8 cult classics Roger Ebert disliked but audiences embraced

Roger Ebert remained a powerful voice in film criticism and was known for blunt assessments. Several movies he panned went on to find devoted audiences and lasting cult status. He singled out Spice World for focusing on the Spice Girls’ branding, noting their "principal distinguishing characteristic[s] [are] that they have different names," even as viewers remember the film as a campy, era-defining, feel-good romp.

Ebert praised early scenes in Fight Club but argued it "stops being smart and savage and witty, and turns to some of the most brutal, unremitting, nonstop violence ever filmed," and wondered whether audiences would grasp its philosophical aims—yet the film’s performances and themes are now widely studied.

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