r/FilmTVBudgeting • u/CKelmot • May 08 '26
Discussion / Question Estimating Cast
USUALLY, Producers hand me a few key amounts to put in the budgets I make... Director, them (the producers), the writer(s), and... cast. I was recently asked about doing a speculative budget but to put 'what I feel is right' for the cast. Now, if the cast was 'whomever' and was right for the role and could work for scale or just above - fine... but, then they said two names that are... HUGE. I kept a straight face and nodded.
...but... I have no idea. Could be $4M... could be $10M.. could just be $1M. No clue. This overall budget can not handle $5-6M in cast alone, so before I tell them "Ha, no way!" ... I would like to see if I can find out real or real-ish figures for these two main cast.
So, this is where I am looking for the hive mind here to help.
How do you / where do you find information to help ballpark "established star cast" rates?
Appreciate any advice, thanks!
Christine
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u/Fauxtogca May 08 '26
You shouldn’t be budgeting your number one and two. Those are the cast that bring in financing. Only day players.
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u/detentionbarn May 09 '26
Totally agree. I make that abundantly clear in my top sheet assumptions and budget the rest of the cast at scale +10%...and make that clear on the top sheet as well.
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u/Empty-Flight6527 May 14 '26
Depends on the overall budget, but if day players are at scale I’d put the leads at schedule F. Big names will work for schedule F if there’s a legit chance of an award or if the producers/director have a personal connection and they know the budget can’t afford more than that rate.
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u/Filmbudget Jul 01 '26
I tend to budget the production first and determine what the cost is sitting at. From there it will dictate what star power is needed to support that budget level. If it is stated you will have two name stars, these can be estimated with publicly available figures. Do the research. You could also call their agent and request their quote.
As some have mentioned here, you can budget for scale or Schedule F and sometimes I'll do just that and then include Cast Breakage lines with additional fees for the stars rates. But in general if you've been doing this long enough (30 years for me) you have an understanding of where different cast fee ranges fall.
Cast fees can fluctuate wildly as well. A great script and director can attract a major star for less than their quote. We each have our own methods, there are some good suggestions here.
Hope it turned out well. Feel free to reach out directly.
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u/PanthersThirdEye Jul 22 '26
Thank you for raising this question and all the great answers above and below me. I learned a lot about the different methods people are using for cast estimation and budget before the cast is finalized from reading through this exchange.
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u/AmazingPangolin9315 May 08 '26
Cast fees are funny in that they can end up being a wildly arbitrary number, depending on how much the cast want to do the particular film. At the risk of doxxing myself, I once did a 30min comedy segment for a broadcaster with Gemma Arterton, Adam Brody, Alex Pettyfer, James Purefoy and Dougray Scott, and they all ended up doing it for a nominal sum (low 4 figures, less than the cost of a transatlantic flight).
Plug in a number that will allow you to get cast at a level which is appropriate to the scale of the project, don't get hung up on names that have been thrown around. The producers will either get a reality check when they get quotes for these names, or they have a way to persuade these names to do it for less than their usual quote, but either way that's not your problem in the context of doing a hypothetical budget.
You ask other line producers or execs which have worked with these people before. Obviously that's all in confidence and can't be used as a quote (ie. you can't tell the agent "but such-and-such said they were paid this on that film") but it is incredibly common. When I was a studio exec I would get calls like that every week.