Box office success is rarely an indicator of a film's staying power, and many great sci-fi films have failed but gone on to be hailed as classics.

Science fiction movies have been inspiring the imaginations of audiences for decades. Some of these films became classics almost as soon as they were released. Still, others failed to live up to expectations upon their initial box office release and were not appreciated by audiences and critics until well after the theatrical run (often years later).

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Perhaps more so than other genres, the sci-fi genre has gone through its fair share of ups and downs at the box office over the last 50 years. For every Star Wars or Terminator 2, there are a slew of sci-fi films that performed poorly when first released, but have gone on to become revered cult classics.

The specter of Stanley Kubrick's innovative work on his 1969 film 2001: A Space Odyssey loomed large over the sci-fi films released in response during the early 1970s. When Silent Running hit theaters in 1972, audiences were less-than-enthusiastic about the somewhat dark, ecological, sci-fi survival drama.

Featuring a stellar performance by Bruce Dern, the post-apocalyptic film focuses on four astronauts in charge of a giant ship that serves as a space conservatory to protect Earth's plant life from extinction (due to environmental damage on Earth). Fifty years later, the film has become a beloved classic, often recognized as one of the first sci-fi films to tackle such environmental threats and issues.

The 1995 Kevin Costner film Waterworld is a bit of a unique case here. While it did manage to bring in some money, it was the most expensive film ever made at the time, and critics heavily panned it upon release. Many viewed the film as a mediocre post-apocalyptic offering that didn't live up to the hype and high expectations its $175 million budget had suggested.

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However, many sci-fi fans in recent years have reassessed this film, free of the negative media publicity that plagued it at the time. As such, Waterworld now enjoys a sizable cult fanbase that has been helped by the emergence of the complete, unedited "Ulysses Cut," which added more than 40 minutes to the original theatrical run-time.

While the 1982 film Tron may have been an intriguing concept for the time, the film didn't resonate with audiences on the large scale that high-profile films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial did. The film stars a young Jeff Bridges as a computer programmer who finds himself transported into – and trapped in – a complex and dangerous digital world from which he seeks to escape.

The film was notable for being one of the first films ever to use computer-generated imagery – long before CGI ever became common practice. While the early CGI effects have not aged well, many nostalgic sci-fi fans have come to hold the film in high regard, along with its 2010 sequel, Tron: Legacy.

The 1997 Paul Verhoeven film had much going for it out the gate: It had a big budget, a hit-making director, wild action and special effects, a sense of humor, and a significant promotional campaign behind it. Despite this, the film barely broke even, and audiences didn't initially connect with Starship Troopers' story about futuristic soldiers fighting alien bugs across the Milky Way as part of their federal service.

Yet over 25 years, the film has become a staple on cable TV and streaming services. It has accumulated a loyal and passionate base of sci-fi fans who've come to appreciate the film's tongue-in-cheek subtext and underlying social and political commentary.

Director Richard Kelly's first film in 2001 was a challenging piece of cinema for audiences to accept at first. Donnie Darko is a complex, cryptic and supernatural journey into the depths of the human psyche and rich with religious, political, philosophical, and existential undertones. Unfortunately, a very limited theatrical run, the film was considered a failure.

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However, as the film's profile increased in the following years, it developed a fervent and loyal fan base that connects with Jake Gyllenhaal's portrayal of the disturbed high school student who has visions of – and speaks with – a giant rabbit. This is truly a film where the less one knows about it going in, the more impactful the experience is likely to be. Repeat viewings offer additional rewards.

When Ridley Scott's dark 1982 sci-fi neo-noir opened in theaters, its gritty near-futuristic presence was a muted and under-the-radar affair in the public eye. The film is a visual feast, but it was the polar opposite of a Star Wars film, and it was deemed a bit too slow-moving and cerebral for some.

The film raises a number of questions about the social, political, and psychological impacts of artificial intelligence on society. Though the film began to develop a devoted cult following among hard-core sci-fi fans early on, it took quite a few years to blossom into the full-blown iconic cultural classic it has become.

Like its predecessor, 2017's Blade Runner 2049 performed poorly at the box office, as many fans of the original film were skeptical of the sequel going in, even with Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role. However, the film was praised by critics and sci-fi fans alike, and within the last few years, it has come to be regarded as one of the rare cases where the sequel is just as good, if not even better than, the original film.

Director Denis Villeneuve managed to deliver a film that matched the aesthetic and mood of Scott's original, took those aesthetics to the next level, and substantively expanded the story in a way that faithfully served the original film, while still adding something new of value.

This 1997 sci-fi/horror film lost money in theaters and didn't resonate with audiences immediately. The film involves a rescue crew in space investigating a distress signal from a ship – capable of faster-than-light travel – that had disappeared into a wormhole seven years prior. Event Horizon was initially critically dismissed as a knock-off of Alien, leaving audiences reluctant to embrace the film during its initial run.

While there is a significant horror-in-space element to the film, that's where the similarities to Alien end. The premise for the ship's disappearance and whereabouts during this time provided a unique angle previously unexplored in the genre. As Event Horizon became a mainstay on cable TV and streaming services over the next two decades, sci-fi fans fell in love with the film.

The 1989 James Cameron film about an offshore oil rig crew encountering an alien civilization at the bottom of the ocean generated only limited excitement among audiences when first released. Although the critical response to the film was largely positive, The Abyss barely broke even on worldwide box office returns, and it lost money in the U.S.

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However, the last few decades have been kind to The Abyss, as the film's large cult following has grown exponentially. It was helped by the DVD release of an extended special edition in 1992, which added a substantive 28 minutes to the theatrical run-time. The Abyss has become one of the most sought-after films among sci-fi physical media collectors, as the film has never been released on Blu-ray or 4K.

Dark sci-fi films, in general, were not well-received in 1982. Audiences were enamored with E.T. and Star Wars films, which made it more difficult for a film like John Carpenter's The Thing to gain any traction at the box office. The film was critically panned as too grotesque and excessive. But in the 40 years since its release, The Thing has become one of the most beloved sci-fi/horror classics ever made, and currently enjoys an 8.2/10 rating on IMDB.

The story involves a shape-shifting alien that crashes into Antarctica, where a research team is working and wreaks havoc on the crew. The film is particularly noteworthy for its ground-breaking, realistic, and gory practical effects, courtesy of Rob Bottin.

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David Burr is a freelance entertainment writer for CBR and currently writes movie lists for the site. Burr is a film and music enthusiast with a passion for horror, science fiction and action movie genres.

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