Low budget film
Encyclopedia
A low-budget film is a motion picture shot with little or no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many Independent films are made on low budgets but films made on the mainstream circuit with unexperienced or unknown filmmakers can also have low budgets. Many young or first time filmmakers shoot low budget films to prove their talent before doing bigger productions. Many low budget films are never released in theatres and are often sent straight to retail because of its lack of marketbility, look, story
, or premise
. A financial
figure
has not been determined which would define low budget productions. The term "low budget" is relative to a certain country and varies upon genre. For example, a comedy film
made for $20 million would be considered a modest budget, whereas an action film
made for the same amount of money would be considered low budget.
's The Blair Witch Project
. It had a budget of around $60,000 but grossed almost $249 million worldwide. It spawned books, a trilogy of video games, and a less-popular sequel. Possibly an even more successful low-budget film was the 1972 film
Deep Throat
which cost only $22,500 to produce, yet was rumored to have grossed over $600 million, though this figure is often disputed.
Another early example of a very successful low-budget film was the 1975
Bollywood
"Curry Western" film Sholay
, which cost Rs.
2 crore
($400,000) to produce and grossed Rs. 300 crore ($67 million), making it the highest-grossing film of all time in Indian cinema
. Other examples of successful low-budget Asian films
include the Chinese films Enter the Dragon
(1973
) starring Bruce Lee, which had a budget of $850,000 and grossed $90 million worldwide, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
(2000
), which had a budget of $15 million and grossed $214 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time.
Rocky
was shot on a budget of $1 million, and eventually grossed $117.2 million domestically, with a worldwide gross of $225 million. Halloween
was produced on a budget of $320,000 and ended up grossing $47 million in the US, with a worldwide gross of $60 million. Napoleon Dynamite
cost less than $400,000 to make but its gross revenue was almost $50 million. Films such as Juno
, with a budget of $6.5 million and grossing $230 million worldwide, and Slumdog Millionaire
, with a budget of $15 million and grossing over $360 million worldwide, have become very successful. Napoleon Dynamite, Juno, and Slumdog Millionaire were supported by Fox Searchlight Pictures
, a company that distributes many low budget films, many of which have performed very well at the worldwide box office. It is common though for contemporary low budget films to be produced without a distributor. In cases such as these, the producers hope to get distribution through successful audience reaction at film festivals. The Swedish horror film Marianne
is a contemporary example.
El Mariachi
, in which the director Robert Rodriguez
was unable to afford second takes due to the $7000 budget. Despite this, it was a success both critically and commercially, and started the young director's career.
Some of the most critically acclaimed micro-budget films were by the Bengali film
director Satyajit Ray
, his most famous being The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959). The first film in the trilogy, Pather Panchali (1955), was produced on a shoestring budget of Rs.
1.5 lakh
($3000) using an amateur cast and crew. The three films are now frequently listed among the greatest films of all time. All his other films that followed also had micro-budgets or low-budgets, with his most expensive films being The Adventures Of Goopy And Bagha
(1968) at Rs. 6 lakh ($12,000) and The Chess Players (1977) at Rs. 20 lakh ($40,000).
Another example would be the 1977
cult film
Eraserhead
, which cost only $10,000 to produce (though this is in 1977 dollars). Director David Lynch
had so much trouble securing funds that the film had to be made over a six year period, whenever Lynch could afford to shoot scenes.
Primer
(2004) is an American science fiction film about the accidental invention of time travel. The film was written, directed and produced by Shane Carruth, a former mathematician and engineer, and was completed on a budget of only $7,000.
In the UK, the 2006 film The Zombie Diaries
was written, produced and directed by filmmakers Kevin Gates and Michael Bartlett. The film cost £8,100 to be made, and has to date grossed over one million dollars worldwide.
The 2010 comedy film Le Fear
, was shot on a budget of just £1,900.
Breathing Room
was made for less than $20,000 by filmmakers Gabriel Cowan
and John Suits, and has grossed over $1,000,000 world wide.
Untitled
, directed by Shaun Troke
, was completed on a budget of £2,000.
In Russia, the 1997 crime film Brother
was made on around $10,000, and was extremely successful when it was first released.
Paranormal Activity is a 2007 horror film written and directed by Oren Peli, was made for $15,000. Entertainment Weekly
critic Owen Gleiberman
gave Paranormal Activity an A- rating (A being the highest mark) and called it "frightening...freaky and terrifying" and noted that "Paranormal Activity scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare clichés."
Clerks
was written and directed by Kevin Smith for under $27,000 in 1994 and grossed over $3 million in theatres. Clerks launched Smith's career as a director and he has made several considerable higher budget films. Clerks
was also briefly an animated series.
