Low Budget Movies That Paid Off Big
Low budgets films allow investors to reap potentially huge returns on their investment. While budget caps vary throughout the world and time, one authoritative definition sets the top end of the limit for movies with a current budget under $2,500,000 USD. On both sides of the camera, many of today's biggest stars first honed their skills on low budget films. These films launched or served as a breakthrough for many of their careers.
Which one of these select wildly successful low budget ($250,000 < $1,500,000) movies* is your favorite? * Movies with a minimum 6.0 IMDb user rating, excludes micro-budget (<$250,000) films and uses just one type of movie income stream (box office) for comparison.
Vote in the companion poll: Micro Budget Movies That Paid Off Big
Discuss the topic here.
Which one of these select wildly successful low budget ($250,000 < $1,500,000) movies* is your favorite? * Movies with a minimum 6.0 IMDb user rating, excludes micro-budget (<$250,000) films and uses just one type of movie income stream (box office) for comparison.
Vote in the companion poll: Micro Budget Movies That Paid Off Big
Discuss the topic here.
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- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonJoanne SamuelHugh Keays-ByrneIn a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.Director: George Miller
Budget: $300,000
Box Office: $99,750,000
Profit %: 33,150%
* launched George Miller and Mel Gibson careers and Mad Max franchise - DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsSylvester StalloneTalia ShireBurt YoungA small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.Screenwriter: Sylvester Stallone
Budget: $995,000
Box Office: $225,000,000
Profit %: 22,513%
* launched Sylvester Stallone career and Rocky franchise - DirectorJohn HughesStarsEmilio EstevezJudd NelsonMolly RingwaldFive high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.Director: John Hughes
Budget: $1,000,000
Bx Office: $51,525,171
Profit %: 5,023%
* career elevating role for Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson - DirectorDennis HopperStarsPeter FondaDennis HopperJack NicholsonTwo bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.Director/Co-Writers: Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda
Budget: $360,000
Box Office: $60,000,000
Profit %: 16,567%
* breakthrough role for Jack Nicholson - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRichard DreyfussRon HowardPaul Le MatA group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.Director: George Lucas
Budget: $777,000
Box Office: $115,000,000
Profit %: 14,701%
* career elevating role for Harrison Ford, Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Suzanne Somers, Charles Martin Smith and Cindy Williams - DirectorRamesh SippyStarsSanjeev KumarDharmendraAmitabh BachchanAfter his family is murdered by a notorious and ruthless bandit, a former police officer enlists the services of two outlaws to capture the bandit.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.Director: John Carpenter
Budget: $325,000
Box Office: $47,000,000+
Profit %: 14,362%
* breakthrough role for Jamie Lee Curtis and launched Halloween franchise - DirectorSean S. CunninghamStarsBetsy PalmerAdrienne KingJeannine TaylorA group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $59,000,000
Profit %: 11,700%
* launched Friday 13th movie franchise - DirectorJared HessStarsJon HederEfren RamirezJon GriesA listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.Director: Jared Hess
Budget: $400,000
Box Office: $46,118,097
Profit %: 11,430%
* launched Jared Hess and Jon Heder careers - DirectorRobert ClouseStarsBruce LeeJohn SaxonJim KellyA Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.Director: Tobe Hooper
Budget: $300,000
Box Office: $30,859,000
Profit %: 10,186%
* launched Tobe Hooper career and TCSM franchise - DirectorGuy RitchieStarsJason FlemyngDexter FletcherNick MoranEddy persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry. Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.Writer-Director: Guy Ritchie
Budget: $1,350,000
Box Office: $28,172,868
Profit %: 1,987%
* launched Guy Ritchie career - DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJames SpaderAndie MacDowellPeter GallagherA sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.Writer-Director: Steven Soderbergh
Budget: $1,200,000
Box Office: $24,741,667* US Box Office only
Profit %: 1,962
* Steven Soderbergh directorial debut, US career box office $1.0b - DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanMelonie DiazOctavia SpencerThe story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.Writer-Director: Ryan Coogler
Budget: $900,000
Box Office: $17,385,830
Profit %: 1,832%
* breakthrough for Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan careers - DirectorJames WanStarsCary ElwesLeigh WhannellDanny GloverTwo strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.Writer-Director: James Wan and Leigh Whannell
Budget: $1,200,000
Box Office: $103,911,669
Profit %: 8,559%
* launched James Wan career and Saw film franchise - DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.Writer-Director: Steve James and Frederick Marx
Budget: $700,000
Box Office: $11,830,611
