How does a major film cost $100 million?

Question

I'd like to know how does a film end up costing $100 million dollars. Like Spider-Man 3 was rumuoured to cost $300 million, Pirates of the caribbean 3 was $200 million and Transformers cost $150 million. Who sets the budgets, who gets paid and where is the money allocated to?

I mean, how do the studios not go broke?

Answer 1

The studio sets the budgets. And it depends who you are, like George Lucas or Steven Spielberg. With directors like these two guys studio mostly likely are very very generous. Plus, it most likely takes over 200 people to make a movie and actors and actresses salary are very high

The money is made from the sale of DVDs, after a movie is off the screen, a couple months later it is on DVD or blue ray.

Answer 2

The budget is dealt with like any other budget:

The list is huge. Take a look at the credits in a film - you think that is a complete listing? no there are those that don't get a mention that still need paying.....you really are talking months and years of work on some movies.

Some studios/distributors do go broke - only in recent years there was one major film studio that was solely reliant on one movie being a blockbuster or it would hit the rocks - can't remember the studio nor the film that saved it - hopefully someone else may know. So it does and can happen. Though many do earn billions so for some losing a few million doesn't hurt so badly.

Answer 3

The single most expensive budget line in a studio film is marketing. In a 9-figure budget it easily accounts to $40-60 million. Putting billboards all over the world, as well as TV campaigns, is a costly endeavor.
Stars can get paid $25 million (like Julia Roberts did on Mona Lisa Smile) or more. Salaries for the producers, director, cinematographer etc. will also amount to millions.

And then you have all the below-the-line costs... pay salaries for hundreds of people, who worked on the movie anything between a day and 4 years (Ratatouille took 6 years to make).
I just heard from Transformers' editor that ILM charged $200-300k for every minute of robots animation, and it keeps breaking down to the smallest of details... renting an HDCAM SR deck, used in mastering, costs post-production $1,500/day.
Striking thousands of prints for a wide release is also an expensive process.

You'll find excellent info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_budget , including the budget breakdown for Casablanca.

Answer 4

The budget for a film has to take into account travel to shooting locations, special effects, studio sets, and salaries for all the people needed to actually film the thing. Also, many popular celebrities have demand large salaries, most often in the millions of dollars, and that can also drive the budget up. The studios don't go broke because they charge theaters fees to show their films, not to mention DVD sales and TV broadcasts of their movies.
Trust me, they will get their money back, and then some.

Answer 5

If you spend lavishly, you can spend even 200 million dollars for a film.

Answer 6

just guessing but i think most of the money goes on the actors/actresses wages. i mean some of them get paid several million pounds to be in one movie. and to get publicity you need big names, and the bigger the names the more they want. also i think they need to pay for all the special effects and stuff like that.

Answer 7

it is what Curious1 reported, "region, region, region". What serves the protection rigidity commercial complicated is what shapes our modern remote places coverage. The Beast of the Bible is the conflict god Marduk and protection rigidity contractors are feasting at his table in this existence. no longer the actual voters on the front line risking existence and limb at this very 2d so i do no longer could positioned on a Shroud to depart my residing house, I propose the Profiteers draining our treasury and our pocketbooks on the gasoline pump.

Answer 8

If I had 200 million dollars--I wouldnt need to gamble it on a film. Id just live on it. hmmmmmmmmmm............