Scott Pilgrim, Kick Ass, The Island, Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Swingers, Office Space, Super Troopers, EuroTrip.

A few of these answers are truly bizarre. As if there are people here who don't realize the word "movie" can mean more than a big-budget studio action picture.

The Matrix Reloaded? WTF? It adjusts to $369,831,800 in the U.S./Canada alone.

Zodiac
Office Space
Before Sunset
Shawshank Redemption
A Serious Man
The Island
Speed Racer
Into the Wild
The Girl Next Door
Stardust

Lower Budget-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Bigger Budget-Speed Racer

Oldies from my past Doc Savage (so they would have released the sequel which was filmed at the same time), Phantom of the Paradise and Flash Gordon (1980) all deserved a wider audience.

BJs List:

Since 2000...................

2011
Super 8
I Am Number 4
Hugo
Scream 4
Hanna

2010
The Social Network
Love and Other Drugs
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Kick Ass

2009
Push
500 Days of Summer

2008
Speed Racer

2007
The Golden Compass
There Will Be Blood
Stardust
28 Weeks Later
Surfs Up
Gone Baby Gone

2006
Children of Men
V for Vendetta
Flushed Away

2005
Serenity
Hoodwinked

2004
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Troy
Kill Bill
Garden State
Closer
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
In Good Company
Finding Neverland
Europtrip
Saved

2003
Peter Pan
Whale Rider
In America

2002
Gangs of New York
Spirited Away
Super Troopers

2001
Memento
Get Over It

2000
Pitch Black
Snatch
Billy Elliot

BJ, I hope you don't mind but I'm going to steal your format. Though I'm shaving off 2000 as I don't see anything there I'm truly upset didn't make more.

I wouldn't say I wish all of these had done better. Some of them I just think should have.

2011

Drive Angry
I Am Number Four
Scream 4
Something Borrowed (I know I'm in the minority but I thought this was better than a lot of the mainstream rom-coms that are released. I wish it would have done better so they'd have made the sequel to the book, Something Blue.)
Another Earth
Warrior (Deserved to be much bigger than it was. Maybe it should have been released during awards season.)
Melancholia (I honestly feel this could have done much better had someone like Fox Searchlight released it. I also feel Dunst would have scored an Oscar nomination. Could have been a mini Black Swan and done anywhere from 30-60 Million.)
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Should have been quite a bit bigger. Had it been maybe they'd be more eager to adapt the other two in the series. Let's hope they really will get made.)
War Horse


2010

Kick-Ass
MacGruber (It's ridiculous this bombed as badly as it did. It was funnier than it had any right to be.)
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (I list this because it's absolutely ridiculous this wonderful film didn't see a US theatrical release. Would have done well I think. Such a gem!)
Splice
Animal Kingdom
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (I will say I think it did alright considering it's sort of a strange film, but it would have been cool to see it do better.)
Let Me In
Hereafter
I Love You, Phillip Morris
Rabbit Hole


2009

Drag Me To Hell (Did decent, but deserved to be MUCH bigger. Especially since I want a sequel.)
The Hurt Locker (Had this been released later in the year and/or not been on DVD by the time the Globes/Oscars rolled around this easily would have been at least a 60 Million grosser. And it deserved to do better. Great flick!)
Adam (A wonderful film with a great performance by Hugh Dancy. I wish this could have done even half as well as that summer's similar Fox Searchlight movie (500) Days of Summer.)
Bandslam (This looked so bad, but turned out to be a really delightful surprise. Ended up being a real shame it did so poorly.)
Carriers (Should have been a wide release, especially with Chris Pine coming off Star Trek.)
Jennifer's Body (I've come to kind of love this movie. It's bizarrely clever and really fun. Wish it would have done better.)
Whip It
The Fantastic Mr. Fox

2008

Charlie Bartlett
Penelope
The Ruins
Rogue (Excellent creature feature from the creator of Wolf Creek. Should have gotten a wide release instead of crap like Primeval).
Hellboy 2 (Would have happened too if it didn't open the weekend before The Dark Knight.)
Blindness (I honestly thought it was one of the best of 2008.)


