First-dollar gross
{{short description|Filmmaking financial practice}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
First-dollar gross is a practice in filmmaking in which a participant receives a percentage of the gross box-office revenue, starting from a film's first day of release.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113712043926845696|title=Sweetheart Star Deals Go Sour|last1=Kelly|first1=Kate|last2=Marr|first2=Merissa|date=13 January 2006|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=30 March 2019|url-access=registration}}{{cite web|url=http://marshallinside.usc.edu/mweinstein/teaching/fbe552/552secure/notes/deal%20structures.pdf|title=Guide to Deal Structures|last=Weinstein|first=Mark I.|date=13 August 1998|website=University of Southern California|page=4|access-date=30 March 2019}} The participant begins sharing in the revenue from the first ticket sale, not waiting until the film studio turns a profit.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/movies/04stars.html|title=For Movie Stars, the Big Money Is Now Deferred|last=Cieply|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Cieply|date=3 March 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=30 March 2019}} It is a film finance and distribution term used primarily in the United States film industry.{{cite web|url=http://filmlexikon.uni-kiel.de/index.php?action=lexikon&tag=det&id=2885|title=first dollar / first dollar gross - Lexikon der Filmbegriffe|date=2 August 2011|website=University of Kiel|access-date=30 March 2019|language=German}} In France, as of September 2003, one condition for filmmakers to get government support is that money must be reimbursed on the first-dollar gross basis.{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmcumeds/667/66717.htm|title=House of Commons - Culture, Media and Sport - Sixth Report|date=18 September 2003|website=Parliament of the United Kingdom|access-date=30 March 2019}} First-dollar gross has become a rare arrangement,{{cite book|last=Cones|first=John W.|year=1997|title=The Feature Film Distribution Deal: A Critical Analysis of the Single Most Important Film Industry Agreement|url={{Google books|EoeJ7VmwnDIC|The Feature Film Distribution Deal: A Critical Analysis of the Single Most Important Film Industry Agreement|page=31|plainurl=yes}}|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press|page=31|isbn=978-0-8093-2081-3}}{{cite news|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/08/want-to-make-10-million-a-movie-forget-about-it-hollywood-gets-tough-on-talent.html|title=Hollywood gets tough on talent: $20-million movie salaries go down the tubes|last1=Goldstein|first1=Patrick|author-link1=Patrick Goldstein|last2=Rainey|first2=James|date=3 August 2009|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=30 March 2019}} and compensation has increasingly shifted away from first-dollar gross to back-end compensation.{{cite book|last=Vogel|first=Harold L.|year=2011|title=Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis|url={{Google books|BfyFFCyRvX0C|Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis|page=228|plainurl=yes}}|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=228|isbn=978-1-107-00309-5}} Some contracts define "first dollar" as a net figure after certain expense deductions rather than a true distributor's gross.{{cite book|last=Kroon|first=Richard W.|year=2010|title=A/V A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms|url={{Google books|HjmNAgAAQBAJ|A/V A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms|page=280|plainurl=yes}}|publisher=McFarland & Company|page=280|isbn=978-0-7864-4405-2}}
Examples
File:Inception Leonardo.jpg, DiCaprio chose to forgo his normal rate in favor of first-dollar gross.]]
