2023 will see Great Gerwig go from a visionary low-to-mid-budget auteur to a franchise director, as she's Little Women.
So many blockbuster movie directors started out making compelling low-budget films, and as great as they are at directing action sequences and building huge set pieces, it's hard to compete with their more personal projects. Between a mockumentary about vampires, a horror thriller set entirely in one room, and a murder mystery teen drama, these filmmakers are better with less money.
Jon Favreau - Chef (2014)
Few blockbuster movie directors go back to smaller budgets once they're working with hundreds of millions of dollars per film, especially not a budget of less than $20 million. But that's exactly what Jon Favreau did in 2014.
Following best movies set in a restaurant, or at least a food truck, and its feel-good tone was a pleasant surprise, as the last time Favreau made a low-budget movie, it was the dark comedy Made.
Shane Black - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Shane Black is perhaps best known for penning the screenplays of tons of classic 80s and 90s crime movies, such as the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
The 2005 movie saw Black bringing his signature neo-noir storytelling into the 21st century, and the buddy-cop film was impressively made with just $15 million (via one of the funniest movies of the 2000s.
Patty Jenkins - Monster (2003)
Patty Jenkins went 14 years without making a movie following Monster, which is shocking given how accomplished of a directorial debut it is. However, when she did finally return with a follow-up, it was with the huge event movie Wonder Woman 1984, and she's still attached to direct the Star Wars movie Rogue Squadron too.
But none of her blockbuster outings come close to the emotionally exhausting 2003 drama. Monster follows Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron), the real-life street prostitute who killed several of her clients. Jenkins directed Theron to an Academy Award win, and she did it with a budget of a micro-budget of just $1.5 million (via the Directors Guild of America).
James Gunn - Super (2010)
James Gunn has an unbelievable resume, as not only has he directed movies in both the MCU and DCEU with the The Suicide Squad, but he's now the CEO of DC Studios. The filmmaker's blockbuster movies have grossed billions, but before those, he directed a superhero movie with a fraction of the budget.
Kick-Ass, and it only cost Gunn $2.5 million to make, according to Box Office Mojo.
Taika Waititi - What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
Taika Waititi got tons of attention in 2017 for rejuvenating the Thor: Love and Thunder was criticized for being too comedy-oriented and that it didn't work with the story it was trying to tell about Gorr. But that all stems from what Waititi does best, as the filmmaker comes from a comedy background.
Waititi's best movie is What We Do in the Shadows, an ingenious mockumentary about a group of vampires living together. The 2014 movie was a modest success, but it has become a cult classic and it has massively grown in popularity since the release of Ragnarok. And despite all the surprisingly impressive effects in the film, it had a budget of just $1.6 million (via Vox).
James Wan - Saw (2004)
With films in both the Saw, a simple horror thriller about two people locked in a room, which was made with just $1.2 million (via Box Office Mojo).
The Saw franchise might have become a perfect example of a franchise of diminishing returns, but there's no denying how fresh the original movie was, and it features one of the best horror plot twists too. As Saw 10 is currently in development, nothing would be better for the series than for Wan to return to the director's chair.
Ryan Coogler - Fruitvale Station (2013)
Ryan Coogler quickly climbed the Hollywood ladder, as he currently has four movies in his filmography, two of which are the rumors that he'll be directing Avengers: Secret Wars.
However, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will undoubtedly be overwhelmingly emotional, it'll be hard to top the touching and ionate Fruitvale Station. The 2013 biographical drama is about Oscar Grant's death, as the man was killed by police in 2009. The film was somehow made with just $900,000 (via Yahoo), as the movie features a soundtrack from Ludwig Göransson and a starring role from Michael B. Jordan.
Rian Johnson - Brick (2005)
Rian Johnson's highest-grossing movie is Knives Out, he directed a low-budget murder mystery movie more than a decade earlier.
Brick is so many things at once, as it's a compelling crime thriller, a riveting teen drama, and a brilliant murder mystery. It was building the foundation for Knives Out 13 years earlier, and it was made with a microscopic $450,000 (via Glass Onion, which has gotten rave reviews on the festival circuit.
Chloé Zhao - Nomadland (2020)
Chloé Zhao directed 2021's Eternals, and while it might be the only MCU movie that's rated "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes, it still pulls off some tricks that no other MCU movie has. The film is notably set on location instead of on a soundstage, giving the film a unique aesthetic, and that's what made her previous movies so great and have that Earthy feel too.
In 2020, Zhao directed Nomadland, which is about a woman who lives her life as a nomad and travels around the US following her husband's death. If it wasn't obvious from its accolades, as it earned s McDormand her third Oscar and Zhao won Best Picture and Best Director, Nomadland is by far the director's best movie.
Sam Raimi - Evil Dead II (1987)
Sam Raimi started out directing horror movies, which is more than evident even if viewers have only seen his Evil Dead II.
The 1987 sequel established Raimi's style, and he hasn't made a better movie since. That isn't because his movies in the past 30 years have been underwhelming, but because Evil Dead II is just that great. Between the jaw-dropping practical effects and the shocking twist ending, Evil Dead II is the ultimate Raimi movie.
