History Main / AndYouThoughtItWouldFail

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail/Literature

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Many initially despied ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' for its premise alone (a future-Batman who wasn't Bruce Wayne or any of the Robins, but in fact a CanonForeigner who was in high school), and even more the notion that it was set in the continuity to ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (with many seeing TNBA as a weak follow-up and wanting a true sequel series). Instead, it became far and away the most successful [[LegacyCharacter legacy]] adaptation for DC, embraced by audiences of both the classic and new Batman, and seen to sit side-by-side with Creator/FrankMiller's ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' as a "future Batman" story with ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' in particular considered not only one of the best DCAU films (if not ''the'' best) but one of the greatest Batman and Joker stories period, with many parts of it being adapted again in the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries''. Terry [=McGinnis=] also came to be embraced as a worthy successor to Batman in the mode of [[Franchise/TheFlash Wally West]] and [[Franchise/GreenLantern Kyle Rayner]].
** Furthermore, many Batman fans are dreaming a live-action adaptation, with Creator/MichaelKeaton as the elder Bruce Wayne.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''; it was expected to fail so hard due to the [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks massive amount of changes]] to the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' formula, the FanDumb cry of "[[MemeticMutation Trukk not Munky!]]" is burned into all Transfans' minds. Turns out, the quality of the show probably saved the franchise from dying out and became the standard for what all future western-made ''Transformers'' would be based on.
* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' was initially seen as yet another dime-a-dozen lewd, crude and cynical animated comedy for adults. Coupled with the mediocre to outright bad reviews the first season got and it's a surprise that the show became one of the best reviewed of the 2010's. The initial reviews for the first season only covered the initial six episodes, meaning the main dramatic climax (and by proxy, the SignatureScene of the show in "The Telescope") weren't shown off to the reviewers.
-->'''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by4eNzzHtHM Raphael Bob-Waksberg]]''': Funnily enough, we only sent the first six episodes to critics. Which, looking back, might have been a mistake. ''(laughs)''
* An [[WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017 animated series]] based on the ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games seemed like it would be too niche to attract a sizable audience, if not suffer the [[VideoGameMoviesSuck usual reputation]] of game adaptations, nevermind that the idea had been shopped around and trapped in DevelopmentHell for a decade. To nearly everyone's surprise, the show turned about to be a notable success with that was faithful to the source material while adding its own twists, featuring violence and dark themes that not only wasn't watered down from the games but also went further than any game had previously. The only major complaint was its short length, confirmed as a pilot for a longer story. Thankfully, its strong reception ensured it a second season a day after it went up, with it later confirmed that said season would be twice as long as the first one, answering the major complaint.
* ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas'' was considered almost radioactive by Creator/{{CBS}}. To them, an animated special with actual children doing the voices, a jazz soundtrack, no laugh track, and a Bible recitation seemed a ludicrous recipe for TV disaster. Instead, it became the ''greatest'' ChristmasSpecial of them all.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' had a lot stacked against it. To start, it was the next incarnation of [[Franchise/MyLittlePony a franchise]] that was not only viewed as the embodiment of the kind of [[TastesLikeDiabetes saccharine garbage aimed at little girls]] that was ripe for all kinds of mockery, but a franchise that had undergone a ''steep'' slide in quality since its inception. What's more, this was to be a flagship show on the fledgling network The Hub, a channel co-owned by the toy company Creator/{{Hasbro}}. As a result, animation fans and TV critics (especially fans of the Creator/CraigMcCracken-Creator/GenndyTartakovsky group) thought it would be nothing more than a [[MerchandiseDriven half-hour toy commercial]], with some even calling it the herald of [[https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/the-end-of-the-creator-driven-era-29614.html the end of the "creator-driven" era of TV animation]] and accusing its creator Creator/LaurenFaust of [[SellOut selling out]] and having no artistic integrity. Faust herself feared the show would flop and [[CreatorKiller kill her career]]. Despite this vitriol, or perhaps because of it, the show was a hit with not only its target audience, but also a large PeripheryDemographic nobody expected that broke it out of the GirlShowGhetto, boosting a dying toy franchise back into popularity and allowing The Hub (now known as Creator/DiscoveryFamily) to be seen as a real contender to Creator/CartoonNetwork and Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}. Once everything was said and done, ''Friendship Is Magic'' got ''nine seasons'', a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls spin-off series]], books, and a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie theatrically released movie]] over the course of ten years, and inspired [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW a comic]] and [[Creator/SevenSeasEntertainment manga]] which are both still running.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': The test screening for the first pilot was [[https://youtu.be/MKEfQGoviQQ?t=20m18s an absolute disaster]], with children complaining about the unusual character designs and one even going as far as to say that creator Craig [=McCracken=] should be fired. Craig went to work redesigning the characters with more traditional features, but then-president of Creator/CartoonNetwork and future Creator/AdultSwim founder Mike Lazzo reassured him that a negative reaction was better than a lukewarm reaction and that they shouldn't change a thing. The kid that called for his termination would later serve as the inspiration for [[TakeThat the show's bully Mitch Mitchelson]].
* A Christmas television special using stop-motion puppets was a strange concept on the part of Creator/{{NBC}} and Creator/{{Rankin Bass|Productions}}, the studio they hired to make ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer''. Instead of being completely ignored, however, ''Rudolph'' proved to be a huge hit and a staple of the holiday season.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** When Creator/MattGroening was invited to pitch a series of animated shorts for ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'', he got cold feet and made up a pitch on the spot about a sitcom family with the names of his parents and siblings rather than take a chance on allowing his ''ComicStrip/LifeInHell'' characters to be tied to a failure. When he first met up with the animators to work on the first short for the ''The Tracey Ullman Show'', they reckoned that it would take around two weeks to complete... and that they would get about three weeks of work out of the entire project before it was shelved. Then...
** Very few people expected ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' to make a successful transition from skits on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'' to half-hour show of its own. Even Matt Groening was having doubts on its first season and was threatening to have it canceled since he was having issues with the animation. Despite that, ''The Simpsons'' remains the longest-running sitcom in America, a universal favorite (it's been dubbed and subtitled in a lot of languages), a CashCowFranchise, and a critical favorite, both adored by the general public and critics.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' of all things, started out miserably when Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone's tiny cult hit joke-animated short "The Spirit Of Christmas" got picked up for a pilot. The first episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS1E1CartmanGetsAnAnalProbe Cartman Gets An Anal Probe]]" was completed and submitted. It was pounded into the ground by test audiences who were baffled by the (intentionally) terrible animation, the juxtaposition of cute characters spewing vulgarities in steady streams (with the highlight being Kyle's [[ClusterBleepBomb heavily censored tirade]] towards the end), and the overall bizarre nature of the plot. It was deemed a complete and utter failure and Creator/ComedyCentral was very unconvinced that ''South Park'' had any future, but still encouraged Matt & Trey to create a few more episodes such as "Weight Gain 4000". These too did not impress the network, and many people thought the show was directionless. With much hesitancy and uncertainty, they aired the shows. While mainstream critics even were very slow to warm up to the show, they eventually did, and it became a more impressive hit than Comedy Central expected. However, major problems and waning fan interest after only Season 2 (a season Matt & Trey have gone on to say was their absolute worst season) they figured that ''South Park'' was all but finished. During Season 3, they produced ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'', while being faced with immense ExecutiveMeddling from both Creator/{{Paramount}} and the MPAA, they figured the movie would flop miserably and would be their triumphant last hurrah. Instead, it was critically acclaimed and a box office success and brought more attention to the show. Cut to today, where ''South Park'''s renewed contracts with Comedy Central will take the series up to an unprecedented ''twenty-six'' complete seasons.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' was against the odds due to the initial AnimationAgeGhetto, the ties to the divisive Prequel Trilogy [[{{Interquel}} (which the installment is set during)]], and the [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith inevitable outcome]] being that the protagonists' actions will be for naught. In the end, it became extremely popular for its action and plots and helped remedy certain aspects in the story and characterizations from the movies that were controversial with fans, and as of 2018, has been [[UnCancelled renewed]] for a seventh season.
* Before ''WesternAnimation/{{Unikitty}}'' aired, many detractors expressed worry, especially considering it was advertised as being from people who worked on ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' (in reality, just the same animation development team, though Aaron Horvath is a staff member), but it has proven to be good to many people and profitable for the network.
* Back in 2015, Disney announced a reboot of ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales|1987}}'' was in the works. Many fans didn't take kindly to this. Reboots such as ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' and ''WesternAnimation/Ben102016'' proved polarizing amongst fans of the original and many thought the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' reboot would be the same. But when the trailer debuted on Website/YouTube, many fans changed their minds upon viewing and when the first episode aired, fans, old and new, fell in love with the show. Many now regard ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' as a worthy successor to the original show and it's viewed as an example of how to properly reboot a series.
* ''WesternAnimation/CarmenSandiego'': When the first trailer premiered, it was praised for its appealing art style but otherwise expected to be no more special than any other reboot that was capitalizing on both millennial nostalgia and "wokeness" by turning a VillainProtagonist from the '90s into a hero. Thanks to positive word of mouth about it's gripping plot and excellent characterization once it premiered, it quickly became one of Netflix's most popular animated shows and is largely seen as one of the best reboots ever.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', a ContinuityReboot of the 80s cartoon show ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'', went through a similar trial. Before it first came out, many weren't thrilled about this series due to the original's origins as a spin-off of ''He-Man'' while others found the new show's aesthetic more childish than the original series, but after the first set of episodes were released, it rapidly found an audience that appreciated the more serialized storytelling and emphasis on characterization compared to the original along with a more mature tone, with many calling this new series better than the original.
[[/folder]]

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail/{{Film}}
** AndYouThoughtItWouldFail/AnimatedFilm

* Creator/RondaRousey's badass image took a significant hit after her bad losses in [[UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship UFC]], giving people who had previously liked the idea of her coming to work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} serious doubts about it. But when she finally made her in-ring debut at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 34'' in a mixed tag match with Wrestling/KurtAngle against Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon and Wrestling/TripleH, it was considered by many to be '''the''' show-stealing match on the card- and despite the combined years of experience WWE had put in the ring with her to help guide her in the match, most of the credit for its awesomeness was laid squarely at Ronda's feet, with everyone who had expressed doubts about her eating their words and admitting that she looked ''amazing''. Since then, she's been regarded as one of the best-booked women in the company throughout 2018 and has been hailed as having one of the best rookie years in a ''long'' time, including winning the Raw Women's Championship ''without'' feeling like she was being rushed to it.

