<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $114,000 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $30 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film written, directed, photographed and edited by George A. Romero, co-written by John Russo, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea . The story follows seven people who are trapped in a rural farmhouse in western Pennsylvania, which is besieged by a large and growing group of "living dead" monsters . </P> <P> The film was completed on a $114,000 budget and shot outside Pittsburgh, where it had its theatrical premiere on October 1, 1968 . The film grossed $12 million domestically and $18 million internationally, earning over 250 times its budget . Night of the Living Dead has been regarded as a cult classic by film scholars and critics, despite its being heavily criticized upon its release for its explicit gore . It eventually garnered critical acclaim and has been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry, as a film deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant ." </P>

When was night of the living dead released