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Tim Robbins has reflected upon The Shawshank Redemption 25 years after it was first released.
The Stephen King adaptation was a failure at the box office upon its release in 1994, but has since been reappraised as a classic and is currently ranked as the most popular film of all time on database IMDb.
Robbins thinks that the reason for its lacklustre performance was due to the title.
“When it came out, and was not well received at the box office, there were various reasons given: “Well, it’s the title, no one can remember the title,” he told Entertainment Weekly . “And that makes sense too, because for years after that film came out, people would come up to me and say, ‘You know, I really liked you in that film Scrimshaw Reduction or Shimmy, Shimmy, Shake or Shankshaw ‘ – you know, so many different ways that people got it wrong.”
Robbins, who starred in the film alongside Morgan Freeman, described being a part of the film as an “honour”, saying: “When you’re in a film that is the most popular film of all time, you can scratch that one off the bucket list.
35 great films that bombed at the box officeShow all 35 1 /3535 great films that bombed at the box office 35 great films that bombed at the box office Children of Men (2006) While it's now revered as one of the best films of the 21st century, Alfonso Cuarón's dystopian thriller failed to make its money back at the box office at its time of release in 2006.
Universal Studios
35 great films that bombed at the box office The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) This Robin Williams comedy grossed just $8m against its $46m budget, losing the studio a staggering $38m.
Columbia Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Ali (2001) Ali opened in the US on Christmas Day, 2001, and grossed a total of $87.7m worldwide – and still lost an estimated $63.1m.
Initial Entertainment Group
35 great films that bombed at the box office The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) Andrew Dominik's lyrical western only just made back half of its $30m budget in 2007, but found love upon its release on DVD.
Warner Bros
35 great films that bombed at the box office The Astronaut's Wife (1999) Despite starring Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron, this drama was a certified bomb at the box office, making a total of $19.6m from a $75m budget.
New Line Cinema
35 great films that bombed at the box office The BFG (2016) Steven Spielberg's Roald Dahl adaptation grossed just $183m against its $140m budget – a low profit by Disney's standards.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Blackhat (2015) Michael Mann's cyber thriller was a box office bomb, earning only $19.7m at the box office against a budget of $70m.
Universal Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Just like Ridley Scott's original flopped, this lengthy sequel from Denis Villeneuve grossed just $259m worldwide and is considered a flop.
Sony Pictures Releasing
35 great films that bombed at the box office Citizen Kane (1941) This Orson Welles film may be a beloved classic, but at the time release, it failed to recoup its costs at the box office.
Rex Features
35 great films that bombed at the box office Clockers (1995) Spike Lee's Clockers saw one of the director's most disappointing performances at the box office, taking just $13m from a $25m budget.
Universal Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Deepwater Horizon (2016) Peter Berg's real-life drama fell more than $30m short of its $156m budget, a shame considering it's one of the Friday Night Lights creator's best films to date.
Summit Entertainment
35 great films that bombed at the box office Donnie Darko (2001) Donnie Darko grossed just over $7.5m worldwide on a budget of $4.5m, not helped by its marketing campaign featuring a plane crash weeks before 9/11.
Rex Features
35 great films that bombed at the box office Event Horizon (1997) Upon release, this cult horror was a commercial and critical failure, grossing $26.7m on a $60m production budget.
Paramount Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Fight Club (1999) There was something of a controversy surrounding David Fincher's Fight Club, which aided in making a modest profit of just under $40m at the box office. It's opening run, though, was markedly underwhelming.
20th Century Fox
35 great films that bombed at the box office The Good Dinosaur (2015) While far from being a catastrophic flop, The Good Dinosaur struggled to reach the heights of other Pixar releases. The film grossed $332m worldwide against a $175m budget.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Hard Rain (1998) This entertaining 1990s thriller had such poor box office takings in the US, it was released straight-to-DVD in other countries, including the UK.
