How can a creation be called a "success"? Different people have different opinions, but in general, they can be split off into:
- Commercial success: It manages to at least cover up the production costs, if not more.
- Critical success: Critics deem the work as great.
- Fan success: The fans like the work.
- Demographic success: it manages to succeed in pleasing the target demographic.
- Outer demographic success: it manages to please people outside of the demographic.
- Multiple demographic success: If the work manages both of the above.
And, as one saying puts it, "you can't please everyone". Same goes with doing any kind of creation.
So naturally, any kind of creations can succeed in one place, but become a flop in another.
Index:
- Acclaimed Flop: A work is well-received critically but doesn't make much money.
- Americans Hate Tingle: Something that's popular in its country of origin isn't well-liked in another country.
- Base-Breaking Character: A character who fans have vastly differing opinions of.
- Better on DVD: A film or series is considered better on DVD or a similar format for various reasons, such as removing Executive Meddling.
- Broken Base: Fans vastly disagree on a certain part of a work.
- Character Perception Evolution: A strong like or dislike of a character by the fanbase flips to nearly the complete opposite years later.
- Condemned by History: Something that was once popular comes to be widely disliked years later.
- Contested Sequel: People have differing opinions on the quality of a sequel.
- Creator Backlash: A creator expresses dislike or disappointment with their work, regardless of how the audience received it.
- Creator's Pet: A character who is the Creator's Favorite but is seen as The Scrappy by fans.
- Critical Backlash: A works gets derided so much that some audiences start to find it's not that bad (it's not necessarily a great work but not regarded as completely terrible either).
- Critical Dissonance: Professional critics and general audiences have vastly different opinions on a work's quality.
- Critic-Proof: A work is poorly received critically but is still financially successful and/or popular.
- Cross-Cultural Kerfluffle: Something in one country that is considered funny or harmless is considered offensive in another country (and vice versa).
- Cult Classic: A work isn't commercially successfully and/or well-known, but still has a devoted fanbase.
- Fair for Its Day: A work or certain elements of a work are seen as problematic nowadays, but were actually quite progressive or positive depictions when the work was originally released.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: A work is unexpectedly popular outside its country of origin, sometimes even more so.
- Hype Backlash: A successful work gets hyped up so much that some audiences find it fails to live up to its reputation (it's not always necessarily seen as bad, merely underwhelming).
- Magnum Opus Dissonance: A creator and audiences disagree on which of the creator's works is the best.
- Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: A work that is considered stereotypical of a particular group is popular amongst said group.
- Offending the Creator's Own: A group regards a work as offensive towards them, despite being made by a member of said group (who usually didn't intend for this reaction).
- Once Original, Now Common: A work is perceived as unoriginal by newer audiences, but was actually innovative when it was first released and ended up with a case of Follow the Leader.
- Periphery Demographic: A work attracts fans from a demographic it wasn't initially aimed at.
- Periphery Hatedom: A work attracts a hatedom from a demographic is wasn't aiming to appeal to.
- Popularity Polynomial: Can apply to individual works that go through a cycle of being popular, unpopular and then popular again.
- Presumed Flop: A work commonly seen as a flop was in fact successful at the time of its release.
- Rarely Performed Song: Fans may like a song, but the artist(s) themselves may be unable to physically, emotionally or even legally play it again publicly.
- Sleeper Hit: A work that becomes unexpectedly popular and successful.
- Values Dissonance: Certain elements and/or themes in a work were perceived as positive or a non-issue in the time period or location it was originally released, but are seen as problematic or negative outside of this (which can apply to entire works in some cases).
- Vindicated by Cable: A work that flopped when it was first released becomes more successful on home video, streaming etc.
- Vindicated by History: A work that wasn't popular when it was first released becomes more popular and appreciated over time.
- Vindicated by Reruns: A TV series that wasn't successful when it first aired becomes more popular via reruns.
