In the fall of 1994, the motion picture written and directed by Frank Darabont titled The Shawshank Redemption hit theaters throughout the United States. The film starred actors Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman with a captivating story and plot line. Darabont wrote the script himself basing it after the 1982 Stephen King novel, Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption in which the main character Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) was sentenced to life in prison despite claiming he was innocent. The initial critics gave great feedback in test screenings and even included some of the highest scores in the history of the film’s distributor Warner Bros. 

In the months to follow The Shawshank Redemption was a total flop. This dynamic can give us insight into the challenge of defining success. It begs the question -  Why was one of the greatest movies of all time a failure initially?

In the film industry two of the most prevalent evaluation tools for a motion picture are typically revolved around the awards won and revenue generated. Despite being an artistic venture by nature, films are scrutinized and ultimately evaluated by how many accolades are brought home and how much money is made. This dynamic is unfortunately true in quite a few industries. Success is often defined by accolades won (Forbes 30 under 30, Heisman Trophy, New York Times Best Selling Books, Fortune 500 Companies) In every industry - we are funneled down the pipe to reduce success to results, rankings and lists. The tension of creating art and value can clash head on with the harsh evaluation methods of our society and public opinion. 

In the case of The Shawshank Redemption despite early critics giving favorable reviews; the opening weekend in theaters was a disaster. On the opening day of September 23, 1994, Director Frank Darabont and producer Liz Glotzer decided to peek in at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood to gauge interest among moviegoers. At their core, Darabont and Glotzer knew they had created a great film and were excited to see if their initial hunch was correct. Unfortunately they were crushed by what they observed. Of the 900 seats in the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, virtually ALL of them were empty. The opening weekend for the movie brought in less than a million dollars - a crushing start to the film’s release. 

Over the next few months the film continued to experience an underwhelming response. By November, The Shawshank Redemption had earned just a touch over $16 million in the box office which fell short of the $25 million budget they used to make the movie. While Darabont & Glotzer felt they had a monumental piece of work - at the time they were losing money, and for the rest of 1994 the movie failed to resonate with viewers.

In 1994 there were 259 movies released domestically in United States movie theaters. Of the 259 movies, The Shawshank Redemption ranked 95th in box office earnings with nearly $16 million total. The movie narrowly edged the Macaulay Caulkin comedy, Richie-Rich by a few hundred dollars for the 95th spot. Disney’s The Lion King earned the top spot in 1994, earning $295 million in box office earnings. Over $75 million more than The Shawshank Redemption. From a revenue standpoint, The Shawshank Redemption was unsuccessful, barely cracking the top half of all movies released in 1994.

In early 1995 the movie caught a big break as it was nominated for seven Academy Awards. But went 0-for-7 at the Oscars and did not bring home a single award, from an award winning picture standpoint, The Shawshank Redemption was unsuccessful. However, the nomination did help create exposure for the movie and thanks to the new attention the movie was getting, Warner Bros. re-released the movie in theaters and earned another $12 million to cover their losses. The studio also took a risk and invested 320,000 VHS tapes of the movie to be distributed (many in the film industry viewed this as a terrible idea considering how unsuccessful the movie was).

The risk of investing in the VHS production and distribution helped the movie immensely as the movie had a great deal of success in the rental market. Once viewers were able to watch the movie at home, they were able to gain a sense of how impactful the plot and production was. Two years after an underwhelming release in theaters and zero awards to show for the effort, a huge break came by way of TNT’s owner Ted Turner. Turner negotiated for the cable rights to the movie and quickly inserted it in the network’s cable showing which led to a massive increase in exposure of the film over the next two decades. 

As the VHS rental market grew and the film’s showing on TNT regularly increased public exposure, The Shawshank Redemption became a widely recognized success over the next few decades. 

The Hollywood Reporter, a digital and print magazine focusing on the film and television entertainment industries since 1930, ranked The Shawshank Redemption as the 4th best movie on Hollywood’s Top 100 Films of All-Time, trailing only the 1972 classic The Godfather (#1), the 1939 American staple, The Wizard of Oz (#2), and the 1941 hit Citizen Kane (#3) directed by Orson Welles. 

IMDb, (Internet Movie Database) one of the leading databases for the film industry in the entire world listed The Shawshank Redemption as the best movie of all time in their survey of viewers. The movie received the highest ranking of any movie with a 9.3 rating on a 10.0 scale, narrowly edging The Godfather (9.2 out of 10.0)

In 2015, the film was selected by the United States Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being culturally, historically and aesthetically significant. 

