erik lundegaard

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Wednesday July 13, 2016

The Least-Popular Box-Office Smash of All Time

Least Popular IMDb rating for the biggest box office smashes

Putting together a post on Steven Spielberg's ubiquity in the 100 highest-grossing domestic films of all time (adjusted for inflation), I often resorted to IMDb to check who directed which box office smash. “Twister,” for example. No clue. (Turns out: Jan de Bont. OK.)

Then I began to notice the IMDb ratings for these films.

Then I began to wonder which had the lowest rating.

In other words, what is the least popular (by IMDb rating) most popular (by adjusted $$) movie ever made? For which movie did we have the greatest buyer's remorse?

Most, to be sure, are still beloved by IMDb users. Two of the top 100 movies are in the nines (“The Godfather,” “Dark Knight”), 33 are in the eights, 51 in the sevens. The average is 7.66. Nothing to sneeze at.

But there are 14 movies with IMDb rankings lower than 7.0. Here they are, from least shitty to most shitty:

 $$ Rank Movie Adjusted Gross Year IMDb
37 Love Story $600,584,100 1970 6.9
39 Independence Day $594,326,900 1996 6.9
56 The Towering Inferno $526,603,200 1974 6.9
70 Smokey and the Bandit $487,626,500 1977 6.9
92 Mrs. Doubtfire $452,032,000 1993 6.9
97 Duel in the Sun $437,755,100 1946 6.9
47 The Robe $561,600,000 1953 6.8
49 Around the World in 80 Days $554,400,000 1956 6.8
60 The Greatest Show on Earth $514,800,000 1952 6.7
91 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones $458,759,500 2002 6.7
45 Airport $567,234,800 1970 6.6
18 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace $774,877,600 1999 6.5
81 Twister $469,224,100 1996 6.3
84 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $462,470,000 2009 6.0

This makes me truly happy. I remember how I recoiled and thrashed around in the summer of ‘09 when that idiot “Transformers” movie was raking it in at the box office. How I wished revenge on its viewers. How one post was simply titled “Die, Die, Die!” Turns out many agree with me.

Which of these would you watch again? I don’t think I‘ve ever seen “Towering Inferno” so that would be on my list. Ditto “Duel in the Sun.” I have fond memories of “Smokey and the Bandit” but haven’t seen it since it was in movie theaters. How quaint is “Airport” now? Has anyone put together an “Airport”/“Airplane” double feature? And if you could spoof one of the movies on this list, a la “Airplane,” which would you choose?

Posted at 06:17 AM on Wednesday July 13, 2016 in category Movies - Lists