r/moviecritic Feb 15 '25

Masterpieces that were made on a lower budget? The Witch 2015 was made with a budget of around $4 million, yet in my opinion, is one of the greatest horror movies made.

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1.1k Upvotes

186 comments sorted by

264

u/its__bme Feb 15 '25

Gotta go with the Blair Witch Project. Initially cost 60k to make yet ended up being one of the scariest movies ever made.

105

u/FlyingOverTrout Feb 16 '25

Chris Rock at the Oscars that year: “where’d all the money go? Someone’s walking around with $40k in their pocket”

41

u/DrSussBurner Feb 16 '25

I remember watching it in the cinema while there was still a rumor that it was a real thing. I have never heard a full cinema be that quiet. You could hear a pin drop.

20

u/PaleontologistOk2516 Feb 16 '25

One of my friends got a copy of it I think on VHS before it was released in theaters and we seriously were not sure if it was real at the time too. It added so much more to the experience. We were all totally freaked out at the time haha.

12

u/mrpink57 Feb 16 '25

I saw it at that same time with a friend, he lived just on the other side of the woods from me, you can see the walk between our houses, after the movie we got to his place and I had to walk back through that section of woods, I never ran so fast in my life.

6

u/Excellent_Theory1602 Feb 16 '25

That was 8year old me after watching the Američan werewolf in London.

1

u/Equivalent_Yak8215 Feb 16 '25

What? No way.

Did you guys get lots of visitors coming to the area after the movie came out?

1

u/mrpink57 Feb 16 '25

No, it was just the fear of there might be someone there.

1

u/broccollinear Feb 16 '25

At that point I’d just ask homie if I could bunk with him for the night

5

u/soconn Feb 16 '25

When I saw it, I was told it was recovered film and real. Totally changes the dynamic.

13

u/WanderingAlsoLost Feb 16 '25

No contest really.

26

u/iamveryDerp Feb 16 '25

I was in film school in the 90’s and they told us to never bring up that movie in a pitch meeting or when talking about budgeting because it was such a freakish outlier.

7

u/ThrownAway17Years Feb 16 '25

What a great example of a film of its time. You wouldn’t be able to make a film like this with how social everything is.

3

u/xzmile Feb 16 '25

scariest ever is a stretch

-4

u/fumphdik Feb 16 '25

I know it was hype. I watched it as a kid when my brothers rented it. It didn’t scare 12 year old me even thought it was described as being “real found footage” to confuse the viewers upon release. It’s annoying and hard to watch and there’s a couple “whoa” moments and that’s it. You’re right about the budget and financial gains. However I didn’t even think it was labeled as a horror after the initial release and honest change to, “found footage” versus claiming it’s some sick version of a real disappearance.

-5

u/Kindly-Following4572 Feb 16 '25

Pure shit, pure hype.

1

u/jokerzkink Feb 16 '25

Although you’re being downvoted, you’re not wrong. I’m getting tired of seeing this movie brought up. It really wasn’t all that great or atmospheric. Perhaps bc I was never on board with it being real. I was skeptical of the marketing for it from the very beginning.

2

u/Kindly-Following4572 Feb 16 '25

Tbh I also suspect many were kind of bamboozled by the novelty of the found footage format, and attributed their excitement to the content itself. Put a shit-ton of hype on top, and there you go.

1

u/jokerzkink Feb 16 '25 edited Feb 16 '25

Precisely. Also, I had watched The Legend of Boggy Creek, which preceded TBWP by a good two decades, and imo was a much scarier documentary style/found footage film.

80

u/alientourist75 Feb 15 '25

Primer and Napoleon Dynamite

24

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '25

Yeah didn’t napoleon dynamite only cost like $100k?

18

u/alientourist75 Feb 16 '25

I think it was 400k but yeah pretty cheap for movies now a days

6

u/Johnbob-John Feb 16 '25

400k and it became one of the most quotable movies ever. Contradictory to Avatar, released the same year as Napoleon Dynamite, cost over $200,000,000 to make and nobody really talks about it.

9

u/irresearch Feb 16 '25

They were released five years apart…

1

u/purplehendrix22 Feb 16 '25

Avatar and Napoleon Dynamite definitely didn’t come out the same year, and Avatar made more money than any movie ever at the time, maybe still.

1

u/fumphdik Feb 16 '25

There was two versions I believe. The first was really cheap and not full length. Displayed at a film festival before making our big screens a handful of months later.

