From Grease to Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta has starred in some absolute classics, but did you know one of his movies only made around $3,000?
John Travolta is a true legend of the silver screen, transforming himself into a wide array of characters from Pulp Fiction's Vincent Vega to Hairspray's Edna Turnblad.
He's even bagged himself a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for two Oscars and a BAFTA Award.
Advert
But, not every film you make can be a box office smash, and people have been shocked to learn that in 2019 Travolta starred in a rather bizarre flick that earned just $3,000 during its theater release.
The Fanatic is a psychological thriller directed and co-written by Limp Bizkit frontman, Fred Durst.
The movie stars Travolta as Moose, an autistic man and movie buff who begins stalking his favorite actor Hunter Dunbar (played by Devon Sawa) and inadvertently destroys the star's life.
Advert
While Travolta was generally praised for his performance in the film, it earned just $3,153 from 52 theaters across the US on its opening day, making it a certified box-office flop.
When the film's failures were recently shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), social media users were understandably shocked.
One person asked: "How is that even possible lol?"
To which someone else replied: "Yeah it's nuts. It screened at 52 theaters so that means it legit sold like 5 or 6 tickets per theater."
Advert
Another savagely wrote: "Durst can’t write music, what made him think he could write a movie?"
Meanwhile, one user shared their experience of watching the film at the cinema, claiming: "I was one of those people. The theater was completely empty lol." When asked what they thought of the movie, they said: "It’s not good, but it’s very funny. Worth a watch for sure."
But, despite the film receiving a measly 14 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Travolta has since defended the movie, calling it one of his favorites.
Advert
In a 2020 interview with Awards Daily, he said: "Like any artist, if you look to the work of Calder or Picasso or Rembrandt, there are pieces of work that are more famous, less famous, some people don’t like certain people’s work or don’t respond to it emotionally - and that’s the beauty of the variations of art. You pick and choose what you like.
"We’ve all disagreed with very popular movies and agreed with smaller, less popular movies or vice versa. So I think it’s really the magic of art. You have the right to interpret."
Topics: Film and TV, Entertainment