Thanks to the seemingly never-ending wave of '80s nostalgia, it's easy to forget that many movies cited as the decade's most defining works were major flops. At best, they barely broke even. While movie lovers may laud them now, many '80s films didn't see the appreciation they deserved during their initial release.

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These movies' failures are usually blamed on lousy timing — especially if they opened against bigger blockbusters they didn't stand a chance against. But other factors, like the audiences' unpredictable tastes, also contributed to their downfalls. No matter the reason, viewers generally agree that there are a whole host of films that had the potential to be hits if the competition hadn't swallowed them up.

Updated by Lauren Turner on September 15, 2022: The 1980s were a classic era for movies. Many films have become cult classics. However, while some films could shine, they were outmatched by other successful movies. Cinema lovers want to know more about these forgotten '80s films, so we've revamped this list with even more information.

10 TRON Fell Victim To E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial's Dominance

By now, it's common knowledge that E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was so dominant in July 1982 that it completely buried its competition. E.T.'s most famous casualty is undoubtedly John Carpenter's The Thing. Still, the same fate also befell another sci-fi cult classic: Steven Lisberger's TRON, which would've been a special effects extravaganza in any other year.

Tron emerged when special effects-heavy blockbuster films were gaining momentum, but it couldn't hold a candle to Steven Spielberg's heartwarming alien movie. Not helping matters was that TRON was one of the first movies to use digital special effects, which is why it was disqualified from the Oscars race for best special effects for "cheating."

9 The Dark Crystal Wasn't As Accessible & Profitable As Tootsie

The '80s were a great time for high fantasies like Conan The Barbarian, The NeverEnding Story, and Willow, but The Dark Crystal didn't enjoy its contemporaries' success. Jim Henson and Frank Oz's tales of the planet Thra may be praised today for committing to its high fantasy, but audiences thought otherwise in December 1982.

Besides the fact that a fantasy about puppets was hard to sell, The Dark Crystal opened in the same week as the critically-acclaimed box office juggernaut Tootsie. As a fantasy released in the '80s, The Dark Crystal might have bounced back as a sleeper hit if it opened on any other week, but it was only vindicated decades after its initial failure.

8 Spaceballs Came Out Long After Star Wars' Relevance

Given Mel Brooks' consistent track record in the '80s and its legacy as a beloved Star Wars parody, it may be a shock to know that Spaceballs underperformed in 1987. Spaceballs did so poorly that it dropped from second to ninth place in its third week, specifically when Revenge Of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise opened.

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Spaceballs' most significant hurdle was that it was explicitly parodying the original Star Wars, which was a decade old by then. Its release during the buddy-comedy craze didn't help Spaceballs' case, which is why it lost to Dragnet on its opening day. Spaceballs was too late to the party and should've been released years earlier.

7 License To Kill Pushed James Bond Into An Unpopular New Direction

In the late '80s, audiences began to gravitate towards grittier action movies. This explains James Bond's short-lived Timothy Dalton Era, which featured a more ruthless 007. John Glen's License To Kill is considered the best of this era, but this wasn't the sentiment on opening day. The movie opened in fourth place.

License To Kill was overshadowed by Batman and Lethal Weapon 2, and it was initially dismissed for being too violent when contrasted to the Roger Moore Era. As proven by his movies in the '90s and onwards, there's an audience for a darker 007. Dalton's second and last Bond outing was ahead of the curve and would've fared better after 1989.

6 A Christmas Story Easily Lost To Non-Christmas Competition

Given its ubiquity in today's holiday celebrations, it may be hard to believe that Bob Clark's A Christmas Story barely broke even in 1983. This could be blamed on strong competition like Amityville 3-D and The Big Chill, but it mostly has to do with Ralphie Parker's cherished Christmas memories being released in November 1983.

For whatever reason, A Christmas Story debuted one week before Thanksgiving rather than on a holiday. The movie finally got its due on TV and found its legacy as a holiday staple. Many believe that, even if its nostalgia for the '30s and '40s was passé in the '80s, A Christmas Story would've been a hit in 1983 if it were given a proper holiday opening.

5 Brazil Was Buried By Crowd-Pleasers & Universal Pictures

Today, Brazil is recognized as writer/director Terry Gilliam's magnum opus and one of its decade's most important movies. But in 1985, it bombed when it opened in the same week that hits like Rocky IV and The Jewel Of The Nile were still in cinemas. That said, Brazil's failure was infamously deliberate on Universal Pictures' end — specifically chairman Sid Sheinberg.

To keep a long ugly fight short, Sheinberg delayed Brazil's release as retaliation for Gilliam's refusal to recut his movie into a palatable romance. Brazil eventually made it to cinemas uncut, but, despite the strong buzz, it lost to more mainstream films. Brazil could've fared well in a decade where dystopias were profitable, but it just needed a luckier draw.

4 UHF Had No Hope Against Some Of The Decade's Biggest Blockbusters

Back in the '80s, it was pretty common for studios to give movie deals to popular comedians. Case in point, this is how comedy legend Weird Al Yankovic got to star and write in his own movie, UHF (directed by Jay Levey). However, even Weird Al's charm and stardom couldn't help UHF survive its insurmountable competition.

UHF opened in July 1989, around the same time Batman, Ghostbusters 2, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, and more major hits were dominating cinemas. Weird Al's comedy bounced back with good video sales and even achieved a cult following, but it never stood a chance in its opening week.

3 The Transformers: The Movie Suffered From Strong Competition & Bad Word Of Mouth

Toy-driven franchises were prominent in the '80s, so a movie based on the popular cartoon Transformers seemed like a surefire moneymaker. Instead, Nelson Shin's space opera didn't just flop after going up against Aliens and Top Gun. It was rejected harshly by parents and fans because of Optimus Prime's unexpected death.

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Dismissive critics bashed it for being too violent, while parents were angry that their kids were inconsolable after the mortifying deaths of beloved Autobots and Decepticons. Today, Transformers: The Movie is recognized as one of the best sci-fi movies and animated works of the '80s, but it was a cautionary tale for other toylines in 1986.

2 Ishtar Was Prematurely Dismissed As A Bomb Of Historic Proportions

Conceptually, Ishtar should've been a hit. Not only did it star Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty, but it was following the then-popular trend of globe-trotting adventures like Indiana Jones and Romancing The Stone. Instead, Elaine May's trek through Morocco lost to Beverly Hills Cops II, bombed hard, and was mocked for eternity.

Ishtar had an infamously difficult and overbudget production cycle, which Columbia Pictures' president publicly lambasted. Thanks to this negative press, critics and audiences didn't give Ishtar a chance before declaring it as one of the worst movies ever made. Ishtar was fairly decent, but it was only recognized as such decades after the fact.

1 Heaven's Gate Was The Last Gasp Of A Dying Era

Heaven's Gate's infamy may make one question why such an expensive and self-indulgent flop was even greenlit, but with the proper context, it's easy to see why. Michael Cimino's Western was made when such movies were popular and at the tail end of the auteur-driven New Hollywood Era. Under better circumstances, it would've been a hit in 1980.

However, Cimino's excesses and pretenses didn't only doom Heaven's Gate's production, but also its reception. Word got out that the epic was an ode to Cimino's ego, partly because critics and viewers shunned it in favor of the popular comedy Private Benjamin. The movie's failure killed Cimino's career, the Western film, and New Hollywood overnight.

NEXT: 10 Most Iconic Saturday Morning '80s Cartoons, Ranked