[[folder:Video Games - Nintendo]]
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem in North America. After UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, there was a period during which it was thought that video games were just a passing fad, or at the very least, doomed to be [[UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame locked to the arcade]] for the foreseeable future. For this reason, many pundits were certain the NES would be a failure, skeptical that Nintendo's attempt to enter the market so soon after Creator/{{Atari}} destroyed it would pan out. Thankfully for the industry, it did; Nintendo successfully rejuvenated console gaming in the region, setting the stage for the United States to become the most profitable video game market in the world for the next three decades (and even now, only beaten by China). As for Nintendo, they gained a near-monopoly of said American market for the next five years, and still remains one of the biggest players in the industry.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Nintendo initially had no interest in what would eventually become [[CashCowFranchise the biggest multimedia franchise on the planet]]. Creator/GameFreak's Satoshi Tajiri repeatedly pitched the game to Nintendo only to get turned down each time. Luckily for Tajiri, he ended up befriending Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto in the middle of all of this, who was willing to back the project and help Taijri convince Nintendo it was worth funding. Even then, Nintendo execs were ready to write it off as a loss, and they were nearly vindicated too, as the game saw middling sales upon release. [[SleeperHit But then it just keep selling.]] Thanks to the SocializationBonus nature of the games, mixed with rumors of a secret Pokémon called Mew, the pair of [=JRPGs=] managed to stay on the top of the sales charts for months during an era where even the most popular games tended to fall off a cliff after a few weeks. The rest is history: ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' ended up revitalizing the dying UsefulNotes/GameBoy and become not only a cornerstone of Nintendo's nigh-unstoppable success in the portable gaming market going forward (a boon in the face of Sony's [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation sudden takeover of the home console market]]), but an absolute global phenomeon that quickly expanded its reach into trading cards, anime, manga, and so much more.
** When ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee'' were announced, they were derided by ''Pokémon'' fans as cheap-looking and dumbed-down remakes that would end up alienating too many people with its ''VideoGame/PokemonGo''-inspired gameplay changes. The ''Let's Go'' games ended up selling on par with past remakes in the series; that is, it sold a combined 10 million units within a month.
* Creator/MasahiroSakurai wanted to create a casual {{fighting game}} to counter the more hardcore arcade experiences that existed at the time, and decided to put Nintendo mascots in the game to make his prototype more interesting. Executives liked the idea well-enough, but their market research showed that Japanese players didn't like the idea of their favourite video game characters duking it out. As such, they greenlit it with plans of releasing the game only in Japan, hoping it wouldn't bomb too badly. Fast-forward twenty years, and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' is now one of the most popular fighting game franchises of all-time.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** According to series director Creator/YoshioSakamoto, ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' was nearly canned ''three times''. And its biggest detractor was its producer and series creator, Creator/GunpeiYokoi. He often angrily asked the team "[[{{Irony}} Are you trying to make a goddamn masterpiece?]]" ''Super Metroid'' is now regarded as [[SacredCow a goddamn masterpiece]], and ''the'' quintessential game of {{Metroidvania}} genre, with overwhelming praise for everything from the gameplay and level design to its atmosphere and [[ShowDontTell minimalist visual storytelling]]. It has been at or near the top of numerous "best games of all time" lists, and Yokoi himself eventually came to see it as a reference of exactly what a good game should be. In fact, the main reason a UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 ''Metroid'' game was never made was primarily because [[ToughActToFollow no one had the confidence that they could make a worthy successor]].
** Before its release, Nintendo and Creator/RetroStudios made many bewildering choices with ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' that no one, not even levelheaded fans and critics, were kind to. First off, Nintendo let Retro, an unproven American studio that had yet to ship a single game, develop the title rather than do it in-house. Second, [[VideoGame3DLeap they made it in 3D]], which many expected but was still worrisome due to the PolygonCeiling still looming over the industry like a vulture. Finally, they also made it a FirstPersonShooter, which was thought to be the final nail in the coffin for the game having any hopes of being good and feeling like ''Metroid''. When it came out, not only did everyone feel like ''Prime'' was a true ''Metroid'' game, but it was a commercial hit. ''Prime'' would create a new pillar of the ''Metroid'' franchise, and is often held in the same regard as the aforementioned ''Super Metroid''.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' struggled with this. While the initial announcement excited many, it was soon replaced with hesitance and apprehension thanks to the reveal that Creator/MercurySteam would be developing the game and that Yoshio Sakamoto would be producing. [=MercurySteam=] had previously made the divisive ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' reboot of the ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series, whose second entry is viewed as a FranchiseKiller, due to being there being no new console entry in the franchise ever since. Meanwhile, Yoshio Sakamoto's last ''Metroid'' game,''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', is regarded as the worst entry in the series and was also thought to be a FranchiseKiller until this game was announced. Thankfully, ''Samus Returns'' was widely considered a return to form for the series, salvaging both the reputations of the Spanish game studio and the Japanese producer. When it was revealed years later that they'd be following the game up with ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' (which had been {{Vaporware}} for fifteen years), fans were absolutely ecstatic that [=MercurySteam=] helped make it happen.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' introduced a radical ArtShift to a new cel-shaded style that was met with massive backlash on reveal; the FanNickname "Celda" was used derogatorily. This is especially due to a prior showcase of the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube's hardware having footage of Link and Ganondorf fighting in an updated version of the relatively realistic style used in the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} games. Plus, the stigma surrounding games targeted at kids and families was at its height, with Nintendo being seen as a "kiddy" developer in comparison to their [[UsefulNotes/PS2 new]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} competitors]], who focused more on the teen and young adult demographics. ''The Wind Waker'' ended up selling well, and though the backlash caused the developers to switch gears to the darker aesthetic of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' for the next entry, it is now regarded as one of the best games in the series by the community for its expressive characters and fun story. The very art style that made it a source of mockery is now seen as one of its greatest strengths, giving ''The Wind Waker'' a timeless look that has aged incredibly well compared to the many RealIsBrown games that released around the same time (including ''Twilight Princess''), and several future ''Legend of Zelda'' titles would go on to use a similar art style.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS and UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} were both expected to be failures with terrible gimmicks by both critics and fans before release, and many thought their failures would force Nintendo to leave the console market and go third-party like former rival Creator/{{Sega}}. The former was expected to be unquestionably surpassed by the UsefulNotes/{{PSP}}, but while the PSP did well, the DS did far, far better to become the top-selling handheld dedicated game system of all-time at over 154 million units sold, which also makes it the second best-selling game system ''in general'', behind only the [=PlayStation=] 2. As for the Wii, its controller being a glorified TV remote with motion controls was seen as lunacy, until the console became perpetually sold out for two years straight. Wii would become the company's best-selling home console, outselling the Xbox 360 and [=PlayStation 3=] (which would implement their own versions of motion controls in response) by a far margin as well.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS received much skepticism before and during its launch period. People thought that its glasses-free 3D wouldn't be appealing to consumers, and some also thought that its name was too similar to its predecessor's for consumers to realize it was a new product (the latter ''would'' end up being a factor in the failure of the later UsefulNotes/WiiU). Analysts also predicted that Nintendo would face much greater handheld competition this time, not only from Sony with their UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita, but also from what was now the massively popular mobile game market. The 3DS did indeed struggle during its first year, but a quick price cut and a steady release of [[KillerApp must-have titles]] soon turned things around; the system would end up selling about 75 million units by the time it was discontinued. Meanwhile, the Vita ended up selling so poorly that Sony decided to abandon handheld gaming entirely, and while the mobile game market certainly became much more lucrative than the 3DS, it became home to smaller, low budget FreeToPlay experiences that never directly competed with the kinds of games typically released on the 3DS.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** Considering that sales for the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' franchise had been on the decline for years, Creator/IntelligentSystems considered it a very real possibility that ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' would be their last FE game ever. They even said in an interview before release that they would likely shelve the series indefinitely if it didn't sell at least a quarter of a million units. It went on to be the most successful game in the entire ''franchise'' up to that point, both critically and financially. The game would not only rejuvenate the series, but it also managed to be exactly what it needed to [[NewbieBoom develop a significant Western fanbase]].
** On paper, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' is a game with plenty of factors stacked against it. It's a [[AllegedlyFreeGame Gachapon]], a genre that is not held in high regard among Western players. It is published by a company whose previous mobile offerings have struggled to maintain long-term support and relevance, something vital for the genre. The core gameplay's simplification of mainline ''Fire Emblem'' games doesn't satisfy hardcore fans, while the ''Fire Emblem'' brand isn't quite mainstream enough to pull in casual players. And yet in spite of all that, it is highly successful worldwide thanks to its careful application of RevenueEnhancingDevices making free-to-play or budget conscious players valid, while also providing a surprising level of depth when it comes to building your team. It also won weary fans over by being a celebration of the franchise as a whole. Nintendo later stated ''Heroes'' was a core part of their revenue for 2017, making it incredibly influential to how the company has since handled mobile gaming.
* While the game immediately gained attention from its first UsefulNotes/{{E3}} trailer, there was a lot of skepticism about the first ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'''s chance of success. It was a new intellectual property during a period where large publishers were focusing on established franchises. It was LighterAndSofter than every other shooter on the market. Creator/{{Nintendo}} had rarely worked on games in the shooter genre prior to ''Splatoon'', and they had never made a game where the core focus was online play. As a Nintendo game, it was being released solely on the severely under-performing UsefulNotes/WiiU, whose small audience likely didn't have any interest in the shooter genre. And despite being an online multiplayer game, the developers staunchly refused to support voice chat. You'd be forgiven for thinking that it would be a niche title at best. [[SleeperHit But then it sold 1 million copies in a month]]. [[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=169576814&postcount=92 Cue the wall of shame.]] The series would quickly become one of the company's most important franchises next to ''Mario'' and ''Zelda'', with the even greater success of [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 its sequel]] two years later further cementing this status. And you want to take a guess where the franchise is most popular? ''Japan''.[[note]]The shooter genre, despite being popular in the West and neighboring countries like South Korea, is ''extremely'' [[AmericansHateTingle niche in Japan]]. The fact that a game in that genre not only sold well enough in the region for its developer to ''apologize for not shipping enough copies'', but for each installment to remain Top 5 on sales charts for several straight months is mindblowing.[[/note]]
* After the relative flop of the UsefulNotes/WiiU, people were skeptical about the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch's chances of success. While the concept was interesting, there were those that were doubtful there was a market for what was essentially a gaming tablet with TV Out. The reveal of the Joy-Con's HD Rumble function and ''VideoGame/OneTwoSwitch'' had people wondering if Nintendo was just trying to recapture the Wii audience again with a bunch of gimmicks, the $300USD price point was seen as insane, and Nintendo higher-ups saying that will sell as much as the Wii was written off as delusional. Even Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara told Nintendo's higher-ups that he was skeptical the new console would succeed. But thanks to a steady streak of first-party releases during its first year and the allure of being able to play various AAA and indie games both new and old on-the-go, the system went on to surpass the lifetime sales of the Wii U ''in ten months''. Then the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube after another ten months. ''And then'' the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem and the original UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem by the time it turned four years old. At this point, it would be surprising if it ''didn't'' outsell the Wii.
* The concept of a ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' and ''VideoGame/RavingRabbids'' crossover, which later became ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle'', was thought to be so stupid that initial leaks concerning the game were instantly disregarded as fake. When it became clear that this game was legitimate, there was instant skepticism about how good this game could possibly be. Then the game's E3 reveal showcased well thought-out TurnBasedStrategy gameplay similar to the ''VideoGame/{{XCOM|EnemyUnknown}}'' games and humour on par with the ''Mario'' [=RPGs=], putting most gripes to rest. The game received good-to-great reviews and quickly became one of the best selling third-party games on the Switch, even spawning a sequel a few years later.
* ''VideoGame/RingFitAdventure'' was met with laughter and derision when it was revealed, due to being a strange mixture of fitness and RPG mechanics. The weird peripherals were also met with snickers. However, thanks to its fun factor and overall uniqueness, it managed to sell incredibly well. It also saw a huge spike in sales as a result of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic forcing many gyms to close. For a time, it was one of the Top Ten best-selling Nintendo games on the Switch.

