You don't need a big budget to make a hit movie.
From a horror film that cost just $15,000 (£11.9k) to billion-dollar franchises started on a shoestring, read on for some films that managed to gross many millions of dollars worldwide without the price tag you'd expect. All dollar values in US dollars and adjusted for inflation.
Groundbreaking indie picture Moonlight follows the journey of a young Black man as he grapples with his sexuality. The 2016 LGBT drama, directed by Barry Jenkins, was praised for its complex characters and captivating visual storytelling, and was subsequently nominated for Best Picture at 2017's Academy Awards.
A surprise winner, Moonlight went on to bag the coveted Oscar. When inflation is considered, this made it the category's lowest-budget winner of all time, with a production budget of just $1.5 million. The historic win also marked the first time a movie with an exclusively African-American cast and a gay male lead had scored the accolade.
A commercial success as well as a critical darling, the film grossed $65.3 million at the worldwide box office, an impressive $63.8 million more than its production costs. That’s a cool $80.2 million (£63.5m) when adjusted for inflation.
This 2004 survival thriller was produced and directed by husband-and-wife duo Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, and follows the story of a couple who find themselves abandoned in shark-infested waters.
With a miniscule production budget of about $120,000, the team had to forgo the likes of the giant mechanical shark seen in Jaws. Their low-cost alternative? Real sharks. That's right: the actors had to get into the water with dozens of Caribbean reef sharks, wearing chain mesh under their diving suits for protection. Scarier still, the crew would throw bloody chunks of tuna into the water to get the sharks snapping for the cameras.
The gritty and realistic approach impressed audiences and helped Open Water swim to box office success. It made $55.5 million worldwide which, at the time, was $55.3 million more than its production bill. That's around $88.9 million (£70.4m) in today's money. The film spawned several sequels but they failed to make quite the same splash.
The Devil Inside is a found footage horror movie, created on a budget of just $1 million. The film was a surprise hit for Paramount Pictures, knocking Tom Cruise's action extravaganza Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol off the top spot when it hit cinemas in January 2012.
Paramount had already released two popular mockumentary horror flicks: 2008's Cloverfield and 2009's Paranormal Activity, and replicated the spooky marketing campaigns from these successes with The Devil Inside, striking gold for a third time.
Despite a wave of negative reviews that saw the film swiftly fall from the number one spot, the film grossed $101.8 million at the global box office. That's a profit of more than $100 million compared to its production costs, or $131.3 million (£104m) when adjusted for inflation.
Another scary low-budget hit, legendary horror director James Wan created Insidious on a budget of just $1.5 million. His demonic movie terrified audiences when it was released in 2011, with characters such as the sinister Lipstick-Face Demon cementing its status as a modern-day classic and spawning a film franchise.
Filmed in just three weeks, the first Insidious movie grossed $99.5 million at the worldwide box office. That’s an impressive $98 million more than its production costs, or $132.5 million (£104.9m) when adjusted for inflation.
The gruesome Evil Dead franchise has been going strong since the 1980s, with the latest entry hitting the silver screen in April.
Despite being adult-rated due to its violent and gory content, Evil Dead Rise still grossed an impressive $146.7 million at the worldwide box office.
The frightful flick had an estimated budget of just $12 million and therefore made a tidy $134.7 million (£106.5m) profit.
Long before he helmed Insidious, James Wan transformed another low-budget horror into a commercial hit. Originally meant to be a straight-to-video release, the gory and gruesome Saw was filmed in just 18 days with a production budget of $1.2 million.
Success at the Sundance Film Festival caused producers to change their minds about a theatrical release – and we imagine they're glad that they did. The blood-chilling cash cow is now a billion-dollar film franchise, and has even spawned theme park rides, with later instalments even including the talents of Hollywood heavyweights such as Samuel L Jackson.
The tremendous success can be attributed in part to a clever marketing campaign. With a premiere date of 29 October 2004, the intriguing tagline for the film read "If it's Halloween, it must be Saw", with future chapters also launching at the end of October. Taking $103.9 million at the box office, Saw grossed $102.7 million more than its production budget; that's a cool $165 million (£130.5m) in today's money.
