“13 Low Budget Movies That Made Millions”

If you are a screenwriter looking to break into Hollywood, your chances increase as your story’s budget decreases. That’s not a rule, rather simply an awareness related to two factors: (1) The more of an unknown commodity you are to the buyers, the greater the risk in their eyes. [Conversely if you are a writer with a proven track record, the lesser the risk.] (2) Shrinking the size of the budget reduces the risk to investors.

So as you generate story concepts, it can pay to consider the budget. And if you can come up with a strong story idea with a low budget, you can make it easier for a buyer to jump on board your project.

There is a track record in this regard, witness these 13 low budget movies as noted by the Huffington Post:

Clerks
When: 1994
Budget: $27,000
Estimated gross: $3,900,000

Eraserhead
When: 1977
Budget: $20,000
Estimated gross: $7,000,000

Super Size Me
When: 2004
Budget: $65,000
Estimated gross: $29,500,000

Night Of The Living Dead
When: 1968
Budget: $114,000
Estimated gross: $30,000,000

Napoleon Dynamite
When: 2004
Budget: $400,000
Estimated gross: $46,000,000

Friday The 13th
When: 1980
Budget: $500,000
Estimated gross: $59,000,000

Halloween
When: 1978
Budget: $325,000
Estimated gross: $70,000,000

Enter The Dragon
When: 1973
Budget: $850,000
Estimated gross: $90,000,000

Mad Max
When: 1979
Budget: $200,000
Estimated gross: $99,750,000

American Graffiti
When: 1973
Budget: $777,000
Estimated gross: $140,000,000

Paranormal Activity
When: 2009
Budget: $15,000
Estimated gross: $193,000,000

Rocky
When: 1976
Budget: $1,000,000
Estimated gross: $225,000,000

Blair Witch Project
When: 1999
Budget: $22,500
Estimated gross: $248,300,000

Of course, like any scripted project, the bottom line is how well you execute the story on the page. But to score big, sometimes it can pay to think small… in terms of the budget.

For more, go here.