward to now, and it's consistently ranked as one of the best movies ever made. It's always in the top spots on IMDb, and film buffs won't shut up about it."

"Just goes to show, sometimes the best stuff takes a while to catch on. Kinda gives you hope for all the underappreciated gems out there, right?"

- dena_199-_-3

Second Run

"While 'Star Trek' is now considered a massive success, during its initial run on television, it was not a major hit and was almost canceled due to low ratings, making it technically a 'flop' in its first few seasons before finding a large audience through syndication and later movies; it only gained its huge cult following after its initial run on air."

- turbo332

Preacher Man

"'Dusty in Memphis.' It had only one hit single (Son of a Preacher Man) and was a commercial failure when it was first released in 1969. It is now considered one of the greatest pop albums of the 1960s."

- GhostofTinky

Subtract Dusty Springfield GIF by Ed SheeranGiphy

A Rarity

"The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky's famous ballet was hated by Russians for being 'too Western' and by western Europe for being 'too Russian.' By the time Fantasia came out in 1940, they commented that the Nutcracker was 'rarely performed nowadays.'"

"Now? It's one of the best-known ballets and is considered a Christmas classic."

- LordLaz1985

So Ugly

"For a while the 1957 Ford 300 was considered to be one of the ugliest classic cars of the fifties. What didn't help was it was commonly used as a government, military, and patrol vehicle where it just had a plain black or olive drab paintjob with no chrome trim that did nothing to show off the vehicle's lines."

"When people starting picking these vehicles up in government auction and resto-moded them with two-tone paint jobs and accented chrome trim it really brought out the beautiful lines the vehicle has and is now considered a great classic."

- CatboyInAMaidOutfit

Wadsworth Forever

"Clue (1985) was a disaster in the theaters. They shot 3 different endings in hopes of enticing the audience to attend 3 showings, but those few people who bothered to show up again often (more often than 1/3) ended up seeing the same ending. Word-of-mouth was awful, critical reviews were nonplussed, and the gimmick played as exactly that: A dumb trick."

"Cable fixed the movie by unifying the three endings with the 'That’s how it might’ve happened' title card and leaving people with the satisfying ending, becoming the beloved cult hit that is on the air to this day."

- garrettj100

Let's Time Warp

"Rocky Horror Picture Show. At first, it was a huge disappointment (and embarrassment for some). Then, the midnight showings gave it a whole new life. You can say it makes me shiver with antici...."

- Shawawana

the rocky horror picture show how bout that GIFGiphy

Genius

"Lady Gaga's ArtPop. The fans loved it, but the reception from the general public was not received well. It wasn't until nearly a decade later her album reached #1 during the pandemic. It is now recognized as one of her biggest accomplishments in the music world."

- guyhabit725

First of all, almost ALL of this list is pure genius!

I say #justiceforartpop.

I still can't believe the hate that album got.

CLUE is a MUST-SEE!!

It's one of the greatest films EVER!

I will die on those hills.

I can see how Rocky Horror isn't for everyone, but I love it.

Sometimes, it just takes the good old hindsight.