 When Universal originally released the movie, they thought that a  limited release in a select group of "college towns" (where they  believed MST3K was most appreciated) over a longer period of time  would lead to a box office bonanza and keep it from having to  compete with the early summer blockbusters like  _Twister (1996)_ (qv) and _Mission: Impossible (1996)_ (qv).  Instead, very few fans of the show were even aware that the movie  had been released and the film languished in relative obscurity  throughout the spring and early summer. This was the first (and  last) time that Universal attempted such a plan.