‘Titanic’ and 8 Other Films Expected to Fail That Became Box Office Hits

Hollywood is famously bad at predicting what audiences will actually show up for. Studios spend months on test screenings and projections, yet some of the biggest successes in film history arrived with whispers of disaster attached.

The nine films below all faced doubt before release, whether over cost, troubled production, a tiny budget or an unproven formula. Each one found an audience anyway, and the numbers show how wrong the early predictions were.

Titanic (1997)

James Cameron’s epic carried a budget of roughly two hundred million dollars, which made it the most expensive film ever made at that point. Production ran long and over budget, and the release slipped from summer to December 1997. Industry chatter focused on the possibility of a historic flop.

Instead, it stayed at number one in North America for many weeks and became the first film to pass one billion dollars worldwide. It went on to win eleven Academy Awards. With later rereleases, its global total climbed above two billion dollars.

Star Wars (1977)

George Lucas’s space adventure was a hard sell inside 20th Century Fox, where expectations were modest. The budget was around eleven million dollars, and the film opened in only a small number of theaters. Science fiction was not considered a reliable moneymaker at the time.

Lines formed quickly, and theaters added screens as word spread. Across its original run and later rereleases, the film earned well over seven hundred million dollars worldwide. It also launched a franchise that is still producing new projects decades later.

Jaws (1975)

Steven Spielberg’s shark thriller had a famously rough shoot on the water off Martha’s Vineyard. The mechanical shark malfunctioned often, and the schedule and budget ballooned well beyond the original plan. The budget grew from about four million dollars to roughly nine million.

Audiences didn’t care about the chaos behind the scenes. Jaws is widely credited as the first summer blockbuster, and it earned more than four hundred seventy million dollars worldwide. Its wide release and heavy marketing also changed how studios launched big films.

Avatar (2009)

Before release, plenty of observers questioned whether Cameron’s long awaited return could justify its reported budget of around two hundred thirty seven million dollars. The story was original rather than based on a known property. The film also leaned heavily on unproven 3D and motion capture technology.

The result was the biggest box office run in history, at roughly 2.9 billion dollars worldwide. Strong word of mouth kept it in theaters for months. A 2021 rerelease in China helped it reclaim the global top spot after Avengers: Endgame had briefly passed it.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

This British production set in Mumbai had no major stars and was made for about fifteen million dollars. Warner Independent reportedly considered sending it straight to home video, but the studio was shutting down. Fox Searchlight stepped in to handle the release.

The gamble paid off in a big way. The film earned over three hundred seventy million dollars worldwide and won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It remains a popular example of a small film outgrowing its own release plan.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Nia Vardalos adapted her own one woman stage show into a small romantic comedy with a budget of about five million dollars. There were no big names in the cast, and the story was rooted in a specific cultural world. Few expected much beyond a modest run.

The film opened in limited release and grew steadily as audiences recommended it. It ended up earning more than two hundred forty million dollars worldwide. At the time, it became one of the most profitable romantic comedies ever released.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Director Oren Peli reportedly shot the film in his own home for only about fifteen thousand dollars. Paramount considered remaking it with a bigger budget before deciding to release much of the original version. The studio also tested demand with limited midnight screenings.

Viewers requested showings online, and the film expanded nationwide in 2009. It grossed roughly one hundred ninety million dollars worldwide. That made it one of the most profitable films ever made relative to its cost, and it spawned a long running horror series.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Made by a small group of film school graduates, this found footage horror film cost only tens of thousands of dollars to shoot. Its cast was unknown, and its shaky handheld style looked risky for a mainstream audience. Many wondered whether viewers would accept something so raw.

An early internet campaign suggested the story might be real, which fed curiosity before the film opened widely. It went on to earn about two hundred fifty million dollars worldwide. Its success helped popularize the found footage style that horror filmmakers still use.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

The sequel to a 1986 hit was delayed several times, partly because of the pandemic, while the theater business was struggling. Many analysts questioned whether a legacy sequel centered on a star in his sixties could draw big crowds. Paramount reportedly held it for a full theatrical release rather than sending it to streaming.

That decision was rewarded. The film earned about 1.49 billion dollars worldwide, making it the highest grossing release of 2022. It also received a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards.