Garden State ($2.5 million budget)
Before making his directorial debut with Garden State, Zach Braff was best known for his role as J.D. on the television series, Scrubs. The then actor’s first movie scored 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film festival.
The movie made $35 million at the box office, solidifying Brach as not only a great actor, but also a director. He went on to release other films including Wish I Was Here. The movie was also praised for its unique soundtrack.