Unlike the the old studio picture days, film studios don’t necessarily have to be big. Each movie is set up as it’s own company to keep liability and book keeping workable. Studios don't usually own lights, cameras, sets etc these are rented on a per movie basis.
Creating a movie studio can be done for as little as two hundred bucks. Business licence, website and business cards. Making movies is the expensive part. As George Gonzalez Says that’s where you need access to millions of dollars.
Each movie made that is intended for international distribution is a massive expense. Percentage wise this is true for small indie production houses all the way up to the big 6. The biggest studio (2015) is according to Wikipedia NBC Universal with over 28 Billion dollars of revenue (2015)
Traditional movie studios are masters at logistics, money management, marketing and attracting talent.
Each studio is a collection of a bunch of talented specialists who have each worked successfully in the industry for many years. They have between them a huge array of contacts and short cuts to get movies made. Hiring/attracting this core group is difficult and expensive.
But let’s just spitball a few very ballpark numbers if we are talking creating full blown blockbusters.
The first movie that a new studio releases is very difficult to find money to make so it would be handy to have 50–100 million in seed money kicking around to attract investors. To attract some top notch talent to a new studio, hire a staff, rent and reno an office space that an A list actor could walk into and be impressed let’s ballpark another say 10–20 million. So 100 million could give a small fledgling studio a running start. 200M would be better. Money buys time and opportunity. Even with two hundred million dollars that studios success would not be guaranteed.
Startup Costs
Wondering how much it costs to start a film production company?
The minimum startup costs for a movie production company: $62
The maximum startup costs for a movie production company: $41,561
The average startup costs for a movie production company: $23,956
Here's a detailed list of a film production company startup costs:
Equipment & Supply
Expenses
Starting a movie production company may require purchasing some equipment,
whether that's for producing the product or packaging the goods, or equipment
needed in the back office.
Cost Required? Min Cost Max Cost
Cleaning Supplies Optional $63 $200
First-aid Equipment Optional $3
$500
Business Formation Fees
There are a few key costs associated with forming your business entity, such as
setting up an LLC and getting trademarks, copyrights, and patents sorted.
Cost
Required?
Min Cost Max Cost
Set up business:
LLC &
Corporations
Required
$50
$500
Small Business Insurance Recommended
$500 $2,000
Permit and License Fees Optional
$50 $700
Trademark
Optional
$0
$700
Lawyer Fees Optional
$0 $1,500
A Patent Optional
$5,000 $15,000
Software Expenses
Your film production company needs software to run efficiently!
Why spend money on software? Because it can help you save time and automate
certain parts of the business, so you can focus on the most important matters.
Software and technology can help you grow your business, and save you from
expensive personnel costs.
Cost Required?
Min
Cost
Max Cost
File Hosting Service Recommended $0
$299
Email marketing tool Recommended $0
$100
Accounting & Invoicing Software Recommended $0
$50
CRM Software Recommended $12
$300
Project Management Software Recommended $0
$25
Internal Communication Tool Recommended $0
$20
IT Support Optional $150
$2,000
Design Programs & Software Optional $0
$50
Social Media Management Tools Optional $0
$50
Payroll Software Optional
$0
$200
Office Space Expenses
It will be your call to determine if you need office space. It is not a
requirement but may be necessary as your film production company grows.
Cost
Required?
Min Cost Max Cost
Rent
Optional
$0
$5,750
Utility Costs For Office Space
Optional
$0
$1,150
WiFi & Internet
Optional
$0
$100
Employee & Freelancer Expenses
Cost Required? Min Cost Max Cost
Payroll Costs &
Fees Optional $150 $250
Employee Hiring Expenses Optional $1 $2
Employee Rewards Optional $0 $100
Website Costs
Every business should have a website, and it's worth spending a bit of money to
set it up right.
Cost Required? Min Cost
Max Cost
Domain
Name Required $12
$200
Website Hosting Costs Required $0 $300
Website Builder Recommended $10 $500
Business Email Hosting Service Recommended $1 $15
Website & Live Chat Tool Recommended $0 $200
Web Designer Optional $200 $6,000
Advertising & Marketing Costs
Cost Required? Min Cost Max
Cost
Business
Cards Optional $0 $50
Customer Research & Surveys Optional $0
$300
Direct Campaigns, Printing and Mailing Optional $0
$300
Affiliate Marketing Commission & Fees Optional $0
$250
Influencer Marketing Optional $0
$750
Press Optional $0
$500
Google Ads Optional $0 $300
Facebook & Instagram Ads Optional $0 $350
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