Sometimes, a bad thing can be a good thing. And in the case of writer/director Elaine May’s 1987 film, Ishtar, a disastrous thing can be a legendary thing. Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman were each paid five million dollars to do the film (a massive amount at the time).

A pair of remarkably bad lounge singers on the outs get a shot at redemption when the opportunity to play the at the Hilton in (the fictitious country of) Ishtar presents itself. But when they arrive, the gig ends up being more than they bargained for as they find themselves embroiled in the machinations of the CIA, the Emir of Ishtar, and a rebel group trying to stage a coup.

With less than $13 million dollars in box office receipts (a loss of over $42 million), Ishtar not only captured that year’s Raspberry for worst film of the year, but its very name became synonymous with failure. A Gary Larson “Far Side” cartoon once described hell’s video store as being only stocked with copies of Ishtar. But with the inherent curiosity that comes from such notoriety, the film has gained something of a cult following in the years since then. Many critics claim that the film’s bad press came as a result of Beatty’s rocky relationship with the media and studio aversion toward Hoffman. Still, to this day, those involved with the project vehemently support it. Even Larson, after seeing Ishtar, apologized for his cartoon, the only one of thousands that he ever felt compelled to apologize for.