10 Movies That Made Someone Rich

So... Paranormal Activity is doing quite well, by all accounts. ‘Accounts’ being the operative word here. Still, the profitability issue is always a thorny one, and perhaps nowhere more so than in movieland.

Can we really adjust effectively for inflation? Are we talking box office gross, or ROI (return of investment)?

What if your backers only put down £20,000 for shooting, but the publishers whiffed an indie hit and spent millions on marketing - does that disqualify you? If not, exactly whose ‘profits’ are we talking about anyway?

In reality then, it doesn’t ever boil down to a straightforward incomings-minus-outgoings equation. But, either way, these are ten films you probably should’ve stumped up for a few shares in...

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Who Got Rich? Morgan Spurlock can now afford as many Big Macs as he wants.

Next: Mad Max [page-break]

Who Got Rich? George Miller raised the money for Mad Max by working as an Emergency Room Doctor. He raised the money for Mad Max 2 by asking Warner Brothers.

Next: Gone With The Wind [page-break]

Who Got Rich? MGM could fund a thousand Who's Your Caddy sequels on the money they made.

Next: Star Wars [page-break]

Who Got Rich? George Lucas, thankfully he didn't waste it on a bunch of stupid prequels. Oh, hang on...

Next: Tarnation [page-break]

Who Got Rich? Caouette made enough cash to retire. Either that or no-one's noticed that he's made other films.

Next: Deep Throat [page-break]

Who Got Rich? According to shock doc Inside Deep Throat, the mob did. But we've seen The Sopranos and we've got nothing more to say on that.

Next: Night Of The Living Dead [page-break]

Who Got Rich? We're all richer for the invention of zombie cinema. Each and everyone of us. Oh, and George Romero.

Next: The Blair Witch Project [page-break]

Who Got Rich? The Blair Witch made Haxan Films millionaires. Then Blair Witch 2 made them idiots.

Next: Paranormal Activity [page-break]

Who Got Rich? Oren Peli. But we're pretty sure cheerleader Steven Speilberg has some more cash to chuck into his money room. We hear he swims in it, like Scrooge McDuck.

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