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
35 great films that bombed at the box office Heaven's Gate (1980) Michael Cimino's drama is notable for being one of the biggest box office bombs of its time, losing the studio an estimated $37m (over $114 million when adjusted for inflation).
United Artists
35 great films that bombed at the box office Hugo (2011) Martin Scorsese's charming family film was a commercial failure, grossing just $185m against its $150–$170m budget.
Paramount Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office The Insider (1999) While acclaimed by critics, Michael Mann's drama – starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe – never made back its $68m budget.
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
35 great films that bombed at the box office The Iron Giant (1999) Despite being one of the best animated films of all time, The Iron Giant was a victim of Warner Bros scepticism towards the genre after the failure of previous effort, Quest for Camelot. Future Pixar director Brad Bird's film made $31.3m worldwide against a budget of $70–80m.
Warner Bros
35 great films that bombed at the box office It's a Wonderful Life (1946) While not a major flop, the classic underperformed at the Christmas box office due to stiff competition from other big films.
National Telefilm Associates
35 great films that bombed at the box office Ishtar (1987) Elaine May's maligned comedy, which is being reassessed with every passing year, became a notorious failure at the box office.
Columbia Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office The King of Comedy (1982) Although Scorsese's drama was well-received by critics, it bombed at the box office. Lead Robert De Niro said that the film "maybe wasn't so well received because it gave off an aura of something that people didn't want to look at or know."
20th Century Fox
35 great films that bombed at the box office The Lone Ranger (2013) This unfairly maligned Disney release was a box office bomb, grossing only $260.5m worldwide against an estimated $225–250m production budget and an additional $150m in marketing costs.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Man on the Moon (1999) This Jim Carrey film from Milos Forman cost Universal a lot of money after it failed to make back its $52-82m budget.
Universal Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office mother! (2017) While making its money back, polarising reviews meant that Darren Aronofsky's psychological horror settled for a $14m profit.
Paramount Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Mulholland Drive (2001) It's considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, but David Lynch's head-scratcher failed to make back its $20m budget.
Universal Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) Despite positive reviews from critics, this spoof grossed just $9m, failing to meet its budget of $20m.
Universal Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010) Edgar Wright's beloved cult was a box office bomb, grossing $47.7m against its production budget of $85–90m.
Universal Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office The Shawshank Redemption (1994) This Stephen King adaptation was a box office disappointment, earning only $16m during its initial theatrical run. It would later get re-released and earn $58.3m.
Columbia Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Shoot 'Em Up (2007) This fun action film starring Clive Owen recouped far less than its $39m budget.
New Line Cinema
35 great films that bombed at the box office A Simple Plan (1998) This Oscar-nominated noir didn't meet its budget despite sitting at a paltry $17m.
Paramount Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office This Is Spinal Tap (1984) It wasn't until its home entertainment release that this mockumentary became the beloved classic it is today.
Embassy Pictures
35 great films that bombed at the box office Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) Valerian grossed $225m worldwide, but due to its high production and advertising costs, it was considered a commercial failure.
EuropaCorp Distribution
35 great films that bombed at the box office Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) This beloved Roald Dahl adaptation starring Gene Wilder made just a $1m profit upon its original release in 1971.
Rex Features
“The kinds of films that I participated in, I was looking at whether they were going to last rather than whether they were going to make a brief splash. And I think the testament of a great film is that it still resonates with people years and years after it was made.”
With a 9.3 out of 10 rating on IMDB, The Shawshank Redemption sits above films including Pulp Fiction , 12 Angry Men and Schindler’s List .
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their titleShow all 27 1 /2727 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title 27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Annie Hall (1977) Original title: Anhedonia
Annie Hall began life as Anhedonia, which is the scientific term for the inability to experience pleasure. But the title Annie Hall was eventually settled on, inspired by actress Diane Keaton's real name, Diane Hall, and her nickname, Annie.