2007

The Lookout
Grindhouse (Oh how I would have loved to have seen a follow-up to this. One of the best times I've had at the movies.)
28 Weeks Later (Fantastic sequel. It didn't do bad exactly but certainly underwhelming. Should have at least gotten closer to the first film's gross.)
Sunshine (A missed opportunity for Fox Searchlight. Should have been a wide release.)
The Brave One
Across The Universe
Ira & Abby

2006

Grandma's Boy (Pretty funny flick. Much better than it looked. I believe it's become a bit of a cult hit on DVD which takes some of the sting out of its 6 Million Box Office. Produced by Happy Madison, it's actually better than most of Sandler's own flicks.)
Imagine Me & You (This incredibly charming and totally mainstream accessible lesbian romantic-comedy would have been better suited for a wide release. It's a crowd-pleaser. Not to mention it could have cashed in on the success of Brokeback Mountain with a lesbian take on the subject, albeit in a fluffy comedy. I was lucky it opened at my theater despite its widest point being 106 theaters. This did do solid in rentals. Did well at my video store and pretty good on the rental charts.)
Running Scared
Little Children

2005

Cursed (Yeah, yeah, I know most consider this really bad. But I enjoyed this movie. A werewolf movie from the creators of Scream could have been so much more, so in that sense it's a disappointment. But I thought this was a really entertaining flick. Would have been nice if it would have done well enough for them to make a sequel.)
High Tension (One of my favorite horror films. With as poorly as this did it's too bad they had to bother dubbing half of the movie and ruining the experience for those of us that did go see it. Could have just left the entire thing subtitled.)
The Island
Sky High (I actually thought this did pretty well but apparently not enough for a sequel, which is a real shame. I would have loved a Sky High 2.)
Little Manhattan (Even though this isn't one of my very favorite movies I have to say this might make me more upset than any of the others I've listed for 2005. And that's because it didn't even have a chance. This adorable gem about young love could have easily been a success. A wide release for this one should have been a no-brainer.)
Duma (Great family film. Deserved to be seen by more.)
Domino (One of my favorite action movies, though I too thought it looked kind of stupid so I guess it bombing shouldn't be too surprising.)
Stay
The Weather Man
Zathura
Transamerica (Technically with a theme that's not the easiest sell this did well, but I still feel Weinstein really, really mishandled it. They didn't really bother taking advantage of Felicity Huffman's Golden Globe win and waited until Oscar weekend before even going semi-wide. That should have happened shortly after she won the GG. It only had three days of semi-wide release where it was actually relevant, because nobody cared anymore after she walked home empty-handed. I also feel Weinstein's mishandling cost her the Oscar.)


2004

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Hellboy
Mean Creek (Amazing film! One of my favorites. With the unanimous praise from critics I wish this gem would have been given at least a semi-wide release with advertising to back it. It was also deserving of awards attention, but that's another story.)
Wicker Park
Closer (One of my all-time favorite movies. I will say it's not surprising it didn't do better. Audiences weren't that crazy about this one and sadly it's understandable why. Would have been nice to see it at least get to 60 Million though.)


2003

May (One of my favorite horror films. I wish Lionsgate had at least put the same effort behind it that they put behind the same year's House of 1,000 Corpses and given it a semi-wide release.)
Willard
Marci X (I'm probably one of the few people to enjoy this, but it's a guilty pleasure. I'm not surprised it didn't do well as it looked pretty bad, but it's too bad it did so awful. It couldn't even do well in video rentals. I don't see how it could have recouped its costs anywhere.)
Pieces of April

2002

Kissing Jessica Stein (It did well - grossed over 7 Million and didn't play in more than 319 theaters - but I still can't help but feel it could have been a sleeper hit on a bigger level if Fox Searchlight had pushed it more.)
Frailty (I suppose the appeal is a bit limited given the themes, but this chilling gothic horror film is a real gem that I can't help but wish did better.)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (This underrated animated gem sadly couldn't even crack 100 Million. I guess the horses not talking and cracking jokes turned a lot of people off, but IMO it's beautiful and better than most hit animated films. Deserved more than its 73 Million domestic total.)
Undercover Brother (A very funny flick. I wish it would have done enough for them to make a sequel, though I still totally believe a sequel would have made more money than the first anyway. Remember Austin Powers? I'm not saying this would reach those heights, but I think it's possible this could have been a hit series.)
The Rules of Attraction (Not the most mainstream film, but an awesome one regardless. Would have been nice if it could have done better than 6 Million.)
Abandon (Audiences hated it, but I still stand by this movie. It's very well-made and hypnotic.)
Far From Heaven (A gorgeous movie! Should have been nominated for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, etc... At least Julianne Moore was nominated for her amazing performance. If it had gotten the nominations it deserved then it would have done better.)
Equilibrium (I don't love this movie, but it's good and deserved better than the shit release it received.)

