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Miklonario t1_j27z7hb wrote

Reply to comment by ha-Satan in is it true movies cant become cult films anymore due to constant opinion change? by bonghive

Okay see this is perfect, because someone (/u/stoudman who had a great response) elsewhere in the thread told me that their absolute key element of what constitutes a cult film is that it has to FAIL first. That for it to be a cult film, even before time passes it has to first be rejected by contemporaneous viewers.

Really, if the argument is that no one worth listening to right now likes this film and only a few passionate weirdoes are going to be talking about it 5 years from now... isn't that the literal definition of what a cult film is? Something that people didn't like when it was released and and the general public thought it was a failure?

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MrMrAnderson t1_j286o3c wrote

Did you make it or something? Why do you care so much. It's not a cult film yet, if it ever is you'll know in like ten or fifteen years

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stoudman t1_j28n63c wrote

To be clear, while I do believe that an overwhelming majority of cult classics fail before they succeed, the reason that factor is important is because it makes the licensing fees for the film more affordable.

The more affordable it is to license, the more streaming services and television channels will show it; the more it gets streamed and broadcast on television, the more people will see it more than once. That repeated viewing and opportunity to gain an appreciation for the movie is also integral as far as I'm concerned.

The kind of movies that will be cult classics tomorrow are going to be movies people have already seen half a dozen times today.

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