# Is the word "Adventures" in a title Box Office Poison? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 2, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494 "2023-11-02T17:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/1 "2023-11-02T17:57:52Z")
I forgot who said it, might have been Roger Ebert, but in a film review they brought up the fact there hasn’t been a successful film with the word “Adventures” in it not aimed at kids since the 1950s. Thinking back he might be right, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, the Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, the Adventures of Pluto Nash. Some might be cult classics but they definitely all bombed at the box office. To expand that, has there been a successful TV show with the word Adventures in it? The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones was infamously always low rated and had to be retooled (with multiple title changes) at various points until cancelation. The only one I can think of is The Adventures of Superman and that’s more of a legacy title. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/2 "2023-11-02T18:06:04Z")
Well, sticking to film, the Adventures of Tintin (2011) made $374 million of box office on a budget of $135 million, so there’s a good 'un. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/3 "2023-11-02T18:14:11Z")
A few others _Adventures of Baron Munchausen_ - budget 47, gross 8 _Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert_ - budget 2, gross 30 _Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle_ - budget 76, gross 35 _Tintin_ and _Priscilla_ are the only successes I can find. And fwiw, from memory I would have said the name of the movie was just _Priscilla Queen of the Desert_. ETA: prompting me to rewatch _Priscilla_ this afternoon, so thanks! Great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/4 "2023-11-02T18:26:10Z")
Adventures in Babysitting cost $7m and made $35m. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.E](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.e/32/8932_2.png) [@Mr.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.E)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/5 "2023-11-02T18:30:42Z")
“My Adventures with Superman” is a currently airing anime-inspired series and as far as I can tell it’s doing well with critics and viewers. Adventures in Babysitting did well in the box office, but a sitcom spinoff failed to take off. Also, there was apparently a forgettable 2016 Disney channel remake. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/6 "2023-11-02T19:04:04Z")
_The Adventures of Robin Hood_ did well. It was the sixth highest grossing movie of 1938. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/7 "2023-11-02T19:20:30Z")
**The Adventures Of Barry McKenzie** was certainly profitable. > This was the first Australian film to surpass $1 million at the national box office, and it led the Australian box office in 1972. The film recovered its $250,000 budget within a few months of release. > **[The Adventures of Barry McKenzie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Barry_McKenzie)** > > The Adventures of Barry McKenzie is a 1972 Australian comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Barry Crocker, telling the story of an Australian 'yobbo' on his travels to the United Kingdom. Barry McKenzie was originally a character created by Barry Humphries for a cartoon strip in Private Eye. It was the first Australian film to surpass one million dollars in Australian box office receipts. A sequel, Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, was produce... I don’t have any info about global earnings. There was certainly some sort of international release - I saw it in London. j ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/8 "2023-11-02T20:00:26Z")
You have to figure someone’s still chasing the film rights to **The Adventures of Augie March**. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/9 "2023-11-02T20:01:39Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > To expand that, has there been a successful TV show with the word Adventures in it? **Tiny Toon Adventures** did pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/10 "2023-11-02T20:53:42Z")
I don’t know how to qualify what makes a successful TV show, but I certainly enjoyed The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/11 "2023-11-02T21:03:38Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > To expand that, has there been a successful TV show with the word Adventures in it? Does _Adventure Time_ count, or is that _s_ critical? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/12 "2023-11-02T21:06:01Z")
There was also an **Adventures of Tintin** animated TV series. (Not to be confused with **The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin**.) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/13 "2023-11-02T21:26:17Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Adventures in Babysitting cost $7m and made $35m. Elisabeth Shue deserves far more credit than she’s given for making a slate of marginal ‘Eighties and ‘Nineties films watchable. (_Cocktail_? _Link_? _Soapdish_? _Heart and Souls_? _Trigger Effect_? _The Saint_? _Palmetto_?) _Adventures in Babysitting_, however, is seriously overlooked, and why _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ gets so much applause while this film is overlooked is beyond explanation. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/14 "2023-11-02T23:34:56Z")
Obviously it was suppressed by Thor tring to quell a hurtful rumor. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/15 "2023-11-02T23:52:01Z")
No. At least not in singular: > **[The Poseidon Adventure (1972 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poseidon_Adventure_(1972_film))** > > The Poseidon Adventure is a 1972 American action adventure drama disaster film directed by Ronald Neame, produced by Irwin Allen, and based on Paul Gallico's 1969 novel of the same name. It has an ensemble cast including five Oscar winners: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Albertson, Shelley Winters, and Red Buttons. The plot centers on the fictional SS Poseidon, an aging luxury liner on her final voyage from New York City to Athens, before it is scrapped. On New Year's Day, it is overturned b... > It was released in December 1972 and was **the highest-grossing film of 1973** , earning over $125 million worldwide. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards and went on to win two Oscars A sequel was made some about six years later, so one might say they were Poseidon Adventures. Side note: I know it’s sometimes referred to as S.O.S. Poseidon, but the original title for the release was Poseidon Adventure,. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/16 "2023-11-02T23:53:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It was the sixth highest grossing movie of 1938. No need to restrict the discussion to that, but fwiw the timeframe specified by Ebert was: > [@Asuka](#): > > since the 1950s ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/17 "2023-11-02T23:54:33Z")
I understood that reference. And that fellow grew up to play Kingpin (after playing Edgar (and the Edgar suited alien), and the guy who makes L&O:CI too offputting for me) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-adventures-in-a-title-box-office-poison/992494/18 "2023-11-03T01:19:53Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > No need to restrict the discussion to that, but fwiw the timeframe specified by Ebert was: > > > [@Asuka](#): > > > > since the 1950s That’s decadist.