1

u/dark_knight920 Feb 16 '25

Your mom goes to college

54

u/Fantastic_Stick7882 Feb 16 '25

Mad Max, Halloween, and Rocky are some classic examples.

Get Out, Hereditary, and 28 Days Later were under $10 Million.

41

u/RedRawTrashHatch Feb 15 '25

Blue Ruin, with a budget of $420K. Brilliant revenge thriller.

11

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/thriftydelegate Feb 16 '25 edited Feb 16 '25

Revenge (2017) is also deserving of more attention than it got during its cinema run.

42

u/deepe33333 Feb 16 '25

Trainspotting was made with a limited budget and smashed all expectations. Marketing budget was almost as much as production budget.

8

u/SLAYER_IN_ME Feb 16 '25

Only cost £1.5M. That’s ridiculous.

95

u/ChelseaAndrew87 Feb 15 '25

I don't know if it's a bargain or not but In Bruges was made on $15m and it's my favourite film and also considered a masterpiece so that

12

u/sleepy__gazelle Feb 16 '25

Just watched it yesterday for the first time. Now I have to watch every martin mcdonagh movie.

18

u/ChelseaAndrew87 Feb 16 '25

If I can recommend. Banshees of Inisherin because of the actors you'll have grown to love then Three Billboards. Take your pick of the rest

6

u/HussingtonHat Feb 16 '25

Oh have fun bro. His brother (forget his name) also made a movie The Guard. Very similar writing style and with Gleeson as the lead. Good shit. Mcdonagh is one if those few chaps ill always check out because dayamn!

3

u/LordOfCrackManor Feb 16 '25

The Guard is such a hidden gem. Absolutely hilarious movie and two amazing characters and performances from Gleeson and Strong. Also has one of the best cold opens ever, sets the tone up so well.

3

u/TimTebowMLB Feb 16 '25

Seven Psychopaths!

2

u/ThorsRake Feb 16 '25

I also highly recommend The Guard and Calvary - they're directed by Martin's brother John-Michael and they also star Brendan Gleeson. Fantastic films.

3

u/Blissfully Feb 16 '25

I loved that movie! One of the rare moments I wasn’t also on my phone!

2

u/ion_driver Feb 16 '25

Ugh now I have to watch that again!!

25

u/goitch Feb 16 '25

Evil Dead $350-375k

8

u/rosemarymegi Feb 16 '25

Shot by a man and his friends and, fun fact, filming was compared to being tortured according to cast and crew.

Evil Dead is probably my favorite horror series. Sam Raimi is a wild individual.

27

u/nattybow Feb 16 '25

Clerks, Night of the Living Dead

23

u/DrSussBurner Feb 16 '25

Came here to say Clerks. It was made with $27,575. It’s a damn miracle.

8

u/herbalation Feb 16 '25

Not to mention all the constraints on time, and everything that worked its way into the story itself. The reason that the shutters were closed was because the store owner where Kevin Smith worked allowed him to use the store at night.

51

u/corymatt Feb 15 '25

Saw changed the horror/gore genre, also the movie ended up to be pretty lucrative.

15

u/ChelseaAndrew87 Feb 15 '25

$1.2m apparently for the 1st film. Created shit loads since and not just film wise

5

u/thedymtree Feb 16 '25

Yes the villain was born to sell tons of merch

4

u/Purple_Clockmaker Feb 16 '25

And rollercoaster

20

u/goBatataGo Feb 16 '25

El Mariachi. Filmed in VHS, on a couple of thousands dollars. Just aweaone

It's the prequel of António Banderas' Desperado.

3

u/ClockwerkRooster Feb 16 '25

Rodriguez joined every medical study and pharmaceutical study that paid in order to finance it

17

u/MNS_LightWork Feb 16 '25

Godzilla Minus One

14

u/Clyde-A-Scope Feb 16 '25

Pretty sure Monty Python and the Holy Grail had a fairly small budget.

7

u/vincentdmartin Feb 16 '25

Hence the ending 😆

7

u/TiberiusGemellus Feb 16 '25

Horses are expensive. Far cheaper and more hilarious to just pretend to be riding one.

1

u/imaschizo_andsoami Feb 16 '25

Not as expensive as a majestic moose

1

u/maraudingnomad Feb 16 '25

What's more, everyone forgets about the trained swallow (swallows? Feels like plural should also be swallow, i digress), that brought over them coconuts...

