These films may have earned their place in pop culture as hit movies, however, there was surprisingly a time when studios initially rejected them. It’s hard to believe that any of the below-mentioned beloved films were at one point in danger of obsolescence, but such is the case for all of them. Studio executives at the time couldn’t see the genius in each of these films and rejected them for reasons varying from unclear storylines, to too much violence, to being too family-friendly.
If not for the writers' and directors' persistence, creativity, and belief, many of these films may not have been made. Imagine growing up without the magic ofE.T.or the thrilling adventure ofBack to the FutureorStar Wars. Luckily for cinephiles everywhere, the projects were eventually green-lit. Here are 10 popular movies that were surprisingly rejected at first.
10Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Warsis currently one of thehighest-grossing movie franchisesin history. Shockingly, there was once a time when the first installment of the popular sci-fi franchise,A New Hope, was rejected by not just one but three high-profile movie studios. Inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Akira Kurosawa, fledgling director George Lucas pitched his fantastical space opera to United Artists, Universal Studios, and Disney, who all passed on the project. It wasn’t until the whirlwind success of Lucas' sophomore filmAmerican Graffitithat Fox Studios decided to take a chance on Lucas. Thankfully, for moviegoers the world over,Star Wars(as it was originally released) was eventually green-lit.
Related:Why Studios Initially Rejected George Lucas’s Star Wars Movie
9Back to the Future
According to screenwriter and director Robert Zemeckis,Back to the Futurewas rejected by 40 studios before the project landed with Amblin Entertainment. The script was reportedly “too wholesome” to compete with other raunchier comedies of the era. Ironically, it was also pitched to Disney who thought it was too raunchy. In an interview withCNN, co-writer Bob Gale stated, “Bob [Zemeckis, co-writer and director] and I thought one day, ‘What the hell, let’s take it to Disney.’ This was before Michael Eisner went in and reinvented it. This was the last vestiges of the old Disney family regime. We went in to meet with an executive and he says, ‘Are you guys nuts? Are you insane? We can’t make a movie like this. You’ve got the kid and the mother in his car! It’s incest — this is Disney. It’s too dirty for us!'”
8Pulp Fiction
Despite Quentin Tarantino’s success withReservoir Dogsunder his belt,Pulp Fictionwas rejected by Tri-Star studios. According to Tri-Star executives, the film was “too demented” and the non-linear storyline was difficult to follow. Thankfully for Tarantino fans and cinephiles alike, the film was eventually presented to Miramax who gave Tarantino free rein to make the movie as he saw fit in all its demented glory.
7E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrialis undoubtedly one of the most successful and well-loved movies of all time, but would you believe that, when it was being pitched, studios passed because the heartwarming film was too family-friendly? According to the New York Times, Columbia passed on the film ,writing it off as a “wimpy Walt Disney movie.” The family-friendly fare would earn nearly $1 billion when it eventually found a home with Universal Studios.
TheRockyfranchise is now one of the most successful film franchises of all time, however, when the film was pitched to studios,Rockyalmost didn’t see the light of day. One of the sticking points for studios was that writer and star Sylvester Stallone, a relative unknown at the time, insisted on being cast in the lead role. Stallone dug his heels in and eventually United Artists offered him a $1 million budget with him in the lead role.Rockywent on to win three Academy Awards and was the sleeper hit of 1976.
Before landing with Summit Entertainment, the young adult phenomenon hitTwilightwas first shopped to Paramount-owned MTV Studios. Director Catherine Hardwicke tells Buzzfeed: “Every studio rejected that movie, Paramount put it into turnaround, Fox didn’t want it — nobody wanted that movie, no one thought it could make any money.” The film would go on to earn over 400 million dollars in worldwide box office earnings on a budget of $37 million. The film spawned four sequels and an upcomingtelevision series reboot.
4The Exorcist
The Exorcistis another mega-popular film that fought a hard battle to sign on with a production company. It’s no surprise they ran into trouble, considering the dark subject matter featured in the film. William Peter Blatty, author of both the screenplay and the novel, once famously said, “I could paper the walls of my bathroom with rejection slips.” Warner Bros. finally signed on to make the film when Blatty’s novel became a best-seller. Star Linda Blair is reportedly returning to Blumhouse’sExorcistreboot films.
3Dirty Dancing
The ultimate chick-flickDirty Dancingwas surprisingly rejected 43 times before the film was finally made. Initially greenlit by MGM studios, the rights toDirty Dancingdefaulted to MGM producer Linda Gottlieb while the project was once again shopped around. The overwhelming response from studios was the story was “soft,” as Gottlieb recalls in an interview withThe Huffington Post. “What they all said was, ‘It’s small and it’s soft.” The “small, soft” movie proved to be a tremendous hit and aDirty Dancingsequel is currently in the works over 30 years later. The film also spawned the 2004 rebootDirty Dancing: Havana Nights.
Jordan Peele’s meta mega-hitGet Outwas also heavily criticized by studio executives in its early days. In an interview with Fast Company, Peele revealed that not only did some studio heads not understand the film, but were downright rude in their criticism of it. “We shopped [Get Out] around because we were looking for a partnership, we were looking for a studio, many people just didn’t get it, the script just didn’t understand it. We got some pretty rude feedback, to be honest… I think there’s a letter from someone, who won’t be named, where they called it stupid, said ‘This is stupid, it won’t work.’ I just remember that word ‘stupid’ coming out.”
Related:Jordan Peele’s Get Out: Why Now Is the Perfect Time for a Sequel
Psychogoes down in history as one of thebest thrillers of the 1960sand as one of Alfred Hitchcock’s biggest hits, however, during its making Paramount Pictures wanted nothing to do with it. The studio initially refused to buy the rights to the Robert Bloch novel on which it is based. Undeterred, Hitchcock pressed on in his desire to make the film and purchased the rights himself for a meager $9500 fee. He even offered to make the film on a shoestring budget.
Hitchcock reportedly filmed the movie in black and white to save money as he had no choice but to bankroll the project himself. If not for Hitchcock’s persistence,Psychomost certainly would not have been made. After his masterpiece was finally complete, Paramount reluctantly agreed to distribute it.
