History Main / NoBudget

* ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' (most of the money came from rock groups such as LedZeppelin, PinkFloyd and {{Genesis}}). The GainaxEnding is partially because the team couldn't afford the one they had written. (they'd [[IncrediblyLamePun blown]] too much money on the pyrotechnic effects for the Tim The Enchanter [[TheReveal scene]].

* ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' (most of the money came from rock groups such as LedZeppelin, PinkFloyd and {{Genesis}}). The GainaxEnding is partially because the team couldn't afford the one they had written.

* ''Roundhouse'' functioned on a very small budget. It used recycled actors, about two boxes' worth of props - mostly cardboard, and two "sets" that were just wheelable walls loaded with random stuff that was probably bought from a garage sale. The only impressive thing they had was their motorized recliner. The simple "improv" look - combined with their humor, singing, and dancing skills - was a good deal of their charm.

* Roundhouse functioned on a very small budget. It used recycled actors, about two boxes' worth of props - mostly cardboard, and two "sets" that were just wheelable walls loaded with random stuff that was probably bought from a garage sale. The only impressive thing they had was their motorized recliner. The simple "improv" look - combined with their humor, singing, and dancing skills - was a good deal of their charm.

* ''AfterLastSeason'' is a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]]: despite looking cheaper than most of the films on this list, it was made with a $5M budget ($40,000 which was dedicated to production, the rest to post-production).

* ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''. The GainaxEnding is partially because the team couldn't afford the one they had written.

* ''Paranormal Activity'' cost $15,000 to make and grossed $193 million worldwide.

* While 30 million dollars seems pretty high for this list, ''District9'' is a film where at least half the cast are entirely CGI, and ends in an awesome sci-fi battle sequence, never once looking cheap for a movie that was basically made with leftover pocket change from the aborted ''{{Halo}}'' movie. And it did pretty damn well both with critics and at the box office to boot.
* MadMax was made for $0.4M.
* TheCastle was made on a budget of AU$19,000.

* One episode of MontyPythonsFlyingCircus had TheBBC run out of money. The credits were written on scraps of paper, and the heat turned off in the flat they were renting as a studio.

* Beyoncé Knowles filmed two of her videos, ''If I Were a Boy'' and ''Single Ladies'', back to back, and wound up spending a lion's share of the budget on the former and forcing her to take a minimalist approach with the latter.

* Most [[{{Mockbuster}} Mockbusters.]]

* ''{{Ink}}'' was made for $0.4M.

* ''{{Clerks}}'' is famous for having been made on a budget of $27,575, boosted to $250,000 after Miramax bought the rights to it and added Music. It was filmed at night in the Quick Stop where Kevin Smith actually worked, and most of the actors are his friends and relatives.
** Kevin Smith later made Chasing Amy on a budget of $250,000.
* ''TheBlairWitchProject'' holds the record for budget to box office performance. Filmed for less than half a million, made over 150.
** ''MyBigFatGreekWedding'' is a strong contender -- made for five million, totally grossed about 368.
* ''NapoleonDynamite'' was made for $400 000 dollars.

* ''{{Ink}}'' was made on a $250,000 budget.

* {{Halloween}} was shot on a budget of $200.000, bringing in $35 million (today equal to over $100 million). JohnCarpenter spent most of the budget on getting anamorphic lenses (to hide it's low budget), so they didn't even have enough money to make a mask. Instead [[OffTheShelfFx they just used a William Shatner mask they painted white.]]

* MadMax was made on only $400,000.

* Every RogerCorman movie every made.

* SpaceCases was a ''Sci-Fi'' show that was filmed on almost no budget (it was both a cable show and a kid's show, two strikes against it money-wise). Aside from putting CD's on the sides of chairs and handheld video games for control panels, they had the one advantage of being on Nickelodeon, so they could recycle props (most notably from AreYouAfraidOfTheDark.) Fans tend to agree that this adds to it's charm.

* ''ElMariachi'' was so low budget that Rodriguez and his crew had to participate in medical research to earn the money to make it. The fight scenes were filmed using toy guns. However the sequels ''ElDesperado'' and ''OnceUponATimeInMexicon'' had no such problems.

* Many films made by EdWood had very low budget.

* ''{{Clerks}}'' is famous for having been made on a budget of $27,575, $27,000 of which went to the music rights. It was filmed at night in the Quick Stop where Kevin Smith actually worked, and most of the actors are his friends and relatives.

* ChristopherNolan's breakout film, ''Following''. The cast and crew were all employed full-time, so everything was filmed on weekends. Every scene was extensively rehearsed, because they didn't have enough film stock for more than two takes. Nolan used his friends' and family's homes for location shooting, and had to film with natural lighting.