Hundson Hawk: Most successful flop ever? (1 Viewer)

[StephenA]

I heard a few people refer to Hudson Hawk as the most successful flop ever. I never got this. I kinda liked the movie, but it really didn't have much of a plot to me.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

I'm a little curious what makes a "successful flop". By definition, a flop is a film that loses a lot of money. Hudson Hawk was a huge "flop", although it does have a loyal cult following. I think it's a very fun but sloppily made flick.

 

[StephenA]

That's why I'm confused with that. Maybe because it has such a following after it flopped at the box office. I have no idea.

 

[Howard Williams]

I love Bruce Willis and Danny Aielo but Hudson Hawk has been one of the worst movies I have ever seen to this day.

 

[Tom-G]

Most successful flop ever?

There is an oxymoron if I ever heard one.
I think I know what those people mean, Stephen. I don't know for sure, but Hudson Hawk seems to have found a following in the home video market sort of like Fight Club or Mallrats--both box office flops, but have found life in the home video market.

 

[Miles_W]

I guess that the simplist explanation would be it cost a bundle and returned (at the theaters) very little... For me and my wife it is a guilty pleasure movie... I think it has some great moments... " You should be swinging on a star..."

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

For fans of Hudson Hawk, the sections of Richard E. Grant's film diaries (called "With Nails") detailing the film's production are very, very illuminating...just how things seemed greatly silly and over the top on paper, and then how the atmosphere during the making of the film sabotaged it.

 

[Dave Dugan]

I've always loved Hudson Hawk...am I weird?

-Dave

 

[WoodyH]

Count me in as one of those oddball fans of this flick...I love it!

 

[TheoGB]

Fight Club was a flop? I'd thought it made money...
I think there's a BoxOffice takings thing on www.davidfincher.net

 

[MickeS]

"Fight Club" barely made its money back (if that).

I doubt we'll see Fincher's movies marketed with "From the director of Fight Club".

I thought "Hudson Hawk" was a bland, uninteresting movie, but not worse than most other Hollywood spectacles.

Personally, I think the most "successful flop" is "Last Action Hero".

/Mike

 

[TheoGB]

I just checked the site. It make it's money back (just) in the U.S. - about $65m and total worldwide gross was $100m-ish. I wouldn't say that was a flop. It's not like it was expected to be a massive seller which is surely part of the 'flop' idea...

 

[Greg_C_T]

ahh, my friends and I love Hudson Hawk. It's goofy, and endlessly quotable!

"I'll torture you for so long, you'll think it's a career."

"Catholic girls are scary."

Good stuff here.

 

[Steve_Ch]

If there is such a thing as "Most Successful Flop Ever", I would nominate Liz Taylor's Cleopetra. The movie is well known for being a giant flop and literally bankrupted Fox, but according to a very well made documentary (which was included in the 3 DVD set), the movie actually made a lot of money in it's initial release. It would have been considered a big hit if it were not for the absurb amount of money that was "burned" in making the movie. Probably 2/3 of what's spent had nothing to do with the ultimate movie. I think by the third release, it actually had made back every penny and turned a profit. On top of all that, it had a profound impact on the fashion and "look" of the 60s.

 

[Tino]

In Regard to Fight Club's boxoffice, that Fincher site is incorrect. I recalled it grossing much less than $65 milliom domestically, and I was correct.
Fight Club grossed $37 million in the US according to www.boxofficeguru.com which is a reliable source.
And even if it made $100 million or so worldwide, the rule of thumb is that a film has to make at least twice its cost just to break even, so it's fair to say that Fight Club was indeed a "flop".
I did love it though.

 

[JeremySt]

Successful flop = John Carpenter's The Thing

Tanked at the box office against E.T. but 20 years later... It's video classic, and one of my all time favorites.

 

[TheoGB]

I checked IMDB and yep, it only pulled in half it's cash at the U.S. BoxOffice. However, worldwide apparently came to about $71m so I guess the international total's correct on his site but the U.S. one must be mistaken. Apologies.

 

[chris_m_white]

I would think a "successful flop" is a movie that made money at the box office, but failed to live up to it's lofty expectations. I can think of three immediate examples of this:
Pearl Harbor
Waterworld
Hook
All three of these movies made money at the box office, but compared to their budget, star power, and high expectations are regarded as "flops" in some circles. It's hard to think of a movie that makes $180 million at the U.S. box office as a flop, but compared to the projections for Pearl Harbor I think you could view it that way.
Then there are the true flops:
The Postman
Cutthroat Island
Hudson Hawk
These are the movies that had a big budget, some star power, yet didn't make any money at the B.O.

 

[Steve Christou]

I would say WATERWORLD is probably the most successful flop ever, it grossed $255m worldwide, but I don't think the studio made a profit on it, it was briefly the most expensive movie ever made (unadjusted).
The most famous flop is probably CLEOPATRA (1963) which would still be the most expensive movie ever made if adjusted for inflation, prob cost in the region of $300m in todays money.
The most notorious flop that I remember is Heaven's Gate (1980) which was one of the most expensive movies ever made, grossed just $3m.
erm oh yeah Hudson Hawk, unremittingly stupid, a guilty pleasure.

 

[Steve_Ch]

>>prob cost in the region of $300m in todays money