MORE BUDGET MOVIES THAT WERE BIG HITS

HALLOWEEN”

BUDGET: $325,000 REVENUE: $70 MILLION

Halloween is an independent slasher horror film written by

Debra Hill and directed by John Carpenter. Released in 1978,

Halloween became an inspiration for many slasher films testifying

to the film’s genius. It’s hard to believe that this film had such a low

budget. Interesting fact: Wallace created the mask work by Myers

from a Captain Kirk Mask purchased for $1.98.

“ONCE”

BUDGET: $160,000 REVENUE: $20.7 MILLION

An Irish musical film, “Once” was written and directed by John Carney

and was set in Dublin, Ireland. It was released in 2007 and starred

musicians Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, who composed and

performed all the songs featured in the film. The film was both a

critical and financial success and even a received a

Grammy Award nomination.

“NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”

BUDGET: $114,000 REVENUE: $42 MILLION

Night of the Living Dead is an American independent horror

film that premiered on October 1, 1968. It was directed by

George A. Romero and starred Duane Jones, Karl Hardman

and Judith O’dea. The film grossed $12 million domestically

and $30 million internationally, making it a huge

financial success.

“ERASERHEAD” BUDGET: $20,000

(ESTIMATED) REVENUE: $7 MILLION

This surrealist body horror film was written and directed by

David Lynch and was released in 1977. Shot in black-and-white,

Eraserhead was Lynch’s first feature-length film after a series of

short works and tells the story of Henry Spencer (Nance), who is left

to care for his deformed child in a desolate industrial landscape.

Eraserhead eventually gained positive reviews with praises for its

use of surrealist imagery, sexual undercurrents and intricate

sound design.

“THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT”

BUDGET: $87,000 REVENUE: $3.1 MILLION

An American exploitation horror film that was released in 1972,

The Last House on the Left was written, edited and directed by

Wes Craven. Produced by Sean S. Cunningham, it was inspired

by The Virgin Spring, a Swedish film that was released in 1960

and directed by Ingmar Bergman.

“PI” BUDGET:

$68,000 REVENUE: $3.22 MILLION

A 1998 American surrealist psychological thriller, Pi was written

and directed by Darren Aronofsky and served as his directorial

debut. Pi centres around Maximillian “Max” Cohen

(played by Sean Gullette), a number theorist who believes

everything in nature can be understood through numbers.

“SUPER SIZE ME”

BUDGET: $65,000 REVENUE: $29.5 MILLION

Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary directed by and

starring independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. The film

documents the startling transformation of the main character as he

restricts himself to a McDonalds-only diet for 30 days. This in turn,

causes drastic effect to his emotional, physical and

psychological health.

“THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”

BUDGET: $750,000 (DEPENDING ON THE SOURCE)

REVENUE: $248.6 MILLION

This 1999 American horror film was written, edited and

directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez and was

produced by the Haxan Films production company. The story

revolves around three student filmmakers; Heather Donahue,

Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, who get lost while

on a hike in the Black Hills of Maryland in 1994. The film received

an enormously positive reception and went on to gross over

$248 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful

independent films of all time.