United Artists
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Dynasty (1981-89) Original title: Oil
The hit series, which revolves around the family of an oil magnate, was originally supposed to be titled… wait for it… Oil. But it was then changed to Dynasty to compete with rival soap Dallas.
CBS Television Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Back to the Future (1985) Original title: Spaceman from Pluto
Steven Spielberg genuinely thought the title Spaceman from Pluto was a joke suggestion, so it didn’t last long, and was soon replaced by the now iconic name Back to the Future. He contacted the Universal Studios head Sid Sheinberg who had suggested the Pluto title, with a message thanking him for sending his wonderful "joke" name, saying the office "got a kick out of it". Ouch.
Universal Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title The Breakfast Club (1985) Original title: The Lunch Bunch
The original script for this classic high-school movie went by the very naff name The Lunch Bunch, but thanks to the son of one of director John Hughes's friends, who had a school detention class called The Breakfast Club, the title was changed.
Universal Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Fatal Attraction (1987) Original title: Affairs of the Heart
The much friendlier sounding Affairs of the Heart wasn’t a great match for the psychological thriller that brought us the bunny boiler, and after it received a poor reception from audiences, the film’s title was changed to Fatal Attraction.
Paramount Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Licence to Kill (1989) Original title: Licence Revoked
This Bond film was, at one time, called Licence Revoked, but test audiences associated the title too much with driving, so thankfully it was changed to something far punchier.
United Artists
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Saved by the Bell (1989-93) Original title: Good Morning, Miss Bliss
NBC’s Good Morning Miss Bliss centred on Hayley Mills as the eponymous teacher but, after the comedy briefly moved to the Disney Channel and then back to NBC, it was re-tooled to focus on the teenage students instead, therefore taking on a new name: Saved By The Bell.
CBS Studios International
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Goodfellas (1990) Original title: Wiseguy
The Scorsese classic is an adaptation of a mobster novel called Wiseguy, which was originally also the title of the film, but the name had to be changed because it had already been taken for an 80s TV series.
Warner Bros
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Pretty Woman (1990) Original title: 3000
Originally a dark drama about class and sex work, Pretty Woman’s first title was 3,000 – the amount of money that Richard Gere's character Edward spends on a week of Vivian's (Julia Roberts) time. Disney changed the name as it came across as “too science-fictiony”, as well as the tone of the movie which was turned into a rom-com fairytale.
Buena Vista Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Friends (1994-2004) Original title: Six of One
The beloved sitcom went through many different name changes, with all the following titles considered: Friends Like Us, Six of One, Across the Hall, Once Upon a Time in the West Village, and Insomnia Cafe. It’s now hard to imagine the show becoming such a monumental hit with any of those names.
Warner Bros Television Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Pulp Fiction (1994) Original title: Black Mask
Pulp Fiction was initially inspired by the detective crime stories in the seminal magazine Black Mask, hence its first name. The publication was a pulp magazine, which goes some way to explaining the new title.
Miramax Films
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Titanic (1997) Original title: The Ship of Dreams
In a line from the classic 1997 film, the older version of Rose says: "Titanic was called the ship of dreams, and it was, it really was." It was also the original title of the film, before the simpler name of Titanic was chosen.
20th Century Fox
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title That '70s Show (1998-2006) Original title: Teenage Wasteland
Early ideas for the 70s sitcom’s name included Teenage Wasteland and The Kids Are Alright, but because the creators couldn’t get song title rights from The Who, they were forced to change the name of the show.
Carsey-Werner Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title American Pie (1999) Original title: Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million That Your Reader Will Love But the Executive Will Hate
It was a bold move from screenwriter Adam Herz when he submitted his spec script to studios under the title Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million That Your Reader Will Love But The Executive Will Hate. But the risk paid off, with the film, eventually named American Pie, grossing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide.
Universal Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) Original title: Dairy Queens
The black comedy was originally supposed to be called Dairy Queens. However, the company that owns fast food chain Dairy Queen apparently didn't love the idea of being associated with the movie, so they filed a lawsuit and, lo and behold, Drop Dead Gorgeous was born.
