10 Critically Acclaimed Horror Movies That Were Box Office Bombs – Screen Rant

Often,Horror movies feel designed for the big screen. With their creepy atmospherics, moody developments, and monsters lurking in the shadows, the scares in these immersive genre featuresare most effective in the theatre. Unfortunately, not every film beloved by critics does well with moviegoing audiences.Now that making movies is more expensive than ever, the chances of releasing a box office bomb are greater.

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A film is labeled a box office bomb when it generates less money in theatres than it cost to produce. So many factors play into a film yielding disappointing returns. It can be related to bad timing, bad promotion, or a lack of mainstream appeal.When it comes to critically acclaimed horror that flops at the box office, many get a second chance with home video releases or streaming becoming cult classics with enduring legacies.

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez joined forces for this double feature that harkens back to 70s grindhouse cinema, a movement in horror that emphasized exploitation, gore, and low-budget theatrics. Tarantino directedPlanet Terror, and Rodriguez directedDeath Proof.

This ambitious, stylized throwback ended up costing $67 million to make.Grindhouse ultimately only made $25 million worldwide, most earned in the United States.

English filmmaker Jonathan Glazer cast Scarlett Johansson in his conceptual, terrifying film about a hungry alien creature who assumes the body of an attractive woman in order to lure men to their deaths. Slow-paced, original, and haunting,Under The Skin made multiple Best Of lists for the 2010s.

Under The Skin cost the equivalency of just over $13 million to make, but it only made $7 million worldwide. In America, the experimental horror film only earned $2 million in theatres.

Alex Garland's highly anticipated adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer's novel of the same name features a star-studded cast: Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. They play a group of women tasked with investigating a quarantined zone known as "The Shimmer," where unexplained plant and human mutations run rampant.

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Critics were impressed by this character-driven example of hybrid horror and science fiction. Estimates vary, but the film cost somewhere between $40 million and $55 million to make - thanks in large part to its stunning special effects.Annihilation only earned back $43 million of that in theatres, though.

Fred Dekker's comedy horror film brings back the classic Universal Monsters for 80s audiences. In the film, a group of kids fight to keep Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolf Man, Gill-man, and Mummy from taking control of the world.

When it was released,The Monster Squad made about $3.7 million worldwide. Unfortunately, that return didn't come close to earning back the $12 million the movie was made with. Fortunately,The Monster Squad went on to become a cult classic thanks to VHS and DVD releases.

The first feature from iconic Mexican horror moviemaker Guillermo Del Toro,Cronos was independently released and cost about $2 million dollars to make.Cronos was only given a limited release in America. It garnered just over $600,000 in theatres.

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Epic and mythological,Cronos tells the story of an ancient device designed to give its owner eternal life, but at a cost. It stars Federico Luppi and Ron Perlman.

The Loved Ones is a dark, gruesome Australian horror movie about a prom night gone horribly wrong. After high schooler Brent turnsdown his classmate Lola's invitation to attend the prom, Lola hatches a plot to make sure Brent doesn't ruin her special night. Lola's plot involves kidnapping and torture.

Made with $4 million,The Loved Ones was not initially distributed outside of Australia where it made just $250,000. It received a limited release in 2012, but theprofits were meager.

Part western, part violent horror,Bone Tomahawk follows a small-town sheriff in the 1890s who leads a rescue group to track down two residents kidnapped by a cannibalistic, cave-dwelling indigenous tribe. Brooding and well-acted, the film stars Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins.

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Bone Tomahawk's blend of frontier living and gore wasn't for everyone when it was released. The film made close to $500,000 in theatres about a fourth of its $1.8 million budget.

Kathryn Bigelow's 80sfilm takes an ambient, neo-western approach to showcasing vampires. At the center of the film exists a family of nomadic vampires played by the likes of Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen. The movie plays into the bloodsucker trend in Hollywood at the time.

Unfortunately,Near Dark didn't end up being as popular as other 80s vampire movies likeThe Lost Boys andFright Night. Made with a $5 million budget, the movie only earned back $3.4 million. With time,Near Darkwent on to become a cult classic.

Peter Jackson's early splatter fest is more than a practical effects feat: it's a taut, hilarious horror comedy - for those who can look past all the blood and guts. Jackson's unique take on the zombie movie features residents of a small New Zealand town whose lives are turned upsidedown after the arrival of a rat-monkey infected with a heinous virus.

Jackson labored to make the movie with $3 million. When it was released in the United States as Dead Alive in 1993, the grisly horror film only made $240,000. After Jackson became an international name thanks to hisLord of the Ringstrilogy,Braindead experienced a revival.

Danish director Lars Von Trier is not for everyone. Von Trier is known for his macabre, dismal films about the terrible ways human beings treat each other. His 2009 psychological horror film starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg is no exception. Dafoe and Gainsbourg give engrossing performances as a couple seeking solace in a remote cabin after the death of their toddler.

Controversial and grotesque, the movie divided critics. Those who loved it raved about the film's explorations of sexuality and violence.Antichrist did not fare well in theatres. It earned back just a portion of its $11 million budget: $2.5 million.

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Megan is a public librarian by trade obsessed with the intersections between art, culture, and society. She's a nerd for horror, obscure memes, weird history, graphic novels, and binge-worthy science fiction series.

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10 Critically Acclaimed Horror Movies That Were Box Office Bombs - Screen Rant