Budget: $8M
“American Psycho” was made on a shoestring budget, but it brought in about $30 million. Starring the dynamic and young cast of Christian Bale, Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe, Chloe Sevigny, and Reese Witherspoon, it was an instant classic.
Bale plays Patrick Bateman, a wealthy ‘80s era investment banker who is obsessed with Donald Trump by day and a serial killer by night. He self-ruminates thusly, “I have all the characteristics of a human being but not a single clear identifiable emotion.” The story is about castigating Yuppie culture, according to the author of the book it is based on.
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.
Moon
Budget: $5M
"Moon" is a compelling sci-fi film that brings the surface of the moon to life without much CGI to speak of and with a very modest budget. It tells the story of astronaut Sam Bell played by Sam Rockwell.
He was dispatched to the moon on a three-year contract to mine helium 3. Themes of solitude are brought out with his Siri-voiced companion, GERTY. Kevin Spacey voices Sam’s robot companion. Duncan Jones’ directorial debut "Moon" brought in $10 million and won the 2010 Hugo Award.
Following
Budget: $6K
Christopher Nolan’s debut film Following was made with virtually no budget. He scraped up funds himself from his day-job wages. It was filmed in black and white, not for purely aesthetic purposes, but also to keep costs down.
The film did very well at film festivals landing a Grand Jury Prize nomination at Sundance, amongst others. It is about a struggling writer who follows strangers around in desperate hope of landing inspiration. Following sold $49,000 in tickets. It’s not much, but with a near-zero budget, this movie is one of the most well-known films made with no financing.