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Miklonario t1_j26inbr wrote

Well this particular example is only popular thus far within a very niche, but very passionate audience, is getting only a limited theatrical release where I anticipate it will be very divisive and not be particularly profitable given the extremely limited amount of screens, and then go off to the modern equivalent of "the rental market and cheaply licensed titles on television" which is niche streaming services that cater to limited audiences.

Contrast this to something like, say, The Blair Witch Project, a film which got heavy festival buzz, had a successful limited theatrical engagement before going on to a very profitable wide release, spawned an entire franchise, and is still considered by most reasonable measures to be a considered a Cult Classic.

Please, let me clarify I'm not saying that "Skinamarink" is a Stone-Cold Cult Classic at this time. I was offering, as a rebuttal to OP's assertion regarding cult films, a modern film that, in my experience, is showing all the hallmarks of something that has a strong chance to, WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME, develop that reputation.

Interestingly, people keep saying "usually", "generally", "almost all" with regards to the criteria of what constitutes a cult film which is literally admitting there are cult films that do not fulfill said criteria. Again, my main point is that films like these are still being and will continue to be made.

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stoudman t1_j26ki7v wrote

I wouldn't classify Blair Witch a cult classic, to be honest.

The Last Broadcast. The Poughkeepsie Tapes. The McPherson Tapes.

These are cult classic found footage horror films. Blair Witch was pretty much popular from the get go for reasons you yourself described.

These movies gained a cult following after the fact.

I feel like Lake Mungo is a good modern example that shows how it can be done today, but again...not popular upon release, only popular after the fact.

For sure some films develop a cult following in different ways from the traditional methods, but I feel like if we're going to define parameters for the genre, failure at first and success at last is the FUNDAMENTAL KEY that makes a film a cult classic.

To predict a movie already getting buzz will be a cult classic is a bold prediction as far as I'm concerned, but I could be wrong.

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Miklonario t1_j26ntbr wrote

Thanks for the thoughtful response! I should clarify that I've seen Skinamarink, and while I loved it personally, I think the average viewer, even amongst horror films, is going to absolutely shit on it. And i can understand why -I anticipate there's going to be a lot of 1 and 5 star reviews with very little in between. As a genuine question, would this be the way to quantify success or failure for a film that's playing on a tiny amount of screens and then going straight to Shudder? Box office numbers aren't have the same measurement they used to be, and word-of-mouth is an entirely different beast. Interested in your opinion on how that works in a modern age.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, you got me on Blair Witch. By my own logic, it is not a cult film

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