2001

The Forsaken (A lot of people seemed to hate this vampire flick but I found it to be pretty cool. Haven't seen it in years though. I'd always wished it would have done better so it would have gotten a sequel.)
Ghost World (Realistically though, even if this deserved to make more money, it did about as well as could be expected.)
Ginger Snaps
crazy/beautiful (An excellent teen film with a great performance by Dunst.)
Joy Ride (A very well-crafted thriller. Thankfully many more discovered it on video.)

Zodiac, easily.

One of my five favorite movies of all time with an incredible ensemble performance. Ruffalo in particular is incredibly good. The direction is simply impeccable. It's an extremely complex movie but it never feels like it's going off the rails.

If this had been a box office success it would have been a major Oscar contender.

Alas, it was marketed as a slasher when it was actually a lengthy police procedural, leading to horrible WOM.

2003's Peter Pan is a good choice as well. Easily the most mature children's film I have ever seen.

American Reunion
The Muppets
The Last Airbender
A-Team
Hot Tub Time Machine
Zomebieland
Pineapple Express
Speed Racer
Miami Vice
Four Brothers
Sky High
Anchorman
Team America:World Police
Butterfly Effect
Undercover Brother
Scary Movie 2
Scream 4
South Park Movie
The Iron Giant
Fight Club
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

This is in my top 10 of all-time. I have to say though I'm pretty content with its gross. It was a nice summer sleeper hit. Sure more would have been great (I would have had it swap grosses with the other Fox Searchlight sleeper Napoleon Dynamite personally), but it did high 20's. Certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Whatever everyone said here.....

A few films from the '90s which deserved more, in my opinion:

The Insider. A strange case where, despite a major cast (Pacino, Crowe, Plummer), a name director in Michael Mann, glowing reviews, and multiple Oscar nominations, Disney just could not convince a wide audience to see this film. Should have made 80-100 million.

An Angel at My Table
The Butcher Boy
Chungking Express
Fearless
Gattaca
Miller's Crossing
Red Rock West
Total Eclipse
Velvet Goldmine

Paul Thomas Anderson's entire body of work.

Any serious Adam Sandler drama (Punch Drunk Love, Spanglish, Funny People, Reign Over Me), so he wouldn't keep running back to the same old crap.

Requiem for a Dream.

Memento.

Batman Returns
Dazed and Confused
Batman Begins
Zodiac
Assassination of Jesse James

I remember doing something like this in this similar thread so I'm just going to repost it here.

WotW - 80m/385m
King Kong - 65m/330m
Minority Report - 40m/180m
Sin City - 35m/150m
CLoverfield - 60m/200m
28 Weeks Later - 25m/75m
Children of Men - 25m/160m
The Shawshank Redemption - 20m/500m

Add:
WALL-E - 70m/300m

The Shawshank Redemption:$28,341,469 (USA)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:$34,126,138 (USA)


Cinderella Man:$61,644,321 (USA)

WTF!!!!!!

Eternal Sunshine's gross is very impressive if regarded as part of the Michel Gondry/Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jonze catalog rather than in the context of Jim Carrey's career.

You act as if that wasn't already a huge success. Sure it's nice to see a movie reach the next milestone when it's so close to it, but it's not like it needed it.



I agree.

Gone Baby Gone
The Ides of March

Ides of March was nothing special..

I think Anchorman is right, film became a cult hit on DVD it appears,

I really thought A.I would be huge, it deserved to but it didnt.

Speed Racer deserved better, i thought it was great but i guess it was to weird for most people.

Yeah I recall AI was expected to do over $200m and be one of the top 2 films of the summer along with Pearl Harbour. In the end neither made the Top 3.

Definitely, neo_wolf. Speed Racer just didn't have an audience outside of people directly on the Wachowskis' peculiar wavelengths. In its own way, it's just as unusual and niche as, say, A Scanner Darkly or The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, yet it cost well over 100 million.

As for A.I. (which, for the record, is my favorite Spielberg film), weren't people expectations incredibly divergent from what the final product delivered? I remember the advertising was very ambiguous. I'm not sure audiences were prepared for monologues on the responsibilities of creation and robot gigolos and the Holocaust-evoking Flesh Fair sequence, etc., etc. It's not an E.T. style charmer.

Its possibly my favorite too.

I'm talking more about pre-summer (or early 2001) predictions as opposed to predictions in the weeks before it was released (and reviews were out). The film was neither cute and fuzzy nor Indy/Jurassic adventurish enough to appeal to mass auds.

Even then, BOG pegged it at $50m OW the week of its release.

Yes, The Iron Giant.