Sci-fi thriller M3GAN, which revolves around a deadly AI doll, dropped in January, and grossed close to $180 million globally. That’s a commendable $168 million (£132.9m) more than its modest production budget of $12 million.
TikTok played a key role in the movie’s box office success after a creepy dance sequence from the film went viral on the social media platform ahead of its release. Gen-Z audiences also flocked to American cinemas because of the movie's PG-13 rating.
The tech-based horror hit was a critical darling too. Unsurprisingly, a sequel is already in the works.
Starring Hollywood favourites Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in the leading roles, it's hard to believe Sofia Coppola's rom-com drama Lost in Translation was made on a budget of just $4 million and filmed in just 27 days.
Even harder to believe, Johansson was just 17 years old when she starred in the movie, playing a character in her early 20s. Thanks to the movie, Coppola became the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for writing, directing, and producing in the same year, and ultimately scooped the gong for Best Original Screenplay at the 2003 Oscars.
Coppola's movie, which she described as her "love letter" to Tokyo, is widely regarded as a cinematic masterpiece, with fans still speculating about what Murray's character Bob whispered to Johansson's Charlotte in the film's closing moments. It was a commercial and critical success, grossing $118.7 million at the worldwide box office, $114.6 million more than production costs. As the movie was released back in 2003, that's a staggering $187.8 million (£148.6m) today.
Released in 1974, the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre was partially inspired by the real-life crimes of Ed Gein, who was nicknamed the 'Butcher of Plainfield'. With a shoestring production budget of around $140,000, the classic slasher film had to deploy budget-cutting techniques that were almost as frightening as the movie itself.
This included using animal blood and bones to dress the set, which quickly began to stink in the sweltering Texas heat; the actors also had to wear the same dirty clothes for days on end to maintain continuity. Perhaps most shockingly of all, actress Marilyn Burns, who played Sally, had to have her finger sliced open for real during her spine-tingling scene with Grandpa.
By the end of the punishing 32-day shoot – which saw the actors work around 16 hours a day to ensure it was completed on time – director Tobe Hooper claimed that everyone involved hated him. Audiences, however, loved chainsaw-wielding villain Leatherface. The film grossed about $30.9 million at the box office, which is around $197.4 million (£156.2m) in today's money. Today, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre remains one of the greatest horrors of all time, inspiring countless sequels, spin-offs, and reboots.
Psychological horror movie Smile hit the silver screen in September 2022. The project had an estimated budget of $17 million, a modest sum by modern-day Hollywood standards.
The frightful flick, which stars Kevin Bacon's daughter Sosie Bacon, was a huge hit with horror fans. It earned $217.4 million globally, which is an impressive $200.4 million (£158.6m) more than its budget.
In fact, Smile was the highest-grossing original horror film of 2022. An impressive feat when you consider it defeated the likes of Jordan Peele's horror blockbuster Nope and Stephen King adaptation Firestarter.
Released in 1984, sci-fi action flick The Terminator starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, and had a not-so-blockbuster budget of $6.4 million. Although director James Cameron can easily command big budgets today – just think 2009’s Avatar, which had a staggering $237 million behind it – he was new to Hollywood in the early 1980s and arguably had much to prove. As a result of the tight production bill, Schwarzenegger later claimed many of the scenes were filmed without an appropriate permit.
The film grossed around $78 million worldwide, $71.6 million more than its modest production budget. In today's money, it would have made $209.2 million (£165.6m).
Arnold Schwarzenegger certainly meant it when he uttered the iconic line "I'll be back". The Terminator spawned one of the greatest cinematic franchises of all time, with several sequels that all, needless to say, boasted much bigger budgets.
