Thirty years ago yesterday, the movie Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie opened in theaters. You might not remember it at all, because it went to video after a short theater run that made a million dollars against a $5 million production budget. What happened?
In the '90s, getting into theaters was the ultimate goal for any entertainment franchise. MST3K had been on TV for eight years, and had built a following of loyal fans. Why not make the leap to the big screen? But then they had to deal with Hollywood producers, who wanted all the jokes to appeal to a mainstream audience, and MST3K's success was due to the show being completely out of the mainstream. There were other factors that make the movie difficult that you can read at Inverse. Despite the lost money, the movie wasn't really a disaster, and fans now consider it a pretty good TV episode.
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