Dollars for a Dime: 5 Low-Budget Movies That Earned Big

Disclaimer: This list is not a ranking. The movies that came up first in the author’s research have been placed first. It’s as simple as that. 

1. Rocky (1976)
   
   (“Rocky Balboa” by Phim Ảnh is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

   Made on a budget of $1 million dollars. and at a time when Sylvester Stallone was broke and homeless, ‘Rocky’ went on to earn $225 million and started a franchise which till date has $1.4 billion! Well, that’s quite a win I would say.

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2. The Purge (2013)
   The first movie had some great actors but was made on a $3 million dollar budget. Fast-forward just a couple of years and not just that first low-budget film made $89 million at the box-office, but it also spurned a successful trilogy.

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3. Moon (2009)
   
   (“Sam Rockwell – Moon” by Mark Hillary is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

   Can you imagine, a sci-fi film made with just $5 million (and not with shitty CGI), well, ‘Moon’ managed to do that. Its box-office success wasn’t as great as the other movies on this list, however, ‘Moon’ managed to be critically acclaimed and won numerous awards. This has led to a cult following and a string of movies set in the same universe.

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4. Paranormal Activity (2007)
   Who doesn’t knows the success story of this movie? Made with just $15,000 and with a hand-held camera, no one expected it to be a success. But it managed to earn nearly 13,000 times its profit and created a nearly billion dollar franchise.

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5. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
   
   (“Slumdog Millionaire” by Poakpong is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

   Not exactly a small budget, but neither a big one, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was made with just $15 million by a director whose fees alone should have been that much. The film earned $370 million, 8 Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director) and launched the career of its lead actor and actresses. It really did make a few people millionaires.