That isn't what disqualifies it, in my opinion. There are other "cult classic" movies that failed initially but found later success - like the 1982 The Thing - but from what Wikipedia says the Goonies was already financially successful and positively reviewed when it was released.
The fact that it was successful at release is part of what’s disqualifying, but the real contradiction in the sentence is that it implies its current status is cult classic, which doesn’t work with Library of Congress recognition. For example, if I were writing or reading some sort of retrospective on The Thing, I might expect to use or see a sentence like “unsuccessful at release, The Thing would gain status as a cult classic before eventually reaching widespread acceptance and acclaim.” Once a cult classic reaches a high level of popularity, it stops being a cult classic at all.
That isn't what disqualifies it, in my opinion. There are other "cult classic" movies that failed initially but found later success - like the 1982 The Thing - but from what Wikipedia says the Goonies was already financially successful and positively reviewed when it was released.
The fact that it was successful at release is part of what’s disqualifying, but the real contradiction in the sentence is that it implies its current status is cult classic, which doesn’t work with Library of Congress recognition. For example, if I were writing or reading some sort of retrospective on The Thing, I might expect to use or see a sentence like “unsuccessful at release, The Thing would gain status as a cult classic before eventually reaching widespread acceptance and acclaim.” Once a cult classic reaches a high level of popularity, it stops being a cult classic at all.
I think it's more like "once a liar always a liar".
Historians also do this thing where they put the past in the present tense so if it's historical it "is" a cult classic.
I know why they do it, so they have the full range of words for past and future for related events, but I still hate it. The past is the past.