Mad Max ($300,000 budget)
When you hear the name Mad Max, you may think about Fury Road, the blockbuster starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. But long before they joined the franchise, Mel Gibson starred in the original 1979 version which was made on a $300,000 budget. The film made $1 million, which was a lot at the time.
The original film once held the Guinness World Record for the best profit-to-cost film. To date, there are four films in the franchise with a fifth movie (Furiosa) announced for 2022 and a sixth (Future).