Pulp Fiction - 2,600% Profit
Who could ever forget the iconic character of Mia Wallace, exceptionally portrayed by Uma Thurman? Pulp Fiction is an ode to the genius of Quentin Tarantino. With a mere budget of $8 million, it went on to break the box office with a turnover of $213 million! The stellar popularity of the film earned it wide adulation amongst fans and critics alike. It has now consolidated its position in the IMDb’s list of 10 Top Rated Movies.
This neo-noir dark comedy crime film starring big icons of Hollywood such as Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis won the best original screenplay award at the 67th Academy Awards too.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding – 7,300% Profit
My Big Fat Greek Wedding was initially unsuccessful but later rose to become the highest-grossing romantic comedy film. Yes, this movie was one of the most notable sleeper hits!
With a small budget of $5 million, the film grossed over $368.7 million worldwide. This made it the 5th highest-grossing film of the year 2002 in the United States and Canada. The super success it received after a short grim period led to the release of a film sequel. Even the spinoff series named My Big Fat Greek Life was also released to rave reviews.
Mad Max - 49,800% Profit
Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic movie franchise that gives a peek into a dystopian world as the population suffers from a societal breakdown. Written by Miller and James McCausland, it went on to become one of the highest-grossing Australian films!
The commercial and critical success was so huge that it even found its way into the Guinness Book of Records! Fans especially love the carefully orchestrated action sequences! It has spawned into a multiple film franchise with each release performing better than the last.
Juno - 3,300% Profit
Released in the year 2007, Juno is a heartwarming film that sensitively depicts teenage pregnancy and navigating the hardships that come with it. The movie made audiences laugh, cry, and filled them with joy; that's all you could want from a great script, right? The actors' performances and the story were brilliant, and it was evident from its Oscar wins and nominations!
Even the commercial performance of the movie was astounding! With just the movie's low-budget, of approximately $7 million, the film's total turnover at the box office was $231.4 million. Cha-Ching!
Moonlight - 4,200% Profit
With a menial budget of just $4 million, Moonlight stunned the world by cashing in a whopping $65.3 at the box office! It was considered a groundbreaking film about an African American boy dealing with life's challenges in the vibrant city of Miami.
The movie's main success came from the fact that it had honest performances and resonated with audiences. It was evident from the fact that when nominations for every single award show were announced, Moonlight swept the red carpet! And, of course, we all remember the Oscar goof up!
Paranormal Activity - 1,289,000% Profit
After The Blair Witch Project came out several films tried to emulate the success that the handheld video camera horror classic achieved, but none ever came close.
That is until Paranormal Activity was released and took the concept to a whole new level. In just seven days director Oren Peli made an ingenious movie on a mere fifteen thousand dollar budget, not knowing that his masterpiece would rake in an astonishing one hundred and ninety-three million dollars at the box office! Not a bad return for a week's work, we reckon.
The Full Monty - 7,400% Profit
Long before we had singing high school students and buff shirtless men dancing on the streets we had a classic film about a bunch of Australian men looking for a way to make some extra money.
That movie was, of course, The Full Monty in which a group of underdogs decide to become exotic dancers, much to the amusement of those watching. The cinematic masterpiece exceeded all expectations and rounded up nearly two hundred and sixty million dollars in theatres, making the creators very happy after having spent only three and a half million dollars producing the hit!
The Blair Witch Project - 414,300% Profit
When it comes to garnishing commercial success as an independent film, there are still very few examples that are quite as successful as The Blair Witch Project.
Film analysts reckon the reason the film succeeded is because of its unsettling nature as well as the documentary style in which it was filmed. All we know is that the producers spent sixty thousand dollars and made nearly two hundred and fifty million dollars in return! We're not experts at math, but even by our calculations that is a lot of money.
Split - 3,000% Profit
We all know that any film by director M. Night Shyamalan is bound to have a twist, but even his unique style does not guarantee commercial success.
However, there is his masterpiece Split which blew critics and fans out of the water and took in almost two hundred and eighty million dollars at the box office! We don't want to give much away if you haven't seen it, but it's fair to say that the performance by actor James McAvoy is better than you can ever imagine and definitely part of the reason this piece of cinema was so well received.
Nightcrawler - 590% Profit
It's rare to find a film that deals with themes that are tricky to negotiate in a satisfying way, but there are exceptions to this rule.
One of those oddities is Nightcrawler. It deals with the world of journalism and the sometimes unethical lengths some reporters are willing to go to land a story. This piece of cinema wasn't expected to do very well commercially, but it wound up earning a fair fifty million dollars in return for its eight million dollar budget. Oh, and did we mention it stars the hunky Jake Gyllenhall?