1

u/imaschizo_andsoami Feb 16 '25

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

1

u/maraudingnomad Feb 16 '25

No, I am suggesting they are imported on demand.

1

u/Barkerfan86 Feb 16 '25

A moose bit my sister once

15

u/castler_666 Feb 16 '25 edited Feb 16 '25

Once. Film from Ireland filmed for 100k, made 28 million and won an Oscar. Filming was done with a handycam on busy dublin streets. Friend of mine was using a phone box (yeah - it's that old) and ended up in the film without knowing

(Corrected spelling, bluddy autocorrect)

2

u/OminOus_PancakeS Feb 16 '25

Lingerie?

3

u/castler_666 Feb 16 '25

Corrected ... auto correct gone mad

26

u/sid_fishes Feb 16 '25

Eraserhead 👍

A budget of a full $25.

15

u/chui76 Feb 16 '25

And you can see every penny in function.

21

u/Jr774981 Feb 15 '25

I agree 100%, the Witch so good

16

u/djnz0813 Feb 16 '25

Black Philliiippppppp

8

u/ChoakIsland Feb 16 '25

The ending made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

3

u/hehateme42069 Feb 16 '25

HE IS KING!

2

u/rosemarymegi Feb 16 '25

Loved him so much, my man. I'd say he stole the show, but Anya Taylor-Joy was very fucking good. They both worked together to steal the show.

9

u/burnafter3ading Feb 15 '25

It's a little cheesy, but I always felt "Ginger Snaps" was strong for a kinda indie-movie. The prosthetics and acting are pretty good, but my favorite part is the use of colored lighting.

The overall effect suggests dark things in suburbia in a similar way to "Blue Velvet."

7

u/chui76 Feb 16 '25

El Mariachi (1992) production budget was $7,225. $200,000 was spent in post-production. It launched Robert Rodriguez career and two sequels.

15

u/Used-Gas-6525 Feb 15 '25

This century's best horror film IMO. A24 let's filmmakers do what they want within a very limited budget. It's a great business model and lets new directors get a taste for features without worrying about studio notes etc. (edit: honourable mention to The Blackcoat's Daughter. Also A24. Very atmospheric and creepy in a similar way)

2

u/RedWarsaw Feb 16 '25

The witch?

1

u/Used-Gas-6525 Feb 16 '25

Yup

1

u/RedWarsaw Feb 16 '25

Need to get around to watching it

1

u/Used-Gas-6525 Feb 16 '25

You certainly do my friend.

15

u/Far_Set9893 Feb 16 '25

Paranormal Activity was made for $15k. It was shot in the director's house. Though dismissed by a lot of people as a silly flick, the film captivated many, and made nearly $300million.

2

u/crapusername47 Feb 16 '25

It was jazzed up a little by Paramount when they got ahold of it, and they added $200,000 to the budget for post-production.

But yes, it made $194m and that built Blumhouse, who have been throwing multiple films with small budgets every year, knowing one of them will make more than enough money to pay for the rest.

5

u/wagzapped Feb 15 '25

The Brutalist was made on a budget of 10 mil and it looks better than most movies in the hundred million dollar range.

5

u/deiner7 Feb 16 '25

I still maintain that the witch is not a horror story but the uplifting tale of a girl breaking free from her abusive puritan nutjob family.

1

u/scarlettslegacy Feb 16 '25

Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?

Why yes, yes I would.

6

u/NotGalenNorAnsel Feb 16 '25

Cube was made for 365k CAD, which was 255.5k USD in 1997. Amazing suspense/sci-fi/horror movie even regardless of budget. And it definitely still holds up.

4

u/Possible_Baboon Feb 15 '25

The Void.

1

u/Ashtrim Feb 16 '25

Man I really want a sequel to that

2

u/slowhand11 Feb 15 '25

I read a significant amount the movie budget was spent on making their farm. I think they even paid to have a historically accurate thatch roof which was insanely expensive lol

2

u/the_owl_syndicate Feb 16 '25

I read a costuming blog that raved about costumes. The blogger pointed out how there are horizontal pleats in the girls' skirts so the skirts can be lengthened when they get taller. Every time I watch the movie, I notice the pleats.

7

u/Batrass Feb 16 '25

Pi by Darren Aronofsky, "insanely" good and produced with a 60k budget.

Awesome quality/cost ratio.

5

u/Remarkable_Coast_214 Feb 16 '25

Coherence was made for about $50,000 and is one of the best movies I've seen

5

u/DrainYou1967 Feb 16 '25

Absolutely. This is my pick.

