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MOVIES

What kid wouldn't want an Alien toy?

After 'Star Wars,' toy company Kenner thought they had another sci-fi hit with 'Alien.' No one seemed to consider the problem of selling toys for a film that could have gotten an X rating.

Jake Rossen






Not even the star power of Daniel Craig could save The Golden Compass (2007).

From 'It's a Wonderful Life' to 'Battlefield Earth,' these box office turkeys proved that it can take just one major flop to send a studio down the dreaded path of bankruptcy.

Jon O'Brien


Don White/iStock via Getty Images

In 1985, a botched drug smuggling operation by former narcotics officer Andrew Thornton led to a bear discovering 40 packages of cocaine in the woods. Now, the bizarre story of the drug kingpin and "Pablo Escobear" is being made into a movie.

Michele Debczak
Charlie Chaplin in The Circus (1928).

“Cut to the chase” is a slightly friendlier way of telling someone to get to the point, but old Hollywood filmmakers meant it literally.

Ellen Gutoskey


Rami Malek once handed out his headshot as part of takeout orders.

Actor Rami Malek has earned acclaim for his roles in 'Mr. Robot' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' But his first credited work was something he had to pay a fee to get.

Jake Rossen






Franz Drameh, Alex Esmail, Leeon Jones, and John Boyega in Joe Cornish's Attack the Block (2011).

When 'Attack the Block' arrived in theaters in 2011, it recouped just half of its $11 million budget. The critics, however, were positive in their reviews, and the film became a cult classic.

Tony Dunnell






A still from Ishirô Honda's King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963).

'Godzilla vs. Kong'—a new slugfest from Legendary Pictures—is set to be released on March 31, 2021. But it won't be the first time these monsters have faced off; they met once before in 1962’s 'King Kong vs. Godzilla.'

Mark Mancini