Film Accounting Glossary
Aggregate cost
What is aggregate cost?
Aggregate cost is the total spend on a title across every phase and entity, development through delivery, regardless of which company or budget it was booked in.
It matters most on pictures with a long development history or multiple production entities, where the negative cost on the final report can look far smaller than what was actually spent. Financiers ask for aggregate cost to understand true exposure before committing.
Example
A picture with a $12M negative cost had six years of development across two companies first: $400k of options, $600k of writer fees, $150k of legal. Aggregate cost is $13.15M, which is the figure a financier asks for when sizing real exposure.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Company-level reporting and financier due diligence, rather than the weekly production cost report.
Common mistake
Quoting the negative cost as total spend on a project with a long development history. The reported figure can sit well below what the companies involved actually spent.
Related questions
- How does aggregate cost differ from negative cost?
- Negative cost is what the producing entity spent to deliver the picture. Aggregate cost adds everything spent across every entity and phase, including abandoned development.
- Why do financiers ask for aggregate cost?
- To size real exposure. A picture with a $12M negative cost and six years of development behind it has consumed considerably more capital than the budget suggests.