Despite a disappointing start 50 years ago, The Rocky Horror Picture Show found new life among fans looking for a warped night out.

Richard O’Brien was a struggling actor when he wrote the book and songs for The Rocky Horror Show, a musical tribute to B-horror flicks that hit the London stage in 1973. The story centered on a newly engaged couple seeking shelter at the home of cross-dressing alien mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter and his hunky creation, Rocky.

Producer Lou Adler acquired the American theatrical rights and brought the stage show to L.A.’s Roxy Theatre the following year. Its stateside success led to a deal with 20th Century Fox for a film version from director Jim Sharman, who helmed the U.K. show. Making his feature debut as Frank-N-Furter was Tim Curry, the only performer in both the London and L.A. versions. Rounding out the movie’s cast were Susan Sarandon as Janet and Barry Bostwick as fiancé Brad, while Meat Loaf played motorcyclist Eddie.

Bostwick, known for portraying Danny Zuko in Grease‘s original Broadway run, tells The Hollywood Reporter that fans love to hate unfaithful Brad: “It will be the lead-off in my obituary — ‘The Great Asshole died yesterday’ — and I will be very proud of that.”

Fox released Rocky Horror in the U.S. to a lack of fanfare on Sept. 26, 1975, as it tallied just $1 million ($6 million today) in its initial run. But the film picked up steam the next year as audiences dressed in character for late night screenings, helping to usher in the popularity of midnight movies. In early 1979, THR reported that Rocky Horror “continues to defy the law of diminishing returns” as a cult sensation and collected nearly $3 million the previous year from weekend shows where devotees would act out scenes, shout at the screen and sing and dance to “Time Warp.”

Now credited as the longest-running movie ever, Rocky Horror has earned an ardent LGBTQ fan base, along with landing tributes from Glee and The Simpsons and a 2016 Laverne Cox-led TV remake. Timed to the 50th anniversary, Disney restored and remastered the film in 4K Ultra HD, and a national tour with Bostwick and other castmembers starts later this month.

Says Bostwick fondly, “So many people have made lifelong friends by sitting next to somebody, and then they’d go and have sex after the show.”

This story appeared in the Sept. 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.