Hype is a hard thing to gauge in the modern era, what with social media segmenting fandom into bubbles and popular culture being a lot less all-encompassing than it used to be. Even still, there are things that receive so much hype that anyone and everyone knows about them. Whether it's the newest, hottest TV show on the block or a musical artist that is just breaking the system from within, hype is a tangible feeling surrounding something that everyone has their eyes on. It backfires more often than not, but there are situations where the hype around something is justified and pays off in spades. There is no more prevalent medium where hype is a simultaneous devil and angel than the world of film.
Repeatedly, audiences enter a theater to see the most hyped movie of the year, and end up leaving a bit empty feeling. It's hard to live up to expectations that are set by people in any avenue of life, but movies really do suffer the consequences of over-hyping the worst. They cost so much to make and market that an over-hyped bomb is a nuclear one, clearing out everything in its path. There is the even rarer occasion, however, when a movie does live up to the hype — when the stars align and everyone can agree, "That was worth the wait." Here are 10 of these times.
10 Toy Story 3
When the third Toy Story movie was announced, many were worried about how the consistency of its first two entries would be maintained. Toy Story 3 managed to not only live up to the legacy of its predecessors, but mark a shift in popular culture all the same. The film grossed over $1 billion dollars worldwide, which only 10 animated movies have ever done, and even managed to get a Best Picture nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards — a feat that rarely happens to animated features. It was certain from moment one of release that Toy Story 3 was an instant-classic and well worth the hype.
9 Dune
Attempts to adapt Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi book series have been made many times before, but none have managed to live up to the hype of its premise until 2021. Denis Villeneuve's Dune promised to everyone that the novels would finally be done properly, and the hype was reflective of that. Luckily for all, Dune managed to live up to that hype and then some, capturing the intrigue and wide-scale implications of the novel while maintaining its dense world-building and mythology. With Dune: Part Two on its way, the hype has regained momentum to see how far this train can go, but the first successful Dune attempt will go down as a feat in and of itself.
8 Mad Max: Fury Road
After years and years of teases and a long, arduous production process, no one was certain how Mad Max: Fury Road would end up turning out. Director George Miller had spent so long in the African desert filming the movie (the full story of which is detailed in the book Blood, Sweat and Chrome) that people were unsure if there was even a movie that had come out the other side. The Mad Max franchise had laid dormant for such a long time as well that Fury Road had the odds stacked against it, but it answered with a haymaker. Getting a coveted Best Picture Oscar nomination its year of release and being hailed as one of the best action films of all time, Mad Max: Fury Road didn't just live up to the hype, it blew past it and left it in the dust.
7 Avengers: Endgame
The culmination of a decade (and more) of films, television, and unprecedented myth-building, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had a lot riding on the success of Avengers: Endgame. Not financial success mind you, as there was little worry about the film doing well at the box office. Worries lied in the matter of whether the film would be a satisfying culmination of everything that had built up, from Iron Man in 2008 onward. Dozens of characters, multiple universes, and 20-something movies meant that Endgame would have to be the best movie in the whole of the cinematic universe to live up to the hype. Luckily, it absolutely managed that.
6 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings series was a legendary set of fantasy novels, and the first two film adaptations managed to live up to the intense expectations of fans. When the finale of the film trilogy came time to be released, fans were unsure whether the hype would crush The Return of the King under its own weight. Not only did that not happen, but Return of the King turned out to be the most successful of all the Lord of the Rings films. It currently is tied for the record for the most Oscars won by a singular film (with 11 awards), a feat only matched by Ben Hur and Titanic. Return of the King is not only put in the history books in that respect, but stands as one of the most acclaimed fantasy films ever made.
5 West Side Story
When it was announced that a remake of West Side Story was being made by Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, expectations weren't necessarily high. West Side Story is a timeless musical, one that new generations of film and Broadway fans alike discover every single day. Remaking such a legendary feat of the genre seems like a fools' errand, but hype built up around the curiosity of what this remake could possibly be. Spielberg's West Side Story is not only a magnificent re-imagining of the original story, but adds so much to create a remake that actually fixes issues present in the original film. His version of the story is bigger, more adventurous, and bolder in almost every respect.
4 Logan
After two incredibly lackluster film outings as the Wolverine, Hugh Jackman's stint as the legendary Marvel character seemed like it had run out of steam. There one was more go at the wheel for the franchise and this entry — directed by James Mangold — would be an R-rated take on the character. Even though fans had been burnt before, hype started to build for what could be when the iconic character is finally let loose. 2017's Logan quickly gave fans everything they wanted from a Wolverine solo film: brutality, animalistic rage, gore, and a genuinely emotional core that you could sink your teeth into. The film quickly became one of the seminal superhero films that fans would point to as proof of what was possible within the genre when you break out of the cinematic universe mold.
3 Titanic
A story as old as time, doubters of James Cameron are often proved wrong. After spending hundreds of millions of dollars on his period-piece, romance/drama Titanic, many thought that the film (and Cameron, by extension) were done for. There was no way a film this big, over-budget, and over-schedule was going to be able to make the splash needed to justify its existence. The media built up the film as a potential colossal flop in the making, bringing audiences out to gawk at what could be. Obviously, that didn't happen. Titanic became one of the most celebrated films of all time, tied for the most Oscars ever received by a single film, and quickly became (at the time) the highest-grossing film of all time. It didn't live up to the hype, it defined what hype can do.
2 Avatar: The Way of Water
Another instance of Cameron being counted against in the mainstream, Avatar: The Way of Water was being sold as a huge misstep before it was even released. There was no way that it could manage to live up to the precedent set by its highest grossing film of all time predecessor — at least, that was the sentiment shared by many ahead of the films release. Of course, betting against the guy who's made two (now three) of the highest-grossing films of all time might be a silly proposition. Not only did Avatar 2 live up to the hype, it's become one of the biggest films of the post-pandemic age, quickly becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of all time and garnering a bunch of Oscar nominations. If there's one thing that is certain, it's that Cameron knows how to capitalize on hype.
1 Top Gun: Maverick
Another long-awaited sequel from 2022, Top Gun: Maverick had a lot riding against it going into its eventual release day. The sequel was coming over 35 years after its first entry and had been long rumored for years before eventually materializing. There was no telling what the film would even be about, as the film kept getting delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure a big theatrical release. It felt like the film was being kept from audiences for a reason, making fans of the original ravenous for it when it finally released in 2022.
We all know now how silly it was to doubt the power of Tom Cruise because Top Gun: Maverick flew well past expectations, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of 2022 (and all time) and one of the most well-regarded. It has a few Oscar nominations and the adoration of most of the public on its side, so it's safe to say that the hype was well surpassed.