A low budget film is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Most independent films are made with a low budget, but it is also common for films on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or unknown filmmakers to also have low budgets. Shooting with a low budget allows filmmakers to have more creativity and freedom when shooting, because there is no one breathing down their necks telling the director how they will gross the biggest profit. Numerous movies that were known for their low budgets still made an enormous profit at the box office. Examples of this are Annabelle($37.1 million), The Blair Witch Project($246.8 million), and Sinister($77.7 million).

Paranormal Activity Case Study

Made in 2007, Paranormal Activity is an American supernatural horror film co-produced, written, directed, photographed and edited by Oren Peli. In an interview with The Guardian, Peli claims “that if Jaws stopped people swimming in the sea and Blair Witch stopped people camping in the woods, then he is pleased that Paranormal Activity is stopping us from sleeping.” In the movie, a young couple (Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat) move into their first new home but are disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence that is most active at night. With a budget of $15,000, movie goers wouldn’t have been expecting much if it wasn’t for that clever marketing campaign behind the film.

How They Sold the Movie

To generate buzz for the film, the film makers showed screenings of it on college campuses and film festivals, the filmed the audiences reactions. Then, they edited the footage into a movie trailer, which obviously attracted a lot of attention in the next year. The film then was acquired by Paramount Pictures for 350,000 and modified, particularly with a new ending.

Total Profits

It was given a limited U.S. release on September 25, 2009, and then a nationwide release on October 16, 2009. The film earned nearly $108 million at the U.S. box office and a further $85 million internationally for a worldwide total of $193 million.

Sources:
 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/21/paranormal-activity-twitter-facebook https://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/entertainment/10-low-budget-horror-films-that-offer-up-the-biggest-scares/