American Graffiti
Most people will know George Lucas as the person who came up with Star Wars, but he has a lot more to his resumé than just that. Before Star Wars became a thing, George was in charge of directing American Graffiti. Due to his unknown reputation, the most he could get for the movie was just $600,000.
Luckily, Universal Studios increased the budget by $150,000 after learning that Francis Ford Coppola would produce the movie. That extra money helped with the marketing campaign, and after its theatrical run, American Graffiti grossed $115 million and five Academy nominations.