BizJournals Portfolio

Vast Money

Feb 27 2008
Blair Witch Project
Napolean Dynamite
Saw
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Juno
The Passion of the Christ
Good Will Hunting
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
1 of 12
roi-blair-witch.jpg
The Blair Witch Project (Artisan, 1999)

R.O.I.: 495,900%
Budget: $50,000
Worldwide Gross: $248 million
roi-napoleon-dynamite.jpg
Napoleon Dynamite (Fox Searchlight, 2004)

R.O.I.: 11,425%
Budget: $400,000
Worldwide Gross: $46.1 million
roi-saw.jpg
Saw (Lion’s Gate, 2004)

R.O.I.: 8,483%
Budget: $1.2 million
Worldwide Gross: $103 million
roi-greek-wedding.jpg
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Warner Bros., 2002)

R.O.I.: 7,260%
Budget: $5 million
Worldwide Gross: $368 million
roi-juno.jpg
Juno (Fox Searchlight, 2007)

R.O.I.: 2,033%
Budget: $7.5 million
Worldwide Gross: $160 million*

*And counting; the film is still showing in theaters
roi-passion-christ.jpg
The Passion of the Christ (20th Century Fox, 2004)

R.O.I.: 1,940%
Budget: $30 million
Worldwide Gross: $612 million
roi-good-will.jpg
Good Will Hunting (Miramax, 1997)

R.O.I.: 1,280%
Budget: $10 million
Worldwide Gross: $138 million
roi-lord-towers.jpg
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (New Line Cinema, 2002)

R.O.I.: 1,070%
Budget: $94 million
Worldwide Gross: $1.1 billion
roi-lord-return.jpg
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line Cinema, 2003)

R.O.I.: 885%
Budget: $94 million
Worldwide Gross: $926 million
roi-lord-fellow.jpg
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (New Line Cinema, 2001)

R.O.I.: 837%
Budget: $93 million
Worldwide Gross: $871 million

Related Content

The Billion Dollar Girl

The Billion Dollar Girl

Move over Olsen twins, get out of the way Hilary Duff, Hannah Montana—a.k.a. Miley Ray Cyrus—is the new queen of the tween set and she’s cashing in. Read more
The Britney Economy

The Britney Economy

A back-of-the-napkin calculation of just how much the scandal-plagued star is worth to the multitudes who make money off her. Read more