How Much Does it Cost to Make a Porn Movie?

• 15 Mar, 2024
• Adult Site Broker

The pirating of porn movies to sites like Pornhub, XVideos, or even XHamster, has led to an increase in people accessing and watching porn movies for free. Undermining the skills and time that the porn production companies, their crews, and the performers have put into crafting these high-quality adult movies. 

However, that doesn’t mean that mainstream, professionally shot porn isn’t still popular, and people are willing to pay. In an article released in 2017, it was stated that porn production companies were churning out 13,000 titles a year and making a profit of $15 billion. Making it a lucrative opportunity for anyone looking to enter the adult entertainment business. But how much does it cost to make a porn movie? 

In this article, Adult Site Broker has broken down the cost of making a porn movie, looking at the different areas porn production companies need to budget for, from talent and crew to distribution and even legal considerations. 

Production Costs

The opportunity to create stunning, visually aesthetic porn movies with talented pornstars and a dedicated crew depends on your budget.

Before you have even start filming, there are a few things you need to be able to budget for, including the talent themselves, equipment, location, film crew, and even wardrobe and makeup. Below, we have broken down the potential costs for the production of your porn movie that you need to budget for: 

Talent fees: The first cost to budget for is the talent fees of your directors and the porn actors you work with. For those unaware, a talent fee is paid to your performing artists in compensation for services payable, usually in two payments of 50% upon signing the talent agreement contract and 50% upon completion. Currently, the average rate for a pornstar per film is between $500- $2500 depending on the scene (boy/girl, girl/girl, BDS, etc.), gender, their popularity and years of experience. On the other hand, porn directors can make around $1000-3000 per film. 

Location expenses: Unless you own a studio where you can film your porn movie, finding the perfect location for your shoot is key, along with paying for talent. Whether it is multiple locations with intricate sets or smaller productions focused on the interior of a home or apartment, you need to factor in the costs of rent for the location, the costs of permits (which allow you to film porn in public property and vary from state to state and different countries), and the proper working visas if you need to pay for travel for international talent, which can cost $2,500.00 or more.      

Equipment: It is all well and good, having the right talent, crew, and location, but without any equipment, you can’t film your porn movie. When budgeting, you must set aside funds for cameras, lighting, props, and anything you need, which can cost between $2000 for the most basic lighting setup, backdrop, and a camera to $10,000 for more sophisticated production set-ups. 

Crew salaries: You also need to pay your talent and directors and be able to afford your crew salaries, from cinematographers and writers to sound and lighting technicians, editors, and catering staff. Many are freelancers, so salaries vary based on experience, portfolio, and skills. The current day rate for porn crews can be broken down as follows: $500 for photographers, $200-$400 for writers, $100-$250 for production assistants, and $500-$700 for camerapersons. 

Wardrobe and makeup: No matter whether the stars of your movie end up naked by the end, wardrobe and makeup are important costs for porn movies. Currently, the average makeup artist can cost $500 a day, depending on the skills and years in the industry, and there may be additional travel fees included. Depending on your budget, a wardrobe can be anywhere from $100-$1000, depending on where the wardrobe designer sources the pieces. For luxury lingerie sets like Agent Provocateur or Honey Birdette, you are looking at a budget between $150-400 per lingerie set. For bespoke outfits, such as couture BDSM harnesses or latex, you can also end up paying anywhere between $300-500 per piece. 

Post-Production Costs

And the costs don’t just stop after production; post-production budgeting can make or break a good porn movie. You don’t want to film a stunning movie only for it to flop because of bad visual effects, sound mixing, or sloppy editing. Because of this, being able to budget for a highly skilled post-production team is everything. 

But what post-production costs could you potentially need to budget for? When planning your porn movie, you need to make sure you have considered the costs for the following: 

Editing and post-production facilities: After your porn movie has been shot, you need to edit and cut down the video that you have to create a polished porn movie people will be happy to buy. This can vary depending on whether you have an in-house editing or a post-production team. When you budget for this, you need to look at video editors, sound effects and music editors, VFX editors (if you have used any visual effects), and even color scheming. Costs typically start at $250 an hour, but the costs could be lower or higher depending on the needed facilities and if you have an in-house team.  

Sound editing and mixing: When you start looking at polishing your porn video, you want to make sure that the sound and music are clean and easy to listen to, especially when combining multiple recordings into one audio, such as when editing the same scene from different angles. Some of the sound editing and mixing costs you may come across are studio recording and music production ($100-$149 per hour), voiceovers ($100-$149 per hour), audio mixers ($50-$99 per hour), Audio Engineers ($50-$99 per hour) and finally audio masters ($50-$99 per hour). These are rough estimates and depend on whether you work in-house or have to work with an independent studio. 

