A film that is considered to be a ’sleeper hit’ is essentially a movie that was not widely publicized (generally due to small advertising budget) but still managed to gain popular status and, in some cases, box office success. Sleeper hits often gain their popularity due to independent media coverage, the free publicity generated by awards and, of course, word of mouth. With the all-seeing eye of the internet now bearing down on all productions, sleeper hits are now becoming more common, with recent films like Donnie Darko and Napoleon Dynamite gaining a lot of viewers due to positive online coverage.

Other examples of sleeper hits include 28 Days Later, Office Space, Clerks and The Big Lebowski.