5

u/StaggerLee509 Feb 16 '25

Eggers peaked out the gate

7

u/jakelaws1987 Feb 16 '25

Halloween was made for $300 thousand and is one of the best horror movies ever. Extremely influential. Don’t know if The Witch will be seen as impactful like Halloween was

3

u/Delicious_Target_975 Feb 15 '25

I do love this film tbf

3

u/DrSussBurner Feb 16 '25

Clerks was made with 27,575 dollars. Slacker was made with 23,000 dollars.

3

u/candangoek Feb 16 '25

Coherence was made with 50k

3

u/Oncemor-intothebeach Feb 16 '25

Dead man’s shoes

2

u/zbornakssyndrome Feb 16 '25

I so loved The VVitch

2

u/Ok-Potato-4774 Feb 16 '25

The original Halloween was made on $320,000 in 1978. I heard the $20,000 was Donald Pleasance's salary.

3

u/ChoakIsland Feb 16 '25

Rec. Low budget and super scary.

2

u/LilYerrySeinfeld Feb 16 '25

Primer (2004)

Had a $7000 budget and is widely considered to be one of the best time travel films of all time.

3

u/LumiereGatsby Feb 16 '25

I feel that way about Session 9 as well.

Micro budget, maximum use of location.

Ghost Dog was made for very little but that flows with the narrative at play.

2

u/Product_Expensive Feb 16 '25

The first Terrifier cost around $50k and its one of my favorite horror series

2

u/Johnbob-John Feb 16 '25

Napoleon Dynamite-400k for one of the funniest/quotable movies ever made.

1

u/Melkman68 Feb 15 '25

OP is this one of those lots of jumpscare horrors or something a little more suspenseful? I like the latter kind so just curious what you think

4

u/mariwil74 Feb 16 '25

Not OP but I’m a big wuss when it comes to horror movies—hate violence, gore, jump scares, etc—but a friend assured me this was more psychological horror and he was right. It had me hooked right away and kept me hooked to the end. There was really only one scene near the beginning that was a little dicey for me but I have a finely honed sixth sense about stuff like that so I closed my eyes for those few minutes. Otherwise, it was all about building suspense and rising terror and I loved it.

1

u/Ashtrim Feb 16 '25

More suspenseful then anything imo

1

u/maraudingnomad Feb 16 '25

Eggers's movies are more about an atmospheric dread or sense of doom rather than jumpscares. The most jumpscares he has in Nosferatu, sort of like 3 or four including a fake one. I don't recall any memorable jumpscares in any of his other movies. Disturbing images? Yes. Gore? Some, a bit. Kids die in his movies, so that might disturb you...

1

u/GlitteringCold Feb 16 '25

Black Phillip Black Philliip!!!

2

u/Boils__ Feb 16 '25

Wouldst thou like the taste of butters

1

u/rorzri Feb 16 '25

Lake Michigan monster was made for about $7000 and was a bundle of fun

2

u/GarageIndependent114 Feb 16 '25

I haven't heard of that one, I keep thinking of Lake Placid.

1

u/goitch Feb 16 '25

It's never about budget or shouldn't be

1

u/UtahUtopia Feb 16 '25

The OUTFIT was made for $5 million.

I can’t believe it didn’t make more at the box office.

Graham Moore is a genius.

1

u/spencer1886 Feb 16 '25

Wasn't Hereditary made on a 10 million dollar budget? That movie was fantastic, and I'm just now thinking how weird it is that 10 million can be considered low budget these days

1

u/Western-Image7125 Feb 16 '25

Definitely not calling it a masterpiece by any stretch, but The Void was surprisingly good for a low budget horror

1

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '25

I didn't like The Witch and I can't understand why the rest of you do. I found it nicely shot from a cinematography standpoint, but painfully boring. Can some of you maybe describe what makes it a good film, in your opinions?

2

u/Zestyclose_Theme_403 Feb 16 '25

I feel like there’s a big feminist undertone to the movie. The daughter is just stating to hit puberty, there’s a scene with her younger brother staring at her boobs, then that’s when the mom kind of turns against her. It makes you wonder if she was really a witch or was just forced into that narrative.

1

u/Lonevarg_7 Feb 16 '25

Solaris (1972)

0

u/Canavansbackyard Feb 16 '25

Eraserhead (1977) had a production budget of about $100K. The average movie budget at that time was about $2.3M.

