The audience has considered a movie to be the best since 2008. We’re talking about The Shawshank Redemption starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, the ultimate prison classic.
Why is the movie at the top? The Shawshank Redemption, featuring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, is the best movie according to audience opinion, and it has been continuously since 2008. This opinion can be found on the largest movie database in the world, IMDB. There, viewers can rate movies, and with a rating of 9.3, over 2.8 million people agree: The Shawshank Redemption is the best movie in the world.
What is the movie about? The Shawshank Redemption is a prison drama film by Frank Darabont that tells the story of Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins).
The banker was sentenced to life in prison and finds himself in an unfamiliar environment. After being nearly beaten to death in prison, he finds more friends.
One of them has information that could prove Andy’s innocence, but the prison director does not believe him. So, Andy decides to dig a tunnel to freedom for over 19 years to uncover his innocence and the corrupt practices in the prison.
Here you can watch the trailer for the best movie.
Flop in theaters – success on TV
Why did the movie flop in theaters? Before the release of The Shawshank Redemption, there were test screenings that found the movie to be very good. However, they decided not to mention Stephen King’s name in the advertising to attract a different audience than King’s typical viewer.
Initially, there was a limited theater release in North America, where only two tickets were sold at one showing on opening night.
Although critics praised the film, according to producer Liz Glotzer’s opinion, a negative review in the Los Angeles Times caused many viewers to not want to see the film.
Another reason was the release date. The film had to compete with blockbusters like Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump. The audience at that time was also more interested in action films.
Although Oscar nominations generated an audience for the film, the major box office success was absent for the aforementioned reasons.
So why did the film eventually become successful? The success of the film lies entirely in the television market. The Shawshank Redemption was one of the most rented films in the USA at the time and was also frequently shown on television.
Because the film did not generate high box office revenue, it could be shown cheaply on television. This led to frequent airings, which ultimately contributed to the film’s success.
The film became known mainly through word of mouth as a hidden gem. In the end, it became so well-known that it is now regarded by the audience as the best film of all time. The Shawshank Redemption never received a sequel, but another possible movie sequel could soon rival James Bond.
