Some movies become consensus favorites almost instantly after their initial release in theaters. They gross hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, or they’re hailed by critics around the globe, or they win Academy Awards that cement their legacy for all of time. Kids buy their merchandise, or wear their T-shirts, or eat their elaborately themed tie-in menus .

Other films take a more circuitous route to legendary status. Sometimes it takes critics — and, let’s be fair, audiences — years or even decades to get on a movie’s wavelength. And anecdotally and generally speaking, it seems like certain genres tend to fare worse with critics than others. Back in the 1980s, for instance, horror sequels, fantasy adventures, comic-book adaptations, broad comedies, and erotic thrillers we

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