Have you ever wondered what the top most profitable movies are? Sure, Avatar broke box office records with its billion dollar return, but it also cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make—courtesy of James Cameron's groundbreaking 3D technology. Compare that to a low-budget film, like Paranormal Activity, for example, which used unknown actors and pretty much filmed within a week. It made $107.9 million at the box office – chump change compared to Avatar's profit – but Paranormal's return on investment was a whopping 719,458% thanks to its $15,000 budget.
CNBC.com has broken the numbers down pretty well with its list of the 15 Most Profitable Movies of All Time, all of which are adjusted for inflation. A few favorites of mine are Lord of the Rings Return of the King, which banked 1008% return on investment, shark horror-thriller Jaws with1308%, and Slumdog Millionaire at 2520%. (Hooray for the underdogs!)
Before checking out their list, what movies would you expect to find on it? I have to admit, I was surprised to find Paranormal didn't make the cut even with its itty bitty budget, which must've been an oversight or some CNBC editorial decision. In any case, we’ll see if Paranormal Activity 2 follows the trend.
