8 Movies That Made the Most Money for Every Dollar Spent

Worldwide gross divided by reported budget, biggest return last. Box office isn't profit, but these eight turned small checks into enormous ones.

Number one cost a reported $60K and pulled in $248.6 million worldwide.

1. 8
   Grease (1978)7.2

   The songs did the selling, and they still haven't stopped.

   A reported $6 million budget became $396.3 million worldwide, about 66 times its cost. Hand jive, hot rods and a soundtrack that never left the radio.
2. 7
   Insidious (2010)4.8

   Cheap scares, real money, very average movie.

   A reported $1.5 million budget turned into $100.1 million worldwide, about 67 times its cost. The movie.guru score is just 4.9. The business plan was scarier than the movie.
3. 6
   Star Wars (1977)9.6

   Worth every dollar, including the ones spent on Wookiee fur.

   A reported $11 million in 1977 became $775.4 million worldwide, about 70 times its cost. The Death Star models still look better than plenty of modern CGI.
4. 5
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)9.2

   Smaller budget than Star Wars, bigger gross. Spielberg wins this round.

   A reported $10.5 million budget became $797.3 million worldwide, about 76 times its cost. Fewer dollars in, more dollars out, and a slightly better movie too.
5. 4
   Saw (2004)5.1

   One tiny set launched years of October sequels.

   A reported $1 to $1.2 million budget became $104 million worldwide, roughly 87 to 104 times its cost. James Wan kept almost everything in one grimy room.
6. 3
   Gone with the Wind (1939)9.4

   A historic return on a movie with a historic blind spot.

   A reported $3.9 million in 1939 became $402.4 million worldwide, about 103 times its cost. Its sugarcoated version of slavery is why it now streams with a history lesson attached.
7. 2
   Halloween (1978)9.4

   Spent like a student film, earned like a blockbuster.

   A reported $325K budget became $47.2 million worldwide, about 145 times its cost. 91 minutes, one October night, and not a single wasted dollar on screen.
8. 1
   The Blair Witch Project (1999)6.1

   The best return here, and it's not even a fair fight.

   A reported $60K budget became $248.6 million worldwide, over 4,000 times its cost. The marketing sold it as real found footage, and plenty of people believed it.

$807.07 says you're now pricing camcorders and calling it a business plan.

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