20 Horror Movies WAY More Successful Than Anyone Expected

The Blair Witch Project is iconic, not just for popularising found-footage horror, but for having the highest box office return in cinematic history, grossing over 4,000 times its budget. Due to its minuscule budget and immense financial success, it didn't seem feasible for that record to ever be broken.

And then Oren Peli changed everything with Paranormal Activity.

Due to the minimal cast, amateur actors, and lack of elaborate effects, few people believed anything worthwhile could come from the supernatural B-movie, especially after it got rejected from Sundance. However, DreamWorks exec Adam Goodman and Steven Spielberg saw potential in the project, believing it should be remade with a bigger budget and A-list stars.

Despite being offered the deal of a lifetime, Peli stuck to his guns and released his original version. Even though this should've backfired, Paranormal Activity went on to earn $194 million. Because the initial budget was $15,000, the ROI was (hold on, need a calculator) an unheard of 1,279,900%.

Also, that's only the profits of the first movie. Taking all the lucrative follow-ups into account, it's likely that Oren Peli has been laughing all the way to the bank ever since.