<P> The production exceeded its original $60,000 budget during editing . Sources differ on the film's final cost, offering figures between $93,000 and $300,000 . A film production group, Pie in the Sky, provided $23,532 in exchange for 19% of Vortex . This left Henkel, Hooper and the rest of the cast and crew with a 40.5% stake . Warren Skaaren, then head of the Texas Film Commission, helped secure the distribution deal with Bryanston Pictures . David Foster, producer of the 1982 horror film The Thing, arranged for a private screening for some of Bryanston Pictures' West Coast executives, and received 1.5% of Vortex's profits and a deferred fee of $500 . </P> <P> On August 28, 1974, Louis Peraino of Bryanston agreed to distribute the film worldwide, from which Bozman and Skaaren would receive $225,000 and 35% of the profits . Years later Bozman stated, "We made a deal with the devil, (sigh), and I guess that, in a way, we got what we deserved ." They signed the contract with Bryanston and, after the investors recouped their money (with interest),--and after Skaaren, the lawyers, and the accountants were paid--only $8,100 was left to be divided among the 20 cast and crew members . Eventually the producers sued Bryanston for failing to pay them their full percentage of the box office profits . A court judgment instructed Bryanston to pay the filmmakers $500,000, but by then the company had declared bankruptcy . In 1983 New Line Cinema acquired the distribution rights from Bryanston and gave the producers a larger share of the profits . </P> <P> The Texas Chain Saw Massacre premiered in Austin, Texas on October 1, 1974, almost a year after filming concluded . It screened nationally in the United States as a Saturday afternoon matinée and its false marketing as a "true story" helped it attract a broad audience . For eight years after 1976, it was annually reissued to first - run theaters, promoted by full - page ads . The film eventually grossed more than $30 million in the United States and Canada ($14.4 million in rentals), making it the 12th highest - grossing film initially released in 1974, despite its minuscule budget . Among independent films, it was overtaken in 1978 by John Carpenter's Halloween, which grossed $47 million . </P> <P> Hooper reportedly hoped that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) would give the complete, uncut release print a "PG" rating due to its minimal amount of visible gore . Instead, it was originally rated "X". After several minutes were cut, it was resubmitted to the MPAA and received an "R" rating . A distributor apparently restored the offending material, and at least one theater presented the full version under an "R". In San Francisco, cinema - goers walked out of theaters in disgust and, in February 1976, two theaters in Ottawa, Canada, were advised by local police to withdraw the film lest they face morality charges . </P>

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