10 Insanely Profitable Low Budget Films

Paranormal Activity

Budget – $15,000

Worldwide Gross – $196,681,656

Return – 655,506%

Found footage horror is indeed king when it comes to making an insane amount of money off no budget at all, and Paranormal Activity proved this dominance once and for all.

There’s almost nothing to the movie in terms of effects. We don’t see ghosts or demons, just footprints and a few blankets moving, but the result is terrifying nonetheless. Its opening weekend it didn’t make a ton of money, but as word spread about the film, audiences flocked to theaters to see just what all the hype was about, and the majority did not leave disappointed.

Just look at that return on investment. There’s hardly any other industry where you’re going to see a six-figure percentage like that, let alone one that was climbing towards seven. While it can be debated whether Paranormal Activity is scary, or even a quality horror film, it can’t be debated that audiences loved going to see it, and the result was a ridiculous box office figure in relation to the budget.

Paranormal Activity is king for now when it comes to the most profitable low-budget film, and it likely will be for a long time. Eventually something else may dethrone it, but it’s hard to imagine anything else making so much money on such a minuscule budget.

Moral of the story, if someone has $15,000 to invest, let’s get together and make a found footage flick. Play it right and we could be swimming in the cash.