Here are 11 very profitable comedies that made 30 times their budget at the box office — or even more.
These aren’t the highest-grossing comedy movies — but they are some of the comedies that got the best return on investment, turning small budgets into huge returns.
Here we go.
Pink Flamingos (1972)
John Waters’ second film is an uproarious cult-classic celebration of all things trash, and opened the door to more Waters’ cult camp classics.
Made for a mere $12,000, it earned at least $2 million, though some estimates place its earnings much higher.
It was followed by two more films in what Waters calls his Trash Trilogy: 1974’s Female Trouble and 1977’s Desperate Living.
American Graffiti (1973)
Made for only $770,000, George Lucas’ American Graffiti made $140 million — more than 100 times its budget — and also earned five Oscar nominations.
Playing on audiences’ nostalgia, and benefitting from the charisma of then-young actors Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, and Cindy Williams — as well as one of the best movie soundtracks ever — the film tapped into Lucas’ teenage years racing cars in Modesto, California.
The success of American Graffiti cleared the way for Lucas to make another hit movie you may have heard of.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Mel Brooks’ classic Western sendup arrived when his career was in a bit of a lull. He wrote in his 2020 memoir All About Me! that the two movies he made before Blazing Saddes, The Producers and The Twelve Chairs, “together didn’t make me enough money to buy a new car.”
But he could buy plenty of cars after 1974. Not only did Blazing Saddles earn roughly $120 million on a budget of less than $3 million, but he scored again that year with Young Frankenstein, which was only slightly less successful than Blazing Saddles.
Blazing Saddles was not just a box office hit, but a creative success: AFI named it the sixth-funniest comedy of all time.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Made for about $1.4 million, and based on Richard O’Brien’s hit stage musical, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a bomb upon release.
But then a 20th Century Fox executive hit on an interesting notion — why not release the oddball musical horror comedy in midnight screenings?
The Rocky Horror Picture Show went on to become the longest-running theatrical release in history, as Richard O’Brien’s son, Linus O’Brien, recounts in the excellent new documentary Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show celebrated its 50th anniversary last month, still plays across the world, and has earned more than $166 million and counting.
Airplane (1980)
Following the explosive success of The Kentucky Fried Movie, which they wrote, the comedy trio of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker insisted on directing their next film — and the result was one of the funniest movies ever made. (AFI placed it 10th on its list of funniest comedies, behind Blazing Saddles, among others.)
Airplane! was made for under $4 million, and went on to make $171 million, including in re-release.
The ZAZ team proved they could make hits, and went on to create the Naked Gun franchise, among other successes. They’re responsible for not only some of the most profitable comedies, but some of the best, and few can match their output.
Porky’s (1982)
One of those ’80s comedies that just doesn’t care who it offends, Porky’s was a massive hit for genre-hopping director Bob Clark, whose very diverse resume also includes Black Christmas, A Christmas Story, and Baby Geniuses.
Made for under $5 million, Porky’s earned an astonishing $160 million at the box office, and was the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1982.
It’s no surprise it pigged out with two sequels.
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Prior to the smashing success of Crocodile Dundee, star and co-writer Paul Hogan was mostly unknown to American audiences who hadn’t seen his Benny Hill-esque The Paul Hogan Show.
But Hogan was suddenly everywhere in 1986 thanks to his tightly budgeted story of an Outback adventurer who is transferred to New York City, where he delivers the soon-to-be-unforgettable line, “That’s not a knife — that’s a knife.”
The film earned a whopping $328 million on a budget of under $9 million. That’s a hit.
The Full Monty (1997)
One of the UK’s most profitable comedies, The Full Monty is the story of six unemployed men — four of them ex-steelworkers — who decide to form a Chippendale’s-style act to make money.
They don’t make as much as the movie did — on a $3.5 million budget, it scored a formidable $258 million.
A critical as well as box-office success, it was the highest-grossing film in the UK until it was replaced by another 1997 film, Titanic.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Perhaps the most profitable comedy of all time, and one of the greatest indie success stories ever, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was written by star Nia Vardalos and made for $5 million. It went on to earn a big fat $369 million, an astonishing return by any measure.
It was also a critical hit, and earned Vardolos and Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
The IFC Films release unsurprisingly spawned two sequels and a sitcom, and became the model for countless indie rom-coms to come, none of which have matched its success.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Jared Hess shot the wonderfully off-kilter Napoleon Dynamite in his native Idaho for a mere $400,000, and cast his college buddy Jon Heder in the lead. It went on to make $46.1 million worldwide, and many fans are still rocking “Vote for Pedro” shirts or talking about how their lips are chapped real bad.
The film thrived on its dry aesthetics and fantastic performances by mostly talented unknowns, becoming one of the most profitable comedies ever — and one of the most endearing.
And Hess is still making huge hits — albeit with bigger budgets. His latest, the videogame adaptation A Minecraft Movie, has earned nearly a billion dollars on a $150 million budget. That’s very impressive, even if Napoleon Dynamite had an even better ROI.
Juno (2007)
Before Juno, unwanted teen pregnancies were usually the stuff of dramas and after school specials.
But screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman managed a mix of drama, comedy, and heart that resonated with audiences and earned more than $230 million on a budget of less than $8 million.
The film’s success was especially gratifying because Cody had feared that its subject matter and frankness would prevent it from ever being released. Many distributors did indeed balk at Juno before Fox Searchlight took a risk, which paid off handsomely.
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Main image: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 20th Century Fox.
Editor’s Note: Corrects Juno image.