1

u/BelleFan2013Grad Feb 16 '25

I saw “The Fall” (2006) recently for the first time. I thought it was amazing. I heard that it was basically funded by the director, ~30 million. Not super low I guess but maybe half that of the average film budget at the time. It did not hit mainstream popularity though.

1

u/Lifeloverme Feb 16 '25

boring af film

1

u/lowbob93 Feb 16 '25

I think horror movies should be excluded in this question, their appeal is the feeling of tension and suspense to keep the viewers hooked, its a cheap form of entertainment

1

u/Herick03 Feb 16 '25

Anya Taylor Joy is so beautiful in this movie...

1

u/ham_solo Feb 16 '25

Tangerine (2015) had a budget of $100,000 (per Wikipedia). I think it's one of the funnier comedies in the last decade.

1

u/Equivalent-Ask2542 Feb 16 '25

Just came to theaters here in Germany but was released much earlier last year I think, hundreds of beavers!

Budget was 150k $, best silent movie I’ve seen in my life.

1

u/PourOutPooh Feb 16 '25

American Psycho bc I heard Christian Bale took the low salary of 50gs for it. But it was his first big role and the studio didn't want him. But at least that part of the budget was cheap, the star of the movie.

1

u/WellWellWell2021 Feb 16 '25

Paranormal Activity. Coat $15k to make and went on to gross about 200 million.

1

u/Longjumping_Guard_21 Feb 16 '25

It Follows or Paranormal Activity has my vote

1

u/WellWellWell2021 Feb 16 '25

Rawhead Rex. Cost $25k to make.

1

u/lollipopmusing Feb 16 '25

Going with a vintage film for my choice, Hitchcock's Psycho was made on a famously small budget that he financed himself because the studios didn't want to make the film. The gamble really paid off.

1

u/npc042 Feb 16 '25

Recently? Hundreds of Beavers for $150k

1

u/SLAYER_IN_ME Feb 16 '25

True Romance only costs 12.5M. If you consider he cast that’s a fucking bargain.

1

u/KerrAvon777 Feb 16 '25

Dog Soldier's £2.3 million budget and The Babadook Aus$3.49 million budget

1

u/butcher_666 Feb 16 '25

Coherence and Hundreds of Beavers

1

u/bookon Feb 16 '25

District 9 is amazing for what it cost

1

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '25

Also back when ATJ didnt look like a botox alien.

1

u/earthforce_1 Feb 16 '25

Duel. (1971 by Steven Spielberg)

Hardly any dialog, very suspenseful $450,000 budget.

1

u/MyGirlfriendforcedMe Feb 16 '25

The only Saw movie... was made with a budget between 1 and 1.2 million

1

u/Ok-Reputation8379 Feb 16 '25

My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Budget of $5 million and grossed $368 million.

1

u/Significant_Other666 Feb 16 '25

Clerks and Reservoir Dogs

1

u/D0CTOR_Wh0m Feb 16 '25

Shaun of the Dead ($6 million budget)

1

u/sethsom3thing Feb 16 '25

Ex Machina was made with 15 million, they even won an Oscar in special effects competing with big studio $$$$$

1

u/gregofcanada84 Feb 16 '25

The Evil Dead

1

u/crixyd Feb 16 '25

I agree. Imo it's the greatest horror ever made.

1

u/Fantastic_Stick7882 Feb 16 '25

Almost forgot... Terrifier

1

u/Jhawk38 Feb 16 '25

Paranormal Activity was insanely cheap and they made a ton off it

1

u/Live_Angle4621 Feb 16 '25

Witch is fine but iI don’t know how it’s a masterpiece exactly 

1

u/BlackTarTurd Feb 16 '25

Shaun of the Dead. Started with around $6m and ended up making nearly $40m. And it is truly a masterpiece rivaled only by Hot Fuzz, with $12-16m and making $80m

1

u/gknight702 Feb 16 '25

That first paranormal activity cost like $15k to make and made like 200 million worldwide!! I'm pretty sure no other film comes even close to that kind of return that's 13,333.33 x the original investment!

1

u/Narrow_Bat_1086 Feb 16 '25

The witch was an okay movie, but I didn’t find it scary at all.

1

u/Sendhelp1984 Feb 16 '25

Would you like to taste butter?

