Talk:Sleeper hit/Archive 1

human sleeper (i.e. a NFL draft candidate)
The New York Times used the term very clearly in this context, and its one I've heard elsewhere: article here. I think the context should be added (for people/candidates in general). --Bobak 16:22, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Redefinition for gaming/other forms.
After thinking about this a bit and reading a bit I've noticed a couple issues. First video gaming uses the term sleeper hit, as for underdog or dark horse, neither term is particularly used. However "sleeper hit" in gaming doesn't refer to any true marker of success. I don't have a perfect definition but most of the time sleeper hits are games that don't have large marketing budgets but come out with an above average game that most people find unique. An example of this is Disgaea. While it's not on the same level as larger games, and got a minor amount of press about it at the time it came out, it's highly praised by those who have used it.

This is however different from cult followings (though sleeper hits tend to garner those as well). It's quite different than movies, where the marker of success is usually in pure sales as games tend to care more about return on investments, than total sales. Success metrics for games are more based on a return on investment (so a game doesn't have to sell at the level of Halo or Half life to be considered successful.)

The problem is this is a widely accepted fact, not something citable or that has a meaning discussed, but the term carries a weight with it so it's a bit harder to add to the article, however the term is used in discussions of video games as much if not more than movies, so I think there should be at least a discussion of a proper definition of the term in regards to gaming.Kinglink (talk) 09:07, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

The Matrix, Borat!, American Pie
According to the definition given in this article, neither of these three films should be in the list. All three were hyped by their distributors; Borat! especially since I've seen ads, commercials, whatnot all over the place since long before the film was released. --IndigoAK200 18:39, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm putting in the Pride and Prejudice (2005 film), because nobody expected it to be a success, beyond the U.K. and because of the 1995 TV series, and what a surprise! It even got nominated for the Academy Awards. 20:27, 16 July 2006 (PST)

I'm afraid this could be controversial, but I'm adding the original Star Wars to the list of sleeper movies. It's probably the most well-known and most successful sleeper hit in history, though in this day and age there are probably many people who don't realize this and have no idea it was a sleeper in its day. I'm listing it without all of the "Episode IV: Blah Blah Blah" tacked on, I'm listing as simply "Star Wars," which was its original title. Please leave it as such. Druff 23:24, 25 October 2005 (UTC)


 * You're an idiot. Star Wars was not a sleeper hit.  It opened huge and lines ran around the block, longer than lines for the gas stations at the time of the OPEC crisis.  It was not even shown on broadcast television until approximately 8 years later.  This was before everyone had VCRS or anything, so it does not meet the original definition of sleeper, which you have totally screwed up.


 * Yeah, calling someone an idiot and then not signing your message, that's a way to be taken seriously. But anyway, it was true that 20th Century Fox was placing their faith on Damnation Alley while Star Wars received very little attention from them, only for them to have the exact opposite of their expectations to be met. The popularity of the movie alone doesn't make the difference, it's whether it's expected or not. Takeshi357 16:49, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the statement that the definition is wrong. A dictionary definition is Informal: a person or thing that achieves success after an initial period of obscurity. By the way; the crucial bit is the 'initial period of obscurity'.

Also, even by the definition given in the article, the choice of There's Something About Mary is wrong. It did not open small (as stated), it opened at 2186 screens and was number 4 on it's first weekend and continued to stay in the top 5 for 11 weeks! A sleeper hit it was not. Whoever wrote the definition doesn't understand the difference between a surprisingly big hit and a sleeper hit. They are different you know.

I added books to the list of examples and also a link to an interesting article by Mathew Gladwell. Probably someone with a background in publishing could add some more information.

I kind of want to contest the way sleeper hit is used for video gaming. In my experience a sleeper hit in the game world referred more to a great game that went compleatly under the radar of the general gaming public. Opinions?

