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Because some films that are now regarded as masterpieces didn’t turn a profit at first, box office performance isn’t necessarily a reliable measure of a film’s worth. Despite being underappreciated comedy treasures deserving of a larger audience, the films on this list were box office failures when they were first released. These films can be found by viewers who were unable to see them on the big screen, even if it is too late to give them the ticket sales they merited. Finding underappreciated gems like these for an entertaining viewing experience is now simpler than ever thanks to streaming services.

Since comedy is subjective by nature, there is a wide range of what each person deems humorous. There are many distinct methods and styles, and a film’s success frequently rests on its capacity to attract the appropriate viewership. These comedies didn’t initially garner enough attention to be successful at the box office, but there is still time for them to find a viewer. Some underappreciated comedies are dark, sardonic, sophomoric, and clever. Out of these underappreciated films, which one ought to have performed better at the box office? Below, cast your votes for your favorites!

Idiocratic
Mike Judge’s science fiction comedy centers on Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson), a US Army librarian who consents to take part in a government sleep experiment only to wake up hundreds of years later in a society that has been dumbed down by mindless pop culture. Although many aspects of Idiocracy now seem startlingly predictive, the radical portrayal of the future seemed excessive when it was first published in 2006. In the dystopian future, Bauers is regarded as the smartest person living, despite the fact that he was an ordinary man in his own day.

Idiocracy contains a lot of social satire, but it also contains a lot of the same sophomoric humor that is said to be causing the world to become less intelligent. Even though the movie received positive reviews, its restricted release and lack of promotion from 20th Century Fox led to disappointing box office performance.

The Good Guys
As the director of The Nice Guys and the author of the first two Lethal Weapon films, Shane Black is renowned for having contributed to the popularity of buddy action-comedies in the 1980s. The movie, which is set in 1977 Los Angeles, centers on the search for a missing teenage girl (Margaret Qualley) by private detective Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and a brutal enforcer named Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe).

The chemistry between stars is a major factor in buddy comedies, and The Nice Guys got this spot on with Gosling and Crowe’s selection. While Gosling is amusing as a clumsy sidekick who frequently makes things worse despite his attempt to be helpful, Crowe is great as the tough-as-nails straight guy. The iconic buddy comic duo of Abbott and Costello served as an inspiration for Gosling’s preparation for the part, as evidenced by his exaggerated facial responses and unwavering dedication to slapstick humor.

I so wed an axe murderer.
As the title suggests, So I Married an Axe Murderer is a dark comedy about a man who starts to think his new fiancée may be a serial killer. Before he meets and falls in love with Harriet (Nancy Travis), who gives him another reason to be fearful, Charlie (Mike Myers) is terrified of commitment. Charlie thinks Harriet might be a woman famed for using an axe to kill her former spouses on their honeymoon because she is a butcher with exceptional knife handling.

Charlie is attracted to Harriet and even pops the question to her in spite of his reservations and his propensity to find excuses to terminate relationships with all of his previous girlfriends. Thus, I wed an axe. Murderer deftly illustrates the fear that many guys feel while considering starting a family by using morbid humor. In addition, Myers plays his own father in a supporting role. The actor would later use his strong Scottish accent to voice the well-known cartoon character in Shrek.

Las Vegas Fear and Loathing
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a darkly humorous drug trip film that is based on Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel. In order to immerse the audience in the chemically altered state of mind of Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp), a journalist dispatched to cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race in Las Vegas, filmmaker Terry Gilliam employs his surrealistic approach, which is frequently used in science fiction stories. Duke travels with his pal Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro), and the two of them support one another’s worst impulses. An overdose of narcotics turns what was supposed to be a work vacation into a mind trip.

Logan’s luck
The press refers to the heist in Steven Soderbergh’s southern caper comedy as “Ocean’s Seven-Eleven,” a meta-reference that also appropriately characterized the movie. Logan Lucky, which centers on a family’s scheme to loot the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 event over Memorial Day weekend, features an ensemble cast that is almost as excellent as the Ocean’s Eleven franchise. They persuade their sister Mellie (Riley Keough), a hair stylist, to join them in their illegal plans for retaliation because Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) is upset about being wrongfully fired from his construction job at the venue and his war veteran brother Clyde (Adam Driver) has had his disability ridiculed by a NASCAR team owner.

