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.
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.
American Psycho
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.
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.
Memento
Budget: $5M
Christopher Nolan’s most acclaimed film is "Memento." It’s about a guy named Leonard Shelby who wants nothing more than to avenge the horrific murder of his wife. The only problem is he suffers short-term memory loss so severely he can barely remember to do it.
The truth is she murdered herself by having him give her a fatal dose of medicine. The psychological thriller made $40 million, eight times its original budget.