John Waters "doesn't understand" why 'Hairspray' was a hit over some of his other films.

The 77-year-old filmmaker wrote and directed the 1988 cult hit - which starred Ricki Lake as an overweight teenager who tackles racism after finding fame on a local dance show - and whilst it was a success at the box office, some of his other movies like 'A Dirty Shame' were not despite his insistence that they have the "same message" in their stories.

He told MovieWeb: "I'm amazed all my films aren't hits! I don't get why 'Hairspray' was a hit but 'A Dirty Shame' wasn't. I mean, people can argue that point with me, but to me, my films have all said the same thing."

'Hairspray' was later adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical in 2002, which became a blockbuster movie in 2007 starring John Travolta, but 'A Dirty Shame' - which focused on a group of sex addicts with unique fetishes - lost $13 million at the box office and John went on ti insist that both films are just about "accepting" others for who they are.

He said: "They have the same message, which is to don't judge other people unless you know the whole thing, and try to be more accepting and laugh at yourself first, and then you can laugh at the craziness of others, but you have to learn to laugh at yourself first. And that's how I direct a movie. And hey, I didn't know what I was doing when I started. You look at those movies, if you like them, you say that they were raw; if you don't like them, you say we're amateurs."