Low Budget Movies That Paid Off Big
by urbanemovies | created - 17 Jan 2016 | updated - 4 days ago | PublicLow 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.
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1. Mad Max (1979)
R | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley
Votes: 222,210 | Gross: $8.75M
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
2. Rocky (1976)
PG | 120 min | Drama, Sport
A 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.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 628,155 | Gross: $117.24M
Screenwriter: Sylvester Stallone
Budget: $995,000
Box Office: $225,000,000
Profit %: 22,513%
* launched Sylvester Stallone career and Rocky franchise
3. The Breakfast Club (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy
Votes: 436,325 | Gross: $45.88M
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
4. Easy Rider (1969)
R | 95 min | Adventure, Drama
Two 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: Dennis Hopper | Stars: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Antonio Mendoza
Votes: 116,914 | Gross: $41.73M
Director/Co-Writers: Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda
Budget: $360,000
Box Office: $60,000,000
Profit %: 16,567%
* breakthrough role for Jack Nicholson
5. American Graffiti (1973)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A 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 | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith
Votes: 98,112 | Gross: $115.00M
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
6. Sholay (1975)
Not Rated | 162 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After his family is murdered by a notorious and ruthless bandit, a former police officer enlists the services of two outlaws to capture the bandit.
Director: Ramesh Sippy | Stars: Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Amjad Khan
Votes: 58,702
Director: Ramesh Sippy
Budget: $400,000
Box Office: $67,000,000
Profit %: 16,650%
7. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen 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 | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,674 | Gross: $47.00M
Director: John Carpenter
Budget: $325,000
Box Office: $47,000,000+
Profit %: 14,362%
* breakthrough role for Jamie Lee Curtis and launched Halloween franchise
8. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A 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 | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,370 | Gross: $39.75M
Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $59,000,000
Profit %: 11,700%
* launched Friday 13th movie franchise
9. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
PG | 96 min | Comedy
A 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 | Stars: Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell
Votes: 237,674 | Gross: $44.54M
Director: Jared Hess
Budget: $400,000
Box Office: $46,118,097
Profit %: 11,430%
* launched Jared Hess and Jon Heder careers
10. Enter the Dragon (1973)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A 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.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri
Votes: 112,952 | Gross: $25.00M
11. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
R | 83 min | Horror
Five 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 | Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain
Votes: 183,515 | Gross: $30.86M
Director: Tobe Hooper
Budget: $300,000
Box Office: $30,859,000
Profit %: 10,186%
* launched Tobe Hooper career and TCSM franchise
12. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Eddy 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.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham
Votes: 616,090 | Gross: $3.90M
Writer-Director: Guy Ritchie
Budget: $1,350,000
Box Office: $28,172,868
Profit %: 1,987%
* launched Guy Ritchie career
13. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
R | 100 min | Drama
A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 59,428 | Gross: $24.74M
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
14. Fruitvale Station (2013)
R | 85 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The 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.
Director: Ryan Coogler | Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Durand
Votes: 85,860 | Gross: $16.10M
Writer-Director: Ryan Coogler
Budget: $900,000
Box Office: $17,385,830
Profit %: 1,832%
* breakthrough for Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan careers
15. Saw (2004)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two 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.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover, Ken Leung
Votes: 466,506 | Gross: $56.00M
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
16. Hoop Dreams (1994)
PG-13 | 170 min | Documentary, Drama, Sport
A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
Director: Steve James | Stars: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates, Curtis Gates
Votes: 28,011 | Gross: $7.83M
Writer-Director: Steve James and Frederick Marx
Budget: $700,000
Box Office: $11,830,611
Profit %: 1,590%
17. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
King 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, Terry Jones | Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam
Votes: 570,051 | Gross: $1.23M
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
18. Monsters (2010)
R | 94 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Six 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.
