A massive bomb that eventually turned a profit sails to Netflix success

There’s an argument to be made that Waterworld is nowhere near as bad as its reputation would suggest, and one could perhaps even go so far as to say the Director’s Cut is actually pretty good.

It’s a million miles away from being a classic, but the fact it even exists at all is a minor miracle, given all that went on during production. Kevin Costner spent 157 consecutive days on the set, during which time he was almost killed at least once, with the production going wildly over schedule and so far over budget that the $175 million epic was the single most expensive movie ever made at the time.

A $264 million box office haul was not great, but Waterworld did eventually become profitable after syndication and home video sales, never mind the theme park attraction bearing its name that’s still going strong. It’s ambitious but unwieldy, regularly fascinating but often painfully dull, making it one giant blockbuster oxymoron.

There’s some decent old school action and impressive sets, though, and it’s exactly the sort of easy-to-digest fodder that always goes down a storm on Netflix. As chance would have it, FlixPatrol reports that Waterworld has been popping up on localized Top 10 lists everywhere, and could yet fly higher as we begin approaching the weekend.