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Filmmakers have varying concerns about longevity. Paranormal fare released on Halloween isn't exactly opening late in the year to qualify for Oscar consideration. And, typically, the latest raunchy comedy simply hopes to take one over-the-top premise to a strong opening weekend. Other movies, though, have loftier goals, and while they may bomb at the box office or underperform expectations, they hold up over time. Let's look at a three examples. (Box office tallies were retrieved from the wonderfully addictive site boxofficemojo.com.)

In the fall of 1990, "the Coen Brothers" -- Joel and Ethan -- weren't yet household names in film. Miller's Crossing did nothing to change that, in terms of box office. It lasted a few weeks in theaters and finished with a domestic gross of $5,080,409. Part dark-hearted drama, part wry send-up of prohibition-era thuggery, the film follows slippery Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne), a step ahead of his troubles, playing both ends against the middle between warring gangsters (Albert Finney and Jon Polito). The script is smart and funny, the acting is top-notch and the music outstanding. And yet ... $5 million bucks. Go figure! Maybe it would fare better today, when antiheroes like Tom are in fashion. Still, it holds up as well today as it did more than 20 years ago.

Our next film, 2000's Unbreakable, wasn't a box office "bomb" but it felt like one. It was M. Night Shyamalan's follow-up to the global smash The Sixth Sense (1998). The "I see dead people" effort logged just under $300 million in U.S. ($672.8 million worldwide). Unbreakable perhaps caught audiences off guard. Those hoping for another eerie tale with a shocker ending were instead met with a quiet, thoughtful, deliberately paced superhero origin story. Most films would love its U.S. gross ($95 million), but its small(er) returns and mixed reviews made it feel like a misstep. Today, though, many of Shyamalan's fans consider it his best. Bruce Willis gives an understated performance that is as subtle as co-star Samuel L. Jackson's is flamboyant. James Newton Howard's haunting score resonates, and while not everyone will buy the ending, in the context of the story just told it works.

And now for something completely funny. Our final movie, This is Spinal Tap, was released March 2, 1984. When first released, the "mockumentary" managed only about $4.5 million at the box office, but once it was released on VHS videotape (remember those?) it found the audience that eluded it in theaters. Today, of course, this classic satire -- of not only rock bands but also documentary filmmaking -- is the stuff of legend. Real-life bands shudder at the thought of having a "spinal tap" moment -- perhaps being billed after a puppet show -- or, worse, career. It's become a cultural touchstone for a generation of movie lovers.

This is just one, highly subjective list. No doubt you have your own movie favorites that didn't open big but were built to last. Be sure to tell us about them in the comments section below.