How could the best comedy ever, have flopped?

Rating: 10/10 (31 May 1999)

This movie may be the best comedy ever. Many people feel that A Night at the Opera is better, but (IMHO) they're wrong. So how could this movie flop at the box office?
"No one's allowed to smoke, or tell a dirty joke, and whistling is forbidden......this is the land of the free!"
Who, oh who, was that about? My conspiracy theory is that the audiences loved it, but the media panned it. Any takers?