[[folder:Video Games - Other]]
* When Microsoft unveiled the original UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, it was not expected to compete significantly with the other consoles out there. For one thing, American-made video game consoles were considered lost causes in the aftermath of UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, with the major failure of the UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar just a few years before heavily coloring people's expectations. Furthermore, people didn't think it was possible for the console market to sustain more than two major competitors; this was a period when Sega was starting to flounder while Nintendo held onto their market space and Sony was starting to ride high from their introduction of the Playstation brand (the fact that Microsoft had collaborated with the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast didn't help matters). But very good word of mouth for Xbox launch title ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' helped push initial sales of the console, and the hardware's largely unprecedented focus on online multiplayer through Xbox Live was successful enough for Nintendo and Sony to start looking into it themselves.
* Before ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'', the FirstPersonShooter was generally seen as impossible to pull off on consoles, with any sucesses being few and far between. The game's underwhelming showing at E3 2001 didn't help matters either, leaving many wondering just want Microsoft was thinking with making ''Halo'' of all games one of their launch titles. No one at Microsoft expected the game to be one of its heavy hitters either, but come launch day, it became an instant classic that would turn the FPS genre from something no one in their right mind would try without a keyboard and mouse into one of the most popular genres in the medium, displacing the PlatformGame.
* Combining Creator/{{Square|Enix}} and Creator/{{Disney}}'s ability to pull this off, when people first heard about ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', a game where a Square-ish character travels through the worlds of various Disney movies with Donald and Goofy, most people thought it was going to be a quirky kids game and that's it. Instead, it was a huge success and became Square's second-biggest series (right under ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'').
* [[VideoGame/MegaMan1 The first game]] in the ''Franchise/MegaMan'' franchise didn't do so well, but the devs still wanted to make a sequel. Creator/{{Capcom}} gave them permission to do so only if they did so in their spare time. Cue ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'', and the rest is history.
* Sony didn't bother to publish ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' themselves as a first-party [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PS3]] title in the west because they thought it wouldn't sell well. ''Demon's Souls'' wasn't just published by Sony's Japanese division; the game was co-developed by SCE Japan Studio. Luckily, publishers like Creator/{{Atlus}} and Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment picked up the title, and the rest was history. ''Demon's Souls'' ended up as a big SleeperHit in 2009 and much to Sony's surprise received positive reviews from both gamers and the press. For a lightly-marketed game, it sold more than 150,000 units in its first month alone. Sony to this day regrets not publishing ''Demon's Souls'' themselves in the west and losing out on a potential first-party KillerApp.
* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'' fans and critics alike thought ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' would be a bomb. Instead, it's become a CashCowFranchise that has more than surpassed the original ''Spyro'' games, with over 700 million dollars in sales and several titles.
* The ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series' creator, Shu Takumi got told his idea of a lawyer main character would fall flat on its face. Judging from the number of sequels, additional media, and fan bases, it's clear that Takumi had the last laugh.
* This happened with Creator/WillWright's two big projects, ''VideoGame/SimCity'' and ''VideoGame/TheSims''.
** The first version of ''VideoGame/SimCity'' was finished in 1985, but publishers at the time refused to release it because it was a non-standard game without a clear goal. So Will Wright and Jeff Braun had to open their own company, Maxis, to get it out. Even then, when ''[=SimCity=]'' was first released in 1989, it sold very poorly in its first few months in retail. It wasn't until game reviewers and journalists got hold of the game that it became successful, selling over 1 million copies in 1992 and winning multiple awards, with the game receiving numerous custom versions, including a Teacher's Edition of the game for use in classrooms.
** When ''VideoGame/TheSims'' was codenamed "Dollhouse" ([[WhatCouldHaveBeen and was originally conceived as a house-building simulator where virtual people would judge the player's houses]]) during its development in the '90s, focus groups who tested the game hated it and Maxis had little faith in Will Wright's next project after ''[=SimCity=]'', thus shelving it. When Creator/ElectronicArts bought out Maxis in 1997, Wright's project was given a second chance, and after years of hard work, ''The Sims'' was released in February of 2000, selling millions of copies and becoming a CashCowFranchise that [[VideoGame/TheSims2 spawned]] [[VideoGame/TheSims3 several]] [[VideoGame/TheSims4 sequels]] and {{expansion|Pack}}s.
* Very few journalists and gamers were initially optimistic about ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' beating TheProblemWithLicensedGames. For one thing, it was announced around the time that audiences were getting sick of ''Franchise/TheLordOfTheRings'', thanks to the mixed response to ''Film/TheHobbit''. For another, early gameplay previews made it look suspiciously similar to ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' (complete with a Tolkien-flavored version of Eagle Sight), to the point that many gamers accused it of being an outright clone. And the developer spent so much time hyping up the Enemy Hierarchy mechanic that it made gamers roll their eyes, sure that it couldn't possibly be as open-ended as it looked in the trailers. But in the end? Though it took some clear inspiration from other games, ''Shadow of Mordor'' was roundly praised for its engaging combat and original story, and the Hierarchy system was praised as one of its best ideas; Orcs really ''did'' remember past encounters, level up after fights, advance in rank, and even [[EnemyCivilWar challenge other Orcs in exploitable power struggles]].
* ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' had all the hallmarks of a bad reboot: a generic "guy with gun" cover, a disappointing multiplayer beta showing off the undoubted ''weakest'' portion of the game, no input from creators Creator/JohnCarmack and Creator/JohnRomero, Denuvo DRM on the PC, and no mod support. A [[NotScreenedForCritics lack of advance review copies from Bethesda]] seemed to suggest not even the publisher had any faith in what was by now all but a confirmed flop. Yet, its single-player campaign alone carried the title to win multiple "Game of the Year" awards. The campaign was so well-received that when the later Switch port made the multiplayer mode a separate download to save on cartridge space, people didn't really mind all that much.
* Reaction to ''VideoGame/WatchDogs2'' was mixed, largely due to [[VideoGame/WatchDogs the first game]], and many thought that players would largely avoid the franchise's second outing. At first, that seemed to be the case, with sales being nowhere near that of the first game. But then word of mouth got out about how much of a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel it was, and the game managed to have good long-term sales that resulted in Creator/{{Ubisoft}} announcing that they were happy with the game's performance, even adding a SequelHook in a post-release patch.
* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' was a video game with a female protagonist, very little {{Fanservice}}, a focus on relationships, and only a minimum of gaming goes against the stereotypical views of video game requirements for success in every single way. Instead, it was a critical and financial success that turned out to be one of the sleeper hits of 2015.
* ''VideoGame/{{Hiveswap}}'' was attacked by two sides before release. On one side, you've got the people who despise [[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} the source material]] and [[FanHater its fans]], and they just want the series to fade into irrelevance. On the other side of the spectrum, you have the cynical ''Homestuck'' fans who expected the game to be the next ''VideoGame/MightyNo9'' in that it would be an ambitious yet disappointing Website/{{Kickstarter}} game riddled with [[ScheduleSlip delays]] and TroubledProduction, and that it would further tarnish the webcomic's reputation. Once it released, it turned out to be an enjoyable text-based adventure game that both ''Homestuck'' fans and non-fans could enjoy.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'': When Digital Extremes made the decision to revive [[WhatCouldHaveBeen their original design concept for]] ''VideoGame/DarkSector'' and make the game they'd always wanted to make, ''every'' publisher they brought the idea to told them directly to their faces "this will fail". ''Every single one.'' Who eventually decided to take a chance on it? ''Nobody-'' so Digital Extremes said "screw it" and decided to self-publish ''Warframe'' themselves. Keep in mind, ''Warframe'' wasn't a small indie single-player game, it was a full-bore action-MMORPG, and DE was literally betting ''everything they had'' on their belief that people would want to play their game- ''Warframe'' would succeed, or Digital Extremes would die. And in the 5+ years since it first entered open beta, ''Warframe'' has grown to become not only one of ''the'' most popular [=F2P=] games in the world (it has a secure hold on its place in the top 5 most-played games on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} alone, to say nothing of its release on consoles and its own independent PC client), it has also become a shining beacon of creativity, daring design, and in-depth community interaction, hailed as a role model that all [=F2P=] games should strive to emulate. Now, the same publishers who dismissed the game as having a literal 0% chance of succeeding are coming to DE with cap in hand, begging to be taught the secret to succeed in the [=F2P=] market the way ''Warframe'' has.
* When ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter Generations Ultimate'' was announced for the West, many fans were concerned that it would sell poorly even relative to games before it due to being released after ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' ([[SequelFirst unlike in Japan where it was released before]]), which became a blockbuster hit because of the many changes made to the series' long-standing formula to appeal to a wider audience. For what it's worth, Capcom seems to be calling ''GU''[='=]s Western release [[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/10/capcoms_yearly_operating_income_up_110_percent_monster_hunter_generations_ultimate_enjoyed_robust_sales a success,]] suggesting that while ''Generations Ultimate'' obviously [[CultClassic doesn't come anywhere near the worldwide standing ovation that its immediate successor got, it sold just as well as its 3DS predecessors.]]
* ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' had an uphill battle from the start, right up to just getting made. After ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburV'' underperformed and was hit with a widespread backlash, Namco didn't think the series was worth keeping around. The franchise had also been out of the limelight for many years, with fans having long given up hope that ''Soulcalibur'' would return. When the game was announced, it received much fanfare, but many were worried that series would effectively die with ''VI'' when word got out that Namco didn't even want to make it, and Project Soul head Motohiro Okubo had to convince them to allow it. When the game released in 2018, ''VI'' garnered an 84 on Metacritic, making it one of the highest-rated fighting games of the eighth generations, and it quickly outpaced its predecessor in sales, selling a million in a month. By Namco's own admission, the game was successful. Then it got an easy ticket to [[UsefulNotes/FightingGameCommunity EVO 2019]], where it became one of the biggest games there, and the game remained alive and active with DLC, {{Guest Fighter}}s in the form of [[VideoGame/TheWitcher Geralt]] and [[VideoGame/NierAutomata 2B]], while also having the prospect of a second season. Soon enough, it became clear that ''Soulcalibur'' got its groove back.
* Until 2012, the thought that a tiny group of unpaid 4chan anons were planning on making a free dating sim about girls with physical handicaps based on a single piece of obscure Japanese concept art would've probably either been met with ridicule or followed by the assumption that the result would be the vilest of insensitive troll games. Cue ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', a game hailed by both amateur and professional game journalists for its lovable characters, gripping storyline, and beautiful soundtrack, credited by many as having singlehandedly renvigorated the OELVN market and introducing many of the medium's current Western fans to visual novels.
* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' was fighting an uphill battle when it was first announced. Not only was it another Crash game distributed by Activision (whose track record with the Crash Bandicoot series have been highly controversial among fans), but it was being developed by Vicarious Visions, who prior to N. Sane did the [=GBA=] Crash games, which were seen as SoOkayItsAverage at best. To add more fuel to the fire, they were HD remakes of the first 3 [=PS1=] games by Creator/NaughtyDog. Even Activision thought the game wasn’t going to sell that well upon release. The result? It became one of the highest selling games of 2017, it got rave reviews from critics, was well received by fans of the classic games, and even Naughty Dog, known for their strict stance on OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight regarding every Crash game post Team Racing [[ApprovalOfGod approved of the remastering job]]. It was so successful that it led to the ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' and ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'', both of which were also well regarded.
* While ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' was not exactly expected to fail, it was nonetheless expected to end up as more of a niche game, being a sequel to [[VideoGame/{{Nier}} a low-budget, under-the-radar title]] and being directed by an [[Creator/YokoTaro infamous eccentric]] who has never had much success in the past. It was also being developed by Creator/PlatinumGames, a company that has a track-record of fantastic titles that fail to translate to financial success. The fact that Platinum was going through both financial and creative troubles at the time didn't help matters. But against all sense and reason the title ended up being a smash hit and performed well beyond what anyone expected and even saved Platinum from bankruptcy.
* ''Videogame/{{Omori}}'' had [[DevelopmentHell six years in development]], had to move the game from RPG Maker VX to MV, canceled the ''UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS'' version plus the lack of communication between developers and backers, many expected the game to be the next ''VideoGame/MightyNo9'': another broken game and another Kickstarter failure that didn't deliver what it was promised. Thankfully this wasn't the case: the game came out on Christmas Day 2020, and it got a lot of positive reception from backers and players alike.
* On the subject of Kickstarter games that initially looked like they would crash and burn, ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'' was initially revealed at the height of the Kickstarter SpiritualSuccessor boom and had a lot of hype behind it at first. However, after the TroubledProduction and failure of ''VideoGame/MightyNo9'' it was put under a lot more scrutiny, not helped by it having multiple delays and a trailer showing a divisive at best art style, making fans think it will be a case of HistoryRepeats. However, thanks to Iga's willingness to listen to fans and a big graphical overhaul, the game launched in 2019 to great acclaim, with many lauding it as a worthy successor to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' and up there with ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' and ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' as the best Kickstarter games.
* With the financial success of ''VideoGame/SuperMeatBoy'', Creator/EdmundMcMillen found himself in a position where he didn't need to worry about making his next game a huge success, and could focus his time on something more weird, experimental and personal. Teaming up with programmer Florian Himsl and ''Meat Boy'' composer Danny Baranowsky, the team set about working on a {{roguelike}} filled to the brim with [[GrossOutShow disgusting, grotesque imagery]] and themed around Edmund's complicated relationship with religion, with its central plot focused on a mother attempting to [[OffingTheOffspring kill her infant son]] in the name of the Lord. They were so convinced that the game was [[AudienceAlienatingPremise unmarketable]] that they didn't even think about trying to sell it at first; it was only after recieving positive early feedback that they decided to take a chance and put the game up for sale on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. It sold moderately well in its first few months... and then [[SleeperHit those sales numbers would double, triple, and quadruple in number]] as [[LetsPlay Let's Players]] such as LetsPlay/{{Northernlion}} got their hands on it, showcasing it to a wider audience. In the decade following its original release, ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'' would recieve a sizable ExpansionPack, a full [[VideoGameRemake remake]] on a more powerful engine courtesy of Creator/{{Nicalis}}, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs multiple expansion packs for that remake]], and ports to every system imaginable, becoming a success on par with ''Super Meat Boy'', if not an even greater one. Not bad for a game whose own developers were expecting it to fail.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* The DVD commentary of WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' review had Rob mocking anti-clipless people by saying the episode was the second highest viewed on the Website/YouTube page, and that all the other clipless reviews have done really well regarding hits too.
* [[SuccessThroughInsanity This is one of]] WebVideo/{{Muselk}}'s main sources of humor. Strats like the [[VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} sexy Junkrat and surprise Bastion]] were admonished by his friends for being useless and foolish, but worked insanely well for quite a while until the fanbase caught on.
* The idea of an English branch of WebAnimation/{{Hololive}} was long treated by many as a joke: after all, why would English-speaking audiences turn out to streams of new Vtubers from a Japanese company when they could watch established streaming personalities on Youtube and Twitch? Once the first generation of hololive EN launched, however, it became a runaway success, with all five founding members earning a combined total of around $100,000 in Superchat donations from their debuts. Gura Gawr, one of the members of hololive EN, would later go on to be ''the first'' hololive star to break a million subscribers, helping to solidify her place, as well as those of her companions, in the video game streaming landscape and the Vtuber industry.
[[/folder]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheUntamed'': While many fans were definitely curious -- whether in the optimistic or morbid way -- about how the series would fare long before it aired, nobody expected it to become the widespread multinational hit that it became in the span of less than two months.
* ''Series/WordOfHonor'': A team on Douban (a Chinese social network site) asked users to vote on which series filmed in 2020 was most likely to flop. ''Word of Honor'' was the winner. Virtually no one thought it would be a success. Then the first episode aired and the series got a rating of 8.2 on Douban -- and its rating's now increased to 8.6.
* Creator/WaltDisney strikes again. At a time when the major studios were still fighting a desperate and doomed war against the new menace of TV, Walt embraced it; predictably, the established studios mocked. 35 years later, after becoming the first show to air on American TV's "Big 3" (ABC, NBC, CBS) ''and'' cable, the show that started as simply ''Disneyland'' finally left the air. See below for more about the show's namesake.
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' was considered a filler for dead airspace that was only created to replace old reruns of ''Series/TheTonightShowWithJohnnyCarson'' and only appealed to stoners and insomniacs. Almost 40 years later, and the show (despite its ups and downs in quality, three threats of cancellation, and its constant changes in cast and crew members) has become a New York institution, is the longest-running sketch show in America, has old and new fans (some of which will forever argue over whether or not the show is still worth watching or if there's anything out there that can be a worthy replacement), beat 99% of the sketch shows that were put on the air to replace it[[note]]''Fridays'', ''SCTV'', ''The New Show'', ''Series/InLivingColor'', ''Saturday Night Special'', ''House of Buggin'', and ''{{Series/MADtv}}'', among others. These days, the only competition the show has are Adult Swim's anime line-up, the Internet, and Comedy Central's shows[[/note]], is more popular than ever in the viral video/Internet comedy era, and has accrued a vast wealth of memorable characters and moments (both funny and serious).
** Writers were worried that the audience would respond negatively to "Lazy Sunday". Instead, the audience loved the song, it became the most popular SNL skit in years, brought the show out of its DorkAge, and introduced the world to Music/TheLonelyIsland.
** When Creator/JonHamm was announced as a guest host in 2008, the fan reaction was mostly "Huh? The ''Series/MadMen'' guy? Whatever." But his first hosting stint turned out to be an instant classic episode and also boosted his career by showing he could do comedy exceptionally well.
* The Swedish Children's series ''Series/FemMyrorArflerAnFyraElefanter'' (''Five ants are more than four elephants''). When the series premiered in 1973, nearly all children's shows produced in Sweden had a highly (nearly always Left-wing) political or social realistic overtone, commonly concerning capitalism and the Vietnam War, with many scenes that would be considered shockingly mature for a program aimed at children today. Then this series dumped down, nearly as an antipole against that kind of show, with its glamorous furnishings and carefree tone. Therefore, it was at first met with severe criticism, as many denounced the show as over-polished and unnecessary. 40 years later, the series is still watched and beloved by young audiences who are learning to read and count, while its contemporaries with their deeply political and somber tone are largely forgotten.
