How Much Does It Really Cost to Make a Movie?

Have you ever wondered just how much that set on your favorite movie cost to make? Or just how much an actor gets paid for a few months of work?

You’re not alone. It’s notoriously difficult to get the line-by-line costs of a movie. Film budgets are some of Hollywood’s most closely guarded secrets since they really don’t want anyone to know how much anyone else is getting paid in Tinseltown.

But Hollywood can’t keep everything a secret. Using leaked budgets and information from Hollywood insiders, we’ve deconstructed how much the most important parts of a big Hollywood movie cost to make — sometimes by estimates, and sometimes by specifics to the dollar.

And, spoiler alert: Hollywood budgets are obscenely expensive.

When it comes to Hollywood, everything is negotiable.

The story goes that Sylvester Stallone was offered $360,000 for the script of “Rocky” on the condition he wouldn’t play the lead. Stallone refused until the studio relented and gave him $1 million to make the entire movie. That’s the story, anyway. It’s probably not real, but it makes for good marketing. 

James Cameron sold his script — and the rights — to “The Terminator” for $1 on the condition he would be the director.

For writers who are members of the Writers Guild of America, there are minimums.

The WGA states that for a film with a budget that is less than $5 million, a screenplay and treatment purchase must be at least $71,236.

For big-budget films of $5 million or more, the purchase must be at least $133,739.

If a scriptwriter is well known, he or she will make more money. But some people start off great.

For example, Shane Black received $250,000 for writing “Lethal Weapon” in 1987. That film’s budget was $15 million, so the script made up 1.66 percent of the buddy cop movie’s cost.

Nine years later, he sold his script for “The Long Kiss Goodnight” for $4 million. The 1997 film had a $65 million budget, making the script 6.25 percent of the budget.

The rights to a screenplay are included in the script’s cost, when applicable. For instance, 2014’s “Annie” had an $8.34 million chunk of its $77.75 million budget devoted to the screenwriters and rights, which makes up about 10.7 percent of the film’s budget.

The upfront pay for the script covers the film’s theatrical release at home and overseas. But when the movie is released on DVD, premium channels or streaming services, screenwriters receive a residuals payment.

A typical screenwriter’s residual fee is 1.2 percent of the gross. Additionally, there can also be a DVD script publication fee of $10,000.

This only applies to credited screenwriters. Uncredited ones are out of luck. And you have to be in the WGA.