Budget: $4M
“Moonlight” is a unique coming-of-age tale about the emotional development of a young man throughout multiple stages of his life, from childhood through young adulthood. It brings some very important issues to light and shows them in a way that no movie really has before. The movie was put together with a modest budget of just $4 million but ended up grossing over $65 million after its release.
It won a number of awards, including being the first film with an all-black cast to win an Oscar for Best Picture. Not only that, but it was also the first LGBTQA themed film to win the same award. It was nominated for 5 of the other categories that year, too: a big win for writer and director Barry Jenkins. The film’s writer, Joi McMillon, became the first African American woman to be nominated for an Oscar in editing for her stellar behind-the-scenes performance, too.
Night of the Living Dead
Budget: $115,000
When you ask someone to tell you what they consider to be the original zombie movie, 9 out of 10 times, they are probably going to say "Night of the Living Dead." The horror classic was directed by George Romero and produced for just under $115,000. The film was shot and premiered in Pittsburgh and ended up bringing in $12 million from the U.S. box office and nearly $20 million internationally.
The zombie thriller was so well received that Romero went on to direct 5 more of them. The original movie was done in black and white in 1968, and in 1990, a color remake directed by Tom Savini debuted. Unfortunately, Romero had never given his okay and found himself fighting for a percentage of the profits in court with Savini.
My Left Foot
Budget: $600,000
Daniel Day-Lewis played the amazing role of Christy Brown, a man who has been born with cerebral palsy and can only control one of his feet (we’ll let you guess which one). The “dramedy,” as it may be called in today’s film lingo, was produced in 1989 with a budget of just $600,000. Audiences fell in love with the performances, and "My Left Foot" wound up making nearly $15 million in theatres — not bad when you compare it to its production costs.
The film was nominated for several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Daniel Day-Lewis won both the Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor for his role, and Brenda Fricker won for Best Supporting Actress.
Saw
Budget: $1.2M
If you’ve seen this gory, cutthroat classic, you know that the majority of the action in this film takes place in a single (incredibly disturbing) location. This, in addition to the fact it was filmed using a fairly small number of actors and actresses, lends to the fact they made over 100% profit back on the $1.2 million budget they produced it with.
The Hollywood legend that everyone knows and loves was actually the product of a short film that was produced using next to nothing. Lionsgate bought the film and put together the budget that was used to turn it into a successful movie that grossed over $115 million in theatres, launching a franchise that would become the second highest-grossing in its genre.
The Purge
Budget: $3M
Considering the fact that "The Purge" has turned into a multi-million-dollar franchise, it may be hard to believe that the original movie was put together with a budget of just $3 million. Now, there are multiple multi-million-dollar films along with a limited series on TV. Each of the films (and the TV episodes) have their own theme, but they all follow the same storyline about “The Purge.”
The story is about one night per year during which the federal government sanctions all crime — including murder. In most of the films, the government themselves are on the “no-kill” list, with the exception of a few certain instances throughout the franchise. The budget for the more recent films has been a bit higher, thanks to the success of their predecessor.