I don’t think The Emperor’s New Groove did well in the theaters, but it is one of the best Disney movies of its time.

Despite overwhelmingly positive critical reviews, Children of Men lost money in its 2006 theatrical run. Most people I knew had never heard of it, and the only person I knew who had seen it was the friend I went to the theater with. It's now generally regarded as one of the best films of the 21st Century (so far) and particularly lauded for its cinematography. It's had a very successful home video run since then and is even more relevant today than on its release.

Does waterworld count as a cult classic these days? I think so but I could be wrong. I thought I was going insane when it came out because I absolutely loved it and seemingly everyone else couldn’t stand it for one minute!

I really enjoyed The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It got panned by the critics and didn't do well at the box office, but seems to be being more accepted recently.

The Fifth Element was kinda a flop in the USA, but I loved it. The alien opera bit was awesome in the theater.

John Carpenter's The Thing was critically and commercially panned on release. It lost the special effects Oscar to ET. It got such a bad response John Carpenter considered retiring.

Absolutely shocking in hindsight.

I couldn’t find anyone wanted to go see Shawshank when it came out. I was probably one of a dozen people in the theater.

I'm not sure if Death To Smoochy counts as a cult classic, but it damn well ought to. Screw critics, screw naysayers: That movie is bold, and it is fucking hilarious.

Not critically acclaimed by a long shot but I really loved Speed Racer when I saw it in the theater.

Dredd and John Carter. In both cases the film was tanked by marketing (or lack thereof).

I think Stargate didn't do very well when it came out, but then went on to spawn several TV series.

I was surprised when I learned that because the shows were really fun.

I really enjoyed Waterworld.

The original Blade Runner (1982) didn’t do as well as expected at the box office upon release. I originally thought it lost money but when conducting research for this post I found that it apparently did turn a small profit according to Wikipedia.

Now it’s considered a cult classic and some argue it’s one of the best sci-fi movies ever made and its influence can be felt in many other movies, TV shows, anime/manga, and games.

Blade Runner. It did very poorly at the box office, and the critics were lukewarm at best, but I loved it. I was a big fan of Philip K. Dick, so a film by Ridley Scott based on one of his novels was right up my alley. I dragged my friend to see it the week it came out, and I was blown away. Even back then I wasn’t alone. It almost immediately became a cult film that regularly played in smaller repertory theaters.

I remember reading an interview with Arthur C. Clarke back then where he mentioned that he had recently spoken with Stanley Kubrick, and Kubrick had said that Blade Runner was the most visually beautiful film he had ever seen.

Weird Al's UHF is hilarious and would have done well except that it came out the same weekend as a whooole bunch of other classic movies. The weekend of July 21, 1989 the other movies you could see were:

• Ghostbusters II
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• When Harry Met Sally
• Dead Poet's Society
• Batman
• Lethal Weapon 2
• Weekend at Bernie's
• Karate Kid III

"Army of Darkness" a movie I still pick up and watch once a year.

Starship troopers comes to mind. I remember critics hating it when it came out. It is a classic in my cult!

Super Mario Bros. - I'm sorry for Hopper & Hoskins' experiences (RIP). But between the directorial chaos, editorial saves, and constant drunkenness, they turned out a pretty solid dark cyberpunk movie that feels more like "two New York plumbers save the day" than the recent movie. The visuals mostly still hold up, the story is okay. There's maybe a few things that could be improved, but overall I don't think it's all that bad.

If we go all the way back to 1980, the classic example is Heaven's Gate by Deerhunter director Michael Cimino. I was alive but way too young to have bought a ticket. It was a disaster. Cost over $40m and made only $3-4m. Bankrupt United Artists, killed the western genre, was a critical and commercial failure. Pretty much destroyed Cimino's standing as a director. However, it has since been critical re-evaluated, in part due to a couple of new edits. IMHO it's alright. A bit long, and no Deerhunter. But it didn't deserve the reputation.

Maybe The Island?
I think it didn't do great at the box office, but I went in expecting a mindless, Michael Bay summer action flick and that's what I got.
I watched it in theaters—twice. Alone, too.

I don't know if it's considered a cult classic now though.