* ''Series/TwentyFour'' initially [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer began its existence as a romantic comedy-drama about the planning of a wedding over the course of a single day]] -- before being reworked by producers Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran into an action-thriller about a government agent trying to rescue his family during a Presidential primary election in Los Angeles. The series wasn't expected to last a full season. FOX executives ordered 13 episodes and aired it with virtually no promotion whatsoever (and in a Tuesday timeslot, which was uncharacteristic for an action show). It was only due to lead actor Kiefer Sutherland winning a Golden Globe Award for his work on the first ten episodes that made executives order an additional 11 scripts to fill out the season. However, the series become much more critically-lauded, was a smash hit on DVD (so much so that it increased viewership of the second season by a full 25%) and eventually led to a franchise that lasted eight seasons (and a TV movie), with tie-in materials and a proposed feature film continuation, in addition to a sequel mini-series in 2014.
* ''Series/TheWire'' was initially rejected by {{Creator/HBO}}, who weren't even sure that they wanted a police procedural in their programming lineup - they had to be convinced by Creator/DavidSimon (who had previously collaborated with them on 2000's ''The Corner'') to produce a pilot episode. The resulting season didn't fare so great in the ratings, and the series was on the verge of cancellation - until critics started promoting the show as one of the best new series in years. The show subsequently survived multiple attempts at cancellation, lasted five seasons, and has been regarded as one of the best dramatic series produced from the 21st century.
* When the Sci-Fi Channel first aired the ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' pilot miniseries, fans of [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 the original]] absolutely tore it to shreds, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks complaining about the changes to the characters]] ({{Gender Flip}}ping Starbuck and Boomer for starters), making [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot humanoid Cylons]], a stronger emphasis on [[RippedFromTheHeadlines political]] and [[GoingCosmic religious themes]], the DarkerAndEdgier tone and more, to the point it was popular to call the reimagined series ''Galactica InNameOnly''. Others were turned off by the name and the association to what was perceived as a hokey ''Star Wars'' rip-off from the '70s. Better yet, the first season of the show was broadcast in the U.K. months before it aired on American television, and fans continued to tear into it - then, the show started to receive massive critical acclaim from critics across the world, and when the show debuted on Sci-Fi, it garnered some of the highest ratings for any sci-fi show ''in history''. It lasted for four seasons, got two tie-in films, supplementary comics and novels, and resulted in two spin-offs (''Series/{{Caprica}}'' and ''Series/BattlestarGalacticaBloodAndChrome'').
* In late 2003/early 2004, Lloyd Braun and a few other ABC executives were fired because they had greenlighted a strange project called ''Series/{{Lost}}''. What is ''Lost'', anyway? A rehash of ''Series/GilligansIsland'' with a dramatic angle? And the enormous budget that somehow got approved for this thing... worst blunder ever! Yet despite the lack of faith from the top brass, ''Lost'' became an overnight sensation and producer Creator/JJAbrams became a household name.
* ABC started garnering a few tentpole series from midseason replacements, which in general are held for midseason because they're not considered good enough for the fall schedule. The first midseason replacement to become a hit was ''Series/GreysAnatomy''. The second was ''Series/{{Castle}}''. The third, though not as big as the other two, was ''Series/BodyOfProof''.
* The U.S. adaptation of ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' was heavily criticized by both media pundits (for being an adaptation of a [[Series/TheOfficeUK cult British series]] that lasted a grand total of [[BritishBrevity 12 episodes and a Christmas special]]) and its original creator, Creator/RickyGervais (who feared that viewers would hesitate watching an American reworking of a British show -- i.e. the American ''Series/{{Coupling}}''). The show had a six-episode first season where ratings fell sharply in between the premiere and season finale (due to NBC shuffling its timeslot around), and was in danger of being canceled (in addition to scathing reviews from major U.S. publications). However, the show quickly [[GrowingTheBeard found a footing]] by differentiating itself in tone and content and found a distinct identity from the British series, and went on to become NBC's highest-rated comedy with nine seasons, [[StarMakingRole launching the careers of several of its cast members]] and helped launch the writing career of Creator/MichaelSchur.
* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' went through a similar trial. Originally conceived as a spin-off from the American ''Office'' by the same writers before being made into an independent entity, reception to its six-episode first season was lukewarm at best, with critics dismissing it as a pale clone of its parent show. However, ''Parks'' would go on to [[GrowingTheBeard Grow The Beard]] tremendously in its second season and found more of its own unique identity in the process. While it was mostly a QuietlyPerformingSisterShow in comparison to ''The Office'' (which got more attention and higher ratings), ''Parks'' went on for seven seasons, became a critical darling, and built up a loyal fanbase, with many considering it equal to, if not ''better'' than, its parent series.
* The Disney TV movie ''Film/HighSchoolMusical''. Nobody, absolutely nobody, saw its mega-popularity coming.
* In fall 2006, Creator/{{NBC}} premiered two primetime shows that took place behind the scenes of a [[Series/SaturdayNightLive sketch comedy show that airs live every week]]: ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' and ''Series/ThirtyRock''. It was widely expected that ''30 Rock'', helmed by [[Creator/TinaFey a former writer and actor]] on ''SNL'' who'd never been a ShowRunner before, wouldn't last past the first fifteen minutes of episode one, while ''Studio 60'', which came with the pedigree of Creator/AaronSorkin behind it, would go on to success and acclaim. A year later, ''Studio 60'' was the one dead in the water, seen as a FollowUpFailure for Sorkin after the success of ''Series/TheWestWing'', and ''30 Rock'' had picked up the Emmy for Best Comedy. Two more years later, ''30 Rock'' had three Emmys for Best Comedy and ''Studio 60'' is yet another forgotten, short-running show that lives on chiefly in the minds of die-hard Sorkin fans.
* AMC was never considered in the same league as HBO, with original shows not being up their alley... until the double-whammy of period drama ''Series/MadMen'' and dark comedy/drama ''Series/BreakingBad''. And once the two shows were joined by sci-fi megahit ''Series/TheWalkingDead'', AMC became the most desirable network for drama on cable television. ''Breaking Bad'' was a particularly unexpected success for the network. When it was first greenlit, nobody thought that it would amount to anything. Even its creator, Vince Gilligan, didn't know if it would work. One executive described the idea of a high school chemistry teacher turning to dealing crystal meth, "the single worst idea for a television show [he'd] heard in [his] whole life". When it aired, despite getting mediocre ratings for most of its run, it was critically adored, with the acclaim increasing every single year. Finally, the last eight episodes of the series saw an ''astronomical'' increase in ratings in addition to almost universal acclaim, seeing the show go out in a blaze of glory both critically and commercially, with one of the most watched series finales in the history of cable television, firmly securing it a place in discussions of the best television dramas ever.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'', a somewhat weird show (even for FOX) about Midwestern high-school misfits partaking in song-and-dance competitions, was never expected to climb high enough in viewership to make an impact, let alone end up a top TV franchise. But it did, due in large part to razor-sharp plotlines (at least in the first season), impeccable musical direction, and the one-of-a-kind acting chops of Matthew Morrison, Creator/LeaMichele, Creator/ChrisColfer, and Jane Lynch.
* Before it launched, the [[Creator/{{ITV}} [=ITV2=]]] series ''Series/TheOnlyWayIsEssex'' was derided as a pointless knock-off of a more serious but otherwise similar series on Creator/Channel4 called ''Seven Days''. Not only did TOWIE become an unexpected hit, but who even remembers ''Seven Days'' now?
* For Friday nights on their fall 1993 schedule, Fox decided to put a Western with big names up front, and some sci-fi show starring two unknowns afterwards to get the residual audience from its predecessor. The former is ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'', which only lasted one season. The latter is ''Series/TheXFiles'', which was highly influential, acclaimed, and popular during its nine seasons.
* In 1975, when Phil Redmond was touting the idea for ''Series/GrangeHill'' around most of the UK's television companies, no one was prepared to believe that schoolchildren would want to watch a realistic drama series about children at school. Finally taken up by the BBC in 1976 and launched in 1978, the series ran for 30 years, racking up 601 episodes.
* ''Gardeners' World'' has been running since 1968, has its own magazine, and is practically an institution in its own right. But when it was first proposed, commissioners at the BBC didn't believe there would be an audience for a program about gardening and were even more skeptical that anyone would be able to find enough material to keep it running. [[labelnote:*]]This was in spite of the fact that ''Gardeners' Question Time'' had been running on the radio since 1947.[[/labelnote]]
* In the fall of 1994, ''Series/{{ER}}'' and ''Series/ChicagoHope'' premiered on NBC and CBS, respectively, in the identical Thursday at 10 pm time slot (and both set in the same city). While not exactly expecting ''ER'' to fail, many critics deemed ''Chicago Hope'' the better show and assumed that it would win the ratings battle. Instead, ''ER'' trounced ''Hope'' so thoroughly that within weeks the latter show moved to another time slot and was off the air in six seasons (perfectly respectable, but nothing compared to ''ER'''s fifteen).
* The fifth episode of ''Series/TheSopranos'', "[[Recap/TheSopranosS1E5College College]]", was initially met with extreme resistance from HBO executives because it showed Tony committing his first on-screen murder, and they felt that the audience would never be able to feel sympathy for the show's protagonist if he remorselessly killed an FBI informant [[KarmaHoudini without consequences]]. Being early in its run, ''The Sopranos'' had yet to become the critical powerhouse that it would eventually be, and the network still worried about its ability to sustain an audience. HBO tried to convince David Chase to write an alternate version with Tony letting the informant live; Chase ultimately compromised by agreeing to [[AssholeVictim make him as unsympathetic as possible]]. In the end, though, not only did "College" end up winning a Primetime Emmy for "Outstanding Writing", it was eventually ranked the greatest episode of the series by ''Magazine/TimeMagazine'', and it was ranked the second greatest television episode '''of all time''' by ''Magazine/TVGuide'' [[note]] Only ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''s "The Contest" beat it out for the #1 spot[[/note]]. To this day, fans frequently cite it as the show's GrowingTheBeard moment.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime''. A mythology-laden show bringing scores of fairy tale characters to life with an incredibly complex backstory and mostly unknown actors? Almost every TV preview of 2011 dismissed this as a flop that would be gone in a dozen episodes. Instead, it became a massive ratings hit and would run for seven seasons.
* ''Series/OrphanBlack'' was expected to bomb on BBC America because it wasn't British. Instead, it became the network's third breakout hit after ''Series/DoctorWho'' and ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' and the biggest Canadian-exported show in ''years.'' It gave Creator/TatianaMaslany worldwide recognition after years of being only known in Canada, to the point that her snub for a Best Actress Emmy nomination in 2014 was seen as ''the'' biggest of the year.
* Creator/JMichaelStraczynski had tremendous trouble getting ''Series/BabylonFive'' on the air. He shopped the concept around to multiple networks but it was rejected by all of them for, essentially, being too different from ''Star Trek'', which at that time was believed to have set an unbreakable standard for live-action TV science fiction. It was finally picked up by the teeny-tiny "network" [[Creator/{{PTEN}} Prime Time Entertainment Network]] ("network" because it was essentially a syndication block operated by Chris-Craft the boat company and Creator/WarnerBros) and proved to be popular enough to keep the troubled "network" afloat single-handedly. Granted, the franchise did not achieve the spectacular popularity of ''Star Wars'' or ''Star Trek'', but it left an indelible stamp on the sci-fi landscape even as every single critic predicted it would fail before its second season, but instead, albeit with a lot of compromises and a last-minute ChannelHop, it achieved its goal of a five season run, making it the longest running SF space drama of its time.
* Prior to release, ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' received heavy criticism for being seen as an American ripoff of the BBC adaptation of ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', and that's not even getting to the accusations of homophobia the producers got for [[GenderFlip gender-swapping]] John Watson. When it aired, however, it ended up becoming very successful, and while it doesn't have quite as large a fandom as the BBC show, ''Elementary'' gathered a decently sized and loyal fanbase and came to be considered a worthy adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, if not one of the best modern ''Sherlock Holmes'' adaptations on TV.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'' was continually rejected for what seemed to Grant Naylor to be bizarre reasons; one executive claimed you couldn't have a sitcom without French windows. When they pointed out you couldn't have French windows on a spaceship he said "Exactly. And that's why a sitcom on a spaceship doesn't work."
* Believe it or not, ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' was pitched to American executives for years as an adaptation of the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' series already airing in Japan. But for years on end, Haim Saban couldn't find anyone who would take it until an executive at Fox Kids asked Saban for a boy-targeted action comedy show. As it turned out, said executive, Margaret Loesch, had alongside Creator/StanLee at Creator/MarvelComics, attempted to bring the Marvel co-produced ''Super Sentai'' installment ''Series/TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan'' to America years earlier (and been laughed out of rooms like Saban was), so she was more than willing to fight on the show's behalf against everyone else at Fox, its affiliates, and advertisers. Still, there were already plans to have it just be a clean 40 episode show, and nobody would be the wiser. And then, well, [[CashCowFranchise it went Kaboom into the popular consciousness of the '90s]], and still manages to truck on today despite numerous ChannelHop, ExecutiveMeddling, and TroubledProduction to the series's credit.
* ''Series/MrRobot'': No one expected anything from a show on the Creator/USANetwork (not known for high-quality original content) and starring Creator/ChristianSlater (a faded film star not known for his dramatic weight). Even the name didn't sound like something to take seriously. However, the show proved quite popular with critics and audiences alike.
* ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'' played with this. The show had a large hill to climb, given the perceived lack of mainstream appeal for [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} the titular character]] thanks to the GirlShowGhetto. While it had to ChannelHop to the CW because the budget was too high for its original network, it managed to gain a devoted fanbase and a spot as one of the most beloved shows of the Arrowverse.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Apart from being an adaptation of [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire a book series]] that, while a bestseller, was largely obscure to most of the mainstream, [[http://winteriscoming.net/2017/04/27/this-is-fun-a-sampling-of-bad-reviews-game-of-thrones-received-in-the-beginning-shell/ early reviews]] were not kind to the show's first few episodes due to the FantasyGhetto, expansive setting, and the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, and several critics decried that HBO (a channel whose previous original programming leaned towards gritty urban dramas and showbiz comedies) was heading straight into NetworkDecay. However, [=GoT=] would ultimately get the last laugh, as it would go on to gather a massive fanbase (as well as creating a NewbieBoom in readers for the original novels), earn nigh-universal critical acclaim, winning several awards, and brought back interest in the DarkFantasy genre, [[FollowTheLeader along with inspiring other networks to make their own big-budget medieval/fantasy shows]] (''Series/{{Vikings}}'', ''Series/{{The Witcher|2019}}'', Creator/PrimeVideo's ''Lord of the Rings'' and so on).
* ''Series/CobraKai'': When a series taking place 34 years after ''Film/TheKarateKid'' featuring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprising their roles as Daniel and Johnny was announced, it was dismissed by many as yet another unnecessary Hollywood revival of a long dead franchise trying to cash in on its nostalgic value and that it would flop. The fact that it was premiering on Website/YouTube Red, a service which has struggled to gain traction against streaming giants Creator/{{Netflix}}, Creator/{{Hulu}}, and Amazon Prime also didn't help. When it premiered, critics praised it for being a well-written series that manages to balance the nostalgia from the films while also expanding on the film's concepts in the modern age and bring new energy and dynamic characters to the mix. Audiences agreed that it was a worthy new installment to the franchise and the first episode wound up being [[https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2414891/how-the-karate-kid-tv-show-cobra-kai-did-in-the-ratings watched by 5.4 million viewers on its first day]]. The series was quickly renewed for a second season as a result and the show's popularity has only continued to grow following a ChannelHop to Creator/{{Netflix}} prior to the release of season three.
* There wasn't much hope for Creator/SethMacFarlane's ''Franchise/StarTrek'' parody series ''Series/TheOrville'', a big-budget sci-fi series from the creator of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', airing on [[Creator/{{Fox}} a channel]] known for [[Series/{{Firefly}} not being kind to the genre]]. On top of that, DuelingShows was expected, as this was coming out at the same time as the much-anticipated ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery''. To the surprise of practically everyone, ''Orville'' was a bonafide hit with viewers, getting praise for its smart blend of sci-fi adventure and sharp humor, as well as [[FriendlyFandoms being accepted]] by ''Trek'' fans as a clear [[AffectionateParody love letter]] to the franchise. Despite mixed critical reception, its ratings were enough to help it land a second season.
* ''Series/TheConners'' had a massive uphill battle to climb. It initially started off as the second season of the revival of ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''... then, it's star, Creator/RoseanneBarr, was fired from her own show after getting caught up in a racist Twitter spiel. When the series was [[ReTool retitled]] ''The Conners'', fans of Barr were sure that the series would flop, even going so far to review bomb various sites to try to destroy any chances of success. While it was nowhere near as popular as ''Roseanne''[='s=] revival ratings-wise, the fact that it either surpassed or kept up with ''Series/TheVoice'' proved that it had the chops to continue despite everything and earned itself a second season, making it probably the most durable of the 2010s class of '80s/90s sitcom revivals.
* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': Despite being co-created by comedy legend Creator/EugeneLevy and starring Eugene and his frequent costar Creator/CatherineOHara, the series was met with lukewarm and dismissive reviews and in the USA aired on the obscure Pop TV channel. Many viewers were turned off by the name and some of the initial promotion focused more on the show's slapstick/broad humor rather than its more sophisticated jokes. Thanks to strong support in its native Canada and the faith Pop network executives had in the show, it was kept on the air, and show runner and co-creator Creator/DanLevy was left to his own devices. The show, which was never bad, gradually improved over the first three seasons so that when it landed on Creator/{{Netflix}}, it became a big hit with viewers who appreciated its queer sensibilities and positive but still sharp sense of humor. When the series ended by choice in 2020, the New York Times critic who had panned it wrote a piece defending himself and giving himself permission to reevaluate the show.
* When it was announced that Creator/{{HBO}} would be creating a live-action ''[[Series/Watchmen2019 Watchmen]]'' SequelSeries, to say that the initial fan reaction was skeptical is... quite an understatement, to say the least. That it was being written by Damon Lindelof only added to concerns, as his writing was most strongly associated with ''Series/{{Lost}}'' gradually turning into a convoluted mess and ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' just being SoOkayItsAverage. But several episodes and positive word of mouth later? The show averaged around ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen_(TV_series)#Audience_viewership 9.6 million viewers by the end of the series]].'' This made ''Watchmen'' HBO's most watched new series since ''Series/BigLittleLies'', with its first episode alone garnering more than ''1.5 million viewers'' across both broadcast and streaming services according to [=HBO=].
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': In hindsight, it's almost a miracle that this show ever got made and managed to find an audience. Why would anyone want to watch a comedy show where half of the time [[AntiHumor the sketches go nowhere and punch lines are almost non-existent]]? In every episode, confusing things happen at random and without any sense of context or continuity. Sometimes the show appears to end but still goes on for several minutes. Other times it seems as if another show is playing. There's a lot of male crossdressing and homosexual innuendo (back in the 1960s and 1970s [[ValuesDissonance far more audience alienating than nowadays]]). [[ViewersAreGeniuses Many intellectual references are made, often to very obscure stuff that would make an encyclopaedia come in handy]]. And several scenes are intercut with amateuristic cut-and-paste cartoons that border between the macabre and the grotesque. Indeed, the general public didn't know what to think of it. Most of the time the studio audience hardly snickers. Even the BBC tried to axe and boycott the show several times, even going so far to think of erasing all seasons in 1975 (urban legend claims that the Pythons only managed to avoid this by ''buying back the master tapes'' out-of-pocket). [[NoExportForYou And how do you export this bizarre series to foreign countries]]? Apart from the sheer bizarreness mentioned earlier, a lot of jokes refer [[IAmVeryBritish to things only British people would get]] (and only those [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece who remember the late '60s and early '70s]] at that). But, despite all odds, a cult following came about and [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff the show caught on outside the UK as well]]. Still, for many years they polarized a majority of the audience and the Pythons were amazed that several decades later public opinion has changed so drastically that suddenly they have become [[VindicatedByHistory the darling boys of comedy]]. The cast was fully aware of this, as well. In an interview, Creator/JohnCleese said he was in makeup with Creator/MichaelPalin and said: "Do you realize this could be the first comedy in the history of British television where no one laughs?" Palin reportedly responded, "I was just thinking the same thing."
