How to Calculate the Marketing Budget for a Film

Making a film takes time, resources, a team, and a great deal of creative energy. All that effort needs to be accompanied by a visibility strategy.

From the early stages of development, it's essential to set aside a percentage of the total budget for marketing and publicity. It’s not an extra cost—it’s a defining factor for the project’s success.

This article is designed to help you determine how much to invest in promoting your film, short, or series, and what factors you should consider.

It’s also useful if you’re planning to work with As en la Manga ♣︎, a marketing agency for films, since we’ll need a rough budget estimate to define a realistic plan.

⏳ When should you define a film's marketing budget?

The production should reserve funds for marketing and publicity before shooting begins. Many producers end up with no margin left to promote the film. The P&A budget (Prints and Advertising) shouldn’t be an afterthought. As we mentioned before, it plays a key role in the film’s success—and therefore, its financial return.

💰 How much should I allocate to promote my film?

There are two main approaches to estimate this:

1. Percentage of the total production budget

A common practice in the audiovisual industry is to allocate 20% to 30% of the total production budget to marketing and advertising.

In independent productions, at least 10% of the film’s budget should be reserved for promotion.

Does that sound like a lot? Consider this: how much did you invest in making the film possible? And how much are you investing in getting it seen?A film without viewers is not cinema. The cinematic phenomenon only exists when there is a receiver.

If you’ve given everything to the creative process, don’t overlook what can make your film successful: only by reaching audiences can your work move your career forward. And that requires promotion.

2. Based on the desired profit return

This approach is useful when you already have a planned distribution circuit (in theaters or online), and a clear idea of how much you want to recover (through sales, rentals, screenings, festivals, etc.).

In that case, the marketing budget is built based on the desired return. That’s something we can work on together at As en la Manga.

We’ll ask you:

• What distribution channels are you planning to use?

• How much do you want to recover?

• In what timeframe?
  

From there, we’ll build a tailored strategy: what needs to be done to reach that goal, and how much it would cost to achieve it.

📝 Key questions before sitting down with the numbers

1. What debts do you have?

   How much do you owe to investors? What’s the repayment timeline?
   

2. How ambitious is your distribution plan?

   Are you targeting cinemas, streaming platforms, self-organized screenings? Will you receive a return per ticket sold or not?
   

3. Does your team include someone willing to handle promotion, or will you need to hire an agency specialized in film marketing and publicity?

   (Hint: in most cases, you’ll need help)
   

📣 What does a film marketing budget include?

Here are the main areas that can be covered by a marketing strategy developed with As en la Manga ♣︎:

✅ Digital advertising

• Creative campaigns on social media

• Paid ads / Campaigns (Meta, YouTube, TikTok)

• Community Manager + Content Editor

• Partnerships with content creators or influencers

• Official website for the film
  

✅ Press and PR

• Interview management

• Press release distribution to specialized media

• Guest appearances on podcasts, radio shows, or niche YouTube channels
  

✅ Content design and editing

• Trailer & teasers

• Posters

• Content editor

• Graphic designer
  

✅ Printables

• Poster for festivals or theatrical runs

• Flyers, postcards, or graphic merch

  
  

💸 What if my film is already finished and I didn’t reserve a marketing budget?

In that case, we’ll build a strategy that fits your current situation. But you’ll need to be more creative with the resources available: earned media, organic social campaigns, free festivals, collaborations with fellow filmmakers, and more.

🍿 Want to build your film marketing plan with us?

At As en la Manga ♣︎, we help films and filmmakers design their marketing, advertising, and positioning strategies.

You can use this article as a starting point and bring your estimated budget to our meeting.

🎞️ Interested in the world of film marketing?

Check out this article on the difference between film distribution, marketing, and publicity/advertising.

Follow As en la Manga ♣︎ on Instagram for weekly insights and tools on audiovisual marketing.