Waking Ned Devine
We start with the unexpected success that was Waking Ned. Called Waking Ned Devine in North America, this is a feel-good 1998 comedy set in an Irish community. It may sound standard to a UK audience, but its runaway success in the US and Canada made it $55 million (£42 million) from its small $3 million (£2.3 million) budget.
The plot is about a small Irish community coming together to try to claim a member’s lottery ticket after they unexpectedly pass away with no relatives. What could sound like a cynical premise is made into something positive, as the whole village looks to benefit. Like many films featuring a lottery, the film's winning ticket MacGuffin has become one of the most famous lottery numbers from film that some people swear by to this day. This happens with a lot of movies and TV shows, but feel-good stories like Waking Ned Devine, or It Could Happen to You certainly help sway people toward a more memorable number when it’s time to choose a ticket.
Waking Ned Devine wasn’t just a financial success, it also won critical acclaim and a recommendation from Roger Ebert, who described it as “one of those delightful village comedies that seem to spin out of the British Isles annually.”
Paranormal Activity
We’re sure this one needs no introduction - Paranormal Activity is the project that put Blumhouse on the map. To this day, they’re one of Hollywood’s most consistently profitable production houses for one simple reason – they keep the budgets low for their horror flicks. It all started with Paranormal Activity, which was shot for just $15,000 (£11,600) in 2007. Granted, it also had a $200,000 (£150,000) post-production.
Even still, this simple found-footage horror movie raked in $194 million (£150 million) and spawned a phenomenon that, across seven films, made almost $900 million (£697 million) against a combined budget of just $28 million (£21 million).
There are several reasons why it was such a huge success. Found footage lends itself to low-budget production and potentially high returns if you can generate enough buzz, something The Blair Witch Project proved in 1999. While Blair Witch struck when handheld video cameras were all the rage, Paranormal Activity used in-home cameras to frame the action instead. This made the premise more relevant and relatable – and it’s also why we’re seeing some AI horror movies come out today.
Mad Max
Making a comedy or horror film on a low budget is one thing, but action flicks usually demand a hefty production cost. George Miller cracked the code in 1979 with Mad Max, a post-apocalyptic compromise set in an even wilder version of Australia. This is the film that put Mel Gibson on the map (especially after its sequel, The Road Warrior) and spawned a franchise that’s still kicking today.
As for the numbers, Mad Max was made for just $200,000 (£150,000) and brought in $100 million (£77 million). The ensuing franchise has grossed $540 million (£418 million) as of 2025, but its latest film, Furiosa, fell into the modern trap of running too high a budget and making lacklustre earnings.
These three low-budget movies, each from different genres, came out at the right time with the right story, and caught a zeitgeist that was out of their control. The result was a trio of movies that made 20x to 1,000x their money.
