The film and video category on Kickstarter has seen a lot of growth over the past few years. It is currently the category with the most projects launched (43,395+) and has attracted over $258 million in total pledges. Kickstarter-funded films are now frequently featured in film festivals around the world, with the platform actively participating in four last November.
With filmmakers everywhere embracing crowdfunding as a way to get funding for their work and grow their audience, I thought it would be interesting to countdown the top 10 highest funded Kickstarter film and video projects ever:
#10. KUNG FURY
Creators: Laser Unicorns
Number of Backers: 17,713
Amount Funded: $630,019
End Date: January 25, 2014
KUNG FURY is an action comedy about a super kung fu cop that takes place in Miami in the 1980s. The main character decides to travel back in time to kill Adolf Hitler but goes too far – back to the Viking Age. The trailer is entertaining and shows the spectacular visuals that the team wanted to bring to the film.
#9. Star Trek: Axanar
Creators: Axanar Productions
Number of Backers: 8,548
Amount Funded: $638,471
End Date: August 24, 2014
Star Trek: Axanar is an independent film described as, “the story of Garth and his crew during the Four Years War, the war with the Klingon Empire that almost tore the Federation apart, and whose resolution solidified the Federation and allowed it to become the entity we know in Kirk’s time.” It follows a legendary Starfleet captain. A 20 minute short film, Prelude to Anaxar, is available for free on their Kickstarter page.
#8. The Cyanide & Happiness Show
Creators: Kris, Rob, Matt & Dave
Number of Backers: 14,242
Amount Funded: $770,309
End Date: March 17, 2013
The Cyanide & Happiness Show was made by a group of animators who wanted to bring their comics to life but didn’t agree with the censorship that would have happened if they signed on with a TV network. Instead they decided to raise the funds themselves and create an online show for their fans. The show consists of 10-12 minute sketch comedy episodes.
#7. Video Game High School: Season Two
Creators: Freddie Wong
Number of Backers: 10,613
Amount Funded: $808,341
End Date: February 11, 2013
This Kickstarter project raised funds for the second season of the webseries Video Game High School. The series is, “set in an alternate reality where professional video gaming becomes the biggest spectator sport in the world. It follows Brian D, an aspiring pro gamer who lands an invitation to VGHS, the most prestigious gaming academy in the world.”
#6. Bee and PuppyCat: The Series
Creators: Frederator / Cartoon Hangover
Number of Backers: 18,209
Amount Funded: $872,133
End Date: November 14, 2013
Bee and Puppycat is a popular short cartoon series that is centered on women and made by women. The team behind this project (who have made tons of cartoons like The Fairly Odd Parents, and Adventureland) chose Kickstarter because they wanted to let Bee and PuppyCat’s creator, Natasha Allegri, have the freedom to make the show as she envisioned it.
#5. Under the Dog
Creators: Creative Intelligence Arts, LLC
Number of Backers: 12,157
Amount Funded: $878,028
End Date: September 7, 2014
Under the Dog is an anime science fiction action thriller that looks at different themes such as modern day slavery and homelessness. The Kickstarter page explains that the phrase ‘under the dog’ means, “When one is in a situation so disagreeable that they would wish to rather be ‘under the dog,’ a place of dishonor, misery, and filth, in order to escape their current state of affairs.” The series takes place in Tokyo in 2025 after a terrorist attack at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
#4. The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint
Creators: Spike Lee
Number of Backers: 6,421
Amount Funded: $1,418,910
End Date: August 21, 2013
This new Spike Lee movie is described as, “A semi-genre film about ADDICTION. These people are ADDICTED to BLOOD. Yet however they are not VAMPIRES. It’s going to be SEXY, HUMOROUS and BLOODY. To me that’s a unique combination.” Spike’s Kickstarter video talks about how he had to raise money for films through networking before Kickstarter existed and defends the use of Kickstarter by celebrities.
#3. Blue Mountain State: The Movie
Creators: Eric Falconer
Number of Backers: 23,999
Amount Funded: $1,911,827
End Date: May 15, 2014
Blue Mountain State came to Kickstarter to raise funds for a feature length comedy film based on the popular TV series. The series ran on Spike for three seasons but was abruptly canceled. The team negotiated the rights to make the film and then turned to Kickstarter to raise money for the movie they knew their fans wanted.
#2. WISH I WAS HERE
Creators: Zach Braff
Number of Backers: 46,520
Amount Funded: $3,105,473
End Date: May 24, 2013
WISH I WAS HERE is a dramatic comedy starring and directed by Zach Braff. Although he admitted that he could have gotten investors to fund the film, he wanted full creative freedom over what ended up in the movie and who was cast in it. He told fans to expect a continuation of the tone set by his previous film, Garden State.
#1. The Veronica Mars Movie Project
Creators: Rob Thomas
Number of Backers: 91,585
Amount Funded: $5,702,153
End Date: April 12, 2013
The Veronica Mars Movie Project is something that fans and the team behind the show wanted for a long time. Kristen Bell and Rob Thomas did a great job promoting this project, using Twitter and other social media to rally fans and raise enough money to film a fitting ending to the Veronica Mars Series.
Conclusion
All of the film and video campaigns that made this top 10 highest funded list took place in the last two years. As you can see, these projects raised above and beyond what the average film project would. Altogether these 10 campaigns raised over $16.7 million from over 250,000 backers! But of course money isn’t everything; there are many great Kickstarter funded films, videos, and documentaries with more modest funding that are just as good (if not better) than the ones on this list.