It is incorrectly used as that definition for video games on gaming message boards. The correct word to use for those kind of games is "underdog".
 * Dark Horse is another term for that scenario, IIRC. --JD79 13:18, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

♦Wouldn't Grand Theft Auto 3 count as a sleeper hit? The first two GTA's didn't really get any sort of recognition, then all of a sudden GTA3 comes and it's wildly successful, with explosive sales. The rest is history. Hitmaker 19:23, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

I take exception with Austin Powers being on the "sleeper list"; I remember lots of hype before it came out and the theatres being packed within a few weeks. Is there some research to back this up? Also, in the style of The Shawshank Redemption, the films Memphis Belle and A River Runs Through It seemed to grow much more popular through endless cable TV airings that through box office success. --JD79 13:18, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

i don't belivee that Juno should be on the sleeper list, either. That movie was hyped, hyped, and more hyped before its release. It is fairly evident that the studio that backed it expected it to be quite popular, hence the promotion involved. 75.65.0.31 (talk) 06:47, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004, March of the Penguins (2005), The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) - REALLY? Maybe no one expected Harold & Kumar to be a hit but the living crapola was advertised out of ALL of these movies before they came out = especially MP{ and 40-year old virgin. The list is good as it is now, but not with these titles ... although Harold & Kumar might be appropriate because despite massive ads, NO one thought it would be a "hit" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.51.138.62 (talk) 11:27, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

HAHA Hot Tub Time Machine? The Hangover? Zombietown? These movies have all been promoted like crazy. This list is bullshit, and likely added to by major movie companies.

No sleeper hits before 1976?
Really? Or is it just WP:Recentism from younger editors? 81.158.1.233 (talk) 03:46, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, it's probably just Recentism. Either that, or it might be hard to find box office incomes of films that old. However, IMDB probably has it.Sakurato (talk) 19:23, 3 November 2009 (UTC)

Paranormal Activity and District 9?
I can't see how either of these fit the definition of a sleeper hit. Both had huge viral campaigns prior to their release. D9 had Peter Jackson's name slathered all over it from day 1, and that alone drew interest from many people. PA was touted as one of the scariest movies in years, with unique trailers which showed audience reactions rather than the actual film. It was a striking advertising campaign, and one which created a huge amount of interest prior to release. Just because it made enormous returns due to its tiny budget doesn't make it a sleeper hit, it makes it successful. I'm removing both of these from the list unless someone can explain their presence there. 67.133.229.226 (talk) 05:34, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Trimmed the list of film examples
The list of films was very long, and there were many disputes as to what exactly comprises a "sleeper hit". In keeping with Wikipedia policy, only films that have been described as sleeper hits by reputable sources (not blogs) should qualify. I did a bit of googling and found some references, which I added to the list. I removed some items that I couldn't find sources for. These can be added back later if someone finds a proper source has been that refers to them as "sleepers" or "sleeper hits":

Fionah 15:13, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
 * 28 Days Later
 * Babe
 * Barbershop
 * A Better Tomorrow
 * The Big Lebowski
 * Boyz N the Hood
 * Clerks
 * Clueless
 * Crocodile Dundee
 * Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
 * The Crying Game
 * Donnie Darko
 * Dr. No
 * El Mariachi
 * Forever Young
 * Grease
 * Memento
 * Monster's Ball
 * ''The Notebook
 * Office Space
 * Passion of the Christ
 * ''Porky's
 * Pulp Fiction
 * Saw
 * Sling Blade

Kung Fu Panda a sleeper hit? It opened at number one at the box office and dropped takings each week. That's hardly what is described in the body of the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.176.106.85 (talk) 14:30, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

Donnie Darko is definately a sleeper hit. It made just over $500k domestic on its first run in 2001 (58 theaters), but became one of the best selling DVDs of 2003. Saw would be another sleeper hit, as it became popular enough to warrant four successful sequels and have another two in the pipeline. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rikkyc (talk • contribs) 03:22, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

Donnie Darko is not a sleeper hit, because, by the parameters of the article, a sleeper hit is an unexpected box office success. If it gains rampant popularity on DVD, that's a good indicator of a cult classic, as defined therein.Unique-ish (talk) 23:48, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Call for reduction
The current list contains many disputable entries. Consider e.g. A Fish Called Wanda, with a great cast and strong Monty Python connection. The Disney entries, in particular, are not justified entries, although some may have been even more succesful than expected. The one exception would be Ariel (or whatever it was called), which, ironically, is not included on the list.

I have removed the Disney entries:
 * Aladdin (1992)
 * The Lion King (1994)
 * Pocahontas (1995)

Generally, I question the value of such a long list of examples. I suggest a reduction to the most famous cases (e.g. Star Wars) and the most typical cases (Sling Blade ?).