Visa Dream is a documentary directed by Jorge Meraz for under $1,000. It was accepted for distribution by American Public Television to be broadcast nationwide starting April 2011.
The 2004 documentary
Tarnation had a budget of $218.32, but grossed $592,014.
Story
Story or Stories may refer to:*Story, a recounting of a sequence of events* Narrative* Bedtime story, a traditional form of storytelling, told to children to prepare them for sleep* Organization story, a narrative used in organization studies...
, or premise
Premise
Premise can refer to:* Premise, a claim that is a reason for, or an objection against, some other claim as part of an argument...
. A financial
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
figure
Number
A number is a mathematical object used to count and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers....
has not been determined which would define low budget productions. The term "low budget" is relative to a certain country and varies upon genre. For example, a comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
made for $20 million would be considered a modest budget, whereas an action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
made for the same amount of money would be considered low budget.
Notable low budget films
One of the most successful low-budget films was 19991999 in film
The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
's The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company. The film relates the story of three student filmmakers The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur...
. It had a budget of around $60,000 but grossed almost $249 million worldwide. It spawned books, a trilogy of video games, and a less-popular sequel. Possibly an even more successful low-budget film was the 1972 film
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
Deep Throat
Deep Throat (film)
Deep Throat is a 1972 American pornographic film written and directed by Gerard Damiano and produced by Louis Peraino and starring Linda Lovelace ....
which cost only $22,500 to produce, yet was rumored to have grossed over $600 million, though this figure is often disputed.
Another early example of a very successful low-budget film was the 1975
1975 in film
The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
"Curry Western" film Sholay
Sholay
Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...
, which cost Rs.
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
2 crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....
($400,000) to produce and grossed Rs. 300 crore ($67 million), making it the highest-grossing film of all time in Indian cinema
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
. Other examples of successful low-budget Asian films
Asian cinema
Asian cinema refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia, and is also sometimes known as Eastern cinema. More commonly however, it is used to refer to the cinema of Eastern, Southeastern and Southern Asia. West Asian cinema is sometimes classified as part of Middle...
include the Chinese films Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
(1973
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
) starring Bruce Lee, which had a budget of $850,000 and grossed $90 million worldwide, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
(2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
), which had a budget of $15 million and grossed $214 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time.
Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
was shot on a budget of $1 million, and eventually grossed $117.2 million domestically, with a worldwide gross of $225 million. Halloween
Halloween (1978 film)
Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...
was produced on a budget of $320,000 and ended up grossing $47 million in the US, with a worldwide gross of $60 million. Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 comedy film co-written and directed by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess and stars Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite. The film was Jared Hess' first full-length feature and is partially adapted from his earlier short film, Peluca....
cost less than $400,000 to make but its gross revenue was almost $50 million. Films such as Juno
Juno (film)
Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
, with a budget of $6.5 million and grossing $230 million worldwide, and Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
, with a budget of $15 million and grossing over $360 million worldwide, have become very successful. Napoleon Dynamite, Juno, and Slumdog Millionaire were supported by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures, established in 1998, is a film division of Fox Filmed Entertainment alongside the larger Fox studio 20th Century Fox...
, a company that distributes many low budget films, many of which have performed very well at the worldwide box office. It is common though for contemporary low budget films to be produced without a distributor. In cases such as these, the producers hope to get distribution through successful audience reaction at film festivals. The Swedish horror film Marianne
Marianne (2011 film)
Marianne is a 2011 Swedish horror film, directed by Filip Tegstedt, that premiered at the 2011 Fantasia International Film Festival on 2 August 2011....
is a contemporary example.
Micro budget
A micro budget film is that which is made on an extremely low budget, sometimes as little as a few thousand dollars. An example of such would be the popular 19921992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
El Mariachi
El Mariachi
El Mariachi is a 1992 Mexican-American action film that is the debut of writer/director Robert Rodriguez. The Spanish language film was shot in the northern Mexican bordertown of Ciudad Acuña with a mainly amateur cast...
, in which the director Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
was unable to afford second takes due to the $7000 budget. Despite this, it was a success both critically and commercially, and started the young director's career.
Some of the most critically acclaimed micro-budget films were by the Bengali film
Bengali cinema
Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
director Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
, his most famous being The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959). The first film in the trilogy, Pather Panchali (1955), was produced on a shoestring budget of Rs.
