Best Low-Budget Hollywood Films that Earned Over $1 Million

Cinema has been one of the greatest influencers of all times. It has influenced the lifestyle and psychology paradigm over the decades and continues to do so. Huge chunks of money are invested into bringing entertainment alive on screen.

Hollywood films have been widely appreciated worldwide and the films with the maximum box office revenue have a minimum investment of more than $10 million. However, there are a few films who had a low budget as minimum as $7K and gained triple returns on their investment.

Top 10 Hollywood Films with low-budget investments

The Hollywood film Industry has witnessed films that invested minimum and gained maximum returns. While these films have invested a maximum of $200K the return on their investments was surreal.

Here it is as below:

1. El Mariachi (1992)- $2 Million

• Budget: $7,000 (estimated)
• Domestic Collection: $2,040,920
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $2,040,920

El Mariachi is considered as one of the biggest triumphs in the independent film industry. It’s a story of mistaken identity where a group of hitmen chase after an innocent musician directed by director Robert Rodriguez. In 2011, El Mariachi was added to the Library of Congress to be preserved as part of its National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Furthermore, the film is also recognized by Guinness World Records as the lowest-budgeted film ever to gross $1 million at the box office.

2. Eraserhead (1977)- $7 Million

• Budget: $20,000 (estimated)
• International Collection: $22,179
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $22,179

Eraserhead was one of the best movies of its times and has a huge fan following even today. This was director David Lynch’s first feature film, which took almost five years before it could be released for the audiences to watch. While it did attract a bit of criticism, it was the kind of storytelling audiences loved, and therefore it grossed $7 Million in box-office collection for the minimum $10K invested.

3. Paranormal Activity (2007)- $193.4 Million

• Domestic Collection: $107,918,810
• International Collection: $85,436,990
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $193,355,800

Paranormal Activity is one of the most recent low-budget films that set a bar for many. With a minimum investment of $15k, the film made a breakthrough with earning $193.4 Million in the box office collection. The film was a new-form of film-making as all the acts was being recorded in a CCTV camera, which audience appreciated. The marketing of the film played a major role in the huge success of the film.

4. Clerks (1994)- $3.2 Million

• Domestic Collection: $3,151,130
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $3,151,130

The director of Clerks, Kevin Smith, made a risky move to fund the script he had in mind. This was his first movie and he funded the production by selling off his extensive comic book collection and used up 10 of his credit cards that landed him $27,575. The movie was featured in black and white but didn’t need all the extensive drama to make it a hit among the audiences. This movie was a major head start to Kevin Smith’s career.

5. Catfish (2010)- $3.5 Million

• Domestic Collection: $3,237,343
• International Collection: $296,368
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $3,533,711

Catfish is another successful movie with an extremely low budget. The film made $3.5 Million in the box-office while it invested a minimum $30K. Its success inspired the MTV spin-off series which went on successfully.

6. The Blair Witch Project (1999)- $248.6 Million

• Domestic Collection: $140,539,099
• International Collection: $108,100,000
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $248,639,099

This movie was one of the biggest blockbusters among the audience because most of them actually thought it was real. The movie was shot in the ‘found footage genre’ which does get criticism. The marketing of the movie was done extensively which did attract audiences to a large extent. The movie earned $248.6 Million for its $60,000 investment which is remarkable and enviable.

7. Super-Size Me (2004)- $22.2 Million

• Domestic Collection: $11,536,423
• International Collection: $9,109,334
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $20,645,757

Super-Size Me had a simple concept that became a hit among the audiences. Director and star Morgan Spurlock filmed himself eating fast food at McDonald’s and recorded the effects of it. The film earned him an impressive $22.2 Million.

8. Pi (1998)- $3.2 Million

• Domestic Collection: $3,221,152
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $3,221,152

The psychological thriller was definitely acclaimed by the audience that earned the movie an impressive $3.2 Million for its $68K budget. Director Darren Aronofsky made his directorial debut hit with this film.

9. Night of the Living Dead (1968)- $30 Million

• Domestic Collection: $236,452
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $236,452

This film was released in 1968, but was featured in black and white to add to the horror effect it wished to portray. The film made $30 Million, which was followed by five sequels that made it influence in horror industry.

10. Swingers (1996)- $4.6 Million

• Domestic Collection: $4,555,020
• Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $4,555,020

Director Doug Liman made a good Impression with this film which revolved around the lives of five single and unemployed actors living on the ‘eastside’ of Hollywood. Liman won the Best New Filmmaker Award at 1997 MTV Movie awards for this comedy-drama film. It earned an impressive $4.5 Million.

Conclusion

Low-budget films were still investments that earned returns. Make your dreams come true by Investing today to earn returns in the long run.