What Is a Cult Film? How Movies Earn a Cult Following

A cult film is a movie with a small but passionate following: people who watch it again and again, quote it, dress up for it and defend it against critics. The label says less about what is on screen than about how audiences treat the film. A horror quickie, an art-house oddity, a musical that flopped and a big studio comedy can all become cult films.

Where the term comes from

Critics talked about "cults" around films and stars for decades, but the phrase cult film became common in the 1970s. It described the crowds gathering around underground films and midnight movies: films shown late at night, often for months or years, to audiences who came back week after week.

The best-known example is The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). It did poorly on its first release, then found its audience as a midnight movie at the Waverly Theater in New York in 1976, where viewers began talking back to the screen, dressing as the characters and acting out scenes. It is still shown in theaters today and is often described as the longest-running theatrical release in film history.

How films become cult classics

There is no single path, but most cult films follow one of a few:

• The midnight circuit. A film too strange for daytime audiences finds a home at late shows, where a loyal crowd builds rituals around it.
• The flop that came back. Box-office failures get a second life on home video, cable television and, later, streaming. Word of mouth turns them into favorites years after release.
• So bad it's good. Films with clumsy acting, cheap effects or baffling plots become cherished for their flaws, watched in groups for the laughs.
• The genre treasure. Horror, science fiction and exploitation films ignored by critics are rediscovered by fans who value their energy and invention.
• The ahead-of-its-time film. Movies that confused audiences on release are reassessed later and gain devoted defenders.

Traits cult films often share

Trait	Why it matters
Something unusual	A strange premise, a striking style or a tone nobody else attempted makes the film memorable.
Quotable lines	Fans share catchphrases that work as passwords between those in the know.
Rewatchability	Cult films reward repeat viewing, with details and jokes noticed only on the fifth time.
An outsider status	Films outside the mainstream let fans feel they have found something others missed.
Participation	Costumes, call-backs, sing-alongs and props turn watching into an event.

Cult film or classic?

The lines blur. A classic is widely accepted as important or excellent; a cult film is loved intensely by a smaller group, often against the general opinion. Some cult films later become classics, and a few classics have cult followings of their own. "Cult classic" usually means a film whose cult has grown large and lasting enough that its place in film history is secure.

Cult films and B-movies

Many cult films began as low-budget genre pictures, the kind once made for the bottom half of a double bill. Our guide to what a B-movie is explains where that tradition came from. Plenty of old cult favorites are now in the public domain and can be watched legally for free; see our guide to public domain movies.

How to start exploring

• Go to a repertory or midnight screening if your city has one. Cult films are best with a crowd.
• Pick by mood: camp musicals, low-budget horror, surreal art films, oddball comedies.
• Watch with friends who already love the film; the rituals make more sense with a guide.
• Read about the film's history afterwards. How a movie found its cult is often as interesting as the movie.