* ''Series/GoodbyeMyPrincess'': Fans of the novel ''Eastern Palace'' were unimpressed when its drama adaptation was first announced, especially because neither of the lead actors were well-known. Everyone expected it to be just another of the many Chinese period dramas that fall into obscurity within months. Instead the drama became wildly popular.
* CBS initially responded to Creator/LucilleBall's insistence that Desi Arnaz play the husband on ''Series/ILoveLucy'' by saying they weren't sure if audiences could believe that a celebrity like Lucy was married to an obscure Cuban bandleader. In response, Lucy and Desi gave a vaudeville tour across the country. The tour became a success, proving to the networks that a TV show of the duo would be huge. 70 years later the show is still recognized as one of the greatest and most important sitcoms of all time.
* It's 1989 in UsefulNotes/{{Miami}} -- thanks to a mini-DisasterDominoes situation (which preceded the far massier New World/Fox deal a few years later), WSVN-7, the long time Creator/{{NBC}} affiliate, was now an independent[[note]]they did have Creator/{{Fox}}, but Fox was so tiny at the time their affiliates were still basically independents; WSVN outright called themselves that in the leadup to the switch[[/note]]. People predicted that they would cut back their news operation to the bare-bones indie stations had at the time, and [[https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1988-09-13-8802220537-story.html subsequently derided their plans]] to go in the opposite direction and ramp up their news coverage, keeping all the newscasts they'd had as an NBC station and adding even more; part of the reason for people not believing it would work as because, as an NBC station, WSVN was consistently a last place station (part of the reason that NBC had left, actually). However, once they switched, they also began to [[IfItBleedsItLeads focus heavily on crime and violent stories]], and began going from a quiet, traditional news operation to a very sensationalistic one. [[TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects Their graphics got more over-the-top]], [[FreakyElectronicMusic their music went to droning techno beats]], and they got a [[SceneryPorn massive, monitor-filled "newsplex" looming behind the anchors]]. All this lead to WSVN beginning to dominate the ratings in South Florida, as they still do today, and all the other stations in the area [[FollowTheLeader began copying their approach in some fashion]]; WSVN's influence spread beyond Florida, as stations around the country and the world took notes -- the earliest years of the Creator/FoxNewsChannel took heavy cues from WSVN since at the time WSVN had been one of the few Fox affiliates that produced a significant amount of news.
* ''Series/ResidentAlien'' was released on Syfy in January 2021. The problem? By that point, the network had cancelled most of its scripted shows regardless of how well they were performing in terms of ratings and reviews. The only shows remaining were Series/VanHelsing and Series/WynonnaEarp, and both were due to end in 2021. Surprisingly, ''Resident Alien'' not only received amazing reviews, but each episode got over 1 million viewers upon premiering - a rarity in a time when cable (especially specialty cable) was losing popularity. It helps that the show was renewed for a second season 2 months after it's premier, averting the ScrewedByTheNetwork status prior Syfy shows suffered.
* The announcement of a ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series without Kirk and co. was met with revulsion by some fans. The production issues and uneven quality of the first two seasons didn't help, either. In fact, Creator/PatrickStewart was so convinced that the show would fail, that for the first six weeks he was in America, he refused to unpack any of his suitcases. Nowadays, ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is one of the most popular and beloved series, ''almost'' reaching ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''' iconic status.
* When the ''Series/DoctorWho'' revival was launched in 2005, the idea of reviving a cult science fiction series that had been off the air for sixteen years (with one failed revival) and was infamous for its at times campy tone and laughable production values starring [[Creator/ChristopherEccleston an actor known for social-realist dramas (who bailed after one season)]] and [[Creator/BilliePiper a former pop star was deemed laughable]]. In fact, Creator/RussellTDavies later said that Christopher Eccleston was only given a one-season contract because they genuinely had no idea if they would even get another season. Davies also told the crew that even if the revival failed, at least they'd have the DVD boxset to show for it. Sixteen years and twelve seasons later and it's still going.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* Creator/WaltDisney is the all-time master of this trope.
** Nobody but Walt expected ''WesternAnimation/FlowersAndTrees'', a cartoon in full color, to get people flocking to it. The short film was originally black & white; Walt had it completely redone despite the financial risk involved.
** Animation was considered a medium inferior to live-action, and destined to remain seven-minute-long curtain raisers to feature films. That is, until Walt Disney decided to make ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'', the first feature-length animated movie by a major American studio. It was labeled "Disney's Folly" by film industry insiders at the time, a project destined to send Disney into bankruptcy. At its premiere, ''Snow White'' proved to be an amazing picture, and the worldwide highest-grossing sound film until ''Film/GoneWithTheWind''. Since then, it has become the subject of much strife for being the comparison point for all other animated features (Walt himself fell victim to that).
** After the box-office wipeout of ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'' and the further financial strains of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII on his studio, returning to full-length animation was a gamble; on the other hand, branching out into non-cartoon movies and even ''documentaries'' (!) was (in the eyes of critics in the late 40s) absolutely impossible for Walt. ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'', ''Film/{{Treasure Island|1950}}'' and ''Film/TheLivingDesert'' (1953) proved the naysayers wrong, again.
** In a case that extended to within Disney, two projects started concurrently, ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'' and ''King of the Jungle'', something about lions in Africa. Most of the animators picked the former feeling it would be the high-profile movie, leading the latter to have only newcomers or people with an interest in animating animals. Even the writing staff felt insecure about the project during non-stop rewrites. The resulting film, ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'', is the highest-grossing traditional animation ever and widely regarded as the apex of the Disney Renaissance.
** In 2002, Disney, specifically CEO Michael Eisner, found itself doubting {{Creator/Pixar}} could keep the big hits coming in 2003 with ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''. When that became Pixar's biggest hit yet, Eisner found himself in an impossible position trying to renew Disney's contract with the studio with Creator/SteveJobs, who personally loathed Eisner, in a position to demand all but a blank check lest Pixar goes with any of Disney's competitors eager to hook up with it.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Sing}}'': Not too many people expected this film to succeed, with many claiming that it was a stale copy of ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' with a very cliché, unoriginal plot about a singing competition. Despite all this, the movie managed to earn nearly $200 million in under two weeks, was the second leading film during Christmas weekend at the box office and has gotten mixed to positive reviews by both critics and fans alike. The film was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Golden Globe in 2017.
* While [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants the franchise]] that ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'' is based on is highly profitable, it had gone through a lengthy period of SeasonalRot, so people didn't have as much confidence in the film as they did with [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie the first]] (a beloved classic), predicting that it would be just a standard, boring kiddie fare. The fact that it was done by the show's current crew, whom the fans blamed for its declining quality, supported their theory. Despite what the trailers presented, the creators outright confirmed that the film would, like the show, be mostly 2D animation, a major concern for some considering that the 2D animation genre had generated flop after flop over the years (the last 2D animated hit was the movie's predecessor, over ten years ago). It also went against the visual-heavy and high concept blockbuster ''Film/JupiterAscending''. Despite these odds, it managed to cannibalize the box office in its opening weekend, went on to surpass the domestic box office of the first film both unadjusted ''and'' adjusted for inflation, and won plaudits for featuring the witty humor that the series was once known for from both critics and long-jaded fans.
* As soon as ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoToTheMovies'' was announced, many immediately dismissed the idea due to it being a spinoff of [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo one of the Internet's most hated modern cartoons]], even going so far as to say that it would be [[SpiritualSuccessor as bad as]], or ''worse'' than ''WesternAnimation/TheEmojiMovie'', which is not eactly well-regarded itself. By the time of the film's release, however, it received largely positive reviews, gaining a [[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teen_titans_go_to_the_movies 91%]] on Website/RottenTomatoes, and did mildly well at the box office.
* When ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'' was announced, it was scorned by critics and most believed it would be nothing more beyond a glorified toy commercial. Few could have predicted it would turn out to be a fresh, original film with stellar animation, witty humor, memorable characters, an engaging plot, and a brilliant deconstruction of TheChosenOne trope. The success led to both a sequel and the spin-off ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoBatmanMovie''.
* This was the fan community reaction to the ''Friendship Is Magic'' spin-off ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'', due it being a HighSchoolAU of Franchise/MyLittlePony... ''[[HumanityEnsues without]]'' the ponies. Things only seemed to get worse as pictures of the [[UncannyValley prototype dolls and stock art]] leaked, with more than one person crying that the parent show was DarthWiki/RuinedForever and that it would be a FranchiseKiller. Instead, it became a big enough hit to warrant multiple sequels that each received [[GrowingTheBeard better reception than the last]], with the BigBad (and later HeroProtagonist) of the spinoff franchise becoming a fan-favorite character.
* ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'': Due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing theaters to shut down worldwide, ''World Tour'' was one of the first films to be released on video-on-demand rather than be postponed to a later date. Many initially viewed this as Creator/{{Universal}} giving up on the movie and just trying to recoup their losses, especially after the massive flops of ''Film/{{Cats}}'' and ''Film/{{Dolittle}}''. Within three weeks, ''World Tour'' made over $100 million dollars in rentals, breaking digital records across the board and making more money for Universal than the first film made for 20th Century Fox within five months.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCroodsANewAge'' was released in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though [[WesternAnimation/TheCroods the first movie]] was a hit and well received, it came out seven years prior and no one thought that it had a large enough following to justify a trip to the theater (at that point, the only tentpole released was ''Film/{{Tenet}}'', which bombed). It opened to $9.7m in its opening weekend (the highest since Tenet), but it went on to have a greater staying power, earning $49m to date domestically (a x5 multiplier) and more than $150m worldwide, making it one of the few cinematic success stories of the pandemic era.
* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' was announced at a time when most Creator/DreamWorksAnimation movies were receiving mixed to negative reviews (especially ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeeMovie'') and had suffered from [[AudienceAlienatingPremise Audience-Alienating Premises]]. ''Kung Fu Panda'' was expected to be a movie with a one-joke premise (a fat panda doing Kung Fu), but what audiences got was an action-packed animated flick with enough heart, humor, and fleshed-out characters to go around. Add on respect to Chinese culture and a good message, and you have a movie that not only restored audience faith in Dreamworks, but is also considered to be their best movie (alongside ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''). Its success inspired 2 sequels, 2 TV shows, and countless rip-offs.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/TheShaggyDog'', Disney's first attempt at making live-action comedies, was not considered a good idea, but this film, ''Film/TheAbsentMindedProfessor'' and others of its kind cleared the Disney Studio of financial debt by 1961.
* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'' was expected to be a flop by many entertainment writers. The film was conceived by Disney as [[RuleOfThree the second of three Disney park ride adaptations]], along with ''Film/TheCountryBears'' and ''Film/TheHauntedMansion'', at the time considered a bizarre concept to base a film upon. The pirate subgenre had also seen numerous costly flops, with ''Cutthroat Island'' being one of the biggest money losers ever. Eisner also hated Creator/JohnnyDepp's eccentric performance of Captain Jack Sparrow, at one point yelling on set that Depp was "ruining the film." The film took off at the box office, buoyed by positive reviews and word of mouth and ended up becoming one of the highest grossing films of summer 2003. The second film, ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', was an even bigger hit, setting the North American opening weekend record and was the highest grossing film of 2006. [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Four more sequels followed]].
* Critics were very hostile to ''[[Film/KingKong1933 King Kong]]''. "A 50-foot gorilla attacking New York City? And on top of that, falling in love with a human woman instead of eating her? Nobody's ever gonna pay to see THAT!" Take a guess at how wrong they were. It's one of the earliest examples of CriticalDissonance in cinema.
* ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' was released at a time when Creator/KatharineHepburn was considered "box office poison". The film became a resounding success and subsequently [[CareerResurrection restored Hepburn's reputation]].
* The Bengali coming-of-age film ''Literature/PatherPanchali'' had little hope of being recognized as more than a renegade/experimental Indian product. Upon release, it quickly made heaps of money everywhere it was shown and through this Satyajit Ray introduced the world to the possibilities of low-budget filmmaking.
* ''Film/Godzilla2014'' had a lot to live up to as it was the second American reboot to the series, which left many longtime fans feeling skeptical about whether or not they would be able to pull it off after [[Film/Godzilla1998 the last attempt]] (even in spite of [[ApprovalOfGod Toho’s approval before release]]). Not helping matters was that the film's director, Creator/GarethEdwards, had only done one [[Film/Monsters2010 smaller scale film before this]], and on top of that there was the amount of articles written by various entertainment outlets that predicted it would be a BoxOfficeBomb on the grounds that it was a Franchise/{{Godzilla}} movie, a series that has been mostly ridiculed by many western critics as poorly made, nonsensical kids flicks. It ultimately grossed $524 million at the box office, went on to launch the ''Film/MonsterVerse'' and won over both film critics who praised it for its visual effects and human drama, and series fans who thought it did the character justice.
* Creator/UnitedArtists did not have much faith in ''Film/DrNo'', giving only $1 million to the producers and releasing it in the Midwest before the big American markets. It went on to launch the still-thriving Film/JamesBond film franchise.
** Creator/RobertShaw originally turned down the role of Donald "Red" Grant in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'', calling the script "rubbish". His then-wife Mary Ure convinced him to take the part. Grant became one of the series' most iconic villains, [[FountainOfExpies inspiring many blonde, quiet, muscular henchmen in later Bond films]].
* Creator/WarnerBros wasn't expecting ''Film/BonnieAndClyde'' to work at all, but it was a megahit and helped [[UsefulNotes/NewHollywood change the way filmmakers would depict violence]] in future works.
* A fictional example occurs in ''Film/TheProducers'': a sneaky Broadway showman and his accountant/henchman put on a play called "SpringtimeForHitler" specifically BECAUSE it will flop, allowing them to keep the excess money they raised but didn't need. [[HilarityEnsues Then they got a little surprise]]. (Ironically, the original 1968 film flopped, though it eventually became VindicatedByHistory and is now widely regarded as a huge classic.)
* Many of the films that became the highest-grossing movie ever at that time were this:
** Creator/{{Paramount}} had no expectations in ''Film/TheGodfather'', despite being based on a best-seller. Creator/FrancisFordCoppola was hired only for his Italian origins, the studio gave him limited funds and complained about every decision of his. It became the highest-grossing movie ever upon release and is frequently in "best of all time" lists.
** ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' was initially picked up as a script treatment by Creator/{{Universal}} Pictures, [[TroubledProduction but ran into problems almost immediately]]. A rookie director who only had [[Film/TheSugarlandExpress one other feature film]] -- that bombed in theatres -- to his name was chosen to direct the film. An actor who believed he was now box-office poison because of his prior work signed up as one of the main characters. Filming ran over-budget and overtime, with executives denying funding for key reshoots (which then had to be paid out of pocket). There were accusations that the practical effects were cheap and laughable, [[SerendipityWritesThePlot forcing the filmmaker to improvise]] by keeping it off-screen for most of the run-time. Yet, contrary to Creator/StevenSpielberg and Creator/RichardDreyfuss' beliefs, ''Jaws'' became the first film to see wide-release distribution, became one of the highest-grossing films of all time and ushered in a new wave in American film-making.
** It's hard to believe now, but Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox had very little faith in ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'' making much money.[[note]]Both Creator/UnitedArtists and Creator/{{Universal}} had passed on the film before it even got to Fox.[[/note]] They put it out as sort of a "last hurrah" to hold off bankruptcy and tasked Creator/AlanDeanFoster with writing ''Literature/SplinterOfTheMindsEye'', a sequel novel written for the sole purpose of facilitating a quick low-budget movie adaptation. Fox had to bully theaters into showing ''Star Wars'', as theaters simply wouldn't touch it and Fox had to make some money back on what they assumed would be a financial fiasco. Fox threatened to withhold the period drama ''The Other Side of Midnight'', which had been tipped to be a hit that summer, unless the theater agreed to screen ''Star Wars'' for a couple of weeks. ''The Other Side of Midnight'' made its budget back, but it was steamrolled at the box office by ''Star Wars''. Fox had given George Lucas exclusive rights on TheMerch related to Star Wars in exchange for paying him less. They figured the movie would bomb and no one would make, never mind buy the merchandise as a result. [[JustSoStory And that's why no publisher ever gives exclusive merchandising rights to the creator anymore.]]
** ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'' was going to be just a forgettable kids' movie about a lost alien, until preview audiences got a grip on its true magnificence and spread the word. It soon out-grossed ''Franchise/StarWars'' and became the top worldwide moneymaker until ''Franchise/JurassicPark''. M&M-Mars certainly thought it would be forgettable. Hershey, on the other hand, gave it a chance. Thus, the film put Reese's Pieces on the candy map.
** Creator/JamesCameron's ''[[Film/{{Titanic 1997}} Titanic]]'' ran over budget, gathered plenty of naysayers, and became the first film in history to make $1 billion worldwide.
** James Cameron's ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' [[HistoryRepeats ran over budget, gathered plenty of naysayers and became the first film in history to make]] $2 billion worldwide. Even more insane, it made over $2.78 billion worldwide. If you don't adjust for inflation, no movie except ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' has gotten even close to the amount of money it made.
* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse had an uphill climb to prove itself in its early days.
