Run Budget Calculator

Will a small-room tour pay for itself? Put in your real numbers and see where you land. Everything stays on this page.

Your Costs

Screenings

Format

Making it (one time, including drives)$

Shipping per stop, both ways$

Screenings you travel to

Gas or flight per trip$

Lodging nights per trip

Lodging per night$

Your Income

People per screening 25

Ticket price$

Your share of tickets

Small rooms usually pay the filmmaker $50 to $200 a screening: 15 to 40 people, tickets around $10, and a 35 to 50 percent share. At these numbers you get $100 a screening.

Case	People	Share	Per Screening	8 Screenings	After Costs

Reading The Numbers

These are planning numbers, not promises. Every theater sets its own terms, and some pay a flat fee instead of a share. A DCP lab can cost from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand for a feature, or nothing if you make it yourself; see DCPs, Explained. A file or Blu-ray costs little to send but plays in fewer rooms. Travel is usually the biggest cost, so many filmmakers attend the nearest nights in person and send a recorded or video-call Q and A to the rest. The Delivery Checklist covers what each theater needs from you.