First-dollar gross

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.^[1][2] The participant begins sharing in the revenue from the first ticket sale, not waiting until the film studio turns a profit.^[3] It is a film finance and distribution term used primarily in the United States film industry.^[4] 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.^[5] First-dollar gross has become a rare arrangement,^[6][7] and compensation has increasingly shifted away from first-dollar gross to back-end compensation.^[8] Some contracts define "first dollar" as a net figure after certain expense deductions rather than a true distributor's gross.^[9]

If a film does well, a first-dollar gross arrangement can be very lucrative for the participant.^[11] 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.^[12] Cameron Diaz negotiated first-dollar gross on Bad Teacher, and netted $42 million.^[13] Sandra Bullock made more from her 15 percent first-dollar gross deal on Gravity than from her upfront pay of $20 million.^[14] In his heyday, Arnold Schwarzenegger received 25 percent first-dollar gross.^[15]

When Warner Bros. thought Inception was a risky investment, Leonardo DiCaprio agreed to cut his then-normal $20 million salary to a minimal salary with a first-dollar gross to make the film, which eventually paid him $50 million.^[10] Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg shared a 40 percent first-dollar gross on Saving Private Ryan.^[16] Some other filmmakers known to have made first-dollar gross deals are Tyler Perry,^[17] Eli Roth,^[18] Clint Eastwood,^[8] Quentin Tarantino,^[19] Christopher Nolan,^[20] actor Tom Cruise,^[21] and film producer Jason Blum.^[22] Many actors had earned $100 million later, after an initial payment.^[23] 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.^[24]

• Film budgeting
• Hollywood accounting

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