** For starters, Marvel had signed away the rights to their most well-known properties and was now trying to produce their own films with characters largely considered "B-List". Moreover, at time, movies based on Marvel properties were a mixed bag, ranging from the well-received (''Film/XMenFilmSeries''[[note]]minus ''The Last Stand'' and ''Origins: Wolverine''[[/note]] and the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy''[[note]]minus the third movie[[/note]]) to the utter flops (''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' and ''[[Film/FantasticFour2005 Fantastic Four]]''). On top of that, the idea of doing a SharedUniverse was considered extremely risky, as earlier superhero films, despite the odd MythologyGag and in-joke, had heroes existing in the world as the only beings of their kind, be it Batman, Superman, or even Spider-Man and the X-Men. Yet the risk paid off, as the MCU is now the biggest blockbuster franchise of all time and marked a GenreTurningPoint for superhero movies in general.[[note]]And now [=MCU=] has the rights for ''all'' its characters after Disney acquisitioned [=20th=] Century Fox, and after Sony renewing its deal with Disney[[/note]] Specific movies include:
** ''Film/IronMan1'': B-list comic book character who Marvel fans were soured on thanks to a [[ComicBook/CivilWar then-recent controversial story arc]]? [[Creator/RobertDowneyJr Washed-up actor who had very publicized problems with drug abuse]] in the lead role? [[Creator/JonFavreau Director]] whose [[{{Film/Zathura}} last film]] hadn't been so much of a success? In hindsight, it was the greatest decision Marvel ever made, as the movie helped boost the character's popularity with the mainstream, gave Robert Downey Jr. a massive CareerResurrection, and convinced Marvel that even their less popular heroes could indeed become box office draws.
** Before ''Film/{{Thor}}'' was released, a lot of critics and bloggers thought it wouldn't do well because the title character wasn't as much of a household name as Franchise/{{Superman}}, Franchise/{{Batman}}, Franchise/SpiderMan, or the Franchise/XMen, involved a lot of super-shiny costumes and set pieces, and it was directed by [[Creator/KennethBranagh someone primarily known for Shakespearean adaptations]] who hadn't directed a big action movie before. And then it made $181 million in the U.S. and well over $400 million worldwide, was pretty well-received critically, and gained an active and devoted {{fandom}}.
** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': A movie centered on a CaptainPatriotic character embodying a country with a polarizing reputation (to put it simply) and whose [[Film/CaptainAmerica1990 last movie adaptation was a laughable bomb]], being played by [[Creator/ChrisEvans an actor]] whose [[Film/FantasticFour2005 last foray as a Marvel superhero]] was less than well-received (even though his performance was seen as one of the film's highlights)? Yet it worked out better than anyone could've expected.
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' was considered a risky venture, being an obscure comic property featuring a gun-toting raccoon and an animated tree amongst its lineup. [[http://www.sunsetrising.net/2014/05/09/why-guardians-of-the-galaxy-will-spell-marvels-doom/ Predictions]] of [[http://io9.com/why-guardians-of-the-galaxy-could-be-marvels-first-fl-1516575377 failure]] [[http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/26/guardians-of-the-galaxy-will-be-a-flop-for-marvel.aspx abounded]], despite the film being handled by the one who brought the world two ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' films (along with [[Film/TromeoAndJuliet weird]] [[Film/{{Slither}} horror]]). Its $94 million opening weekend take exceeded projections and expectations, and its worldwide earnings exceeded its production cost after less than a week. The quote atop this page just says everything.
** ''Film/AntMan1'' was expected to be a flop, not only because of being an obscure character (even as a LegacyCharacter) [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway infamous for having "lame" powers]] as well as an infamous NeverLiveItDown moment and a notoriously well-publicized TroubledProduction. However, while it wasn't as successful as ''Guardians of the Galaxy'', it still proved its chops, beating ''WesternAnimation/{{Minions}}''' second week during its first week and staying at the top in its second.
** The first two ''Thor'' movies are considered two of the weaker films of the franchise (especially ''The Dark World''), so audiences weren't sure what to think about ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' when it was first announced, especially as it was coming out four years after ''The Dark World''. However, it ended up receiving universal acclaim for it's humor, characters, and tone, and is regarded to be one of the best MCU films (which is saying a lot). It became the ninth highest grossing film of 2017, out-grossing even ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'', which was released about the same time and was expected to be the bigger draw. The movie single-handedly renewed interest in the character, leading to a fourth film being greenlit, a first for a solo superhero in the MCU.
** ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' struggled to be greenlit due to MinorityShowGhetto concerns. Disney CEO Bob Iger had to intervene to get it into production, and the result made over a billion dollars, was so well-received by critics it actually got nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and served to champion for minority representation (numbers were huge in mostly Black cities!). Iger's input was also crucial in getting out another Marvel movie...
** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'' had a vocal backlash, leading to a very low "Want to See" score on Rotten Tomatoes. On top of that, ''Wonder Woman'' had already proven that [[GenreRelaunch female-led superhero movies]] could be successful, so this movie had [[ToughActToFollow plenty to live up to]]. In the end, ''Captain Marvel'' didn't have to prove anything to the doubters, because it ended up making more money than ''Wonder Woman'', becoming the first female-led superhero movie to make over a billion dollars at the box office. And the kicker? Rotten Tomatoes removed the "Want to See" aggregate score and overhauled their system to display the audience ratings of people who actually paid money to see a movie by default. On top of that, Disney gave Marvel head Ike Perlmutter the pink slip later that year in part because of his lack of faith towards ''Captain Marvel'' and ''Black Panther''.
** ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' had a lot of hurdles to overcome, Not only was it being centered on an obscure character with a lot of racist baggage from the comics, the film was given a theatrical only release with the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic Delta variant]] on the rise, which had some outlets assume Disney had no faith in the movie, thereby expecting it to flop. Also, Mainland China had an [[AmericansHateTingle icy reception]] towards the movie and it wasn't released on the opening day, plus there were some people planning to boycott the movie because of Awkwafina's involvement. Lastly, the movie would be released on Labor Day weekend, which had a reputation of being a bad weekend to release a movie. ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' would end up having the second highest opening weekend of the pandemic, breaking the all time record for a Labor Day weekend release as well.[[note]]And this was during COVID as well[[/note]] and received acclaim from critics and fans, with some hailing it as one of the MCU's best origin stories.
* ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' was a quirky {{Blaxploitation}} comedy set in the Wild West. [[ExecutiveMeddling Warner Brothers almost didn't release it at all]] because they figured [[AudienceAlienatingPremise it just wouldn't sell]]. But it did.
* ''Film/AnimalHouse'' was the ambitious foray of the ''Film/NationalLampoon'' magazine into silver-screen entertainment. Universal execs politely allowed the filmmakers to go wild in their own special way, quietly hoping ''Animal House'' wouldn't damage the company's checkbooks. Creator/DonaldSutherland famously chose several thousand dollars in payment over a percentage of the box-office gross, expecting the film wouldn't sell. However, ''Animal House'''s charmingly dark and hard-hitting observations on college life, as well as its undeniably quirky brand of vulgar humor, was so refreshing to moviegoers in the late 70s that the film recouped its $2 million budget 50 times over. Donald Sutherland, as you might imagine, was not pleased.
* ''Film/{{Grease}}'' was not expected by Creator/{{Paramount}} to be a blockbuster, despite being based on a successful stage musical. The studio expected ''Film/PrettyBaby'', a period drama about child prostitution set in Louisiana in 1917, to be the studio's hoped-for blockbuster that year. ''Pretty Baby'' did make its budget back, but it was dwarfed at the box office by ''Grease''.
* ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' was the first shot at a mainstream movie by the people who made ''Film/TheKentuckyFriedMovie''. With its [[HurricaneOfPuns obsession with]] puns and its throwing of conventional plotline out the window, many believed it had box-office disaster written all over it. It became one of the highest-grossing films of 1980.
* Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox was so certain that ''Film/RomancingTheStone'' would fail, they fired Creator/RobertZemeckis from directing ''Film/{{Cocoon}}''. This turned out to be a benefit: Zemeckis and his friend Bob Gale then had the freedom to pursue their pet project ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', and in the meantime ''Romancing the Stone'' was the surprise box-office smash of the summer of '84.
* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' was rejected by every major studio when first pitched in 1980, as the Lorraine/Marty subplot wasn't risque enough to match other teen comedies at the time (or, in the case of Disney, was TOO risque). This caused some embarrassment for a number of Hollywood execs when five years later, Zemeckis and Gale made ''Future'' under Amblin (with distribution by Universal) and it became the highest-grossing picture of 1985. Plus, an exec at Universal ''hated'' the name ''Back to the Future'' because he felt that any movie with the word "future" in the title was box office poison. It took the intervention of Steven Spielberg for Zemeckis and Gale to keep the original title.
* Orion Pictures had little faith in ''Film/{{Hoosiers}}'', a film that ended up almost as successful as ''Film/{{Platoon}}'', the other big Orion release of 1986.
* According to Creator/SpikeLee, if he can make hit movies, ANYONE can make hit movies. ''Film/DoTheRightThing'' came out of nowhere in 1989, exceeding every low expectation set upon it and holding its own against a crapload of high-profile summer blockbusters.
* ''Film/HomeAlone'' is the ultimate example: anticipated as another John Hughes concept gone awry, its cartoony slapstick combined with an unexpectedly heartwarming story won audiences over and it became the top-moneymaking comedy of all time (keeping the title until ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'').
* ''Film/{{Clerks}}'', Creator/KevinSmith's shoestring-budget debut, simply popped out of nowhere and made a heaping wad of cash.
* Cameron also has a downplayed example, ''Film/AlitaBattleAngel'', which he wanted to adapt for years (though he wound up only writing and producing due to the ''Avatar'' sequels, with Creator/RobertRodriguez directing), and prior to release was being considered one of those expensive and disappointing pet projects, with the bad reputation of Hollywood adaptations of anime\manga, and the UncannyValley complaints about the title character's BigAnimeEyes not helping matters. Instead, it got a positive reception from audiences (critics were more lukewarm), deeming it the first time Hollywood made a manga movie well, and while it underperformed domestically, the $400 million worldwide earned by ''Alita'' were a good and slightly profitable sum.
* The premise of ''Film/NapoleonDynamite'' sounded a bit stupid before its premiere. It became an indie sensation and "Vote for Pedro" became a catchphrase at the time of the film's release. It became a cultural phenomenon in Idaho and even got a unanimous vote of the Idaho legislature in its favor.
* ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'':
** ''Film/RockyBalboa'' was not only expected to fail at the box office but was also the butt of many jokes by comedians and film fans due to star/writer/director Creator/SylvesterStallone's age (he was 59 at the time of the film's release) and lack of box office success in the early part of the 2000's. Then the film was released, had positive reception from critics and audiences, managed to be a profit-making hit for the studio and gave Stallone a CareerResurrection.
** Fans thought that the seventh follow-up, ''Film/{{Creed}}'', was completely unnecessary because the previous entry wrapped everything up nicely. In addition, audiences and Stallone himself hated [[Film/RockyV the last film]] that had Rocky as a mentor, so how could a second attempt at that work? ''Creed'' managed to gain even more critical acclaim than ''Rocky Balboa'', turned in a respectable profit, and brought Stallone both a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination for his supporting role. [[Film/CreedII It even had its own sequel.]]
* A first-time director decides to shoot his own horror movie in his own house and goes so far as to remodel his own home to use as the setting and hire two unknown actors to play the lead characters. The film was shot in 7 days and was eventually submitted to the [=ScreamFest=] Horror Film Festival, where an executive from Creator/MiramaxFilms saw it and approached the director to rework it for Sundance (he rejected it). Creator/{{Dreamworks}} Pictures saw potential in the film, but they didn't know what to do with it and decided to hold a test screening (which they thought initially bombed after people started walking out). The film was then delayed for several ''years'' while shakeups and management changes occurred at Dreamworks. In addition, this came during the time when the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' franchise debuted to considerable commercial success. The film, ''Film/ParanormalActivity'', was eventually shunted out the door as a test for viral film promotion, and was expected to flop against the then-released ''Film/SawVI''. However, the $15,000 film was a smash hit with audiences, and eventually grossed ''$189 million'' in total, leading to two sequels, while ''Saw VI'''s disappointing box-office performance temporarily [[FranchiseKiller killed the series]] (there was [[Film/Saw3D one more]] ''Saw'' movie a year later, followed by a seven-year gap between it and ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}'').
* Executives were certainly nervous about ''Film/XMen1'', starring a group of superheroes who had never been on the big screen before. This was a time when the failure of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' was still fresh in everyone's minds, when Superman's fifth movie languished in DevelopmentHell, and when the only successful Marvel movie had been 1998's ''Film/{{Blade}}''. Of course, there are stories ([[http://www.aintitcool.com/node/20443 per Moriarty over at Ain't It Cool News]]) that executive Tom Rothman really opposed this project. It went on to be a [[LongRunner long-running]] 20 year franchise over 13 films, even predating the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
* Major studios rejected the offer of distributing ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', fearing that even if the cartoon was still airing, its box office success was not guaranteed. Creator/NewLineCinema took a chance in it, and the film was one of the most profitable independent movies at the time, earning its $13.5 million budget 10 times over!
* ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'': ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII'' had performed below expectations at the box office, as well as Tom Cruise's last few films, and many prognosticators were surprised the studio had approved of a fourth film. Jeremy Renner was also cast as a potential replacement for Cruise in the event they replaced him for the seqeul. Box office analysts [[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3083&p=.htm thought it was a bad move]] for Paramount to schedule the film for Christmas weekend, already crowded with other releases, and a season that wasn't known for being fertile ground for action films. Strong word of mouth, with many calling it the best film of the series, propelled it to a strong box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the year and easily leading Christmas weekend. It led to two more follow-ups that were just as successful, if not more.
* When ''Film/DirtyDancing'' was screened for Aaron Russo, a producer at Vestron Pictures, his reaction to the film was "Burn the negative and collect the insurance." ''Dirty Dancing'' would become one of the highest-grossing films of the year.
* Before ''Film/{{Big}}'' was released in June 1988, there'd already been three OvernightAgeUp comedies [[FollowTheLeader made between 1987 and 1988]]: ''Like Father, Like Son'', ''18 Again!'' and ''Vice Versa'' (plus the Italian film ''Da grande'', which was this film's direct inspiration), so many expected this film to tank and be forgotten. Instead, ''Big'' became the highest-grossing and most highly-praised film of the bunch, earning Creator/TomHanks his first Oscar nomination.
* ''[[Film/RoboCop1987 RoboCop]]'' was expected to be a relatively low-budget B-movie [[ItWillNeverCatchOn that wouldn't do very well at the box office]] and even the director, Creator/PaulVerhoeven, turned it down at first and had to be convinced by his wife to take on the project. Instead, it became one of the biggest films of the year and a sci-fi classic, and launched his career in Hollywood (previously he had only directed arthouse films in the Netherlands, and the last movie he had made, ''Flesh+Blood'', was a huge flop).
* ''[[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 Planet of the Apes]]'': Pierre Boulle, author of ''[[Literature/PlanetOfTheApes La planète des singes]]'', considered it to be one of his lesser works and that any film based off it had no potential for screen success. Fox even only greenlit the movie to compensate [[TroubledProduction the hell producer Arthur P. Jacobs faced with]] ''Film/DoctorDolittle''. Yet it was a great hit, considered a sci-fi classic and [[Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes kick-started a franchise]].
* ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' was widely mocked before release as appearing to be an ill attempt to revive what was a dead franchise, especially after [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001 a bomb of a remake ten years before]]. Then it came out and, to everyone's surprise, turned out to be a critical success, with a groundbreaking performance by Creator/AndySerkis, as well as a commercial success, bringing hope back to the series. The sequel, ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', was [[EvenBetterSequel even more successful]], and ended up being one of the most acclaimed movies of Summer 2014; several film critics even held it up as an example of the kind of film that other Summer blockbusters should strive to be. A trilogy closer, ''Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes'', was also highly acclaimed even if it didn't make as much money as ''Dawn''.
* Apparently, before Creator/BruceWillis was approached to play John [=McClane=] in ''Film/DieHard'', the job had already been turned down by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Creator/SylvesterStallone, Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/RichardGere, Creator/HarrisonFord and Creator/MelGibson, who didn't believe in the script, and John [=McTiernan=], who would later direct it, even turned down ''several'' offers. When his agent delivered the news to Willis, he immediately advised him ''not'' to do it, thinking he'd make a complete fool of himself. However, due to the payment being simply too good to turn down, Willis accepted to play [=McClane=], kicking off his career as one of Hollywood's most popular and well-paid actors. And the movie became influential in [[DieHardOnAnX formula]] and protagonist type of later movies. It is now virtually impossible to find a Best Action Movies list that does not contain it, more often than not, at the top of the pile and even frequently is on Best Christmas Movies lists, which if you had told anyone before it came out they would have had you institutionalized.
* Early trailers for ''Film/{{Paddington}}'' focused on ToiletHumor and Paddington's UncannyValley look, and with Creator/ColinFirth dropping out many thought the film would flop. When it actually came out it got rave reviews from critics on both sides of the Atlantic for being not only a delightfully sincere family film but also staying very true to the spirit of the books. It was also a financial success, grossing over $259 million with a $55 million budget.
* Nobody really thought ''Film/StraightOuttaCompton'' would be a hit, thanks to the subject matter, the R-rating, and the lack of established actors outside of Creator/PaulGiamatti. The film not only won rave reviews but is currently the highest grossing musical biopic of all time, even beating out ''Film/WalkTheLine''.
* ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' was an R-rated summer blockbuster that was [[SequelGap a revival of a franchise that hadn't seen a movie in three decades]] and was regarded as an aged product restricted to TheEighties. It had also spent ages in DevelopmentHell and had a notoriously TroubledProduction that included losing Creator/MelGibson, plus tension between Creator/TomHardy and fellow star Creator/CharlizeTheron and director, Creator/GeorgeMiller. The fact that it was described as a film-long chase sequence did not raise hopes. On release, it became a box office success, a cultural sensation, and one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2015, praised for its incredible action and near peerless storytelling. The praise and enthusiasm from critics and the public lasted all the way to the end of the year, [[OutOfTheGhetto becoming surprisingly one of the biggest award season contenders]], eventually getting ten Oscar nominations including unheard of nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. It ended up winning six, nearly sweeping the technical categories -- even outclassing ''Film/TheForceAwakens''.
* ''[[Film/Deadpool2016 Deadpool]]'': Infamous {{Executive Meddl|ing}}er Tom Rothman (the same guy who previously mandated that [[Film/XMenOriginsWolverine Deadpool's mouth had to be sewn shut]]) was strongly opposed to the movie getting made up until he left Twentieth Century Fox out of fear that the movie wouldn't click with audiences. After he left the company, the movie was officially greenlit, and it recuperated its entire budget ''five times over'' in '''a single weekend'''. To add insult to injury toward Rothman, in that same opening weekend, the movie made more than [[Film/FantasticFour2015 the last superhero movie that Rothman greenlit]] did '''[[BoxOfficeBomb in its entire lifetime]]''', and [[MorePopularSpinoff overtook the main X-Men series in the process]].
* ''Film/WhatEverHappenedToBabyJane'' was expected to flop, particularly after the stories leaked to the press about the quarreling between stars Creator/BetteDavis and Creator/JoanCrawford, but the film turned out to be a critical and commercial hit, even earning an Oscar nomination for Davis.
* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse
