| Waterfall Line Item | Calculation Basis | Amount ($M) |
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Why can a large talent payout coexist with a negative model studio margin?
Choose a hypothetical contract scenario, change ticket sales or deal terms, and compare the ledger. Upfront salary, all reached milestone bonuses and points add to talent pay. Points apply to worldwide ticket sales above an independently entered threshold; they do not wait for this model’s studio margin to turn positive. All dollar values are millions.
These presets are authored examples, not verified contracts, actor earnings, film budgets or box-office forecasts. The 50% exhibitor split and 10% distribution fee are assumptions, not industry standards. The theatrical-only margin omits other revenues, overhead, interest, taxes, guild residuals and many contractual deductions. No sources endorse these preset numbers.
At the default $1,850M ticket-sales target, exhibitors receive $925M. The model rental remainder is $925M, and the 10% distribution fee is $92.5M. Four reached $15M bonuses total $60M; points are 5% × ($1,850M − $1,350M) = $25M. Talent receives $20M + $60M + $25M = $105M. Studio margin is $925M − $92.5M − $225M − $150M − $105M = $352.5M.
The formula is points = max(0, ticket sales − threshold) × points percentage. Changing production cost, marketing, exhibitor share or the distribution fee changes studio margin but does not change points or milestone eligibility. At exactly a milestone, its bonus is paid; at exactly the points threshold, points remain zero. Bonuses accumulate rather than replacing earlier tiers.
Try the zero-threshold scenario at $200M ticket sales: $13M upfront and $20M points produce $33M talent pay even though the model studio margin is −$233M. “Zero threshold” here means participation on all modeled worldwide ticket sales; an actual contract can define a different gross base. The chart compares separate amounts rather than drawing a cumulative step-by-step cash waterfall; use the ledger’s signs and bases to reconcile the model.
DreamWorks Animation’s 2011 Form 10-K explains that theatrical settlement rates vary with film performance, time in theaters and territory, and describes revenue from ancillary markets. This historical disclosure illustrates why one fixed exhibitor percentage and ticket-sales-only margin cannot represent every film; it does not establish today’s standard rate or any actor’s contract. DreamWorks Animation 2011 Form 10-K
SAG-AFTRA explains residuals as compensation for reuse beyond the initial use covered by compensation, with rules depending on the applicable agreement. That is distinct from the private salary, milestone and points examples here. This calculator does not implement a guild residuals schedule or determine what a performer is owed. SAG-AFTRA TV and theatrical residuals quick guide
The slider permits $200M–$2,500M in $25M steps. The high-points preset stores $2,798M but the native slider caps its applied target at $2,500M; the displayed controls and exported calculation use $2,500M. The zero-threshold preset’s stored $1,495M target rounds to $1,500M on the same $25M-step slider. Selecting a preset reloads its terms. Milestone tiers are preset-defined, not independently editable. Numeric fields are read directly; their HTML limits do not clamp typed out-of-range values. Keep entered scenarios meaningful.
CSV and JSON export the same current numeric summary and narrative, with an export timestamp and hypothetical scope. They do not export every editable contract parameter or the full tier table, so retain your inputs separately if you need to reproduce a custom deal. The files are model summaries, not verified settlements.
Historical settlement-rate variation and revenue/cost context; not preset contracts.
Residuals and agreement-dependent reuse payments; not these points calculations.