Profit %: 1,590% - DirectorTerry GilliamTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseEric IdleKing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.Directors: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
Budget: $400,000
Box Office: $5,028,948
Profit %: 1157%
* launched multiple film careers: John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman and Monty Python film franchise - DirectorGareth EdwardsStarsScoot McNairyWhitney AbleMario Zuniga BenavidesSix years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion, a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.Writer-Director: Gareth Edwards
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $4,242,978
Profit %: 749%
* launched Gareth Edwards career (ie. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)) - DirectorRian JohnsonStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittLukas HaasEmilie de RavinA teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.Writer-Director: Rian Johnson
Budget: $475,000
Box Office: $3,919,254
Profit %: 725%
* launched Rian Johnson career (ie. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)) - DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Director: Sam Raimi
Budget: $350,000
Box Office: $2,400,000 * US Box Office only
Profit %: 586%
* launched Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell careers and Evil Dead franchise - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.Writer-Director: Quentin Tarantino
Budget: $1,2000,000
Box Office: $2,832,029* US box office only
Profit %: 136%
* Quentin Tarantino directorial debut, career US box office $0.65b - DirectorJim SharmanStarsTim CurrySusan SarandonBarry BostwickA newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.Writer-Director: Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien
Budget: $1,400,000
Box Office: $140,252,463+ (showing ever weekend @ midnight)
Profit %: 9732% - DirectorHideo NakataStarsNanako MatsushimaMiki NakataniYûko TakeuchiA reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it.Director: Hideo Nakata
Budget: $1,200,000 (¥121,737,258)
Box Office: 10,000,000+ (¥1 billion+) Japan box office
Profit %: 733%
* launched Ring film franchise - DirectorTom LaughlinStarsTom LaughlinDelores TaylorClark HowatEx-Green Beret hapkido expert saves wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and helps protect a desert "freedom school" for runaway.Writer-Director-Producer: Tom Laughlin
Budget: $800,000
Box Office: $32,500,000
Profit %: 3963%
* part a series wildly successful low budget Billy Jack films - DirectorAlex KendrickStarsKirk CameronErin BetheaKen BevelIn an attempt to save his marriage, a firefighter uses a 40-day experiment known as "The Love Dare."Writer-Director: Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $33,473,297
Profit %: 6595% - DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJoe Don BakerElizabeth HartmanLeif GarrettBased on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, who almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.Director: Phil Karlson
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $23,000,000
Profit %: 4500%
* launched Walking Tall film franchise - DirectorRalph BakshiStarsSkip HinnantRosetta LeNoireJohn McCurryFritz drops out of college, starts a riot in Harlem and hits the road with an ex-girlfriend before getting mixed up with domestic terrorists.
- DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonRose ByrneTy SimpkinsA family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.Writer: Leigh Whannell, Director: James Wan, Producer: Jason Blum
Budget: $1,500,000
Box Office: $95,000,000
Profit %: 6533%
*added 10 June 2021 - DirectorGreg McLeanStarsNathan PhillipsCassandra MagrathKestie MorassiThree backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.Writer-Director-Producer: Greg McLean
Budget: $1,108,000
Box Office: $27,700,000
Profit %: 2,340%
*added 10 June 2021 - DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsAl GoreBilly WestGeorge BushFilmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.Writer/Narrator Al Gore and Director/Co-Cinematographer: Davis Guggenheim
Budget: $1,500,000
Box Office: $49,800,000
Profit %: 3,200%
*added 25 January 2022 - DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.Writer-Director: Barry Jenkins
Actor: Mahershala Ali
Budget: $1,500,000
Box Office: $65,336,603
Profit %: 4,256%
Breakthrough film for Barry Jenkins, Marhershala Ali and others, winning both of them Oscars and the Best Picture Oscar
* added 10 February 2023 - DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsHidetoshi NishijimaTôko MiuraReika KirishimaA renowned stage actor and director learns to cope with a big personal loss when he receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima.Budget: $1.3 million
Box Office: $15,364,572
Profit %: 1197%
* added 20 April 2024 - DirectorDerek CianfranceStarsRyan GoslingMichelle WilliamsJohn DomanThe relationship of a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.Budget: $1.2 million
Box Office: $15,440,333
Profit %: 1187%
* added 20 April 2024 - DirectorShane MeadowsStarsPaddy ConsidineGary StretchToby KebbellA disaffected soldier returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother years ago.Budget: $895,543
Box Office: $414,736
Profit %: N/A
* added 20 April 2024