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.
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.
Bronson
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.
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.
The Passion of the Christ
Budget: $30M
"The Passion of the Christ" made Mel Gibson a lot of money. Studios refused to make his passion project into a film, so he made it himself. At the time, he was pilloried for coughing up $30 million to make it. Gibson also dug into his pockets for another $15 million to market it.
To everyone’s surprise, "The Passion" raked in $611.9 million. Gibson’s cut for acting, producing, and merchandising adds up to a mind-blowing $450 million. What a payout! The story depicts Jesus Christ’s violent death. It was released the week of Easter in 2004.