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
1.5 lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
($3000) using an amateur cast and crew. The three films are now frequently listed among the greatest films of all time. All his other films that followed also had micro-budgets or low-budgets, with his most expensive films being The Adventures Of Goopy And Bagha
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne , directed by the late Satyajit Ray and based on a story by his grandfather Upendra Kishore Ray, is a popular Bengali children's film. It is sometimes released in the English-speaking world as The Adventures Of Goopy And Bagha...
(1968) at Rs. 6 lakh ($12,000) and The Chess Players (1977) at Rs. 20 lakh ($40,000).
Another example would be the 1977
1977 in film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
Eraserhead
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is a 1977 American surrealist film and the first feature film of David Lynch, who wrote, produced and directed. Lynch began working on the film at the AFI Conservatory, which gave him a $10,000 grant to make the film after he had begun working there following his 1971 move to Los Angeles...
, which cost only $10,000 to produce (though this is in 1977 dollars). Director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
had so much trouble securing funds that the film had to be made over a six year period, whenever Lynch could afford to shoot scenes.
Primer
Primer (film)
Primer is a 2004 American science fiction drama film about the accidental discovery of a means of time travel. The film was written, directed, and produced by Shane Carruth and was completed on a budget of $7,000...
(2004) is an American science fiction film about the accidental invention of time travel. The film was written, directed and produced by Shane Carruth, a former mathematician and engineer, and was completed on a budget of only $7,000.
In the UK, the 2006 film The Zombie Diaries
The Zombie Diaries
The Zombie Diaries is a 2006 British independent horror film written, produced and directed by Kevin Gates and first-time feature film maker Michael Bartlett.The film was shot in a hand-held documentary format on DV and split into three separate parts....
was written, produced and directed by filmmakers Kevin Gates and Michael Bartlett. The film cost £8,100 to be made, and has to date grossed over one million dollars worldwide.
The 2010 comedy film Le Fear
Le Fear
Le Fear is a 2010 British comedy film, and the directorial debut of actor Jason Croot who also features in a supporting role. Shot on an ultra-low budget of less than £2,000, and filmed over the course of just three days, the film stars Kyri Saphiris, Spencer Austin and Lucinda Rhodes-Flaherty,...
, was shot on a budget of just £1,900.
Breathing Room
Breathing Room
Breathing Room is a 2008 horror film written and directed by John Suits and Gabriel Cowan.The film is said to be "Low on camp and high on suspense", with a plot that resembles the 2006 French cult film 13 Tzameti and House of 9.-Plot:Gabriel Hui is tossed naked into a room with thirteen strangers...
was made for less than $20,000 by filmmakers Gabriel Cowan
Gabriel Cowan
Gabriel Cowan is a filmmaker and composer best known for his work on horror films Scream 2, Scream 3, Breathing Room, and Growth. He has also made documentaries, dramas, and comedies.-Early life:...
and John Suits, and has grossed over $1,000,000 world wide.
Untitled
Untitled (film)
Untitled is a 2011 British drama-horror film directed by Shaun Troke. Presented in the style of found footage, the film stars Troke alongside Nikki Harrup, Leonora Moore and Danny Goldberg. Prior to release, Untitled used a viral marketing campaign by promoting various clips of the film via the...
, directed by Shaun Troke
Shaun Troke
Shaun Troke is a British director and former actor. He first came to attention in the late nineties after appearing as Pippin in The Adam and Joe Show...
, was completed on a budget of £2,000.
In Russia, the 1997 crime film Brother
Brother (1997 film)
Brother is a 1997 Russian crime film directed by Aleksei Balabanov and starring Sergei Bodrov, Jr. The sequel Brother 2 was released in 2000. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
was made on around $10,000, and was extremely successful when it was first released.
Paranormal Activity is a 2007 horror film written and directed by Oren Peli, was made for $15,000. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
critic Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
gave Paranormal Activity an A- rating (A being the highest mark) and called it "frightening...freaky and terrifying" and noted that "Paranormal Activity scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare clichés."
Clerks
Clerks
Clerks is a 1994 independent comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob. Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two store clerks and their acquaintances...
was written and directed by Kevin Smith for under $27,000 in 1994 and grossed over $3 million in theatres. Clerks launched Smith's career as a director and he has made several considerable higher budget films. Clerks
Clerks: The Animated Series
Clerks is an American animated sitcom based on Kevin Smith's 1994 comedy of the same name. It was developed for television by Smith, Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier and former Seinfeld writer David Mandel with character designs by Stephen Silver.-Cast:- Broadcast history :Only two episodes...
was also briefly an animated series.
Visa Dream is a documentary directed by Jorge Meraz for under $1,000. It was accepted for distribution by American Public Television to be broadcast nationwide starting April 2011.
The 2004 documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
Tarnation had a budget of $218.32, but grossed $592,014.