The 1999 horror/comedy Idle Hands has developed a loyal cult following over the years, but a real-life tragedy cut its theatrical run short. Directed by Rodman Flender, who also helmed the surprisingly fun Leprechaun 3, Idle Hands is the over the top tale of a high school slacker named Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa). Anton is content to sit around with his friends and get high all day, and one day Satan decides to possess his right hand, living up to the old saying about idle hands being the devil's playground.
Idle Hands, besides just being really funny, also played host to lots of present and future stars in its cast. Devon Sawa would soon see his biggest horror success via Final Destination, while Seth Green would continue to become a force in overall pop culture, and Elden Henson would become best known for playing Foggy on Daredevil. That's not to mention Jessica Alba, who would go on to become a bigger star than any of her co-stars, at least for awhile.
Unfortunately, Idle Hands' box office fortunes were cut off at the knees, through no fault of its own. The film got roped into the fallout from one of the saddest instances of mass violence in American history, and it really didn't deserve to be in the least.
Idle Hands: How Real-Life Tragedy Got The Movie Pulled
Idle Hands released to theaters on April 30, 1999. That date might not sound significant, but in this case, it definitely was, for all the wrong reasons. Idle Hands debuted on the big screen exactly ten days after the horrific massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. Two students invaded the school with guns and murdered thirteen people, and while it wasn't the first school shooting in American history, it was one of the first to really take the country aback at its death toll. Sadly, there was an effort by many U.S. politicians to try and blame violent movies and video games for the massacre, with former Sen. Joe Lieberman even calling out Idle Hands by name.
Sony pushed forward with Idle Hands' planned release date, correctly citing the fact that the film bears absolutely no resemblance to the real-life tragedy besides involving high school students, but the damage was done. Most theaters in Colorado outright refused to screen Idle Hands, and within a week or so, the film was all but completely gone from theaters nationwide. Idle Hands bombed at the box office as a result, making only $4.2 million on a budget of $25 million. While there's no way to know whether Idle Hands would've been a hit had Columbine not occurred in such close proximity, or had Lieberman not attacked it publicly, it's certainly possible it would've at least broke even.