Budget: $3.5M
Long before the days when ladies were swooning over Channing Tatum in “Magic Mike,” the British film “The Full Monty” shocked and awed audiences with its tantalizing male stripteases and hilarious moments. In the 70’s hit, 4 steelworkers who are fed up with their boring and tough lives decide to try their hand at wowing hungry female onlookers as Chippendales-style male entertainers.
The film was made with less than $4 million but ended up producing nearly $260 million at the box office. The comedy was such a hit that the British Film Institute called it the 25th Best British Film in the entirety of the 20th century. That’s not too shabby for a movie that was made with a considerably low budget, is it?
Swingers
Budget: $200,000
It’s kind of hard to imagine Vince Vaughn starring in a movie with a budget of less than $1 million, but back in the 1990s, he wasn’t exactly the A-lister he is today. He and Jon Favreau starred as two wannabe actors in Hollywood trying to live life in the fast lane after moving to Los Angeles from New York City. The dark comedy was filmed with a modest $200,000 budget but ended up making about $25 million at the box office.
Plus, it can be credited with launching Vaughn and Favreau’s careers, along with that of the film’s director, Dough Liman. The film was also written by Favreau, who happened to write the entire thing in less than a month. He only actually cast himself in the film due to the lack of funding to hire more actors.
The Big Sick
Budget: $5M
"The Big Sick" is an adorable romantic comedy about a couple who stems from different ethnic backgrounds that must rally together with the in-laws when one of them develops an illness that threatens life as they know it. The film was produced with a modest $5 million budget and brought back over $55 million in the box office.
The movie is somewhat based on the relationship between its director and co-writer, Kumail Nanjiania, and his wife (and co-screenwriter of the film) Emily V. Gordon. "The Big Sick" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and ultimately became one of the most profitable movies in 2017. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval score of nearly 99%.
Supersize Me
Budget: $65,000
"Supersize Me" is an informative yet equally entertaining documentary that touches on some really important issues about society and its consumption of fast food. The film was produced by Morgan Spurlock, who both starred in and directed it himself. It basically featured him stuffing his face with nothing but food from the fast-food conglomerate for 30 days straight and documenting what was happening to his body (and mind) as a result.
Let’s just say that his findings are pretty scary, to say the least. Everyone knows that fast food isn’t healthy, but they may not realize just how dangerous it can really be to live on nothing but that kind of food. Spurlock produced the film using only $65,000, but audiences ate it up, and he watched as it hit nearly $30 million at the box office.
Juno
Budget: $6.5M
"Juno" delighted audiences when it arrived in theatres back in 2008 due to its comedic relief and one-of-a-kind take on teenage pregnancy. Elliot Page delivered an Academy Award-winning performance in the title role, really making a name for himself in the film industry. The film earned its $6.5 million budget back within a matter of days and ultimately made over $230 million. Plenty of household names appeared in the movie, including Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, and Michael Cera.
Garner played the happy expectant young mother waiting for the baby that Juno (Page) was carrying and was so interested in appearing in the film that she accepted a salary that was substantially lower than what she was typically paid. The film itself won multiple Academy Awards alongside Page’s, including the awards for Best Writing in an Original Screenplay and Best Motion Picture of the Year.