Film News Blitz writer Jesse-Ann Baron lists the top underdog films that walked into Hollywood with nothing and left with everything.
In 2026, films like Obsession, Backrooms and Iron Lung hit the big screen, took over audiences and proved that everybody loves an underdog.
However, they are not the only films that have exceeded expectations and risen to glory.
Often lacking a big studio, A-list actors, or a film background, the only things an underdog film needs to succeed are passion and a story worth telling.
1. ‘Rocky’ (1976): The ultimate underdog story
Production budget: $1.1 million
Worldwide box office: $225 million
In 1976, a struggling actor by the name of Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for Rocky in three days.
He had nothing – to be exact, he had $106 in his bank account – and even sold his dog because he could not afford to feed the pet and himself.
When he finally found producers to accept the script, they loved it.
However, they did not want an unknown actor like him playing the star.
Stallone refused to budge and stood his ground, until the producers eventually gave in and gave him a small budget for a movie.
Surprisingly, the film landed under budget by using grassroots methods, such as using one take to film the majority of the film.
This passion project gathered friends and family as cast members and resorted to hand-held cameras to make the timeless classic.
The now classic follows Rocky Balboa, a washed-up fighter from Philadelphia who is given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champion.
Against every obstacle, he wins the title which secures his success and future.
This movie’s plot became reality when this small budget film went on to score nine nominations at the Oscars, win Best Picture and become a cult classic.
This film inspired and captivated millions worldwide, and the Rocky franchise has gone on to gross over $1.4 billion internationally.
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2. ‘Halloween’ (1978): A horror classic
Production budget: $325,000
Worldwide box office: $70.2 million
A small indie film shot in just 20 days revolutionised the horror genre and changed pop culture forever.
It all started with the idea from executive producer Irwin Yablans, who thought of making a film about teenagers being terrorised in a single night.
He had another stroke of genius with the idea to release it during Halloween, the scariest time of the year.
Yablans called up director John Carpenter and longtime producer partner Debra Hill, and the rest was history.
Carpenter and Yablans raised the measly funds themselves and saved money wherever they could.
They reused autumn leaves and blew most of their budget on a steadicam, which was new technology at the time.
The investment paid off, as the steadicam allowed them to capture the iconic shots of the notorious killer, Mike Myers.
Their cast was basically unknown actors at the time, but the film acted as their breakout roles, with one notable example being the now-famous, Oscar-winning Jamie Lee Curtis.
One example of their money-saving strategies saw Curtis buying her costumes at cheap stores for $100.
Director Carpenter even made the whole iconic soundtrack by himself in just three days with a $10,000 budget.
Halloween is credited with starting the whole modern slasher genre and setting the precedent for all horrors that came after.
Today, a large number of horror films are released during October and the final girl trope has been tremendously popularized.
The next time you put on that Mike Myers mask, know it was bought for under $2 and modified to become the nightmare-inducing costume it is today.
It just goes to show that sometimes the greatest films are born when people are forced to be resourceful.
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3. ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999): A new kind of fear
Production budget: $600,000
Box office: $248.3 million worldwide
The Blair Witch Project redefined film marketing and created a whole new kind of fear.
The found footage-style film follows three amateur filmmakers who go into the Maryland woods and go missing while shooting a documentary about a local legend.
Their horrifying video logs are rediscovered and are the only thing left of them.
The success of this movie is largely attributed to co-director Daniel Myrick, who utilised the then-recent internet to launch a unique campaign.
He teamed up with a police officer to make a website with realistic police reports, missing person flyers and interview logs.
This resulted in millions of early internet users believing the young filmmakers actually did disappear.
The viral marketing campaign made the film even scarier as the audience believed the film was actual evidence.
It was shot in only eight days in the woods, with the three main actors controlling the cameras and being directed through GPS.
The directors would leave milk cartons or flags where they would leave their footage and pick up food and directors’ notes.
To add to the film’s immersion, the directors made the actors’ food rations smaller as the days went on so that they became more irritable.
As committed as the production was to selling the story, they did have a safe word, “taco”, so that the actors could remember it was just a film.
The Blair Witch Project became one of the most frightening films at the time, and it was so realistic that people sent condolences to the actors’ parents.
It changed the genre forever and truly showcased the power of an immersive internet campaign.
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4. ‘Paranormal Activity’ (2007): One house, one camera
Production budget: $15,000
Box Office: $194.2 million worldwide
Paranormal Activity was a masterpiece in more ways than one.
It all started when director Oren Peli heard strange noises in his San Diego home he shared with his partner at the time.
He decided to record it at night, and thought that it was a great idea for a film.
Inspired by films like The Blair Witch Project, he bought a video camera and decided to just shoot his own film.
The entire film was shot in his home, and Peli had no background in films at all; he was just a computer programmer.
He took a week off work and filmed it with his cast of four in seven days, finishing the process in five.
The crew consisted of himself, his best friend (also with no experience in film) and his girlfriend.
