6. Paranormal Activity
The second of a whopping three entries in our list from the 'found footage' genre. It really is no surprise that Hollywood has been churning out a couple of these every year since The Blair Witch Project hit audiences; it's so easy to make a profit back, so long as the studio has a clever marketing strategy. This film is a perfect example of that: pretty much the entirety of the film features a young couple experiencing a haunting in their new house. The couple is played by Micah Sloat and Katie Featherstone. Heard of them? Didn't think so. Featherstone had a couple of bit parts in minor films up to this point while this was actually Sloat's first piece of acting experience. Since then he's acted in just two more films, both from this franchise. But the lack of any recognisable faces didn't hold the film back financially, as it grossed an incredible $200m from an outlay of just $15,000. Those really are crazy numbers, and while audiences claim to be tired of this type of movie-making, can you really blame the studios for sticking with such a bankable formula?