Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
The title Napoleon Dynamite could have turned people off. You could say that about the unusual aesthetic as well, or the cast of largely unknowns, or…a lot of data points seemed to point to Napoleon Dynamite being a total shrug. Instead, it became one of the foremost cult classics of the 2000s — and one of the comedy movies that made 100 times their budget.
Jared Hess shot the film in his native Idaho, and cast his college buddy Jon Heder in the league role. Napoleon is a specific character. Everything about Napoleon Dynamite is a bit off, and certainly some find it alienating. We didn’t say the movie became the highest-grossing film in history. It did make $46.1 million worldwide, though, and that was for a film that cost $400,000 to make.
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