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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.

Real film Loaded with

Then browse real films, run your own studio, or call this weekend's openings in FloppyMarket.

$ M
Above-the-line & Below-the-line costs.
$ M
Prints & Advertising (Marketing costs).
%
%
Global Box Office Breakeven ? Total worldwide ticket sales needed to cover all studio costs (Production + P&A + Overhead) after theaters take their exhibitor cut.

The "Hollywood Accounting" Reality

Modelled theatrical result — not a studio's reported net. Excludes streaming, TV and home video.

Actual Global Gross vs your what-if costs

Reported
·
Modelled total cost ? The cumulative total investment made by the studio that must be recouped: Production Budget + P&A Spend + Studio Overhead Fee. Budget + P&A + Overhead
Studio Revenue Share After exhibitor cut

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.

Previous Slate:

Your Studio Career

Day Streak
Games Played
Films Released
Best Bankroll
Lifetime P/L
Favorite Genre
Times Fired

GREENLIGHTING YOUR SLATE

— Slate /10
Hits
W-L
Qtr

🗞️ Breaking News

No more scripts on your desk.

Advance the quarter until all productions are released.

Production Slate

Promotion Earned

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.
🥂
Slate Completed

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

Pulling Global Averages...

Global Run Stats

Avg Net
Fired Rate

Final Performance Review

Net Profit
Career Span

Your Social Score

Pulling Global Averages...

Global Run Stats

Avg Net
Fired Rate

📖 Studio Handbook

Termination Risk

Do NOT let your Studio Bankroll fall below $0. If you run out of liquidity while waiting for your films to finish production, you will be instantly fired.

The Pipeline & Costs

You have exactly 3 production slots. When you Greenlight a film, the production cost is instantly deducted from your bankroll. The slot clears and pays you box-office returns only when the production timer successfully counts down to 0.

Time Mechanics

Blockbuster Sci-Fi/Action films take 3 Quarters to make. Dramas take 1. Hit the Advance Quarter button whenever your slots are full to roll the calendar forward one quarter at a time. Once you're out of scripts, it fast-forwards through every remaining quarter at once and releases your whole pipeline.

Board Directives

Every 3 films you release, the Board issues a mandatory target for your NEXT upcoming release. If the Board demands Profit, your very next box-office report must be profitable or you will be terminated.

Real Films

195 real films. What each one cost, what it grossed, and whether the studio actually made money.

Source: The Numbers ticket-price data ↗

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Film Term Glossary

Box office

Tom Holland

The highest-grossing actor of all time.

worldwide box office across credited films
Domestic
International

The exported Tom Holland box office image

Worldwide box office from Box Office Mojo; click any figure for its source. The total counts credited roles, voice work included.

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Reference Glossary

Detailed definitions for industry terms like "Waterfall", "P&A", and more.

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Other Tools by Professor Perlstein

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ValuatePro is an advanced financial modeling suite built specifically for the music industry. It allows rights-holders and investors to calculate the market value of publishing and master catalogs.

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Movie Mogul Leaderboard

The hall of fame for the world's most profitable studio executives.

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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.

Think you can call a weekend? Try running a studio — greenlight films, dodge the bombs, survive the board.

Forget your PIN and this record is gone.

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🎬

Welcome to the C-Suite

You've been appointed as the Head of Studio. Your goal is simple: Grow your $500M bankroll into a cinematic empire through 10 script decisions.

Pro Tip: If your bankroll hits zero, the board fires you instantly.
📄

Reading the Slate

Every script has an upfront Sunk Cost. This includes the Production Budget, Marketing (P&A), and fixed Studio Overhead.

Greenlight Deducts cost immediately. Film enters pipeline.
Pass Costs $0. You move to the next script.
🕒

Timing your Release

Greenlit films take time to produce. Select a Release Strategy (Winter, Summer, etc.) to determine when your film hits theaters.

Advance Quarters to move time forward and unlock occupied pipeline slots.

📜

Board Mandates

Every 3 films, the board issues a Mandate Memo. These are mandatory rules (e.g., "Profit Next") that bind to your next greenlit movie.

FAILING a mandate results in immediate termination!

Trophy Case

Every distinct career ending you’ve reached — plus a few for going off the lot.

/

Armageddon (1998) — did it make money?

Analysis by Stephen Perlstein · P&A estimated at half the budget, 15% overhead, 50% exhibitor cut. Modelled theatrical result, not the studio's reported net. Box office source

Armageddon was released on 1998-07-01 by Disney. It carried a production budget of $140M and grossed $553.7M worldwide. Turned an estimated profit of $45.9M for the studio.

Production budget$140M
P&A, marketing (estimated)$70M
Studio overhead (15%)$21M
Total cost$231M
Worldwide box office$553.7M
Domestic box office$201.6M
International box office$352.1M
Studio share (50% of gross)$276.9M
Estimated net+$45.9M
Breakeven required$462M

Theatres keep roughly half of every ticket, so a film must gross about twice its total cost before the studio sees a dollar. Armageddon needed $462M worldwide to break even.

Did Armageddon make money?

Armageddon made money. Against a total cost of $231M it grossed $553.7M worldwide, of which the studio kept roughly half — $276.9M. That leaves an estimated profit of $45.9M before any post-theatrical revenue.

What was the budget of Armageddon?

The reported production budget was $140M. Adding an estimated $70M in prints and advertising and $21M in studio overhead brings the all-in cost to about $231M.

How much did Armageddon need to gross to break even?

About $462M worldwide. Exhibitors keep roughly half of ticket revenue, so the studio only recoups around fifty cents on every dollar sold.

How much did Armageddon make domestically?

Armageddon grossed $201.6M in the United States and Canada and $352.1M internationally, for a worldwide total of $553.7M.