Film glossary

Negative Pickup

A negative pickup is a deal in which a distributor agrees to buy a finished film for a set price on delivery, letting the producer finance production against that commitment.

The name comes from the film negative that is picked up on delivery. Because the distributor commitment is contractual, a producer can often take a negative pickup agreement to a lender and borrow against it to fund the actual production.

A negative pickup shifts distribution risk to the buyer and gives the producer a clear target to deliver against. The producer still has to complete the film to the agreed specification to trigger payment.

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

Pre-SalesA pre-sale is a contract in which a distributor agrees to pay for the right to release a film in a territory, often before the film is finished.Minimum GuaranteeA minimum guarantee, or MG, is the floor amount a distributor commits to pay for the right to release a film in a territory or on a platform.Completion BondA completion bond is a guarantee from a bond company that a film will be finished and delivered on schedule and on budget, or that the financier will be repaid.Sales AgentA sales agent represents a film to buyers across territories, using a mandate from the producer to license rights on the film behalf.

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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.