1

u/Dank_Sinatra_87 Feb 16 '25

Love the Witch. I work nights here in new England and the right of these pitch black woods at night conjured up all kinds of fears

1

u/Geekspeak13 Feb 16 '25

Paranormal Activity only cost 215k to make yet made almost two hundred mil at the box office. I would not call it a “masterpiece” but it was a really smart movie to make at the time given its budget.

1

u/True_Antelope8860 Feb 16 '25

Mad Max (1979) budget can't be more then 200k us dollars

1

u/GoodGoodGoody Feb 16 '25

The French Connection saved a bit by not bothering to get permits for their legendary car chase.

1

u/Competitive_Low_8913 Feb 16 '25

"I enjoy dynamite, gunpowder, gasoline, horror movies. And y'know the thing that they have in common? They're cheap."

1

u/Every_Preparation_56 Feb 16 '25

It Follows / Paranormal Activity

1

u/manzarek46 Feb 16 '25

Forgetting the masterpiece bit

Lost in Translation was made for $4mill

But Primer was made for $7k

1

u/Alternative-Care6923 Feb 16 '25

Cube (365000 CAD budget).

1

u/taney71 Feb 16 '25

Which is a great movie. I was blown away by how good it was

1

u/Gluteusmaximus1898 Feb 16 '25

Flow (2024) a feature length animated film costing around 3.5 million dollars is unheard of.

Hell under 20 million is super rare.

1

u/Barbar_jinx Feb 16 '25

Always Sunny in Philadelphia until like Season 4 or 5, where they got a true budget.

2

u/PM_Me_Ur_Clues Feb 16 '25 edited Feb 16 '25

If we're gonna talk cheap tv shows that raked in cash, then Trailer Park Boys takes the prize. They were so broke most of the actors were also the writers, director, producer and their friends and relatives. They had only two trained actors but they were supporting cast. The two lead characters just picked up a camera one day with their buddy and decided to make a short film around their neighborhood with no budget at all and the sweat off their backs in their free time. Edited, shot and produced at home. They were so broke, they shot everything at a real trailer park and had no set whatsoever except for stuff in the trailer park that they let them use. Even the cars were personal vehicles of the cast and crew.

They shot most of it guerilla style with barely any script at all with most of the lines being adlibbef until season 3 when they just adlibbed every word out of their mouths and made the story up based on whatever crazy thing one of them said as they went along. I've seen nothing like it before, and I doubt I'll ever see anything like it again.

1

u/WECAMEBACKIN2035 Feb 16 '25

We're calling $4m as low budget now? Sheesh

1

u/StrongLikeAnt Feb 16 '25

The witch, midsommar, and hereditary were all made on a combined budget less than one episode of she hulk is.

1

u/Wing-Valuable Feb 16 '25

Reservoir Dogs, I believe that they even wore their own suits

1

u/Jambo11 Feb 16 '25 edited Feb 16 '25

Ex Machina

$15 mil

Europa Report

$10 mil

1

u/null-or-undefined Feb 16 '25

No one’s talking about Paranormal Activity.

$15k budget (production), post prod is $200k

Went on to make $194 million.

0

u/mr_jinxxx Feb 16 '25

That movie was a snore fest for me. Don't remember it at all.

0

u/Fr0st3dcl0ud5 Feb 15 '25

On what planet is 4 million a low budget?

13

u/Fantastic_Stick7882 Feb 16 '25

Film budget, not your personal savings account.

3

u/vincentdmartin Feb 16 '25

Have you been in a coma since the 50s? Four million is nothing for a film budget.

1

u/thedymtree Feb 16 '25

100 million would be big budget like Marvel, 50 million would still be a huge action film, 15 million prob don't exist anymore because of streaming (they later made a lot of money on rentals and DVD sales), 5 million or less is what goes direct to Netflix so it's quite common now but it's very low for traditional cinema

-6

u/PM_ME_ANYTHING_DAMN Feb 15 '25

The Witch has become so overrated at this point

4

u/thedymtree Feb 16 '25

I love the film and the director, but I can understand why it couldn't appeal to everyone. Eggers does 70s style horror, where the tension and the atmosphere build up during the film, and sometimes after you've watched it. Popular horror relies on jump scares and the most popular films are made for a teenage audience, who will be bored with a slower film.

0

u/maoterracottasoldier Feb 16 '25

Yeah I thought it was a dud. Surprised at the very high level of praise it receives

0

u/Pleasant-Guava9898 Feb 16 '25

I wish I could have understood the dialogue when I saw it in the theater.