That's the point I was trying to make, you mistake of a childbirth.
I was trying to say that just because everyone has heard of it doesn't not make it a cult, be it of the film, religious, or whatever variety. I stated that it has to do with what kind of following it has. Lovecraft was putting forth the argument that general public awareness is what differentiates a "cult movie" from just being a movie, and I disagreed. I simply went with the religious angle because that is where the film term is derived from.
Surely a religous cult is defined by being different from the more established religions (as in the idea itself is the cult, not the following), whereas a cult following is (obviosuly) based around the following.