Paranormal Activity (2007)
Cost: $15,000 B.O: $193 Million
A welcome resucitation of the "found footage" genre, Paranormal Activity sent punters to theaters in droves (and many others walking out due to their utter fear), based almost entirely on word-of-mouth and social media marketing. A creative variation of the done-to-death "haunted house" trope, this film used a handheld camera and two unknown actors to transform $15,000 into $193,000,000. Perhaps proof that sometimes, simpler is better.
