How Much Does It Cost To Direct A Movie

The cost is also very important for young directors who aspire to make a name for themselves.

Without a clear understanding of what it really costs, how can they even start to think of producing a movie, let alone an international blockbuster like Despicable Me 2?

So let’s take a look at the production cost of Despicable Me 2. The budget of the film was $75 million. For the sake of simplicity, we will not consider every single expense but only the ones that are relevant.

Cost breakdown

65% of the budget was spent on the Motion Capture Department. Motion Capture is when actors act out a scene using motion capture technology.

The actors get dressed up like a Minion (Despicable Me characters), and then they run and “act” all around a motion capture studio.

This is the same motion capture that was used in the film Avatar.

So if you’re wondering how motion capture is done, know that actor Sam Worthington was required to run a kilometer a day as he played Jake Sully in Avatar.

35% of the budget was spent on the Shooting Department. This department is responsible for filming the movie.

They were also responsible for shooting the majority of the scenes. Since this movie was made in 3D, they had to shoot the scenes on 3D cameras.

15% of the budget was spent on the Sound Department. It was necessary to hire the services of sound experts.

They had to record the dialogue of the actors (including Steve Carell), then add their voices to the lines in the different characters, so that the scene would come across as realistic.

10% of the budget was spent on The Posters Department. They had to design the characters’ posters.

They also had to decorate the posters.

Breakdown of the total cost

Roughly, it costs around $10 million to produce the film. The producer of the film paid $15 million, the Director $3 million and the Writers $1 million.

The director’s salary was $10 million. So that meant the movie cost $75 million.

Here is the breakdown of the total cost.

• Producer: $15 million
• Director: $3 million
• Writer: $1 million

Distribution strategy

Once the film is released, it is the distributor’s responsibility to sell the film. To sell the film, they have to cut it into pieces and then market the pieces.

This is the role that a big distribution company plays. It’s not that a small distributor is less creative, but the business structure is different.

Distributor vs Indie

Before we talk about distribution strategies, let’s talk about the difference between the two.

A distributor has been defined as a company that acts as an intermediary between the filmmaker and the consumer. For instance, in a big movie studio, it’s more like the distributor acts as a middleman for both the filmmaker and the consumer.

But a distributor is much bigger and has a bigger distribution and promotion network.

The distributor could be a big company like Disney, or a small company like Roadside Attractions, but if you are a filmmaker, then it’s very likely that you want to have your film distributed by a bigger company, like, for example, Sony Pictures.

About the distributor vs the Indie

But before we start talking about distribution strategies, let’s talk about the difference between a distributor and an indie filmmaker.

In an indie filmmaker, you don’t have to deal with a big distribution company. You deal directly with the audience.

If you’re a local filmmaker, you could sell your film through online streaming services. Indie distributors could be small businesses, like you and me.

And if you’re a big filmmaker who wants to get involved with your film’s distribution, you can talk to an indie distributor or a distributor company.

But I would like to be quite clear here. I’m not talking about the small local distributor who deals with local and regional films.

Indie filmmakers typically deal with film festivals.

In general, the type of distribution will have to do with the budget and the types of markets. If the distribution strategy is something you can do yourself, then the budget will have to be very small.

If you have to rely on an external company, then the budget needs to be higher.

Types of distribution

There are two types of distribution strategies:

Outright distribution

If you want to release your film right now, straight into the theaters, then you can just put the film into theaters.

And that’s Outright Distribution. It’s more expensive, but there are fewer legal and financial risks.

VOD distribution

If you want to release your film eventually, after the DVD release, then you can choose the VOD route.

The release will be a more gradual process, and it won’t be immediate. It will be more likely that the film will be at theaters first, and then come to VOD.

But it also means that there will be little to no financial reward for the filmmakers, because that VOD release could take a long time.

If you have to release a movie in theaters first, then obviously, you need a distributor.

But you also need to put in the effort to get your film into festivals.

And before you can put your movie in theaters, you need to finish the production.