2. Action adventure movies make the big headlines with the record-
breaking ticket sales. However, huge ticket sales are usually
matched by huge budgets, which means that these movies bring
in a lot of money, but not the best return on investment. For
instance, to date, "Avatar" has made over $2.7 billion, yet its
return on investment is "just" 500%, as compared to lower-
budget action film "Mad Max" (1979), which returned 24,837.5%.
In the top 20 movies that have the best return on investment, you
won't see any of the blockbusters you'd imagine, and "Mad Max"
is the only film of its kind in the top 20.
ACTION/ADVENTURE
3. Dramas and romance don't typically have huge budgets for
special effects and sets, so when one really takes off, it can make
an incredible return on investment. The movie "Once" was made
on a shoestring budget ($150,000) and took off, gaining Oscar
nominations in the music category and taking in nearly $19
million. Overall, it has the 10th-highest return on investment at
6,232.39%. George Lucas' second film, "American Graffiti" is
number nine on the list at 8,909.01%, "Napoleon Dynamite" is at
12 with a 5,667.62% return on its $400,000 budget, and the
classic "Gone With The Wind" is at 15 with an return on
investment of 4,906.73%.
DRAMA/ROMANCE/COMEDIES
4. Documentaries
With little in the way of cast, crew, special effects or big name stars, documentaries
can often be made for a tiny fraction of what it costs a big-name Hollywood film,
and when these films become popular, the return on investment is astronomical.
The film "Tarnation," which is pieced together from videos the filmmaker
recorded throughout his whole life, had a reported budget of $218. However, take
that "budget" with a grain of salt, as it is the amount that it cost the filmmaker to
make the movie, but does not reflect the amount for marketing and distributing
the film. Still, taking that number as a rough estimate of the film's costs to create,
the return on investment is 266,416.97%. This film is only beat out by one on the
return on investment list. Following "Tarnation," in fourth spot, is the anti-
McDonald's film "Super Size Me," which cost $65,000 and had a return of
22,614.90%. There are no docs in the bottom 20 for return on investment.
DOCUMENTARIES
5. Horrors and Thrillers
Horror is another genre with a lot of huge return on investment hits and few
misses. The number one movie for return on investment is the hit
"Paranormal Activity," which was made for $15,000 and had a box office gross
of $161,830,890 for a return of 539,336.30%. "The Blair Witch Project" gave
the studio a lofty 20,591% return. "Night of the Living Dead" comes in at six
with an return on investment of 13,057.89%, "Friday the 13th" is at 13, with
5,332.24%, "Open Water" follows at 5,110.09%, "Saw" comes in at 18 with
4,195.68% and "Evil Dead" closes out the list at 3,820.00%. Horror makes a
much smaller appearance in the bottom 20 for box office return on
investment.
HORROR/THRILLERS
