What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

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What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Q99 »

What movies do you think will have a cult following 10, 20, etc. years from now?

Like, Pacific Rim seems a given to me, Jupiter Ascending a high-odds-really-hope-so.

What are your bets?

(SF, Fantasy, any films allowed)
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Jub »

Dredd is certainly one.

Though it depends on what you mean when you say 'cult'. Do things like Gem and the Holograms and Smurfs count due to the MST3K style lulz?
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Q99 »

Jub wrote:Dredd is certainly one.

Though it depends on what you mean when you say 'cult'. Do things like Gem and the Holograms and Smurfs count due to the MST3K style lulz?
If they actually get a following, sure. Like, Manos or Plan 9 type things, not just 'appeared on MST3k' or 'considering a fun-bad movie.'

I don't think Jem made a big enough splash as a bad movie to, but, oh, Gods of Egypt might. And The Last Airbender is already a legend of wrongness.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by General Zod »

John Wick. It was a complete curveball that proved more entertaining than it should have been.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

Some of these films already HAVE huge followers.
Jupiter Ascending for one I know has several massive Fan Pages.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Mad Max: Fury Road, I think (or is that too big to be considered "cult"- it wasn't a mega-hit, but certainly not a flop either).
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Probably a lot of DCCU films, too. While not exactly commercial failures, they seem to be following a pattern of being only moderately successful at best commercially and critically (though Wonder Woman may break that pattern yet, at least on critical acclaim), while having a smaller loyal fan following.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Q99 »

The DCCU's just so big that I can't view calling any of them 'cult'. Just like there's people who like Star Trek V but it's not generally lumped in.

Fury Road seems a given, especially as the Mad Max series already has a borderline cult following.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Elheru Aran »

Wes Anderson movies already have something of a cult following. Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, etc.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Q99 wrote:The DCCU's just so big that I can't view calling any of them 'cult'. Just like there's people who like Star Trek V but it's not generally lumped in.

Fury Road seems a given, especially as the Mad Max series already has a borderline cult following.
Well, I think that the argument you applied to the DCCU could arguably just as readily be applied to Fury Road. It wasn't a huge box office hit, but it wasn't a flop either, and it was far more critically acclaimed than the DCCU has ever been (again, possibly excluding Wonder Woman if the early reviews are indicative- see the current thread on that).
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by TheFeniX »

"Cult Following" is kind of vague when you're looking at things in the now, but becomes more clear when you look into the past. There's a few solid examples from my heyday.

Princess Bride
Big Trouble in Little China
The Crow

Some later possibilities would be Waterworld and Battlefield Earth, but these movies aren't nearly as fondly remembered now as they should be to qualify.

The big deal is that they didn't make back their budget, but even then: they don't really apply if they couldn't make back their monster budgets. Warcraft would be a hard sell to end up a cult classic. It was "popular" but it's budget would have cratered it if not for overseas audiences. Fury Road ain't making that list. It's like saying Terminator was a Cult Classic. Sure, Fury Road may not be as fondly remember as Mad Max originals, but it was only moderately successful due to it's budget, but it was/is widely popular among fans and critics.

Unlike Princess Bride which was panned hard by both and did poorly in theatres.

There's there's "Indie Trash" that doesn't turn out to be trash such as Clerks or Evil Dead. A lot of the "bad movies" of the day today are made intentionally to be terrible.

But those days are likely gone since overseas audiences, primarily China, will generally eat up what American audiences take a pass on. Pacific Rim and Warcraft are two movies off-hand that could be cult classics, but will instead likely get sequels because China quadrupled the domestic box office. This is also why they won't stop making Transformers movies.

Video Games have seen a bit of resurgence in this area since indie devs can get their ideas out much easier these days without selling their sole to a publisher. Also of note, Netflix and other independent content creators are doing quite well, so you might be digging into more Internet media for cult followings than the local theater.

Then again, I am one aging jaded bastard.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by NeoGoomba »

I'll second Dredd. That movie has to be what a "cult" film is already. Barely noticed upon release, with small but fierce following now.

I'd have also said John Wick, but it was popular enough to justify a trilogy, so it may have been a little too mainstream to qualify for whatever "cult" means.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

I agree with Dredd, it's a remarkably good film given it's premise.

I would also suggest Iron Sky - I only heard of it through word of mouth and despite the lunacy enjoyed it a great deal, as did many others.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Crazedwraith »

Sharknado should count if we're counting Iron Sky. They've made/are making 5 of those suckers.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Q99 »

'Attack the Block' is a strong possibility. It's a low-budget small SF flick starring Boyega, the actor who'd go on to play Finn in Star Wars.
TheFeniX wrote: But those days are likely gone since overseas audiences, primarily China, will generally eat up what American audiences take a pass on. Pacific Rim and Warcraft are two movies off-hand that could be cult classics, but will instead likely get sequels because China quadrupled the domestic box office. This is also why they won't stop making Transformers movies.
That's still pretty situational, they've saved some movies and shown no interest in others. Like the latest King Arthur is flopping just as hard in China. It gives movies a second shot, but only some pull it off.

Video Games have seen a bit of resurgence in this area since indie devs can get their ideas out much easier these days without selling their sole to a publisher. Also of note, Netflix and other independent content creators are doing quite well, so you might be digging into more Internet media for cult followings than the local theater.

