50+ Low-Budget Films That Became Huge Box Office Successes

1996’s Swingers was about the lives of broke, unemployed performers who were trying to make it big in Hollywood. The movie starred Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn and became an overnight success. The director started with just $200,000 in his back pocket but managed to gross $4.6 million in ticket sales.

One way director Dough Ligman cut costs was by using low-quality filming equipment. The cameras would often interfere with the microphones since they produced a metallic buzzing sound, but they used jackets to soundproof the cameras and fix the problem. The director also hired real-life bartenders and patrons to stand in as extras.