3 Horror Films That Made Over $100 Million Worldwide With Less Than $1 Million Budget (Including Obsession) - MCE Notices | California State Portal

Obsession has been a huge box office hit, and it recently earned a box office achievement that also belongs to two other low-budget horror movies. Throughout the history of the horror genre, there have been several hits that were made with budgets that were less than $1 million. Still, these smaller productions were able to break through and be successful. Some even started major franchises that are still producing new installments.

One popular example is Halloween. The slasher flick was made for $300,000 and has made around $70.3 million worldwide. After its success, Halloween spawned a massive franchise spanning 13 films. Another low-budget horror film that created a franchise is Friday the 13th. The 1980 film made around $59.8 million worldwide on a $550,000, and its success led to a franchise consisting of 12 movies, and an upcoming TV show.

1981’s The Evil Dead was also made for a low production budget of $375,000, and made $29.4 million worldwide. It led to a franchise with five films, and a TV show, with two more Evil Dead films, Evil Dead Burn and Evil Dead Wrath, on the way. A more recent example is Terrifier. The first Terrifier had a budget of $35,000 and made $342,707 worldwide. However, it grew in popularity and led to two successful sequels, with an upcoming Terrifier 4.

The latest successful horror film that was made for less than $1 million is Obsession, which recently passed $100 million worldwide. It’s an achievement that just two other horror movies have reached, making it a rare box office accomplishment. Here are the three horror films that made over $100 million worldwide against a less than $1 million budget.

Obsession

Obsession has been a massive hit at the box office. The film has already made $161.5 million worldwide, making the film very profitable. While it’s listed on The Numbers that the film had a production budget of $1 million, director Curry Barker told The New Yorker that the horror flick had a budget of “$750,000 max” (via Forbes). Either way, the film has been highly successful.

The film stars Michael Johnston as Bear, a shy man who has a crush on his friend, Nikki. When he comes across a One Wish Willow, a toy that can grant one wish, he uses it to wish that Nikki would fall in love with him. However, his dream romance quickly turns into a nightmare as his new relationship takes a terrifying turn. In addition to its commercial success, Obsession is also a huge critical hit, currently holding a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

One of the most impressive aspects of Obsession‘s box office is the fact that its weekend totals have been increasing. According to Box Office Mojo, the film earned around $17.2 million domestically in its opening weekend. In its second weekend, its total jumped by 39.3%, earning around $24 million, and it jumped 14.3% in its third weekend, grossing around $27.4 million.

The film has generated positive word-of-mouth and many online conversations, and audiences are continuing to check out this horror phenomenon. It’s a huge hit for the horror genre, but it will be facing more competition. Backrooms is already a horror hit, and June is filled with a few high-profile releases, like Masters of the Universe, Scary Movie, Disclosure Day, Toy Story 5, and Supergirl. Still, Obsession has a chance to continue adding to its already impressive box office total before the end of its theatrical run.

The Blair Witch Project

1999’s The Blair Witch Project is still regarded as an influential horror film. Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, the film centers on three students who vanish in the woods in Maryland while filming a documentary on the Blair Witch story. The movie itself is the footage that they left behind. The found footage-style film was highly successful, grossing $248.6 million worldwide on a $60,000 budget. It was also a critical hit, earning an 86% RT critic score.

Part of its success can be attributed to its distinct marketing campaign. According to The Los Angeles Times, the film had created a website, “blairwitch.com,” filled with “fictional police reports, newspaper articles, journals, and interviews.” Additionally, “young interns” went to “cafes and dance clubs” with “realistic ‘missing’ posters for the film’s three stars.” This campaign proved to be successful, adding a sense of authenticity to the film’s found footage approach.

Since the film’s success, there have been attempts to expand this film into a successful franchise with 2000’s Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and 2016’s Blair Witch. While both movies were financially successful due to their low budgets, they received underwhelming responses from critics. However, there is a new Blair Witch movie in development from Lionsgate and Blumhouse.

Paranormal Activity

While The Blair Witch Project proved how successful found footage horror movies can be, 2009’s Paranormal Activity led to the subgenre’s boom in the late 2000s. Directed by Oren Peli, the film is about a couple who set up video cameras around their home to record proof of a supernatural entity that’s haunting their home. The film itself is made up of the various footage that’s captured by their cameras.

Paranormal Activity was a critical and commercial success upon its release. It received an 82% RT critic score, and has earned around $193.4 million worldwide against a $15,000 budget, making it a highly profitable film. Similar to The Blair Witch Project, the first Paranormal Activity also proved that found-footage movies could be made on low budgets and still perform well at the box office. It led to many other horror movies being made in this style, similar to more films within the same franchise.

The Paranormal Activity franchise consists of seven films, one of which, The Next Kin, that went direct to streaming on Paramount+. The franchise has grossed around $890 million worldwide, with an eighth film expected to release on May 21, 2027, according to IMDb. While the franchise did start to see diminishing returns at the box office with its sixth film, The Ghost Dimension, the next film could still be a hit if it’s also made on a low budget. As Obsession and these two films have proved, horror movies made on low budgets can be incredibly successful.

Release Date: May 15, 2026
Runtime: 108 minutes
Director: Curry Barker
Writers: Curry Barker
Producers: Christian Mercuri, James Harris, Roman Viaris, Haley Nicole Johnson