New Line Cinema
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title 8 Simple Rules (2002-03) Original title: 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
This family sitcom originally had a longer name, but when star John Ritter – who played the concerned father in the show – suddenly died after filming the third episode of the second series, the show changed its format and name to 8 Simple Rules and Ritter’s death was written into the plot.
Buena Vista International Television
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Cars (2006) Original title: Route 66
The animated hit was initially called Route 66 after the iconic road in America, but the title was changed to Cars to avoid confusion with a 60s TV show of the same name.
Buena Vista Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Hannah Montana (2006-11) Original title: Alexis Texas
Miley Cyrus’s Disney comedy was originally called Alexis Texas but, because a porn actor shares the same name, it had to be changed in case children looked up the show’s title and accidentally found pornography.
Disney-ABC Domestic Television
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title The Big Bang Theory (2007-19) Original title: Lenny, Penny and Kenny
The Big Bang Theory’s original rhyming title was forced to change after the character Kenny’s name switched to Sheldon, who was then brought to life by Jim Parsons.
Warner Bros Television Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Samantha Who? (2007-09) Original title: Sam I Am
Clearance issues with the estate of Dr Seuss led ABC to change the name of its Christina Applegate-led show, as the original title, Sam I Am, drew on the first lines of Dr Seuss’s classic Green Eggs and Ham.
Disney – ABC Domestic Television
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title The Good Wife (2009-16) Original title: Leave the Bastard
The Good Wife’s creators got a call from CBS pushing them to change the title just as it went into production. The network did actually consider Leave the Bastard, but ultimately decided to play it safe with The Good Wife.
CBS Television Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Shutter Island (2010) Original title: Ashecliffe
Ashecliffe, the name of the hospital in Martin Scorcese’s thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was originally going to be the film’s title before it was changed to Shutter Island.
Paramount Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title New Girl (2011-18) Original title: Chicks and Dicks
New Girl was initially pitched as "a young ensemble comedy about the sexual politics of men and women”, hence its original, provocative title: Chicks and Dicks. Not only did this name attract the wrong kind of attention, but New Girl better reflected the content of the sitcom, which ended up revolving around Zooey Deschanel’s Jess.
20th Television
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Original title: All You Need Is Kill
The Tom Cruise action movie was originally known as All You Need Is Kill, the title of the book on which the movie is based, but filmmakers changed the title because they felt the word "kill" was too problematic. "I think the word 'kill' in a title is very tricky in today's world…" producer Edwin Stoff said. “We see it enough in real newspaper headlines, and I don't think we need to see it when we're looking at a movie." After a lucklustre box office opening, the film's name was changed once again, in marketing and for home release, to Live, Die, Repeat.
Warner Bros Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Lovesick (2014-18) Original title: Scrotal Recall
The relationship comedy drama starring Johnny Flynn was renamed after one series because, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was suffering from a lack of word of mouth, with people reluctant to say the word “scrotal”.
Clerkenwell Films
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Stranger Things (2016-) Original title: Montauk
The original title of the Netflix hit was Montauk, as the plan had been for it to be set in a village of the same name in New York. However, when creators the Duffer brothers later relocated the show’s action to the fictional town of Hawkins in Indiana, the name changed to Stranger Things. Intriguingly, Montauk also happens to be the title of a short film which the Duffer brothers were accused of plagiarising.
Netflix
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Arrival (2017) Original title: Story of Your Life
The sci-fi film starring Amy Adams originally went by the title of the novella it was based on, Story of Your Life, but because producer Shawn Levy thought it "sounds a bit like a One Direction song” and "multiword titles can be really problematic”, the movie changed its name to Arrival.
Paramount Pictures
The film’s director, Frank Darabont, recently called its number one placement “surreal” and said he “[finds] it hard to believe” the film is better than The Godfather .
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