Film settlement template

A film settlement is the weekly reckoning between a cinema and a distributor: what the title took, what is deducted before the split, what the terms say the distributor is owed, and what is actually paid. This template follows that order.

1. Box office by day and screen. Admissions and gross for each day of the settlement week, for up to four screens, with totals.
2. Tax and deductions. A configurable VAT, GST or sales tax rate, backed out of the gross if your figures include it, plus an optional other deduction if your contract has one. The result is the net box office the rental is calculated on.
3. Rental terms. Percentage by week of run (a sliding scale, or firm terms with one rate), a box office scale where the rate depends on the week's takings, 90/10 over the house nut with a floor, or a flat fee.
4. Minimum guarantee. Where the booking has a minimum guarantee, the sheet charges the higher of the calculated rental and the guarantee, and tells you which applied.
5. Credits and the amount due. A line for any VPF or other credit due to the cinema, an agreed adjustment line, tax on the rental invoice if the distributor charges it, and the final amount due.
6. Run log. One row per settled week, with the effective rate each week and for the run so far.

Save one copy per title, or duplicate the Settlement tab for each title in a week. Take the week's admissions and gross from your box office system's end-of-week report and type them into the yellow cells. Pick the deal type from the dropdown and fill only the matching table; the other tables are ignored.

Check the result against the distributor's statement before you pay. If the numbers differ, the sheet shows each step, so you can see whether the gap is in the gross, the tax, the rate for the week or a guarantee. Note disputes, comps and cancelled shows in the notes box, and record who prepared and agreed the settlement.

To compare terms before you book rather than after, use the film rental calculator, which runs a whole engagement week by week. The film rental entry explains how sliding scales, firm terms and house nut deals differ, and how movie theaters get movies walks through booking, terms and settlement in order.

• Film rental calculator: rental and effective rate across a run.
• Screening break-even calculator: admissions needed for one show to pay.
• Film booking and minimum guarantee in the glossary.
• Box office reports that matter.
• Box office software and cinema management software: where these figures come from.