88.77.128.127 (talk) 20:03, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Apparently the "noughties" were the best years of all time for movies, period. Also, apparently very unexpected for so many mass-marketed movies to be so successful. The 2000's entries need massive amounts of editing.Unique-ish (talk) 23:54, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

I concur. There's no need to try and be comprehensive, and several good reasons to not to try to be. Six or seven examples would be just fine LukeSurlt c 23:04, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

Original research?

 * Although I do agree with with much of what is stated in the sleeper films and books sections, the tone of those sections combined with the absence of sources make them seem like OR and not much else.  Erpert  Who is this guy? 07:01, 30 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I posted the original research tag a year ago, and I finally deleted much of the article because as I said before, although I agree with much of what was being said, they all seemed like opinions because they weren't sourced. A possible exception was the talk about Raphael Saadiq's album The Way I See It, but that album wasn't a hit period because it didn't even go gold.  Erpert  Who is this guy? 16:45, 20 October 2012 (UTC)


 * The source supports that, so I restored it. Hit record doesnt mention any RIAA qualification. Dan56 (talk) 05:38, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

Romantics "biggest hit of the 1980s"?!
I'm in the UK and I have to say I've never, ever heard this song before, so to say it's one of the "biggest hits of the 1980s" is complete hogwash. It may have been popular in the US, but to say otherwise is a massive overstatement.Gymnophoria (talk) 23:30, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

List of sleeper hits songs
Do we need a list of sleeper hit songs, including global sleeper hits, such as Trap Queen by Fetty Wap, and local sleeper hits, such as the US releases of George Ezra's Budapest, Sheppard's Geronimo, Disclosure's Latch, and Lukas Graham's Mama Said?--2601:584:202:200:311B:71C0:9358:57E9 (talk) 13:01, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

'Sleeper hit' songs
Recently, a user without an account added an entry for "Mo Bamba" underneath "In music" and it was removed by Dan56 without a reason. I believe "Mo Bamba" has greater credibility to be on this list than other entries on this page, such as "Here", since the time between the release date of "Mo Bamba" and its Hot 100 No.1 success is greater than the time for Cara's song. Also, "Mo Bamba" is described as a "sleeper hit" on its own page and on the page for Mohamed Bamba, but I don't see the same description applied for Cara's song anywhere else. – Monkeyfume (talk) 16:34, 8 February 2019 (UTC)


 * why do you believe "Mo Bamba" doesn't deserve a place on this list? – Monkeyfume (talk) 16:34, 8 February 2019 (UTC)


 * I don't have an opinion. A source was not cited. So the edit was reverted. Dan56 (talk) 16:35, 8 February 2019 (UTC)

Cult films incorrectly included?
I noticed that a few of the films listed as "sleeper hits" are included on the basis of having become popular or more acclaimed later on, rather than on the basis of having actually become profitable in their original release. Specifically, "Hocus Pocus" and "A Christmas Story" are described as being well-received in television airings. I don't think these are sleeper hits, because they were never actually "hits" at all, which is a prerequisite to being a sleeper hit, and is a different criterion than being well-liked, no matter how enthusiastically or by how many fans. Does anyone object to removing these two movies from the article? I would leave "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in the article but tag it; I don't know if the midnight showings started during its original run or if it became profitable, so a source would be needed. If I can find a source, how do folks feel about me adding some content to explain the difference between a sleeper hit and a cult film (or other films that gain some type of popularity or favorable reassessment, but don't become financial hits)? --DavidK93 (talk) 16:58, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

Should Encanto be included?
Initially it didn't exactly do so well at the box office (at best it made a few hundred million), but after its release on Disney+ and the release of the official music video for "We Don't Talk About Bruno" it became more successful and more of a popular subject.

FreezingTNT2 (talk) 16:08, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

music section is not sleeper hits
11 months later is a sleeper hit? that’s also just normal especially for new artists debuting their work. alice in chains had a sleeper hit then, taking about a year for facelift to take off. 2600:1012:B1B6:5947:81DF:E40F:C778:C218 (talk) 11:23, 17 August 2022 (UTC)