Friday the 13th, yet another iconic slasher movie released during the subgenre's golden age, hit cinemas in May 1980. The frightening flick was never intended to be a hit. Director Sean S. Cunningham and his crew were waiting for the go-ahead to film a sequel to their 1978 comedy Manny's Orphans and shot Friday the 13th to pass the time. The script and film were completed in a few weeks, with a production budget of just $550,000.
Despite its modest background, the movie grossed about $59.8 million, or the equivalent of $228.8 million (£1891m) now. Today, Friday the 13th is regarded as a cult classic, spawning countless spin-offs and reboots (and even a video game), as well as inspiring a wide variety of modern-day horror films.
Night of the Living Dead was groundbreaking upon its release. George A Romero's 1968 zombie flick was created on a shoestring budget of just $114,000, forcing its amateur cast and crew to get creative with special effects.
For example: chocolate syrup was used as fake blood, but as the film was shot in black and white the colour of the blood was unimportant. Actress Kyra Schon, who played a zombie in the movie, later recalled: "Earlier in the day, we were eating hamburgers or meatball sandwiches, so they just smeared chocolate syrup all over it and that’s what I was biting into."
Night of the Living Dead went on to become a horror classic, with many modern-day zombie sagas drawing inspiration from Romero’s work. It grossed $30 million at the worldwide box office, making a profit of about $29.8 million compared to its small production costs. Considering the film was made all the way back in the 1960s, that’s a colossal $260.2 million (£205.9m) when adjusted for inflation.
Supernatural horror movie Paranormal Activity was made on a modest production budget of $15,000. Director Oren Peli shot the film in his own home within a week and paid the two lead actors, Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, just $500 for their largely improvised performances. A basic digital camera on a tripod was used to create the movie's found footage aesthetic.
Following its premiere at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival, the film gained a cult following. A clever marketing strategy, combined with support from Steven Spielberg, helped propel the movie to mainstream success. In fact, Spielberg himself was reportedly spooked by the movie; after viewing a preview copy at his home, his bedroom door locked itself from the inside, requiring the assistance of a locksmith to get it open again.
All in all, Paranormal Activity grossed $193.4 million worldwide; when inflation is factored in, it made $284.4 million (£225m) more than its production costs.
Jordan Peele’s socially charged horror debut Get Out took audiences by storm upon its 2017 release. The film also fared well at the Academy Awards, bagging four nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Actor for leading man Daniel Kaluuya. That's an impressive feat when you consider, for one thing, that horror films are notoriously snubbed by the Academy, and for another that the film was made on a $4.5 million production budget.
Despite its low budget, the film grossed $255.4 million worldwide, earning a profit of about $250.9 million over its production expenses. In today's money, that equates to $307.6 million (£243.4m).
The movie cemented Peele's status as one of Hollywood's most exciting new directors, and he was handed a far more substantial budget of $20 million for his next project, Us.
Coming-of-age comedy Juno was created on a budget of around $6.5 million. Despite this, the 2007 movie secured the star power of Jennifer Garner, who took a significant pay cut to appear in it because she was so impressed by its script.
Garner's decision paid off, and due to back-end profit deals, which meant she got a share of box office takings, the movie has actually ended up as one of the actress's most lucrative roles to date.
Juno was a critical and commercial success, grossing $231.4 million worldwide, as well as earning four Academy Award nominations in 2008: Best Original Screenplay (which director Diablo Cody won), Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Elliot Page. Juno made $224.9 million more than its production budget, $330.8 million (£261.7m) in today's money.
John Carpenter's 1978 horror masterpiece Halloween was shot on a budget of around $325,000, meaning he had to skimp on gory special effects. This actually worked to his advantage: relying purely on suspense, the movie was a white-knuckle rollercoaster that audiences went wild for.
Its success was partly credited to the use of Steadicam, the new technology that produced smoother shots. A crucial aspect of the film's tension, this cutting-edge tech allowed filmmakers to capture fluid point-of-view footage of the menacing Michael Myers as he stalked his victims.
The film went on to gross around $70 million at the worldwide box office, about $69.6 million more than its production costs. When adjusted for inflation, that totals an impressive $331.5 million (£262.2m) in today's money.