Then again, I am one aging jaded bastard.
Speaking of video games, Dead or Alive seems like a cult film, but most of the video game movies of the last decade or so don't seem like they're going to be cult films. Putting aside the few that basically succeeded, the others either don't even have enough going for them in order to reach cult level, or are a cult series to begin with (I'm fine with calling the Resident Evil series that).
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by General Zod »

The Romulan Republic wrote:Mad Max: Fury Road, I think (or is that too big to be considered "cult"- it wasn't a mega-hit, but certainly not a flop either).
It was big enough to win an Oscar. That's not something the average cult film does.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Darth Lucifer »

The Starship Troopers films have a cult following already, but ST: Invasion and it's sequel Traitor of Mars I think will be remembered for being more true to the source material while at the same time being a continuation of the original 1997 film.

EDIT: ST:3 also for it's cheesiness on all levels. Obviously the animated films ignore the Holy Federation crap :P :lol: :D
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

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Darth Lucifer wrote:The Starship Troopers films have a cult following already, but ST: Invasion and it's sequel Traitor of Mars I think will be remembered for being more true to the source material while at the same time being a continuation of the original 1997 film.

EDIT: ST:3 also for it's cheesiness on all levels. Obviously the animated films ignore the Holy Federation crap :P :lol: :D

That's the one with "It's a Good Day to Die (for the Federation I would give my life)", right?
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Darth Lucifer »

Q99 wrote:
Darth Lucifer wrote:The Starship Troopers films have a cult following already, but ST: Invasion and it's sequel Traitor of Mars I think will be remembered for being more true to the source material while at the same time being a continuation of the original 1997 film.

EDIT: ST:3 also for it's cheesiness on all levels. Obviously the animated films ignore the Holy Federation crap :P :lol: :D

That's the one with "It's a Good Day to Die (for the Federation I would give my life)", right?
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by LadyTevar »

The problem with many of today's films is they are already BASED on 'Cult Classics' -- Marvel, DC, Transformers, hell, even LEGO.

However, here is my list of Movies that will go (or maybe have already gone) "Cult*:
1. RDJ's Sherlock Holmes. Holmes has had a cult following for over a hundred years, and these movies fed the mob beautifully without any need for a modern update.

2. Pacific Rim. Mostly for the visuals of Big Stompy Robots battling Kaiju, let's be honest. The plot was formulaic, but the Tropes were spot-on and done well.

3. V for Vendetta. While some fans of the graphic novel hated it, the movie did introduce more people to the story and all its nice little seditious themes of fighting back against a tyrannous state.

4. The Purge. I didn't see this, because I'm not a fan of horror, but I can recognize a film that touches that dark place inside us, the one who'd be out finding those who 'deserved' not to see morning.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Q99 »

Here's one- The Babadook

It's a small Australia horror film, tiny budget and a profitable but also tiny gross, and the monster's oddly been adopted as something of a lgbt icon/meme.

LadyTevar wrote:The problem with many of today's films is they are already BASED on 'Cult Classics' -- Marvel, DC, Transformers, hell, even LEGO.
Quite, yesterday's nostalgia is where todays megahits often come from.
However, here is my list of Movies that will go (or maybe have already gone) "Cult*:
1. RDJ's Sherlock Holmes. Holmes has had a cult following for over a hundred years, and these movies fed the mob beautifully without any need for a modern update.
Too big to be cult, it and it's sequel both made north of 500m.
2. Pacific Rim. Mostly for the visuals of Big Stompy Robots battling Kaiju, let's be honest. The plot was formulaic, but the Tropes were spot-on and done well.
My view is there's nothing wrong with being standard if it's done well and has a few good ideas sprinkled in (the Drift, for example! Also it is seriously like one of only three-four live-action piloted giant robot movies worth anything it is not something that I get enough of).

4. The Purge. I didn't see this, because I'm not a fan of horror, but I can recognize a film that touches that dark place inside us, the one who'd be out finding those who 'deserved' not to see morning.
It's in some ways a successor to those 80s/90s horror franchises, at least financially. It's a string of successful small-budget flicks.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by LaCroix »

Does Event Horizon count? A lot of people are regarding it as a classic and it does have a big fan community (which does overlap a bit with Warhammer, seeing the Drive of the Event horizon as the first warp drive, and considering it a Prequel to WH Universe)

Jumper, albeit very different to the book, also has gathered a following.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by NeoGoomba »

Event Horizon does probably count, because it seems like most people I know who like horror/sci-fi have seen it and enjoy it, even though it was kind of a dud when it was released. Plus, yeah, it being an "unofficial" WH40k prequel probably helps it build momentum after all these years
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Khaat »

Anyone see Push (Dakota Fanning, Chris Evans)? No? Just me?

It would dovetail pretty well with Jumper, for a world with folks of mostly unexplained unusual abilities, like most of the current crop of "non-DC/Marvel supers TV" out there.
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Re: What films of the last decade or so will gain a lasting cult following?

Post by Sea Skimmer »

LaCroix wrote:Does Event Horizon count? A lot of people are regarding it as a classic and it does have a big fan community (which does overlap a bit with Warhammer, seeing the Drive of the Event horizon as the first warp drive, and considering it a Prequel to WH Universe)
I never heard that one let alone thought about it, it is a cool idea though I think probably at serious odds with 40K canon.
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