Horror Films Budget

LOW BUDGET
It is not uncommon for horror films with a low budget to be more successful than one with a higher budget. For example, Paranormal Activity, had a budget of $11,000 but grossed $193.4 million in box office.

This is also the case with 'The Blair Witch Project', it took $60,000 to produce but grossed at $248 million worldwide. This film began the 'found footage' phenomenon that was a common theme in horror movies in the 2000s.

'The Blair Witch Project' was marketed to be a 'true story', therefore automatically, this adds to the fear factor.

Also, it was one of the first films to use viral marketing, which was effective as it reach out to its target audience.

HIGH BUDGET

'What Lies Beneath' was released in 2000, a year after 'The Blair Witch Project', yet it had a budget of an estimated $100 million, which is significantly more. It grossed just over $150 million dollars which isn't near the amount of profit that 'Paranormal Activity' made or 'The Blair Witch Project'.

However, it was said on a review on IMDb that 'too much of the plot and its elements of mystery were revealed in the marketing of the film'. This could be that the trailer showed too much of the narrative, digressing people to watch the film, to find out what happens.

An example of a horror movie that did have a high budget and a high grossing is 'The Exorcist' (1973). Its budget was $12,000,000 and it gross was just over $204,000,000. 

This research helped with our own opening and it helped us understand as a group that we don't have  to have a big budget in order to produce a film that is successful. However, there are films that do well with a big budget also.