This Box Office Flop Is Secretly the Best Satire of Our Generation
While everyone's obsessed with The White Lotus, let's look at a movie that many consider to be a prophecy rather than just another satire.
Box office numbers don't always tell the whole story. Even the most brilliant films can flop. Think about Fincher's Fight Club (1999), Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001) or Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption (1994). These movies (now-iconic pieces of cinema) somehow failed to attract the audience back then.
The film we're going to talk about in just a moment got its recognition only after it was released on DVD. With zero marketing, no press screenings, and a mere seven-city release, this clever satire was essentially sent out to die.
Despite all of this, we without a doubt can call this movie a cult classic.
Idiocracy (2006) Saw It Coming
We bet some of you have already guessed what movie we are referring to. It's, of course, Idiocracy directed by Mike Judge.
The movie follows Joe Bauers (the military's most average soldier) and prostitute Rita who both become part of a hibernation experiment gone wrong. When they wake up 500 years later, they discover a society so dumbed down by consumerism that they are suddenly the smartest people alive.
May sound absurd at first until you start connecting the dots to our present day. It's outrageously funny and deeply unsettling at the same time just because of its strange accuracy.
Redditor learningtocatch22 noted:
“I watched this not too long ago to see how far off we were. I thought I was watching the news.”
Can't argue with that! The parallels to our everyday life are just mind blowing.
The Intentional Box Office Flop of Idiocracy
Despite its genius premise and sharp wit, Idiocracy made only $495,303 at the box office.
Redditor mrwelchman wrote:
“Fox did everything they could within the confines of the distribution contract to sabotage it because of very, very negative test screening reactions. If I recall, the test audiences felt insulted by the movie, and Fox was worried about insulting their audience and advertisers they work with, so they delayed the release for two years then only put it in like 100 theaters after zero promotion.”
Yet the film's financial failure speaks more to corporate anxiety about its message than its quality.
So if you're ready to experience this prophetic satire for yourself, you can find Idiocracy on Fandango at Home, Amazon Video or Apple TV+. Just don't blame us when you start seeing its influence everywhere you look.
