Most Profitable Films of All Time

The current hit that is ‘Obsession’ has sparked a large conversation around low budget films that made buku bucks (official term) at the box office. Naturally, I had to write an article highlighting 20 of the most profitable films of all-time, by taking their box office gross and dividing it by their budget. I used Wikipedia as my main source and cross referenced the money numbers on a couple of websites, namely Box Office Mojo. While this is by no means a definitive list, these films are the top 20 that I came across during my research. The qualifiers I put here was that the budget had to be $1 million or less and the film had to recoup at least 100 times it’s budget.

20 - Facing the Giants (2006) - Grossed $10.2 million on a budget of $100,000 (102 times it’s budget). A Christian faith-based sports drama film, the film was written, produced, edited, composed, directed by, and starred Alex Kendrick in the lead role. It’s a classic underdog football story focused on a Christian high school and their head coach. It opened in a small number of theaters but was an underdog story itself, climbing up the box office.

19 - Open Water (2003) - Grossed $55.5 million on a budget of $500,000 (111 times it’s budget). This survival horror is loosely based on the true disappearance of Tom and Eileen Lonergan. Centered on a couple who get stranded in shark infested waters while scuba diving and was financed by the husband-wife team Chris Kentis & Laura Lau, who are avid divers. Of it’s $55.5 million, $30 million came from just the North American market and the film’s lead, Blanchard Ryan, won the Saturn Award for Best Actress.

18 - Napoleon Dynamite (2004) - Grossed $46.1 million on a budget of $400,000 (115.25 times it’s budget). One of the most iconic comedies of the 2000s this film was directed by Jared Hess from a script written by he and his brother, Jerusha Hess. Considered one of the funniest films of all-time, the film blew up at the box office and has also had some successful merch, specifically the ‘Vote for Pedro’ shirts. It was the debut of Hess, who would go on to direct ‘Nacho Libre’ and ‘A Minecraft Movie’ and was the film debut of lead, Jon Heder.

17 - Catfish (2010) - Grossed $3.5 million on a budget of $30,000 (116.67 times it’s budget). One of the best examples of a word coined from a film (another list I’m working on), it’s centered on a man named Nev Schulman, who was the victim of a catfishing scheme. It spurred one of the most popular reality TV shows of the era and ignited an interest in busting catfishers. Though some think the documentary was faked, it was still extremely successful. And if it was faked, I' think that would be a powerful case of catfishing the audience.

16 - Easy Rider (1969) - Grossed $60 million on a budget of $400,000 (150 times it’s budget). A road drama that was written by Peter Fonda & Dennis Hopper, with Hopper also directing, the two star alongside Jack Nicholson in his breakout rule. The film helped spark an era of New Hollywood in the 70s due it’s counterculture native that explored the new era movements & drug use of the time. Fun fact I learned, they used real drugs in all the scenes in which drugs were done. Earning Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay & Best Supporting Actor, for Nicholson, the film has also been entered the National Film Registry.

15 - Once (2007) - Grossed $23.3 million on a budget of $150,000 (155.33 times it’s budget). This Irish romantic drama focuses on two struggling musicians, known as Guy and Girl. The film did extremely well per screen (meaning it didn’t have many screens, but still earned a lot of money) and it won the 2008 Oscar for Best Original Song. The soundtrack also received a Grammy nomination.

14 - Clerks (1994) - Grossed $4.4 million on a budget of $27,575 (162.96 times it’s budget). I feel like I should caveat that after the film was acquired by Miramax an additional $230k was given to editing & music licensing. But there were no reshoots with thew new budget. A comedy shot in black and white, this film launched the career of filmmaker Kevin Smith. The film introduced a lot of characters that would become staples of his films, including Jay and Silent Bob. This film focuses specifically on the lives of two store clerks and their friends.

13 - American Graffiti (1973) - Grossed $140 million on a budget of $777,000 (180.18 times it’s budget). Telling the story of a group of teens, this film is considered a catalyst for the cultural nostalgia of the 50s and 60s. From producer Francis Ford Coppola and helmed by a young director named George Lucas, the film became Universal’s highest-grossing film (though it was quickly surpassed) and earned an additional $60 million in home video revenue. It earned 5 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and starred young up and comers such as Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, Kathleen Quinlan, and Harrison Ford.

12 - Halloween (1978) - Grossed $70 million on a budget of $325,000 (215.38 times it’s budget). What would become one of the most influential horror movies of all-time started as an independent slasher. It spurred 13 sequels, video games, and other pieces of media. Written, directed, and composed by John Carpenter, the film focuses on a killer known as Michael Myers and featured Donald Pleasance, a well-known performer, and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut.