Post-apocalyptic movie Mad Max starred Mel Gibson and was created on a tight budget of around $350,000. Fast-forward to now, however, and it's a major film franchise, with four instalments and two more in the works.
The most recent entry, 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, boasted a staggering budget rumoured at up to $185.1 million, which makes the tiny product cost of that original post-apocalyptic fantasy flick almost unimaginable...
Despite its minuscule budget, Mad Max grossed close to $100 million at the worldwide box office, raking in about $99.3 million more than its production costs. When adjusted for inflation, that's a hefty $432.8 million (£342.4m).
While 'found footage' horror movies are ten-a-penny today, 1999's The Blair Witch Project pioneered the subgenre. The horror film was made on a limited budget of $300,000 and shot entirely on low-cost video cameras.
The film was released in 1999, and was one of the first to benefit from the Internet to promote it. As a result of a clever marketing campaign, many viewers walked into the cinema believing they were about to view an actual documentary, with some still believing so after the credits had rolled.
The Blair Witch Project raked in a stunning $248.6 million, or $450.5 million (£356.4m) in today’s money. Its success spawned two sequels but, as the saying goes, nothing beats the original, which remains the most profitable in the franchise.
The Full Monty, a British comedy about the misadventures of a group of unemployed friends who form a male striptease group, was made on a $3.5 million budget. However, this didn’t stop the flick from beating the likes of Titanic and L.A. Confidential to claim the BAFTA Award for Best Film in 1997, while the movie's star, Robert Carlyle, won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Directed by Peter Cattaneo, the movie grossed $258 million at the worldwide box office. That’s about $254.5 million more than its production budget, and when adjusted for inflation equates to around $476.2 million (£376.7m). While plans for a sequel movie fell through, the film did inspire a spin-off on Broadway in 2000, as well as a play that has toured the UK since 2013, and a recent series that finally reunited the movie's cast.
Classic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding had a production budget of just $5 million. While that's a small fortune compared to other entries in our round-up, it's still a pittance in Hollywood terms. Despite an unheard-of cast and a limited theatrical release, the sleeper hit ended up staying in cinemas for nearly a year, ultimately becoming one of the highest-grossing rom-com films of all time.
A big fat success, the film grossed $368.7 million worldwide. That’s $363.7 million more than its production costs, and a profit of $611.4 million (£483.6m) in today's money.
Naturally, the film spawned a sequel, 2016’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Despite boasting a higher budget of $18 million, the follow-up didn’t quite reach the same heights as its predecessor, but still grossed a respectable $90.6 million globally.
Before becoming the megastar filmmaker behind Star Wars and Indiana Jones, George Lucas wrote and directed the 1973 coming-of-age comedy American Graffiti. Despite being made on a production budget of just $777,000, the movie was a hit and received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and the prestigious Best Picture. American Graffiti made Lucas a millionaire, and also launched the careers of the then-unknown Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss.
One of the most profitable films of all time, the film raked in $140 million at the worldwide box office, or around $139.2 million more than its production budget. Considering American Graffiti hit the silver screen 50 years ago, that’s a mind-blowing $972.8 million (£769.5m) in modern money.
Rocky's quintessential rags-to-riches tale is one of the reasons movie fans love it, even decades after its 1976 release. On the surface, it's a boxing movie, yet at its core it's a parable about the American Dream. And Sylvester Stallone's story isn't all that different from that of his legendary character. He was homeless before selling his script, which he penned in less than a week. Shot on a budget of just $960,000, Rocky also achieved victory outside of the box office, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1977.
Rocky grossed a stunning $225 million at the box office, $223.9 million more than its production budget. In today's money, that's an astonishing $1.2 billion (£950m). The franchise now boasts eight sequels across the Rocky and Creed storylines.
Stallone's life was forever transformed, and he now has a reported fortune of $400 million. He once said of his own rags-to-riches journey: "Rocky isn't based on me, but we both went the distance".
Now take a look at which James Bond movies made the most money