Annabelle - 3,900% Profit
Would you believe us if we told you that a film about a creepy possessed doll made nearly two hundred and sixty million at the box office?
We wouldn't blame you if you didn't, but that is precisely what happened when the film Annabelle was released. It seems that director James Wan embraced the success of his recipe behind The Conjuring and applied it to several other cinematic endeavors. His plan worked and his six million dollar budget film hauled in a truckload of money to the tune of nearly two hundred and sixty million dollars! Clearly people like seeing scary puppets!
Friday The 13th - 7,100% Profit
There are few film franchises that have spawned as much commercial success as the Friday The 13th series has. Over the years, it has raked in millions of dollars with merchandise, video games and a total of twelve films in it's ranks. This piece of cinema truly became a cash cow!
But it all started with the original movie and a budget of a mere seven hundred thousand dollars. It's fair to say that creator Victor Miller and director Sean S. Cunningham probably had no idea what a wild ride they were in for when they spawned the first film!
The Hills Have Eyes - 10,800% Profit
What do you get when you take a budget of two hundred and thirty thousand dollars and make a movie about an unruly bunch of deformed people who exude savage behavior towards a family stranded in the desert?
You get the cult classic The Hills Have Eyes and a bunch of money in return, that's what! All in all, this piece of horror cinema earned about twenty-five million dollars, which is more than ten times its original cost. Who knew that a movie about people getting attacked in an arid environment would be so popular!
American Graffiti - 17,600% Profit
If we say the name George Lucas, your mind probably immediately goes to Star Wars, but did you know that the acclaimed director had several tricks up his sleeve long before the film set in a galaxy far far away became a success.
One of these successes is the classic movie American Graffiti which not only exceeded its budgetary expectations but also received five Oscar nominations! This coming of age drama clearly resonated with audiences and helped it gross just over one hundred and fifteen million dollars at the box office.
Goldfinger - 4,100% Profit
You'd have to look far and wide to find someone who is not a fan of the James Bond film franchise. These classics have raked in substantial amounts of money over the years and many will agree that this is thanks to the acting of screen legend Sean Connery in the earlier adaptations of Ian Fleming's books.
Among those is the classic hit Goldfinger which managed to turn a huge profit of one hundred and twenty-five million dollars in theatres despite its rather small budget. It just goes to show what a difference the right performer can make when they play the right role.
My Left Foot - 2,450% Profit
If you've never heard of actor Daniel Day-Lewis then you are missing out on one of the world's best performers in action, and there are several movies which we would suggest you check out.
One of these is the critically acclaimed My Left Foot in which Daniel plays the role of a man suffering from cerebral palsy who finds a way to better his life by using, yup, you guessed it, his left foot! With a flimsy budget of just over six hundred thousand dollars, this cinematic wonder made almost fifteen million dollars and amazed viewers and critics alike.
Blue Valentine - 1,600% Profit
When actors Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams teamed up to star in and produce the film Blue Valentine they had no idea what a hit it would be.
The movie documents a tumultuous relationship from start to finish and both these performers shine in their respective roles. It seems that audiences appreciate a modern love story even if it's not always romantic, and lined up to watch this piece of cinematic art. It wound up making just over sixteen million dollars, and we suggest you give it a watch to see why it did so well.
Rocky - 20,400% Profit
It's fair to say that cinema audiences always appreciate a good underdog story and a prime example of this becoming a classic notion is the film, Rocky.
There is no doubt that this movie is what made actor Sylvester Stallone a fan-favorite in Hollywood and brought him fame and fortune. It's a wonder if you think about it. On a budget of just one million dollars, this film could've easily failed, but instead, it made almost a hundred and twenty million dollars and helped spawn one of the most successful cinematic franchises ever.
Lost In Translation - 2,900% Profit
There are some filmmakers who are good at spotting a recipe for success, and some of those were responsible for the classic dark comedy Lost In Translation.
One could argue that a film starring actor Bill Murray and actress Scarlett Johansson couldn't fail even if it tried, but we reckon it's fair to say that director Sofia Coppola helped guide these stars and the movie on the path of infamy it achieved. Together the production turned four million dollars into nearly a hundred and twenty million and we're surprised it didn't earn even more.
The Big Sick - 1,100% Profit
An actor who dives into the deep end of feature-length filmmaking can be left broke and rudderless very easily, but luckily that is not what happened when Kumail Nanjiani decided to take the wheel when he made The Big Sick.
Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon penned the masterpiece together and it went on to garner a lot of critical acclaim and financial success. It scored an impressive fifty-six million dollars on the circuit, which dwarfs the five million dollars they spent on making it, and we're sure this left the artful couple very happy.