Film glossary

Equity Financing

Equity financing is money invested in a film in exchange for an ownership position and a share of any revenue it earns.

Equity investors typically recoup after senior lenders and hard costs and then share in revenue according to the deal. Because equity sits near the bottom of the recoupment waterfall, it is the riskiest and usually the most expensive capital in terms of the upside a producer gives up.

Clear terms, a realistic budget, and a credible team matter more to equity investors than any single marketing hook. FILM.FUND helps producers organize the package that equity investors review, but it never solicits investment, handles money, or takes a percentage of any deal.

Go deeper

Film Financing guideFilm financing is the work of assembling the money to make a film from several sources at once. Most budgets combine equity, debt and gap loans, pre-sales, tax incentives, and soft money into a capital stack, organized around a written finance plan and a clean data room that a financier can review quickly.

Related terms

Keep reading the glossary

Hard MoneyHard money is film capital that must be repaid on commercial terms, such as equity and interest-bearing debt.Mezzanine FinancingMezzanine financing is capital that sits between senior debt and equity in the recoupment waterfall, carrying more risk than senior debt and a higher cost.Recoupment WaterfallThe recoupment waterfall is the agreed order in which each source of capital is paid back from the revenue a film generates.Back-End ParticipationBack-end participation is a share of a film revenue or profit that a participant receives after the film begins to recoup, rather than as an upfront fee.

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This definition is educational and does not provide financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult your own licensed advisors before acting. FILM.FUND is a software and workflow platform, not a broker-dealer. It never handles money, never holds securities, never takes a percentage of any raise or sale, and never predicts returns.