Marketing and Distribution

Finally, once you have made a porn movie, you need to get it out into the world for all over the age of 18 to see. This is where your marketing and distribution budget will come in handy. In this day and age, porn movies are no longer sold as just DVDs; you need to consider the digital distribution landscape as well, such as streaming services or adult websites. To help you plan your budget, Adult Site Broker has broken down the marketing and distribution costs below. 

Promotion and advertising expenses: Nowadays, you need to budget for multiple streams of advertisement from print and digital magazines, websites, and social media. For in-print advertisements, depending on the publication and the size of your advert, you can look at paying anywhere from $1135 for a full-page ad to $2000. For digital publications, blogs, or websites, depending on the type of ad you choose: banner, dynamic ads, or even a video advert you may see prices ranging from $30-$400 depending on how long the campaign is for, if it is a mobile or desktop ad or if it is a sponsored editorial piece. Finally, having a budget for your paid social media strategy is crucial. However, due to the content, you may find that your ads are banned across sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, so focusing on free social media posts across social media platforms and Reddit as well as creating adverts across adult advertising platforms like ExoClick is worthwhile. These platforms allow you to create an online campaign, select keywords, and advertise across a range of adult websites with the click of a button. 

Distribution platforms: As a form of marketing, uploading free, watermarked clips of your porn movie across adult tube sites is a great way to drive traffic to your porn website and get people to buy the full film there. However, if you choose to distribute your porn movie across other online streaming services or adult websites, then you need to sell each site a license to distribute your porn movie on their website. Depending on if they want to buy the whole movie, specific clips, or still images, you may find yourself selling the licensing rights to your porn movie for $30 or more. However, if you choose to host the porn on your own website, then you need to think of buying a domain name and starting a site. You pay for your domain (anywhere between $2-$20), and then you can freely upload your content for those to access either for free or for a one-off pay-per-view fee or subscription.   

DVD production and distribution costs: If you have also decided to sell your porn as a DVD, then you need to pay for the production of your DVD and distribution costs to sell it in adult shops and online stores. Depending on how many scenes you wish to put onto the DVD, you are looking at paying anywhere between $10,000 and $30,000 per title. The price will vary depending on how many DVDs you wish to produce. Regarding distribution costs, you need to work out the gross revenue of your movie. Then, depending on the distribution fee you have agreed on (usually between 30-50%), you will pay a sum to the distributor. For example, if your porn movie gross revenue is $100,000 and you have agreed on a distribution fee of 30%, you will pay $30,000 to the distributor. 

Legal Considerations

Alongside creating a budget for your porn movie that allows you to compensate your crew, wardrobe, and pornstars fairly, being able to afford professional editing and pay for the distribution of your porn movie, you need to also take into account certain legal considerations when deciding to create a porn movie.  

Knowing what legal costs you must budget for is vital to complying with legislation and ensuring fair contracts for your staff and performers. Some legal considerations when working out how much it will cost for you to make a porn movie are: 

Copyright and licensing fees for music, images, and other media: If you use any music, images, or other media, then you will have to buy the license to use them. The current fees for licensing music for commercial use in porn movies can be anywhere between $15,000 and $60,000. 

Compliance age laws and regulations: Compliance with age legislation is necessary. To do so, make sure that all crew and performers give you a copy of the government legal ID for your records, and adhere to all 2257 rules. If you are uploading your porn movie to your website afterward, make sure that your website has a 2257 statement on the website as well. Other types of paperwork you should include are STI results and written consent forms. This allows you to protect yourself and comply with the laws and regulations of the state you are filming in.

Contracts with performers and crew: Contracts protect both you as the production company and the talent and crew. They set out your expectations, how many days you’re expecting to work, agreed upon payment, and how much the talent will earn after the porn movie has been made and also set out terms for if the contract ends before completion of the porn movie (such as a pornstar being unable to keep performing). Working with a lawyer to create employment contracts can cost $400 – $600 per hour.   

Although these may seem like additional costs, these are protections and guarantees. Without the proper paperwork and legal adherence, you could find yourself paying out more than you bargained for otherwise in the form of criminal and civil lawsuits. Playing it safe when it comes to your legal considerations when creating a porn movie is always a smart move. 

Conclusion

Making a good porn movie requires hard work, talent, and, yes, money! 

In conclusion, there is no real average cost of making a porn movie; it is dependent on you, who you choose to work with, and even location. The reality is that when it comes to creating a porn movie, the type of porn movie you are creating, the length of the shoot, the pornstars you hire, the skills set of your crew, and even the location or locations can impact your budget.  

But to give you an idea of where to start, the top porn production companies like Vivid Entertainment or Evil Angel are spending anywhere from $5000 to $50000 per porn video they release.  

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