Film Accounting Glossary
Sales agent commission
What is a sales agent commission?
Also called agent commission, or sales commission.
A sales agent commission is the percentage a sales agent retains from the minimum guarantees and receipts it generates for a picture, customarily in the range of ten to twenty percent, plus a capped recoupment of marketing and market-attendance expenses.
Commission and expense caps are negotiated in the sales agency agreement and honored by the collection account manager. Because commission comes off the top of each license, it directly changes how much of a presale can support financing.
Example
An agent on 15% of a $400,000 minimum guarantee retains $60,000, plus capped market and marketing expenses of say $35,000. The $305,000 balance is what reaches the waterfall, so the commission directly limits how much a presale can support in financing.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Set in the sales agency agreement, honored by the collection account manager, and deducted before anything else on that license.
Common mistake
Agreeing commission without capping recoupable expenses. Market attendance and marketing costs can absorb as much as the commission itself.
Related questions
- What commission does a film sales agent take?
- Customarily in the range of ten to twenty percent of the minimum guarantees and receipts it generates, plus capped recoupable market and marketing expenses.
- When is sales agent commission paid?
- Off the top of each licence as it is collected, ahead of the rest of the waterfall, and honored by the collection account manager.