27 Years Ago, The 'Best Found Footage Movie of All Time' Was Released: 'The Blair Witch Project'

On this day in 1999, horror cinema was changed forever when Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez released The Blair Witch Project.

The film became a shining beacon of independent cinema, proving to studios and audiences across the world that indie filmmakers were capable not just of making great movies that fans adore, but also of financial successes that studios should dare to take a risk on.

The Blair Witch Project had an initial budget of around $35,000, with Myrick and Sanchez recording the majority of the film on a low-budget 16mm film camera to capture the found footage aesthetic that its become so notorious for. They also used a consumer-grade 8mm/Hi8 video camcorder for certain scenes, shooting upwards of 20 hours of footage that was ultimately cut down to 80 minutes. (via StudioBinder)

The film's post-production budget came to just $200,000–$750,000, with Myrick and Sanchez premiering the film at the Sundance Film Festival to an incredibly strong reception. The directors were offered $1.1 million for the distribution rights, and The Blair Witch Project went on to make an incredible $248.6 million at the worldwide box office.

The Blair Witch Project made over 250x its production budget back in ticket sales, making it one of the most profitable movies ever made. It was a huge cultural sensation that changed indie cinema forever, disrupting the status quo of studio blockbusters and proving that an alternative path does exist for aspiring filmmakers.

Much of the excitement surrounding The Blair Witch Project was directed at its found footage filmmaking, which was still mostly a novelty at the time. Very few movies had dared to shoot a story in this way, breaking down the barrier between fiction and reality to place the audience right in the center of this nightmarish experience.

Last year, IndieWire ranked The Blair Witch Project at No. 1 on their list of the greatest found footage movies ever made, narrowly beating modern classics like Lake Mungo and Rec. They wrote: "By playing on its audience's fears and obscuring things that didn't even exist (what do we even see in that horrible basement?), the film turned its plot into something much more substantial and unique. The shaky-cam medium of the film and the internet campaign to make it all seem real might be gimmicks, but they worked."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jul 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 7:04 AM.