Mad Max (1979)
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
◄ IMDb Polls
Poll: 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
Make Your Choice
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Rocky (1976)
Screenwriter: Sylvester StalloneBudget: $995,000
Box Office: $225,000,000
Profit %: 22,513%
* launched Sylvester Stallone career and Rocky franchise
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The Breakfast Club (1985)
Director: John HughesBudget: $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
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Easy Rider (1969)
Director/Co-Writers: Dennis Hopper, Peter FondaBudget: $360,000
Box Office: $60,000,000
Profit %: 16,567%
* breakthrough role for Jack Nicholson
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American Graffiti (1973)
Director: George LucasBudget: $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
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Sholay (1975)
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Halloween (1978)
Director: John CarpenterBudget: $325,000
Box Office: $47,000,000+
Profit %: 14,362%
* breakthrough role for Jamie Lee Curtis and launched Halloween franchise
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Friday the 13th (1980)
Director: Sean S. CunninghamBudget: $500,000
Box Office: $59,000,000
Profit %: 11,700%
* launched Friday 13th movie franchise
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Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Director: Jared HessBudget: $400,000
Box Office: $46,118,097
Profit %: 11,430%
* launched Jared Hess and Jon Heder careers
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Director: Tobe HooperBudget: $300,000
Box Office: $30,859,000
Profit %: 10,186%
* launched Tobe Hooper career and TCSM franchise
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Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Writer-Director: Guy RitchieBudget: $1,350,000
Box Office: $28,172,868
Profit %: 1,987%
* launched Guy Ritchie career
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Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
Writer-Director: Steven SoderberghBudget: $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
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Fruitvale Station (2013)
Writer-Director: Ryan CooglerBudget: $900,000
Box Office: $17,385,830
Profit %: 1,832%
* breakthrough for Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan careers
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Saw (2004)
Writer-Director: James Wan and Leigh WhannellBudget: $1,200,000
Box Office: $103,911,669
Profit %: 8,559%
* launched James Wan career and Saw film franchise
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Hoop Dreams (1994)
Writer-Director: Steve James and Frederick MarxBudget: $700,000
Box Office: $11,830,611
Profit %: 1,590%
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Directors: Terry Gilliam and Terry JonesBudget: $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
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Monsters (2010)
Writer-Director: Gareth EdwardsBudget: $500,000
Box Office: $4,242,978
Profit %: 749%
* launched Gareth Edwards career (ie. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016))
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Brick (2005)
Writer-Director: Rian JohnsonBudget: $475,000
Box Office: $3,919,254
Profit %: 725%
* launched Rian Johnson career (ie. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017))
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The Evil Dead (1981)
Director: Sam RaimiBudget: $350,000
Box Office: $2,400,000 * US Box Office only
Profit %: 586%
* launched Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell careers and Evil Dead franchise
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Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Writer-Director: Quentin TarantinoBudget: $1,2000,000
Box Office: $2,832,029* US box office only
Profit %: 136%
* Quentin Tarantino directorial debut, career US box office $0.65b
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Writer-Director: Jim Sharman and Richard O'BrienBudget: $1,400,000
Box Office: $140,252,463+ (showing ever weekend @ midnight)
Profit %: 9732%
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Ringu (1998)
Director: Hideo NakataBudget: $1,200,000 (¥121,737,258)
Box Office: 10,000,000+ (¥1 billion+) Japan box office
Profit %: 733%
* launched Ring film franchise
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Billy Jack (1971)
Writer-Director-Producer: Tom LaughlinBudget: $800,000
Box Office: $32,500,000
Profit %: 3963%
* part a series wildly successful low budget Billy Jack films
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Fireproof (2008)
Writer-Director: Alex Kendrick and Stephen KendrickBudget: $500,000
Box Office: $33,473,297
Profit %: 6595%
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Walking Tall (1973)
Director: Phil KarlsonBudget: $500,000
Box Office: $23,000,000
Profit %: 4500%
* launched Walking Tall film franchise
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Fritz the Cat (1972)
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Insidious (2010)
Writer: Leigh Whannell, Director: James Wan, Producer: Jason BlumBudget: $1,500,000
Box Office: $95,000,000
Profit %: 6533%
*added 10 June 2021
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Wolf Creek (2005)
Writer-Director-Producer: Greg McLeanBudget: $1,108,000
Box Office: $27,700,000
Profit %: 2,340%
*added 10 June 2021
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An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Writer/Narrator Al Gore and Director/Co-Cinematographer: Davis GuggenheimBudget: $1,500,000
Box Office: $49,800,000
Profit %: 3,200%
*added 25 January 2022
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Moonlight (2016)
Writer-Director: Barry Jenkins Actor: Mahershala AliBudget: $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
