# Burn rate

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/burn-rate
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Charles Hirschhorn, Storiara

> Burn rate is the amount of money a production spends over a set period, usually per shoot day or per week. It's tracked separately for prep, shooting, and post because each phase burns at a different speed, and it's used to plan cash drawdowns, compare actual spending with the budget, and estimate the cost of schedule changes.

## A burn rate by phase

For a fictional $1,800,000 feature:

| Phase | Weeks | Spend in phase | Weekly burn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prep | 6 | $270,000 | $45,000 |
| Principal photography | 5 | $950,000 | $190,000 |
| Wrap | 2 | $60,000 | $30,000 |
| Post-production | 20 | $340,000 | $17,000 |

The remaining $180,000 of the budget is contingency, bond, and other lines spent unevenly. A shoot week at $190,000 over 5 days is $38,000 per shoot day. That's the number a [line producer](https://storiara.com/roles/line-producer) quotes when the director asks for another day.

## Using it during production

At the end of shoot week 3, actual spend on shooting is $612,000 against a planned $570,000 (3 x $190,000). Actual burn is $612,000 / 3 = $204,000 a week. If that pace holds for the last two weeks, shooting costs $612,000 + (2 x $204,000) = $1,020,000, which is $70,000 over the $950,000 planned. That feeds the [estimate to complete](https://storiara.com/glossary/estimate-to-complete) and warns the producer two weeks before wrap, when there's still time to cut.

Daily [hot costs](https://storiara.com/glossary/hot-costs) explain why the burn is higher: longer days, more background, extra rentals.

## Burn rate and cash

The [cash flow schedule](https://storiara.com/glossary/cash-flow-schedule) is built on planned burn by week. If money comes from a lender in drawdowns, a higher burn means the production needs its next drawdown sooner. It also drives [shutdown costs](https://storiara.com/glossary/shutdown-costs): when shooting stops, some of the burn stops and some keeps running, and the part that keeps running is the cost of waiting.

## Misreading the burn

Averaging the whole budget over the whole calendar, which hides the shooting peak. Leaving fringes out of daily burn. And comparing burn rates between films without adjusting for crew size, union status, and location. The [film budget estimator](https://storiara.com/tools/film-budget-estimator) gives a starting daily cost for early planning, but the real burn comes from your own [cost report](https://storiara.com/glossary/cost-report).

## Frequently asked questions

### How do you calculate a film's daily burn rate?

Add up the costs that happen because the company shoots that day: crew and cast labor with fringes, equipment, locations, catering, transportation, and expendables. Divide weekly figures by the number of shoot days in the week.

### Why does burn rate matter if I have a budget?

The budget is a total. Burn rate tells you how fast you're using it, so you know whether cash will last until the next drawdown and what one extra day will cost.

### Is burn rate the same during prep and post?

No. Prep starts slow and speeds up as departments come on. Shooting is the peak. Post-production usually burns far less per week but lasts much longer.