Even with the assistance of seasoned criminal Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), whom they break out of prison for the job, things don’t go as planned, as is frequently the case with heist stories. The most entertaining part of the film is the brilliantly portrayed colorful individuals, even though the comedy of mistakes provides some of the amusement.

The Proxy of Hudsucker
Joel and Ethan Coen, brothers and directors, were offered their first chance at a bigger studio movie with big names after a string of successful small films. The Hudsucker Proxy is a loving spoof of Frank Capra movies like Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and It’s a Wonderful Life, following naïve small-town business school graduate Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) as he swiftly rises through the ranks of a huge New York City manufacturing corporation.

Barnes is unaware that he is a puppet in a scheme to seize control of the business, which is headed by Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman), a vicious board member. The Hudsucker Proxy is a gem for moviegoers and lovers of oddball surrealistic humor, even though many viewers may have overlooked the references to the classic movies.

Walk Hard: The Story of Dewey Cox
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a raucous and funny comedy that succeeds because it doesn’t take anything too seriously, parodying well-known musical biopics like Walk the Line and Ray. Dewey Cox, played by John C. Reilly, is a fictional rock star who succumbs to the typical vices and clichés of the subgenre despite having a multi-decade career. Even while Cox is a fictional character, the story also has humorous portrayals of actual musicians and lighthearted appearances by artists such as Eddie Vedder, Jewel, and Ghostface Killah.

Walk Hard is a comedy for music fans that parodies a wide range of musical genres in addition to the format of a biographical movie. After his iconic supporting role in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Walk Hard also afforded Reilly the chance to feature in a comedy.

The Boy of Grandma
Grandma’s Boy lost ground to the more popular comedy about immature adult men in stopped development that was released in the 2000s. After getting evicted from his home, 35-year-old video game tester Alex (Allen Covert) is forced to live with his grandma Lilly (Doris Roberts) in this stoner comedy. Even though his grandma and her two companions are a continual distraction at first, making it hard to finish his work, Alex eventually gets his life together and develops feelings for Linda Cardellini, a lady he works with.

Grandma’s Boy, which was produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions, is an homage to his most hilarious films from the 1990s, featuring brief cameos from Rob Schneider and David Spade. The inventive scenarios and witty banter, which never hesitates to push the boundaries, will appeal to fans of gross-out comedy.

In The Pick of Destiny, tenacious D
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is a fantastical fantasy comedy about the made-up musical beginnings of the duo, despite being based on the real comedy rock band formed by Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Tenacious D’s beginnings are set in the 1990s, when the two go on a quest to locate Satan’s (Dave Grohl) guitar pick in order to achieve success.

As inventive as it is irreverent, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is replete with stoner comedy and the band’s trademark humorous musical pieces. In addition to supporting roles from rock artists Grohl, Ronnie James Dio, and Meat Loaf, the movie has an almost limitless number of cameos by actors Jason Segel, Amy Poehler, Tim Robbins, John C. Reilly, and Ben Stiller.

Smoochy’s death
With a deliberate resemblance to Barney & Friends from the most recent hit television program at its core, Death to Smoochy is a dark comedy about the corrupt world of children’s entertainment. The innocent Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton) and his character Smoochy the Rhino take his position after popular children’s show host “Rainbow” Randolph Smiley (Robin Williams) is humiliated and fired after FBI agents arrest him for accepting bribes. While dishonest agents and studio executives plan to murder Mopes when he interferes with their profits, Smiley tries to undermine his replacement.

Audiences found it difficult to accept an R-rated parody on the lucrative children’s entertainment industry, but Death to Smoochy’s edgy comedy is full of unforgettable shock value and flawless performances. Parents who had to put up with Barney’s overabundance of pop culture for years might have found it therapeutic as well.