“The bigger the budget, the bigger the risk,” actor Rajkummar Rao once rightly said.
It would not be wrong to say that there have been several films which have worked wonders at the box office despite working with controlled production budgets. And why not? That’s certainly a safe bet for the makers too, who can actually continue making films like these. Case in point, the horror-comedy Stree, which was made on a comparatively low budget of Rs 20 crore, but ended up becoming a super hit film.
Let’s check out other Hollywood and Bollywood movies that were made on low budgets, but garnered hundreds of crores at the box office.
Box office collection: Rs. 180.76 crore
Stree, starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, explored the absurdity of superstition and gender roles in Indian society and culture. The horror comedy revolves around the antics of the spirit of a woman who ends up picking unsuspecting men during the annual festival and takes them to a godforsaken place. The 2018 film was made on a budget of Rs 20 crore but collected Rs 180.76 crore in global box office sales, as per News18.
Box office collection: $775.4 million (approx Rs. 636 crores)
The Star Wars franchise is known for its timelessness and grandeur. But can you imagine that George Lucas created the first film, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, on a budget of just $11 million, and imagine that it grossed a rough $775.4 million (approximately Rs 636 crores).
Box office collection: Rs. 197 crores
In the film, Alia Bhatt played Sehmat, an undercover RAW agent who’s married into a Pakistani family in order to get crucial information for India ahead of the war in 1971. Reportedly, Meghna Gulzar’s film, which also features Vicky Kaushal, was created on a Rs 35 - Rs 40 crore budget, but earned around Rs 197 crore at the global box office.
Box office collection: $246.8 million (approx Rs. 202 crores)
The Blair Witch Project is certainly one of the most defining “found-footage” horror films of the millennium. Released in 1999, it was shot within eight days, with a budget of a mere $60,000 (Rs 49 lakhs approx). However, it exploded across the world post its release, earning about Rs 202 crores worldwide.
Box office collections: Rs. 342.06 crores
Uri – The Surgical Strike was released in 2019, and Aditya Dhar’s military action film ended up collecting a whopping Rs 342.06 crore worldwide, according to reports.
Box office collection: $231.4 million (approx 190 crores)
As for the film’s plot, it features an acerbic pregnant teenager navigating uncharted waters. It stars Elliot Page and Michael Cera, the film, and was made on a controlled budget of $7.5 million (Rs 61 crore approximately). However, it collected almost triple the budget as revenue, Collider reported.
Box office collection: $117.2 million (approx 96 crores)
We all remember Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, a small-time club fighter, who strikes gold when he gets the chance to compete against heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). The film was made only on a budget of $1 million (Rs 8 crores).
Box office collection: Rs. 45.72 crores
No One Killed Jessica, starring Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji, is based on the real-life incident of Jessica Lall, a New Delhi-based model, who was killed by the son of a politician. The film followed Jessica’s sister Sabrina Lall’s journey to seek justice, and was made on a budget of Rs 9 crore. It performed really well at the box office.
Box office collection: Rs. 858 crores
Secret Superstar, starring Aamir Khan and Zaira Wasim, is one of the most profitable films of all time, and collected Rs 858 crores worldwide. It was made on a budget of Rs 15 crores, but ended up becoming the highest-grossing Indian movie with a female lead. Its success was credited to China as it became the country’s second highest-grossing non-English foreign film (after Dangal).
Box office collection: $255.4 million (approx: 209 crores)
Get Out, a psychological horror film, was made on a budget of $4.5 million (Rs 37 crores approximately), but did wonders at the box office.
