E-Paper
World's most profitable film grossed 13000x its budget, earned $194 million, but actors were paid just $500
Made for just $15,000, this horror flick broke the bank with a $194-million box office run. How did it achieve this success? Read to find out.
How do you measure a film's success? Simply calculating its earnings at the box office is one way to go about it. But that puts all films - regardless of scale or size - in one category. However, many trade analysts feel that it is unfair to pit an indie film with a $10 million budget with a studio tentpole that costs $250 million. For that purpose, many use the profitability metric - how much a film earned in proportion to its budget. By this metric, a 2007 sleeper hit becomes the most successful film of all time, dwarfing even giants like Titanic, Avatar, and Avengers Endgame.
World's most profitable film
In 2007, filmmaker Oren Peli decided to make a low-budget horror film using a home camera and all new actors. He used a handheld camera to minimise costs and cast SAG-affiliated actors on minimum wage. There was no real script, and much of the film was improvised. Practical effects were used for the horror scenes. The end result was Paranormal Activity, produced on a shoestring budget of $15,000. After it impressed viewers at film festivals, Paramount Pictures purchased the film, investing $200,000 for post-production and marketing.
Paranormal Activity was released in theatres in September 2009 and was a massive hit, earning a record $194.2 million worldwide. The film's found-footage format, eerie cut, and freshness floored fans. The 1300000% profit the film earned over its production budget remains a record that is almost impossible to beat. Paranormal Activity's success spawned a franchise, including three sequels and two spinoffs, collectively earning over $600 million worldwide.
Why Paranormal Activity's stars earned peanuts
Oren Peli cast two newcomers in the film due to budget constraints. Both Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat were struggling actors with no real work of note to show at the time. They saw the casting call on LACasting and auditioned. Peli eventually hired them for minimum wage, and they ended up earning $500 each for their work. During a guest appearance on The Jay Leno Show in November 2009, the actors added that they earned residual income from the film's profits after it was released in theatres two years later and did good business.