“About everywhere you go, people say, ‘The Shawshank Redemption—greatest movie I ever saw.” - Morgan Freeman 

“I swear to God, all over the world—all over the world—wherever I go, there are people who say, ‘That movie changed my life.’ ” Even the world’s most famous former prisoner connected with the movie, “When I met Nelson Mandela, he talked about loving Shawshank.” - Tim Robbins

26 years later we can dive in with crystal clear vision as to some of the contributing factors which led to a slow-start for a cinema classic, as well as a few guiding questions for reflection in our own leadership journeys.

What is the best definition of success?

From an awards standpoint, even being nominated for an Academy Award is a prestigious honor. But, we would assume a movie that sits a top ranking would have for sure won some awards. Why did The Shawshank Redemption not take home a single award? History now tells us - It was a crowded, historically competitive field. 

The award for Best Picture went to Forrest Gump - also a timeless classic and closely ranked with The Shawshank Redemption on many rankings lists. The award for best actor in a leading role did not go to Morgan Freeman, despite his incredible performance as “Red” - instead it went to arguably the greatest actor of all time - Tom Hanks for his role as Forrest Gump. The award for Best Original Score, despite the amazing soundtrack for The Shawshank Redemption, was given to The Lion King which is widely known as a soundtrack of the 1990’s.

From a revenue standpoint, one of the greatest detractors of the box office success of The Shawshank Redemption came from the timing of its release. The movie Forrest Gump was released earlier in the 1994 calendar year. However, The Shawshank Redemption happened to release at the same time as the Quentin Tarantino hit film Pulp Fiction starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. An action-filled crime movie that received incredible reviews at the world famous Cannes Festival earlier in the summer in 1994. Pulp Fiction went on to earn over $213 million in box office revenue as moviegoers flocked to this showing instead of the slower, heavier, The Shawshank Redemption.

Imagine for a moment if director Frank Darabont, producer Liz Glotzer and the rest of the production team had only set out to win Best Picture or any of the other Academy Awards. Imagine if their sole definition of success was the award’s they took home or from the revenue produced. Imagine if after pouring out so much effort and attention to detail, imagine if they only determined the success based on the response in the two years following the project. 

What a tough break it is to land on the same year (1994) with some of the most iconic films in history. What a shame it would be if Darabont and Glotzer set definitions of success solely around awards, accolades and revenue. The joy and satisfaction of their work would have been ripped away from chasing short term fixes instead of truly transformational experiences. The reward is in the journey, not the destination.

Does your work stand the test of time?

In hindsight, The Shawshank Redemption was one of five films from the 1994 calendar year to be included in the National Film Registry in the National Library of Congress (The Shawshank Redemption, The Lion King, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, Clerks) These cinematic classics - all in the same year of release, reside in United States history alongside films of significance such as footage from President McKinley’s inauguration 1901, as well as footage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in the “Zapruder film” in 1963. All of these films, including The Shawshank Redemption are etched in the history of United States of America film. 

One of the greatest indicators of success is the ripple effect of our contributions. It would be great to win District Teacher of the Year, but a greater honor would be to hear from former students as they speak of the impact of your voice in their life decades later. What a great honor it would be to win Sales Associate of the year for your company - but it would be equally impactful to take a young sales associate under your wing and raise up the next great representative of your company. How amazing would it be to win National Coach of the Year? But - do your former players invite you to their wedding to celebrate - or are they ready to distance you from their lives? There is far more to successfully leading than revenue and accolades, what is the legacy you are leaving? How will people remember your countenance as well as your craft?

Are your hands calloused? 

There is serious danger in the life of a leader and in the dynamics of team cultures when the outcomes are the sole focus for the group. Much like in the case of The Shawshank Redemption, an incredible chapters for sports teams, businesses, and school systems can be simply lost because of a warped evaluation system, and a warped definition of success.

True success is the ability to look in the mirror and know that every ounce of our being was committed to serving and leading in the present. That our hands are calloused from plowing the field that God has placed us in. That we did not fall victim to the quick high or adrenaline rush of short term awards and short term revenue streams, but instead stayed committed to a life of faithfully serving on the back fields. Leading our teams and pounding away towards mastery of our craft - and in the process serving with calloused hands.

Stay The Course,

JB