As of 2024, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" was the highest grossing independent movie of all time. It grossed a total of 917.94 million U.S. dollars at the global box office, far exceeding its production budget of 25 million U.S. dollars. "The Graduate" came in second position with a box office revenue of 784.36 million U.S. dollars.
Small movies, big profits
Although independent film production was heavily impacted by the pandemic, it has been on an upward trajectory over the past decade. Independent films tend to have smaller production budgets than larger productions, as well as smaller marketing costs. However, few of them manage to be profitable and break even. Indie horror sensation “M3GAN” remains one of the highest-grossing movies released in 2023.
A24
As the distributor and producer of many indie gems praised by audiences and critics alike, independent studio A24 is another independent success story. Sci-fi drama “Everything Everywhere All At Once” was the studio’s highest grossing movie with a total box office revenue of 107.91 million U.S. dollars. Despite plunging in 2020 during the pandemic, A24’s average movie production costs swiftly recovered to reach its peak in 2023 with an average budget exceeding 15 million U.S. dollars.