If a film does well, a first-dollar gross arrangement can be very lucrative for the participant.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/business/worldbusiness/11iht-strike.4.8286935.html|title=Hollywood strike underlines bleak outlook for movie business|last=Cieply|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Cieply|date=11 November 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=30 March 2019}} Natalie Wood took 10 percent of the first-dollar gross on Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, which according to Freddie Fields earned her more money than she did on any other movie.{{cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2007/12/15/freddie_fields_84_talent_agent_to_stars/|title=Freddie Fields, 84, talent agent to stars|last=Welkos|first=Robert W.|date=15 December 2007|newspaper=The Boston Globe|access-date=30 March 2019}} Cameron Diaz negotiated first-dollar gross on Bad Teacher, and netted $42 million.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/sandra-bullock-40-female-stars-ruling-hollywood/story?id=20600627|title=Role Reversal: Actresses Over 40 Top Hollywood|last=Fisher|first=Luchina|date=18 October 2013|website=ABC News|access-date=30 March 2019}} Sandra Bullock made more from her 15 percent first-dollar gross deal on Gravity than from her upfront pay of $20 million.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10665545/Hollywoods-biggest-paydays.html?frame=2836328|title=Hollywood's biggest paydays|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=30 March 2019}} In his heyday, Arnold Schwarzenegger received 25 percent first-dollar gross.{{cite magazine|url=https://deadline.com/2011/04/arnold-schwarzenegger-making-10-million-plus-25-first-dollar-gross-on-next-film-127041/|title=Arnold's Payday: $10 Million Plus 25% First Dollar Gross For Schwarzenegger's Next Film|last=Finke|first=Nikki|author-link=Nikki Finke|date=29 April 2011|magazine=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=30 March 2019}}
When Warner Bros. thought Inception was a risky investment, Leonardo DiCaprio agreed to cut his then-usual $20 million salary to a minimal salary with a first-dollar gross to make the film, which eventually paid him $50 million.{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/jonah-hill-was-paid-60000-for-wolf-of-wall-street-1201066745/ |title=Jonah Hill Was Paid $60,000 for 'Wolf of Wall Street' |last=Bacardi|first=Francesca|date=22 January 2014 |work=Variety |access-date=30 March 2019}} Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg shared a 40 percent first-dollar gross on Saving Private Ryan.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1999/01/17/movie-math-a-study-in-profit-and-gloss/8b3b61be-519c-4525-bde2-7b49dda552d7/|title=Movie Math: A Study in Profit and Gloss|last=Bart|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Bart|date=17 January 1999|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=30 March 2019}} Some other filmmakers known to have made first-dollar gross deals are Tyler Perry,{{cite web|url=https://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20080911_Film_mogul_Tyler_Perry_takes_his_biggest_risk.html|title=Film mogul Tyler Perry takes his biggest risk|last=Fernandez|first=Jay A.|date=11 September 2008|publisher=Philadelphia Media Network|access-date=30 March 2019}} Eli Roth,{{cite web|url=https://cinema.usc.edu/events/event.cfm?id=10854|title=SCA Alumni Screening Series: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS|last=Ago|first=Alessandro|year=2009|website=USC School of Cinematic Arts|access-date=30 March 2019}} Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-sony-nabbed-quentin-tarantinos-manson-movie-1059742|title=How Sony Nabbed Quentin Tarantino's Manson Movie|last=Kit|first=Borys|date=18 November 2017|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=30 March 2019}} Christopher Nolan,{{cite magazine|url=https://deadline.com/2020/05/tenet-coronavirus-release-date-change-movie-theaters-1202928823/|title=Is 'Tenet' Still Sticking On Its July 17 Release Date?|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=16 May 2020|magazine=Deadline|access-date=16 May 2020}} actor Tom Cruise,{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/features/hollywood-all-grossed-out-1117987471/|title=Hollywood all grossed out|last=Fleming|first=Michael|date=13 June 2008|website=Variety|access-date=30 March 2019}} and film producer Jason Blum.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jason-blums-crowded-movie-morgue-683212|title=Jason Blum's Crowded Movie Morgue: Downside of a Microbudget Empire |last=Masters|first=Kim|date=27 February 2014|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=30 March 2019}} Many actors had earned $100 million later, after an initial payment.{{cite web | url=https://movieweb.com/actors-made-over-100-million/#will-smith-in-men-in-black-3 | title=Actors Who Made over $100 Million from One Movie | date=7 May 2023 }} For example, Tom Cruise was paid between $12–14 million for his performance in Top Gun: Maverick, which was revised to over $100 million after his share of the film's box office gross.{{cite web | url=https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/tom-cruise-will-reportedly-get-at-least-100-million-for-top-gun-maverick-one-of-the-biggest-paydays-for-an-actor-ever/articleshow/93034144.cms | title=Tom Cruise will reportedly get at least $100 million for 'Top Gun: Maverick' — one of the biggest paydays for an actor ever }}
See also
{{Portal|Film|United States}}