Film glossary

Residuals

Residuals are ongoing payments made to talent and crew, usually through their guilds, when a film earns from reuse across additional markets and windows.

Residuals are defined by collective bargaining agreements and are triggered as a film is exploited in markets beyond its initial release, such as streaming, television, and home entertainment. They are an obligation of the production rather than a discretionary payment.

Because residuals continue over a film life, they are accounted for in the collection account and the recoupment waterfall. Productions plan for them as a real and recurring cost of exploiting a film.

Go deeper

Film Distribution guideFilm distribution is how a finished film reaches audiences and earns revenue across theatrical, streaming, television, and other windows. It involves sales agents, distributors, and a patchwork of territory and rights deals. Clean chain of title, complete deliverables, and clear collection arrangements are what let a distribution deal actually close and pay out.

Related terms

Keep reading the glossary

Collection Account ManagementCollection account management is a neutral arrangement that receives a film revenue and pays it out to each party according to the agreed recoupment waterfall.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.DefermentA deferment is a fee that a participant agrees to postpone, taking payment later out of the film revenue instead of upfront.Sell-ThroughSell-through is the sale of a film directly to consumers to own, such as a digital purchase or a physical copy, as opposed to a rental or a licensed stream.

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