A bigger budget does not always guarantee better returns at the box office but more often than not, it ensures a better quality of work. A higher budget reflects in better marketing and that leads to a better reach for films. No wonder, indie films with smaller budgets most often fail to recover even their paltry investments. But the world’s most profitable film defied this convention, to earn 13,000 times its budget.

The world’s most profitable film is…
Oren Peli’s groundbreaking horror film Paranormal Activity was never meant to be the blockbuster it became. The film was shot on a handheld camera in 2006 with a total production budget of just $15,000 (Rs 6 lakh at the time). It starred new actors, both of whom only earned $500 (Rs 20,000 for their work). But after it showed promise at film festivals and limited screenings, the film was acquired by Paramount Pictures. The studio spent $200,000 (Rs 80 lakh) on reshoots and marketing, re-releasing it worldwide. Paranormal Activity ended up being the sleeper hit for the ages, minting $194 million (Rs 800 crore) worldwide. This 1320000% profit remains a record in cinema history.

How Paranormal Activity is a bigger hit than the biggest Indian blockbusters

Even after accounting for its marketing and reshoot budget, Paranormal Activity’s total landing cost was just $220,000 (less than Rs 1 crore in 2007). But its box office gross was $193 million. This figure is more than the earnings of some of the biggest Indian hits of recent times, including RRR ($166 million), KGF Chapter 2 ($150 million), Jawan ($138 million), Pathaan ($126 million), and Animal ($110 million). In the recent years, only two Indian films – Dangal ($350 million) and Baahubali 2 ($235 million) – have outgrossed Paranormal Activity.

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