** ''[[Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}} Wonder Woman]]'' had been in DevelopmentHell for years and the failures of ''Film/Catwoman2004'' and ''Film/{{Elektra}}'' had many executive producers convinced that [[GirlShowGhetto superheroine movies wouldn't sell well]]. Moreover, the mixed-to-negative reception of the first three DCEU movies (''Film/ManOfSteel'', ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' and ''[[Film/SuicideSquad2016 Suicide Squad]]'') had many expecting that ''Wonder Woman'' would follow the same path. Fortunately, the film earned positive critical and audience reception, with plenty acclaiming it as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, and it became the highest-grossing comic book superhero film with both a female lead and female solo director, earning $200+ million worldwide in just its opening weekend and going on to finish its run with $821 million worldwide. By the end of its theatrical run, it became one of the highest grossing superhero origin movie ''ever'', beating movies now considered genre classics such as ''Superman'' (1978), ''Batman'' (1989), ''Spider-Man'' (2002), ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and all the prior MCU origin films.
** ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'' seemed doomed from the start since it centered on the most infamous MemeticLoser in comics (mostly [[AudienceColoringAdaptation for people not familiar with the comics]]) and was coming off the disappointment of ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' (described as [[https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/12/12/justice-league-is-the-biggest-grossing-box-office-bomb-ever/#62f3eb9b7942 "the most successful]] BoxOfficeBomb ever"). It became a box office juggernaut that quickly outgrossed ''Justice League'' globally in just '''three weeks''' and managed to crack the $1 billion worldwide gross, a feat that ''Batman v Superman'' and ''Justice League'' failed to achieve despite starring more popular heroes. As of this writing, it has become the highest grossing film in the ''entire franchise'' and the biggest unadjusted DC Comics film grosser ''period''. Even its critical and audience reception is warm enough to invoke this.
** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' initially didn't seem like it would have amounted to much. Aside from being the ReCut version of ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'', which largely earned mixed-to-negative reviews, the movie's [[TroubledProduction infamous behind-the-scenes troubles]] (including director Creator/ZackSnyder having to step away from production to grieve the death of his daughter, reports of heavy ExecutiveMeddling, and the HostilityOnTheSet going on under replacement director Joss Whedon) made some skeptical anything good could be salvaged and the [[SendingStuffToSaveTheShow fan campaign]] that demanded its release ([=#ReleaseTheSnyderCut=]) was a huge target of mockery among online circles. On top of all that, it was going to be released on the Creator/HBOMax streaming service, which was hardly a behemoth compared to competing services like Netflix, Disney+, or Prime Video. Then, when it came out, reviews from critics and audiences alike were positive on the whole and called the Snyder version a major improvement over the theatrical cut, with the movie gaining high viewership numbers that beat out the debut of {{dueling work|s}} ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier''. Its release has also led to [[VindicatedByHistory a more positive re-evaluation]] of Snyder's previous DCEU entries (particularly ''Dawn of Justice'') and a renewed interest from fans to see the "Snyder-verse" restored.
* Almost nobody was counting on ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'' to be even remotely successful, with a good number of people even predicting it would become a box-office bomb and ruin the credibility of many of its cast members. Reasons for this mentality included Sony's [[Film/Ghostbusters2016 last attempt at rebooting a classic comedy]] [[BrokenBase being one of the most divisive movies of the decade]], the concept of having the main characters be the in-game avatars of a group of high-schoolers in a video game baffling many and overall just the fact that Creator/RobinWilliams is such a beloved figure that many thought remaking the movie would be an insult to his memory. Upon release, however, people wound up praising the cast, the comedy and how it acted as [[AffectionateParody both a love letter to old-school video games and a surprisingly well-done parody of them]], while also being respectful of the original film without relying too much on the nostalgia of the original. Even more surprisingly, despite people thinking it would bomb at the box-office considering it would be released around the same time as ''Film/TheLastJedi'', it wound up [[SleeperHit doing the opposite]], even taking the #1 spot from ''The Last Jedi'' after three weeks of release and grossing over $900 million worldwide, making it the 5th highest grossing film of 2017. For a film many counted on crashing and burning at the box-office, to say this is quite the turnaround would be an understatement. It even led to another sequel, ''Film/JumanjiTheNextLevel''.
* ''Nobody'' expected wrestler [[Wrestling/TheRock Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]]'s acting career to go anywhere. Despite a misstep or two early in his Hollywood days, The Rock of today is a bonafide movie star and consistent box office draw.
* ''Film/CrazyRichAsians'': There hasn't been a Hollywood movie with an all-Asian cast in a modern setting since ''Film/TheJoyLuckClub'' back in 1993 and there were producers who wanted to change the female lead into a white woman, [[MinorityShowGhetto believing that casual audiences would not connect with an Asian lead]], which [[Literature/CrazyRichAsians author Kevin Kwan]] had none of that. He ended up selling the rights for $1 to ensure that the movie wouldn't be white-washed. Likewise, the film is directed by [[Creator/JonMChu someone]] whose filmography has movies of questionable quality (his only Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes was a Music/JustinBieber concert movie!). The producers even refused the safer bet of going with Netflix, who even offered to finance a whole trilogy, to remain with Warner Bros. and get the movie in theaters. ''Crazy Rich Asians'' crushed those doubts after breaking the box office with $167.3 million worldwide as of this writing and earning crazy positive reviews. The sequels based on literary follow-ups ''China Rich Girlfriend'' and ''Rich People Problems'' are already in the works.
* ''[[Film/Venom2018 Venom]]'': Between controversial staffing (most infamously being produced by Avi Arad, whose [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling]] sank the ''Spider-Man'' film franchise ''twice'', as well as Amy Pascal, who became widely hated online for greenlighting ''[[Film/Ghostbusters2016 Ghostbusters]]'', and being greenlit by the aforementioned Tom Rothman), multiple online backlashes to various decisions (especially the decision to completely divorce Venom from Spider-Man, which led to comparisons to ''Film/Catwoman2004'', which also infamously divorced its titular character from Franchise/{{Batman}}), and an array of trailers with questionable taglines and some awkward scenes and dialogue, plus a smear campaign by fans of Music/LadyGaga to support [[Film/AStarIsBorn2018 their star's competing film]], was ''anyone'' expecting ''Venom'' to get a box office of $370 million, nearly four times its budget, before a fortnight was over?
* Virtually nobody in Hollywood saw the success of ''Film/{{Twilight}}'' coming. When it was first picked up by Creator/{{Paramount}}, they tried [[https://web.archive.org/web/20101001002253/http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-twilight-that-almost-was.html turning it]] into an action-horror movie that had more in common with ''[[Film/Underworld2003 Underworld]]'' than [[Literature/{{Twilight}} the book it was based on]], thinking that a vampire romance movie, without any horror elements, would bomb. Reportedly, after Creator/StephenieMeyer took ''Twilight'' to the smaller studio Creator/SummitEntertainment, where it became one of the biggest hits of 2008 despite a then-unknown cast and low budget, [[https://www.thewrap.com/twilight-witch-hunt-over-paramount-1009/ heads rolled at Paramount]] as executives argued over who let the film slip through their grasp.
* No one had faith in ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'' during production. The film's writer/director Hal Needham envisioned it as a cheap B- movie. Creator/BurtReynolds hated the script, calling it the worst script he'd ever read, so much so that 90% of the dialogue in the final film was reported to be improvised. And the crew ran into budget issues as well. Who'd have guessed this would end up being the second-largest grossing film of 1977, beaten out only by ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]''?
* A biographical account of [[Wrestling/{{Paige}} a wrestler]] who's not only still alive but may not be as mainstream as other wrestlers worthy of movies about them, directed by [[Creator/StephenMerchant a guy primarily known for comedies]] and having [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] as a producer despite being more of an action movie star? Yeah, ''Film/FightingWithMyFamily'' had an uphill climb from the start despite its impressive cast and being endorsed by Wrestling/{{WWE}} themselves. Yet come release week, it manages to not only win acclaim through its humor and heart but also easily makes back its budget, managing to [[{{Pun}} wrestle]] the UK #1 spot from ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie2TheSecondPart'' and do surprisingly well in the rest of the world.
* Very few people seriously thought that ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' would actually be a hit. Not only was it a live-action film adaptation of a ''[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} video game]]'' (a [[VideoGameMoviesSuck notorious curse]] in the film industry), it was an adaptation of a [[VideoGame/DetectivePikachu mostly obscure spinoff]] of a video game franchise that peaked in popularity in the West the late 1990s, and hadn't had a theatrical film release in the West over a decade. It wasn't expected to be a BoxOfficeBomb, but it surprised a ''lot'' of people when it made back almost three times its budget and got positive reviews from most film critics--including plenty of critics who openly didn't like Pokémon.
* When ''Film/DoraAndTheLostCityOfGold'' was announced, many people rolled their eyes because [[WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer the preschool show it was based on]] had become a target for mockery. Not helping was the fact that the show ended in 2014, meaning that the potential audience had grown up with no one to take their place. Furthermore, [[Film/TheLastAirbender the last attempt]] at a live action adaptation of a Nicktoon was a failure at every level. Henceforth, it was a surprise when the movie ended up getting 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, with praise going towards the Indiana Jones style adventuring and self aware humor. It made nearly $120m worldwide on a $49m budget. Its success also convinced Nickelodeon films to green-light [[WesternAnimation/PAWPatrolTheMovie a movie based on]] ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'' for a 2021 theatrical release.
* The marketing for ''Film/GoodBoys'' made it look like a movie with a one joke premise (kids swearing), and it was released at a time when R-rated comedies were losing popularity (''Film/LongShot'' - Seth Rogen's prior comedy before this one - had bombed). It therefore came as a surprise when it got positive reviews and overperformed in it's opening weekend, being the first live action and completely original movie of 2019 to top the box office in it's opening weekend. Most of the positive reviews praised the movie for being a genuinely mature coming of age story.
* Even Creator/WarnerBros didn't expect ''[[Film/{{Joker|2019}} Joker]]'' to be a success, to the point that they gave it a budget of less than $100 million (possibly in an attempt to dissuade director Creator/ToddPhillips from making it). It went on to get rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, even winning the prestigious [[UsefulNotes/LeoneDOro Golden Lion]] at the former. Despite being the subject of controversy over its depiction of violence and mental illness, it broke several box-office records, made almost four times its budget in its opening weekend alone, and eventually beat ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' to become not only the highest grossing R-rated film of all time, but the first R-rated movie to make a billion dollars worldwide. It further cemented its success with ''11 Oscar nominations'', the most of any comic book film in history (winning both Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix's Joker and Best Original Score), making it a potential game-changer for the genre.
* No one expected ''Film/BadBoysForLife'' to be anything but a late and unwanted sequel to two dumb action movies directed by the polarizing Creator/MichaelBay (who wasn't involved in this film) and received negative reviews. Similarly, both lead actors had seen their star power fade over the course of two decades. It was initially set for a 2017 release date, before being cancelled and moved to 2020, in the dump month of January. ''Bad Boys'' therefore came as a surprise when it earned $73m in its opening weekend, outgrossed the first two movies, and ended up earning over $424m worldwide, and received glowing reviews deeming a more mature and well-done film than its predecessors. The success was cut short by the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, but it led to Sony greenlighting a sequel.
* ''[[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' had a ''massive'' uphill battle against it. For starters, it's a LiveActionAdaptation of a video game series (which [[VideoGameMoviesSuck hasn't had a great track record]]) of a character that, while still fairly popular, is way past his heyday. Then the project suffered a ChannelHop that saw the rights going from Sony to Paramount. And then the previews came out, with the first posters and trailers revealing an UncannyValley humanoid design that horrified fans, non-fans, and even Sonic's creators, leading to a vocal backlash. To everyone's surprise, Paramount actually ''delayed'' the movie to February 2020 from its initial November 2019 release date to modify Sonic's design. When the second trailer dropped, revealing Sonic's new design, everyone greatly approved of it. And then the movie actually had surprisingly decent reviews and adoration from audiences, also breaking the video game movie curse by having the best opening of the genre (over $110 million worldwide over President's Day weekend, about $70 million domestically, surpassing ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''). By March 15th, it has made over $300 million globally and $145 million domestically, becoming the highest-grossing video game movie ever in the latter category. And this was without the aid of neither Japan ''nor'' China, both countries having to delay their movie premieres due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic.
* The first ''[[Film/{{TheTerminator}} Terminator]]'' film had everything working against it -- neophyte director Creator/JamesCameron, whose previous directing work on [[Film/PiranhaPartTwoTheSpawning a low-budget sequel]] led to him getting locked out of the editing room, had a great idea for a script about a killer robot from the future, but was advised by his agent not to do it (Cameron fired him). Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, who started a hot streak with ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian'' and was in the middle of shooting [[Film/ConanTheDestroyer its sequel]], thought the film was going to be terrible (which he would cop to saying in later years), and was overheard on the set of ''Destroyer'' saying the project was "a shit movie". The film was beset with production problems, not helped by Orion Pictures (its distributor) all but crippling the film, with them taking advice from the actors' agents ''not'' to screen it for critics (it had one press screening) and slashing its marketing budget, with only a few defenders at the studio and within the production team championing it. Yet, the film was a smash-hit at release, winning #1 at the box office two weeks in a row during its 1984 launch window, grossing more than $78 million at the box-office against a $6.4 million budget, and spawning a juggernaut franchise that has continued in various forms for several decades afterwards and spawned five sequels (in various timelines), comics, games and more.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Creator/AnthonyBurgess wrote his first novel, ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'', as a form of therapy in an emotionally turbulent period in his life. He figured that once published it would be quickly forgotten, and he would turn his attention to his next book. ''Clockwork Orange'' propelled Burgess to international fame instead.
* First editions of ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', the first ''Discworld'' novel, are quite rare because no one really thought it would sell and the publishing run was therefore rather low.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter''. Publishers were afraid children wouldn't read such [[DoorStopper long books]]. Literary critics pigeonholed the first book as lame 1990s juvenile fantasy, destined to be forgotten. Not only did the series become some of the best-selling books in history, but it also got film adaptations, and is still seeing some new merchandise and materials to this day.
** Even the publishing house that finally accepted ''Philosopher's Stone'' wasn't going to at first. They saw no market or promise in the book. The editor charged with reading the manuscript took the first chapter home, didn't want to read it, and gave it to his eight-year-old daughter... who read the entire chapter at breakneck speed and began ''immediately'' pestering her father non-stop for the rest of the book so she could find out more about "the little boy." The editor went back to work and told his bosses that they just might have something here...
** Even better, when ''Philosopher's Stone'' had its first printing, JK Rowling sat for a story with the book critic for a small local paper. At the end of the interview, she gave the critic a signed copy of the book as a gift. On the way back to the office, the critic tossed the book in a trash bin, thinking it was worthless. To be clear, the critic ''threw away a signed, first edition printing of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone... copies of which have sold for over eighty thousand dollars.''
* The original novel of ''Literature/{{MASH}}'' was rejected by over a dozen publishers, which was a record for the agency selling it. It eventually spawned a movie, numerous sequel novels and a tv series that ran for eleven years (and whose final episode was the highest rated show ever broadcast at that time).
* ''Literature/AnimalFarm'' was turned down by a publisher who told Creator/GeorgeOrwell in the rejection slip, "It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA." The slip in question was from The Dial Press of New York. To quote Creator/ChristopherHitchens in response: "And this, in the land of Disney..."
* In case you need proof that most publishers thought Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'' would fail, King has saved all the rejection letters he got while trying to sell it. One of them said, "We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell."
** Even King ''himself'' had no faith in the story―at first. After writing a few pages of the opening scene, he felt that ''Carrie'' would have to be much longer than he'd envisioned (which meant no magazine would buy it), he wasn't emotionally invested in the story or characters, and he didn't know enough about teenage girls to write about them convincingly. So he crumpled up what he'd written and threw it away, only to be presented with the papers later by his wife Tabitha, who'd found them in the trash, smoothed them out and read them. She'd been intrigued by what Steve had written and wanted him to continue.
** After King made it big with ''Carrie'', and followed it up with ''Literature/SalemsLot'', then followed that up with ''Literature/TheShining'', his editor and close friend advised him that if he wasn't careful, he was going to get classed as a horror writer, and horror writers never experienced long term success...
* Nathaniel Hawthorne did not expect ''Literature/TheScarletLetter'' to be popular. It was.
* Creator/BeatrixPotter at first had absolutely ''no'' luck finding an editor who liked ''Literature/TheTaleOfPeterRabbit''. Eventually, she used her family's wealth to publish it privately, and after some moderate success on this limited distribution, an editor was convinced that it would sell and, well, it certainly did.
* As hard as it is to believe, one publisher rejected ''Literature/AnneFrankTheDiaryOfAYoungGirl'', claiming in the rejection slip, "The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above 'curiosity' level." (The name of this publisher has been lost, and more than likely, he kept quiet about it.)
* Creator/AstridLindgren was rejected by one publisher, ''Bonniers''. But she finally was accepted by another publisher, ''Rabén & Sjögren'', and she would (mostly) remain faithful to them for the rest of her career. And it was a good career too, as she became one of Sweden's most-loved writers of children's literature.
* Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt was determined to bring the RomanceNovel to the Swedish literary scene. But it wasn't easy for her to find a publisher for her debut novel, ''Literature/{{Overenskommelser}}'', and critics continued to ignore her. While she maybe isn't a household name, she's got a steady fanbase, she has published four more novels and has proved that there is a market for Swedish Romance.
* Ted Geisel - better known by his pen name, Creator/DrSeuss - tried ''twenty-seven times'', unsuccessfully, to sell his first children's book. You probably know it as ''And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street''. And he almost GaveUpTooSoon. He was so frustrated after the 27th time, he decided to go burn the manuscript when by pure chance, he ran into an old friend... who had just happened to become a publisher.
* ''Literature/AConfederacyOfDunces'' was rejected as being pointless by multiple publishers. After the author committed suicide, his mother found a smeared copy of the manuscript, and tried to get publishers interested for the next ''11 years''. Finally, she browbeat an established author into reading it, and he was so impressed, he used his influence to get it published. The novel won a Pulitzer Prize the next year.
* Creator/JRRTolkien tried several times throughout his life to sell one version or another of what eventually became ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', but gave up after many rejections, finally concluding that the work was best viewed as a personal hobby, inventing a setting in which to place his [[ConLang invented languages]] but of little interest to the greater public. Finally completed by his son Christopher and published posthumously, it never achieved the same heights as ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' (which incorporated a great deal of it into its backstory, making its status as a sequel to ''Literature/TheHobbit'' something of a DolledUpInstallment), but it turned out to be of great enough interest to Tolkien fans to enjoy the sort of popularity that would make many a lesser fantasy writer envious, and enough interest remained for Christopher Tolkien to publish his father's notes in a more complete form as first ''Literature/UnfinishedTales'' and then the multi-volume ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth'', and expand one of its story arcs to the novel-length ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin''.
* Because people tend to remember the movie ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'', it's easy for many to forget that Margaret Mitchell's book, which inspired it, was rejected over thirty times. It was an immediate bestseller and is the ''second''-most read and bought book in the United States (the Bible is number one), and is the most successful novel in the [=US=].
* ''Literature/EverydaySaints'' is a book written by a Christian bishop about his conversion, the monasteries he lived in and the ascetics who influenced his religious life. Nobody at all expected it to be a success among anyone but devoted churchgoers. Instead, it became wildly popular, topped the 2011 bestseller list in Russia, had to be reprinted six times within a year from the first publication, and was translated into over a dozen languages.
* ''Literature/AWrinkleInTime'' was rejected at least 26 times before Madeleine L'Engle found a publisher. Reasons for rejection included the fact that it was a sci-fi story with a female protagonist and its frank depiction of evil being inappropriate for children. It went on to become a beloved novel with multiple sequels.
* Creator/JimButcher didn't think much of his first attempt of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' series. Many of his peers and writing teachers had tried to beat bad writing habits out of him, and so to spite them, he sat down and wrote the most cliched, formulaic story he could think of involving an OccultDetective in an UrbanFantasy setting just so show that he could. He shopped it around to publishers a bit halfheartedly, not really thinking much of it and looking towards his next project now that he'd gotten it out of his system, and was rather surprised when he found a publisher willing to take it on and commission sequels.
[[/folder]]

