negative cost

{{distinguish|Negative pricing}}

Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion.Barnes & Noble Glossary http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/glossary.asp?z=y<R=N&TRM=1007105Retrieved 2007-02-12 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731170437/http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/glossary.asp?z=y<R=N&TRM=1007105 |date=2009-07-31 }}

Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.IMDb Explanation for differences in reported budget https://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?boxofficedifferentRetrieved 2007-02-12 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307060916/http://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?boxofficedifferent |date=2016-03-07 }}

The term comes from the costs up to the production of the final negative.