MORE BUDGET MOVIES THAT WERE BIG HITS
Added on: 4th Feb 2015
HALLOWEEN”
BUDGET: $325,000 REVENUE: $70 MILLION
Halloween is an independent slasher horror film written by
Debra Hill and directed by John Carpenter. Released in 1978,
Halloween became an inspiration for many slasher films testifying
to the film’s genius. It’s hard to believe that this film had such a low
budget. Interesting fact: Wallace created the mask work by Myers
from a Captain Kirk Mask purchased for $1.98.
“ONCE”
BUDGET: $160,000 REVENUE: $20.7 MILLION
An Irish musical film, “Once” was written and directed by John Carney
and was set in Dublin, Ireland. It was released in 2007 and starred
musicians Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, who composed and
performed all the songs featured in the film. The film was both a
critical and financial success and even a received a
Grammy Award nomination.
“NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”
BUDGET: $114,000 REVENUE: $42 MILLION
Night of the Living Dead is an American independent horror
film that premiered on October 1, 1968. It was directed by
George A. Romero and starred Duane Jones, Karl Hardman
and Judith O’dea. The film grossed $12 million domestically
and $30 million internationally, making it a huge
financial success.
“ERASERHEAD” BUDGET: $20,000
(ESTIMATED) REVENUE: $7 MILLION
This surrealist body horror film was written and directed by
David Lynch and was released in 1977. Shot in black-and-white,
Eraserhead was Lynch’s first feature-length film after a series of
short works and tells the story of Henry Spencer (Nance), who is left
to care for his deformed child in a desolate industrial landscape.
Eraserhead eventually gained positive reviews with praises for its
use of surrealist imagery, sexual undercurrents and intricate
sound design.
“THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT”
BUDGET: $87,000 REVENUE: $3.1 MILLION
An American exploitation horror film that was released in 1972,
The Last House on the Left was written, edited and directed by
Wes Craven. Produced by Sean S. Cunningham, it was inspired
by The Virgin Spring, a Swedish film that was released in 1960
and directed by Ingmar Bergman.
“PI” BUDGET:
$68,000 REVENUE: $3.22 MILLION
A 1998 American surrealist psychological thriller, Pi was written
and directed by Darren Aronofsky and served as his directorial
debut. Pi centres around Maximillian “Max” Cohen
(played by Sean Gullette), a number theorist who believes
everything in nature can be understood through numbers.
“SUPER SIZE ME”
BUDGET: $65,000 REVENUE: $29.5 MILLION
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary directed by and
starring independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. The film
documents the startling transformation of the main character as he
restricts himself to a McDonalds-only diet for 30 days. This in turn,
causes drastic effect to his emotional, physical and
psychological health.
“THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”
BUDGET: $750,000 (DEPENDING ON THE SOURCE)
REVENUE: $248.6 MILLION
This 1999 American horror film was written, edited and
directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez and was
produced by the Haxan Films production company. The story
revolves around three student filmmakers; Heather Donahue,
Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, who get lost while
on a hike in the Black Hills of Maryland in 1994. The film received
an enormously positive reception and went on to gross over
$248 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful
independent films of all time.
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