The premise hit so well with audiences because everyone could relate to the fear attached to hearing odd noises at night in their home.
The film exceeded expectations, as most of the big studios ignored it.
Its success is attributed to endorsement from the famous director Steven Spielberg and an online marketing campaign via Twitter and Facebook.
Paranormal Activity is proof that anyone can make a successful film with a great idea and excellent execution.
5. ‘Get Out’ (2017): More than just scary
Production budget: $4.5 million
Box office: $259 million worldwide
A comedian made one of the most successful indie horror films of the 2010s.
Jordan Peele, a famous comedian widely known as half of the Comedy Central duo Key and Peele, ventured into horror with his directorial debut.
However, Peele did not leave his comedy background behind completely, as the film teeters between horror and comedy at many moments.
What made Get Out so remarkable was how it went beyond the usual scary story and used the aspects of horror to provide social commentary on race in America.
The film follows an African-American photographer who agrees to visit his white girlfriend’s family.
However, it goes incredibly awry, in the most unimaginably worst way.
Get Out is centred around a rich white family who steal and inhabit black bodies, which leaves the actual victims descending into a “Sunken Place”.
The Sunken Place became a pop culture metaphor for silencing and suppressing black voices.
This horror challenged white audiences and gave a unique but powerful on-screen representation to all people of colour, and especially African-Americans, by articulating the fear they live with.
It did not just succeed in making the audience’s heart race, but it also held a mirror up to the true horror of cultural appropriation and discrimination.
The film was revolutionary in many ways, and what is even more impressive is how Peele shot it in 23-days and mastered colour theory to make it look high-budget.
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6. ‘Talk to me’ (2022) – The YouTube brothers who landed A24
Production budget: $4.2 million
Box office: $91.9 million worldwide
Two twin brothers with no film school background and millions of followers on YouTube made a film that took everybody by surprise.
Danny and Michael Philippou rose to internet fame with their YouTube channel RackaRacka, which has nearly seven million subscribers.
While they gained popularity from making brash comedy and prank videos, their entry into filmmaking became one of the most successful horror films of 2022.
Instead of going the expensive CGI route, they decided to depend on intense acting and stick to an angle as a psychological horror.
The film follows Australian teenagers who play with a cursed hand that is a doorway to the spirit realm.
The protagonist, played by largely unknown actress Sophie Wilde, gets addicted to using this hand.
Following the precedent set by Get Out, the film uses its horror aspects as commentary and it touches on addiction, peer pressure amongst the youth and the dangers of chasing social media clout.
Proud of their nationality, the twins were insistent on keeping the film Australian and made sure to have specific local references, such as a kangaroo’s cries being heard.
The film gained traction and credibility thanks to A24, the rising indie movie distributor responsible for many modern hits.
The brothers’ social media presence also contributed to the hype and support around the film.
Regardless, Talk To Me earned its worldwide attention and accolades through its quality.
Additionally, it was one of the early foundations for a now-growing trend of YouTubers-turned-directors.
The three underdogs of 2026
Three of 2026’s biggest hits have come from directors with backgrounds as online creators.
Obsession
Obsession had a budget of just one million dollars, but at the global box office it has made over $294 million dollars.
This indie film was shot in 20 days by 26-year-old Curry Barker and greatly resonated with audiences.
An astounding chain of word-of-mouth recommendations online, as well as buzz from Barker’s origin as a content creator, caused the film to exceed expectations.
While still in circulation, the film has broken records, and has grossed more money on the second week of release than the first.
Backrooms
Backrooms is a psychological bending horror about a maze-like liminal place, which people fall into accidentally by glitching out of reality.
The director, Kane Parsons, has a background in YouTube, and his animations and web series were instrumental in defining the Backrooms’ significant online lore.
His role in this internet phenomenon attracted the attention of A24, who recruited him to direct the film adaptation.
A now widely spread fact is his young age, as Parsons is only 20 years old.
His first opening weekend made history as A24’s biggest opening release with 81 million dollars to surpass a 10 million dollar production budget.
Iron Lung
Famous long-time YouTuber Markiplier set the tone for the ‘year of the underdog’ with his self-funded film Iron Lung.
With a production budget of three million dollars, the film went on to make over 51 million dollars worldwide.
The sci-fi horror film was a complete passion project based on a video game of the same name.
The year of the underdog
All three of these filmmakers come from backgrounds in internet culture as content creators.
Yet, their micro-budget films have outperformed many big studio franchises against all odds.
The concentration of this trio has surprised the whole of Hollywood by becoming some of the best-received and highest-grossing films of the year.
This trend of creators becoming experimental filmmakers has left many wondering if this is the future of the film industry and the revival it needs amidst a sea of reboots and sequels.
They prove that audiences want unique, imaginative stories, and these young, innovative creators have tapped into that despite their “inexperience”.
The success of Backrooms, Obsession, and Iron Lung rings back to Stallone’s refusal to sell the Rocky script in 1976; perhaps it is time to prove again that passion will always prevail.
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