Saw (2004)
Cost $1.2 Million B.O, $103 Million
A pet project of Australian duo James Wan and Leigh Wannell, Saw was perhaps the most emblematic film of the early 2000s' "torture-porn" phase, alongside Hostel and The Human Centipede. Forced to shoot the film in LA because of funding difficulties, the two Aussies managed to transform a shoestring $1.2 million budget into a $103 million movie, not to mention a seven-film franchise. While its sadomasochistic tendencies earned it derision from critics, it still made a killing at the box office.