11 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - Grossed $30.9 million on a budget of $140,000 (220.71 times it’s budget). A forerunner to ‘Halloween’ this film was a pioneer of the slasher genre and follows a group of friends who encounter a family of cannibals. While mostly fictitious, the film was marketed as being based on a true story and it used a cast of mostly unknown actors. The film had a hard time finding a distributor due to it’s violent content, though the director, Tobe Hooper, tried to keep the onscreen gore to a limited amount to secure a PG rating, though it was rated R (PG-13 didn’t exist at the time). It spawned sequels, prequels, and remakes with a new film currently in development.

10 - Rocky (1976) - Grossed $225 million on a budget of $1 million (225 times it’s budget). Written and starring by Sylvester Stallone, this is obviously considered one of the best film of all-time and got 10 nominations at the Oscars. It won 3, including Best Picture and led to 8 sequels. The most culturally significant film on the list it is now synonymous with Philadelphia and the Museum of Art’s steps are a national icon, now featuring a statue of the character. The film itself focuses on a rags to riches boxing story, and is a rags to riches story in terms of it’s success.

9 - Night of the Living Dead (1968) - Grossed $30.2 million on a budget of $125,000 (241.92 times it’s budget). Credited with popularizing the modern portrayal of zombies, George A. Romero used guerilla filmmaking to complete the film. He used small crews and limited sets to whatever was available. The film was accidentally made without a copy right notice so it was released into the public domain upon release, meaning it has been remade numerous times.

8 - Mad Max (1979) - Grossed $100 million on a budget of $400,000 (250 times it’s budget). Upon it’s release, the reception of this Australian dystopian film was polarizing, though it has become more well received over time. The film has three sequels and a spinoff, and kick started the career of star Mel Gibson.

7 - The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Grossed $248.6 million on a budget of $750,000 (331.46 times it’s budget). The most successful found footage film of all-time, this psychological horror film is presented as a documentary. The dialogue was mostly improvised and this film is oft cited as one of the scariest ever.

6 - Super Size Me (2004) - Grossed $22.2 million on a budget of $65,000 (341.53 times it’s budget). Though this film has now come under scrutiny due to the fact some of it may not have been wholly accurate, it is one of the most well known documentaries of all-time. Directed, produced, and written by Morgan Spurlock, the doc focuses on Spurlock, who only eats McDonald’s for 30 days to see the affect it has on his body. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

5 - The Gallows (2015) - Grossed $43 million on a budget of $100,000 (430 times it’s budget). Another found footage horror film, it focuses on a town trying to honor the anniversary of a horrific accident at a school play. The film made a lot of money, but was very negatively received critically. A sequel was released in 2019.

4 - Paranormal Activity (2007) - Grossed $194.2 million on a budget of $450,000 (431.56 times it’s budget). Well. This is usually cited as the most successful film of all-time based on return of investment, which is exactly what’s I’m calculating here. So why is it at 4? Because this stat that is thrown around is based on the original budget of $15,000, but the film was apparently partially reshot/reworked with a budget of up to $450k. If there is a range of a budget on these, I’ve been going with the high number, so it would feel disingenuous to not do that here. If you’re curious and want to use the low budget of $15k then the film would’ve made back 12,946.67 times it’s budget, which would put it far and away in first place.

3 - Enter the Dragon (1973) - Grossed $400 million on a budget of $850,000 (470.59 times it’s budget). The final completed film starring Bruce Lee, this film is considered one of the definitive martial arts film of all-time, launching mainstream international interest in martial arts. The film’s Hong Kong release was 6 days after Lee’s untimely death, with the US release coming a month later. It combined traditional martial arts with modern action, spy elements, and even some elements of early blaxploitation films and adjusted for inflation grossed over $2 billion.

2 - Obsession (2025) - Grossed $376 million on a budget of $750,000 (498.67 times it’s budget) and the film is still in theaters so that number will likely need adjusting. In fact when I first started making this list it was at number 8, so it’s already jumped up quite a bit. As I mentioned, this was the catalyst for me writing this list because what ‘Obsession’ has done at the box office this year is almost unprecedented. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the most financially successful non-documentary film of all-time. Some people think it will get some Oscar buzz and it already has started knocking down some awards so who knows. I love seeing movies succeed.

1 - Tarnation (2003) - I almost hesitated to include this because I feel like there are probably so many microbudget films that could actually top this list. Consider this a place holder for them all. This documentary essay film earned $1.2 million at the box office on a budget of $218.32 (6000 times it’s budget). So while that’s not as high as that Paranormal Activity number, it blows everything else here out of the water. What in tarnation? An autobiographical documentary made almost entirely by Jonathan Caouette, the filmmaker used over 20 years of existing home video footage to stitch together this film, chronicling his relationship with his mentally ill mother.

As always, happy watching my friends.