Film Accounting Glossary
Locked budget
What is a locked budget?
Also called budget lock, or frozen budget.
A locked budget is the approved version that is frozen as the measurement baseline, so subsequent changes are tracked as variances or formal amendments rather than absorbed by re-typing the budget.
Locking is what makes a cost report meaningful; without it, a production can appear on budget indefinitely. Financiers, studios, and completion guarantors all reference the locked version by date and version number.
Example
Without a lock, a show can absorb a $200,000 overage by re-typing the budget and reporting on target every week. With a lock, that $200,000 has to be a documented reallocation, a contingency draw, or a variance somebody signs.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Referenced by version and date in the financing documents, the bond, and every cost report header.
Common mistake
Locking the budget in name only, then editing the working file. Without a genuinely frozen baseline, a show can report on target every week and still land over.
Related questions
- What does it mean to lock a film budget?
- Freezing an approved version as the measurement baseline, so later changes are reported as variances or formal amendments rather than absorbed by editing.
- How is a locked budget referenced?
- By version number and date, in the financing documents, the completion bond, and the header of every cost report issued against it.