Top 10 Best Movies with a Budget Under 5 Million Dollars

Movies are mostly made with big budgets, some costing hundreds of millions. But some of the best and most iconic movies were made with a relatively tiny budget of 5 million dollars or less.

So here, we look at the top 10 best movies that had a budget of 5 million dollars or less.

The Top Ten

  1. Rocky

    Budget: $1.1 million

    One of the most well-recognized classics in all of cinema, Rocky only cost a little over a million dollars to make. And it still holds up well today because I just watched it again! Such a classic.

  2. Whiplash

    Budget: $3.3 million

    I was genuinely surprised that one of my absolute favorite movies was made on such a small budget! I've already talked about how much I love this movie. Everything is great about it! And for 3 million bucks, the cinematography does look impressive.

  3. Reservoir Dogs

  4. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

    Budget: $3 million

    Another classic movie made on a budget recognized as small. Pretty much everyone has heard of this classic film about a group of children in a wacky and magical candy factory.

    For the time this film was made, I think 3 million dollars was bigger than the average movie budget.

  5. Saw

    Budget: $1.2 million

    Though it's grown into a relatively big franchise, the original Saw was made on a budget just over a million bucks! And it is still scary to watch to this day.

    Really? Wow, I thought that it would cost way more due to all the gore scenes and traps used throughout the film.

    My favorite horror movie. It's just so intriguing.

  6. Napoleon Dynamite

    Budget: $400,000

    I haven't watched this in years, but it's definitely a favorite for a ton of people I know. It inspired a lot of new culture, and Napoleon Dynamite is surely a classic.

    Fun film with funny characters. I was surprised that it cost less than $1 million.

  7. Requiem for a Dream

    Budget: $4.5 million

    Regarded as one of the best and most depressing movies of all time, this film was made with a small budget and is now seen as a masterpiece.

  8. A Clockwork Orange

  9. Eraserhead

  10. Donnie Darko

    Best movie, regardless of budget!

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Man Bites Dog

    One of the most iconic low-budget movies ever.

  12. ?

    La Haine

    13. The Contenders

  13. The Great Dictator

  14. Moon (2009)

  15. Boyhood

    Budget: $4 million

    Nominated for Best Picture at the 2015 Oscars and filmed over the course of 12 years, Boyhood is a pretty unique movie that I still have yet to see.

  16. Idiocracy

  17. All Quiet on the Western Front

  18. All About Eve

  19. Paranormal Activity

    Budget: $15,000

    One of the most popular horror movies of all time was made on an incredibly tight budget of only $15,000! It sort of makes sense because of the "found footage" format, but it's still impressive how much money it made and how it became a big franchise.

  20. Halloween (1978)

    Budget: $325,000

    Another iconic horror movie that most people have seen, but this one also has a super small budget!

  21. Gone with the Wind

  22. Sunset Boulevard

  23. Imitation of Life (1959)

  24. Psycho (1960)

  25. The Lives of Others

  26. Nymphomaniac: Volume II

  27. Nosferatu the Vampyre

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