Breakeven Calculator
Why movies that gross millions still lose money
Theatres keep about half of every ticket. Add marketing and studio overhead and a film has to gross roughly twice its total cost before the studio sees a dollar.
Then browse real films, run your own studio, or call this weekend's openings in FloppyMarket.
The "Hollywood Accounting" Reality
At a exhibitor cut the studio keeps none of the ticket price, so no worldwide gross ever recoups the spent. To break even on a film, it must gross worldwide. Why? Because after spending in total (including P&A and Overheads), the studio only keeps of ticket sales; the rest stays with the theaters!
Modelled theatrical result — not a studio's reported net. Excludes streaming, TV and home video.
Actual Global Gross vs your what-if costs
Can you survive as a studio head?
You are the new Head of Production. You have 10 film pitches on your desk. Review the package, budget, and marketing costs. Decide whether to Greenlight or Pass based on required breakeven limits. Finish the slate in profit — go bankrupt or fail a board mandate and you're fired.
Your Studio Career
GREENLIGHTING YOUR SLATE
🗞️ Breaking News
No more scripts on your desk.
Advance the quarter until all productions are released.
Production Slate
Welcome to your new role. The board expects bigger results.
- Studio Overhead is now .
- Exhibitors (Theaters) now take of gross.
- You must manage up to concurrent Board Mandates.
Excellent Work.
Current Bankroll
Profitable Films This Slate
You're Fired.
Your run as Studio Head has ended abruptly.
Career Duration
Profit/Loss
Termination Reason:
Your Social Score
Global Run Stats
Career History
Slate Portfolio
Final Performance Review
Your Social Score
Global Run Stats
Career History
Slate Portfolio
📖 Studio Handbook
Adjusted to . Dollar figures below are scaled by avg. ticket price (×) — source ↗. ROI is unaffected.
More films that surprised people
Think you could have called it?
Two ways to find out — run a studio and greenlight your own slate, or predict what this weekend's films open to.
Real Films
195 real films. What each one cost, what it grossed, and whether the studio actually made money.
Box office
Tom Holland
The highest-grossing actor of all time.
- Domestic
- International
Worldwide box office from Box Office Mojo; click any figure for its source. The total counts credited roles, voice work included.
Settings & Reference
Reference Glossary
Detailed definitions for industry terms like "Waterfall", "P&A", and more.
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Sunday Scaries
Weekly writing on the business of movies and podcasting — box office, media deals, and how the money actually moves.
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Movie Mogul Leaderboard
The hall of fame for the world's most profitable studio executives.
Play today's slate →Most badges
Across the game, FloppyMarket and everything else on the site.
No results found.
| Rank | Studio Executive | Net Profit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 👑 |
You
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Now call a real one
FloppyMarket runs on actual box office. Call what this weekend's films open to — your best three calls are your score — and see where you land against everyone else.
Call the opening weekend
FloppyMarket
Guess what each film opens to this weekend. Your best 3 calls each weekend count.
One number per film: its DOMESTIC opening weekend — US and Canada, Friday to Sunday, three days only.
Each call scores up to 100 points for how close it lands. Twice too high and half too low cost the same, so a $6M horror opener counts as much as a $200M blockbuster.
Your best 3 calls each weekend are your score, and your weekends add up across the year. Calling more films can only help — a weak extra call never counts against you.
The closest call on each film takes the 🎯 pin, which breaks ties. Where the trades have published a forecast it’s on the card as a hint. Land on the right side of it and you get a small ✓ beat the line — bragging rights, not points.
Free, no money involved. Changed September 14, 2026: scoring moved from over/under records to best-3 points, and every past weekend was rescored the same way.
Make a call on any film below — you only need a name once you want to save it.
Forget your PIN and this record is gone.
Add a recovery email and you can get back in with a magic link. Optional — your name and PIN keep working either way.
No films open for picks right now. The next slate posts midweek.
Nothing in this month matches that filter.
· opens
Call it cold. It scores exactly like any other call.
3-day Saved Your pick:
Saving your call on — pick a name to lock it in.
Forgot your PIN?
Only works if you added a recovery email to the account.
Nothing has locked yet. Everyone's calls stay hidden until then.
You won the weekend
from . Shared with .
Not final · Practice weekend, not counted toward the season · best 3 calls count
The films
Nobody called this one.
No settled results yet. Standings open once the first weekend is in.