First Five of the 10 Horrifically Profitable Films

3 Dec 2009

First Five of the 10 Horrifically Profitable Films

The Evil Dead (1981)

Sam Raimi's debut feature -- an expansion of a short he'd made called Within the Woods -- benefited enormously from his kinetic camera style, truly freaky demons and a champion in Stephen King, who called it "the most ferociously original horror film" of the year. Made for just $375,000, the movie went on to gross nearly $30m in various releases and re-releases. Look for it to add to that figure when it's re-released to American cinemas early next year. Of course, Sam Raimi would go on to make far bigger bank with his Spider-Man franchise.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

This grainy video movie of "found footage" chronicling a loser trio's trip into the woods to find the Blair Witch was made for a pittance. Like Paranormal Activity, it benefited from some production tweaks and a robust ad budget. So while the initial Blair Witch cost about $25,000, there was up to $750,000 worth of sound work and reshoots. Then came a $15m ad campaign that posited the film as "real" and which took advantage of the emerging "Internet". Still, it all worked and the movie grossed $140.5m in the US and another $104m worldwide.

Open Water (2004)

The most obvious imitator of Blair Witch was this effort, which traded the forest for the trackless ocean. Loosely based on the real-life case of the Lonergans, an American tourist couple whose dive boat left them behind on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, this flick primarily consisted of two people in the open ocean growing increasingly freaked out as sharks come circling. Shot on video it cost just $130,000, but gobbled up $30.5m.

Saw (2004)

Shamefully, when Aussies James Wan and Leigh Whannel were pitching their horror about two strangers chained in a room by a maniac, no local producers were interested. So the boys took it to the US, got it made for $1.2m, and saw it gross $52m. Saw then made three times that on DVD, inspired five sequels, and is a franchise that's to date generated over a billion dollars worldwide. Saw VII is scheduled for released next Halloween -- and in 3-D.

Colin (2009)

While Paranormal Activity is making the big bucks, if you ever see this lo-fi British zombie flick then you've probably helped cover a significant percentage of the budget. See, Colin was made for $70 -- yep, you heard right -- by writer-director Marc Price, who utilised friends and strangers as actors, did special effects on the fly, and filmed a "battle scene" on the streets of London without permission. His point of difference? The film shows life -- or death -- from the zombie's point of view. This twist on the formula was enough to get the film to Cannes, into UK cinemas and a wide DVD release. All for $70.