20 Huge Horror Movie Hits NOBODY Expected
8. Saw
Even accepting its buzzy premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, nobody could've ever expected that Saw would become the film to define horror throughout the 2000s.
James Wan and Leigh Whannell's cagey horror-thriller enjoyed colossal box office momentum thanks to positive word-of-mouth and whispers about its big twist, enough that it ultimately grossed a staggering $104 million against a mere $1.2 million budget.
Some quick napkin maths says that Saw grossed more than 86x its production budget - an outcome that not a single solitary soul could've ever seen coming, least of all Wan and Whannell, who have both enjoyed highly successful filmmaking careers as a result.
Of course, Saw's success led to a glut of sequels, with the 10 films to date generating $1.1 billion at the box office against a total budget of $120 million. While the post-festival buzz and low budget made it likely that Saw would be a modest hit, launching one of the most successful blockbuster horror franchises of all time? Inconceivable.