Budget: $230K
“Bronson” follows the story of Charles Bronson, the most violent prisoner in Britain’s history. He got locked up for petty crimes, but once he was thrown in the slammer, he attacked guards, took prisoners hostage, and earned the title of most violent UK inmate.
Tom Hardy portrayed the boxer-turned-criminal-turned-artist in Bronson. The movie was made on a shoestring budget, for far less than a half-million dollars, and eked out a box office net of $2.3M.
Best In Show
Budget: $6-10M
Who knew the cutthroat nature of dog shows before "Best In Show"? No one. The comedy by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy takes a satirical look at American dog shows. Since no dog show event would allow cameras, the creators made one up. The film follows five dogs and their entourage, which is to say, owners, handlers, and trainers.
The mockumentary covers the fictional Mayflower Dog Show. Christopher Guest, Nigel in "This Is Spinal Tap," based "Best In Show" on the annual Westminster Dog Show. The movie has a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $20.8M.
Garden State
Budget: $2.5M
Zach Braff writes, directs, and stars in the twentysomething coming-of-age comedy "Garden State." It is his directorial debut. Bringing in $35M at the box office, Braff proved his movie-making prowess. The soundtrack he arranged received acclaim as well.
The film also stars a young Natalie Portman, who was a senior at Harvard at the time. She plays Sam and Braff plays Andrew. It has been compared favorably to "The Graduate." The entire $2.5M budget was financed by a wealthy donor named Gary Gilbert. It was a good investment. The film grossed $35M.
Insidious
Budget: $1.5M
"Insidious" is a $555 million horror movie franchise that started with a single movie on a shoestring budget. The first of five (to date) of the paranormal thriller film did extremely well. It collected an eye-popping $99.5 million at the box office.
The supernatural elements of the story revolve around a boy who falls into an apparent coma and is inhabited by various spirits. The boy has psychic abilities and is able to travel the astral world, but he strays too far into the purgatory realm of lost souls.
The Terminator
Budget: $6.4M
"The Terminator" has to be the most successful movie-on-a-budget ever. Director James Cameron scripted Austrian bodybuilder and Conan the Barbarian actor Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator. Today, four decades later, “I’ll be back” is in the vernacular.
It made a vigorous $78.4M in ticket sales, and the movie terminated the competition; it was the number 1 movie at the box office for two solid weeks. More impressive, however, is that the franchise it spawned is a multi-billion entertainment entity. All for less than $7 million down.