Director: Gareth Edwards | Stars: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able, Mario Zuniga Benavides, Annalee Jefferies
Votes: 97,619 | Gross: $0.24M
Writer-Director: Gareth Edwards
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $4,242,978
Profit %: 749%
* launched Gareth Edwards career (ie. Rogue One (2016))
19. Brick (2005)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Director: Rian Johnson | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin, Meagan Good
Votes: 110,041 | Gross: $2.06M
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))
20. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,315 | Gross: $2.40M
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
21. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
R | 99 min | Crime, Thriller
When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn
Votes: 1,087,760 | Gross: $2.83M
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
22. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
Director: Jim Sharman | Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien
Votes: 166,858 | Gross: $139.88M
Writer-Director: Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien
Budget: $1,400,000
Box Office: $140,252,463+ (showing ever weekend @ midnight)
Profit %: 9732%
23. Ringu (1998)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Mystery
A 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 | Stars: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Yûko Takeuchi, Hitomi Satô
Votes: 77,449
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
24. Billy Jack (1971)
GP | 114 min | Action, Drama
Ex-Green Beret hapkido expert saves wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and helps protect a desert "freedom school" for runaway.
Director: Tom Laughlin | Stars: Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Clark Howat, Victor Izay
Votes: 6,595 | Gross: $98.00M
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
25. Fireproof (2008)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Romance
In an attempt to save his marriage, a firefighter uses a 40-day experiment known as "The Love Dare."
Director: Alex Kendrick | Stars: Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea, Ken Bevel, Stephen Dervan
Votes: 24,128 | Gross: $33.46M
Writer-Director: Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $33,473,297
Profit %: 6595%
26. Walking Tall (1973)
R | 125 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Based 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 | Stars: Joe Don Baker, Elizabeth Hartman, Leif Garrett, Dawn Lyn
Votes: 6,745 | Gross: $4.75M
Director: Phil Karlson
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $23,000,000
Profit %: 4500%
* launched Walking Tall film franchise
27. Fritz the Cat (1972)
X | 78 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Fritz drops out of college, starts a riot in Harlem and hits the road with an ex-girlfriend before getting mixed up with domestic terrorists.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Skip Hinnant, Rosetta LeNoire, John McCurry, Judy Engles
Votes: 14,333 | Gross: $25.00M
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Budget: $700,000
Box Office: $90,000,000
Profit %: 12,757%
*added 10 June 2021
28. Insidious (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye
Votes: 338,905 | Gross: $54.01M
Writer: Leigh Whannell, Director: James Wan, Producer: Jason Blum
Budget: $1,500,000
Box Office: $95,000,000
Profit %: 6533%
*added 10 June 2021
29. Wolf Creek (2005)
R | 99 min | Horror, Thriller
Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.
Director: Greg McLean | Stars: Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, John Jarratt
Votes: 78,325 | Gross: $16.19M
Writer-Director-Producer: Greg McLean
Budget: $1,108,000
Box Office: $27,700,000
Profit %: 2,340%
*added 10 June 2021
30. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
PG | 96 min | Documentary
Filmmaker 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.
Director: Davis Guggenheim | Stars: Al Gore, Billy West, George Bush, George W. Bush
Votes: 85,200 | Gross: $23.81M
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
31. Moonlight (I) (2016)
R | 111 min | Drama
A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Director: Barry Jenkins | Stars: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert
Votes: 331,682 | Gross: $27.85M
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
32. Drive My Car (2021)
Unrated | 179 min | Drama
A 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.
Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | Stars: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Masaki Okada
Votes: 65,690
Budget: $1.3 million
Box Office: $15,364,572
Profit %: 1197%
* added 20 April 2024
33. Blue Valentine (2010)
R | 112 min | Drama, Romance
The relationship of a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
Director: Derek Cianfrance | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, John Doman, Faith Wladyka
Votes: 211,284 | Gross: $9.74M
Budget: $1.2 million
Box Office: $15,440,333
Profit %: 1187%
* added 20 April 2024
34. Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A disaffected soldier returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother years ago.
Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell, Stuart Wolfenden
Votes: 58,347 | Gross: $0.01M
Budget: $895,543
Box Office: $414,736
Profit %: N/A
* added 20 April 2024
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