The Shawshank Redemption star Tim Robbins credits Ted Turner and VHS for helping the 1994 film find its audience.
The Shawshank Redemption might have one of the most unique success stories of the last 30 years. In 1994 and 1995, the film was somehow both heralded and forgotten, falling in the cracks as it floundered at the box office. That’s right: despite an eventual seven Oscar nominations (tying for second that year), The Shawshank Redemption would be drastically underseen by the nation, only being the 91st highest-grossing movie of 1994 – behind Monkey Trouble! So how did it become the cult favorite it is today?
The Shawshank Redemption would only ever peak at #8 at the box office, meaning it would either be forgotten or have to rely on other means of attention. This would come straight from the boob tube, as Tim Robbins remembered, giving special thanks to controversial media mogul Ted Turner. “We’re at 30 years now [on from] Shawshank Redemption. When it came out it got good reviews, it got nominated for Academy awards, but nobody saw it. It was VHS and [Ted] Turner playing it on his television channel [Turner Classic Movies] that changed that.” That’s a pretty nice shoutout for the guy who once tried to colorize Citizen Kane! That said, I believe Robbins was referring to TBS rather than TCM, as in the 90s it was TBS that played The Shawshank Redemption over and over.
Robbins continued his praise for The Shawshank Redemption and its endurance, questioning just how much box office numbers really matter in the long run. “That is a beloved movie. It remains on top of IMDb as the most favoured movie of all time. So I know that a quality movie, a quality television show, will last. Whether it’s a hit or not is irrelevant compared to what people are going to think about it in 10, 15, 20 years.”
Robbins definitely has a point there, as you can never truly predict which films will have a legacy that far surpasses what it made on opening weekend. Let’s face it: Shawshank would have been yanked from theaters by week three had it been released in 2024, the focus moved to recouping via streaming. The truth is, in the end, the box office haul is just a fun fact. One film that comes to mind on this topic is It’s a Wonderful Life, which was a flop and doomed to be lost to history. With the right support – and the whole public domain thing – it would end up being an annual favorite (just make sure you watch the right version!).
Which modern films do you think could have a Shawshank-level redemption? Give us some picks in the comments section below.