* Film/AndYouThoughtItWouldFail

AndYouThoughtItWouldFail/Film

* When ''Film/DoraAndTheLostCityOfGold'' was announced, many people rolled their eyes because [[WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer the preschool show it was based on]] had become a target for mockery. Not helping was the fact that the show ended in 2014, meaning that the potential audience had grown up with no one to take their place. Furthermore, [[Film/TheLastAirbender the last attempt]] at a live action adaptation of a Nicktoon was a failure at every level. Henceforth, it was a surprise when the movie ended up getting 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, with praise going towards the Indiana Jones style adventuring and self aware humor. It made nearly $120m worldwide on a $49m budget. Its sucess also convinced Nickelodeon films to green-light a movie based on WesternAnimation/PawPatrol for a 2021 theatrical release.

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' was fighting an uphill battle when it was first announced. Not only was it another Crash game distributed by Activision (whose track record with the Crash Bandicoot series have been highly controversial among fans), but it was being developed by Vicarious Visions, who prior to N. Sane did the [=GBA=] Crash games, which were seen as SoOkayItsAverage at best. To add more fuel to the fire, they were HD remakes of the first 3 [=PS1=] games by Creator/NaughtyDog. Even Activision thought the game wasn’t going to sell that well upon release. The result? It became one of the highest selling games of 2017, it got rave reviews from critics, [[WinTheCrowd was well received by fans of the classic games]], and even Naughty Dog, known for their strict stance on OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight regarding every Crash game post Team Racing [[ApprovalOfGod approved of the remastering job]]. It was so successful that it led to the ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' and ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'', both of which were also well regarded.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' struggled with this. While the initial announcement excited many, it was soon replaced with hesitance and apprehension thanks to the reveal that Creator/MercurySteam would be developing the game and that Yoshio Sakamoto would be producing. [=MercurySteam=] had previously made the divisive ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' reboot of the ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series, whose second entry is viewed as a FranchiseKiller, due to being no new entry in the franchise since (unless you count pachinko machines). Meanwhile, Yoshio Sakamoto's last ''Metroid'' game,''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', is regarded as the worst entry in the series and was also thought to be a FranchiseKiller until this game was announced. Thankfully, ''Samus Returns'' was widely considered a return to form for the series, salvaging both the reputations of the Spanish game studio and the Japanese producer. When it was revealed years later that they'd be following the game up with ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' (which had been {{Vaporware}} for fifteen years), fans were absolutely ecstatic.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' had a lot stacked against it. To start, it was the next incarnation of [[Franchise/MyLittlePony a franchise]] that was not only viewed as the embodiment of the kind of TastesLikeDiabetes stuff aimed at little girls that was ripe for all kinds of mockery, but a franchise that had undergone a ''steep'' slide in quality since its inception. Meanwhile, long-time fans of the Creator/CraigMcCracken-Creator/GenndyTartakovsky group, as well as television critics, were skeptical it would be anything more than your standard, bland MerchandiseDriven cartoon, with some even pointing to it as being the herald to [[https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/the-end-of-the-creator-driven-era-29614.html the end of the "creator-driven" era of TV animation]]. On top of that, this was to be a flagship show on the fledgling network Creator/TheHub, a channel co-owned by the toy company Hasbro. The show's creator Creator/LaurenFaust also received a lot of harsh words from every corner of the internet about selling out and her supposed lack of artistic integrity, to the point where she feared the show would flop and this would be her CreatorKiller. Despite this vitriol, or perhaps because of it, the show wound up succeeding with not only its target audience, but also breaking out of the GirlShowGhetto by gaining a large PeripheryDemographic nobody expected, not only boosting a dying toy franchise back into popularity, but also allowing The Hub (now known as Discovery Family) to be seen as a real contender for the likes of Creator/CartoonNetwork and Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}. Once everything was said and done, ''Friendship Is Magic'' got ''nine seasons'', a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls spin-off series]], books, and a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie theatrically released movie]] over the course of ten years, and inspired [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW a comic]] and [[Creator/SevenSeasEntertainment manga]] which are both still running.

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** ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' had a lot of hurdles to overcome, Not only was it being centered on an obscure character with a lot of racist baggage from the comics, the film was given a theatrical only release with the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic Delta variant]] on the rise, which had some outlets assume Disney had no faith in the movie, thereby expecting it to flop. Also, Mainland China had an [[AmericansHateTingle icy reception]] towards the movie and it wasn't released on the opening day, plus there were some people planning to boycott the movie because of Awkwafina's involvement. Lastly, the movie would be released on Labor Day weekend, which had a reputation of being a bad weekend to release a movie. ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' would end up having the second highest opening weekend of the pandemic, breaking the all time record for a Labor Day weekend release as well.[[note]]And this was during COVID as well[[/note]] and received acclaim from critics and fans, with some hailing it as one of the MCU's best origin stories.

** According to series director Creator/YoshioSakamoto, ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' was nearly canned ''three times''. And its biggest detractor was its producer and series creator, Gunpei Yokoi. He often angrily asked the team "[[{{Irony}} Are you trying to make a goddamn masterpiece?]]" ''Super Metroid'' is now regarded as [[SacredCow a goddamn masterpiece]], and ''the'' quintessential game of {{Metroidvania}} genre, with overwhelming praise for everything from the gameplay and level design to its atmosphere and [[ShowDontTell minimalist visual storytelling]]. It has been at or near the top of numerous "best games of all time" lists, and Yokoi himself eventually came to see it as a reference of exactly what a good game should be. In fact, the main reason a UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 ''Metroid'' game was never made was primarily because [[ToughActToFollow no one had the confidence that they could make a worthy successor]].

** According to series director Yoshio Sakamoto, ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' was nearly canned ''three times''. And its biggest detractor was its producer and series creator, Gunpei Yokoi. He often angrily asked the team "[[{{Irony}} Are you trying to make a goddamn masterpiece?]]" ''Super Metroid'' is now regarded as [[SacredCow a goddamn masterpiece]], and ''the'' quintessential game of {{Metroidvania}} genre, with overwhelming praise for everything from the gameplay and level design to its atmosphere and [[ShowDontTell minimalist visual storytelling]]. It has been at or near the top of numerous "best games of all time" lists, and Yokoi himself eventually came to see it as a reference of exactly what a good game should be. In fact, the main reason a UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 ''Metroid'' game was never made was primarily because [[ToughActToFollow no one had the confidence that they could make a worthy successor]].

** ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' had a lot of hurdles to overccome, Not only was it being centered on an obscure character with a lot of racist baggage from the comics, the film was given a theatrical only release with the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic Delta variant]] on the rise, which had some outlets assume Disney had no faith in the movie, thereby expecting it to flop. Also, Mainland China had an [[AmericansHateTingle icy reception]] towards the movie and it wasn't released on the opening day, plus there were some people planning to boycott the movie because of Awkwafina's involvement. ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' would end up having the second highest opening weekend of the pandemic, breaking the all time record for a Labor Day weekend release as well.[[note]]And this was during COVID as well[[/note]] and received acclaim from critics and fans, with some hailing it as one of the MCU's best origin stories.

** ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' had a lot of hurdles to overccome, Not only was it being centered on an obscure character with a lot of racist baggage from the comics, the film was given a theatrical only release with the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic Delta variant]] on the rise, which had some outlets assume Disney had no faith in the movie, thereby expecting it to flop. ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' would end up having the second highest opening weekend of the pandemic, breaking the all time record for a Labor Day weekend release as well.[[note]]And this was during COVID as well[[/note]] and received acclaim from critics and fans, with some hailing it as one of the MCU's best origin stories.

* When ComicBook/JaneFoster was announced to be the new Thor in ''ComicBook/Thor2014'' caused a controversial stir in the Marvel community, as many thought it would be a failure because of the successor [[GirlShowGhetto being a woman]]. After the comic series came out, it was met with both commercial and critical success.