$100+ Million is Overrated: 10 Movies With Mind-Blowing CGI for Less
A lot of movies now rely on CGI: mostly because the workers in this sphere aren't unionized and require smaller budgets for production than any other kind of VFX specialists or anything else, but whatever.
Still, the huge movies with high budgets use lots of CGI. And this list proves that you don't need hundreds of millions to get some nice computerized VFX.
We can thank the technological advancements because now a kid with a computer and a decent internet connection can create a LEGO version of a movie after watching some Blender tutorials, and get hired by Sony.
Another kid can make the same effects that were used in Terminator 2 within a fraction of the time it required back in the '90s.
These stories, together with our list, prove that you can create believably good CGI without blowing up your budget. Of course, we want artists to be properly compensated for the work they do, and we enjoy the water physics that Weta Digital patented while it was working on Avatar.
But sometimes, this much work is not necessary to convey a deep and complicated story, even if it's set in a sci-fi world. Don't use CGI as a handicap.