# Contingency

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

> Contingency is a reserve added to a film budget to cover unplanned costs such as weather days, overtime, reshoots, or price changes. It is usually a percentage of the budget before contingency, commonly 10%, and completion guarantors and financiers generally expect to see it before they approve a budget.

## The arithmetic

Contingency is figured on a base. If your below-the-line total is $750,000 and you use a 10% rate on BTL only:

$750,000 x 0.10 = $75,000

If your above-the-line is $180,000 and you figure contingency on above plus below instead:

($180,000 + $750,000) x 0.10 = $93,000

The two methods are $18,000 apart, so write the base on the [top sheet](https://storiara.com/glossary/top-sheet), e.g. "Contingency, 10% of BTL". Some budgets also exclude items that can't go over, such as a fixed insurance premium or a [completion bond](https://storiara.com/glossary/completion-bond) fee, from the base.

## What it's for, and what it isn't

Contingency covers risk you know exists but can't price: a rain day that forces a [company move](https://storiara.com/glossary/company-move), a location that falls through, a week of heavier [overtime](https://storiara.com/glossary/overtime) than planned, a lens that breaks. It should not hold costs you already know about. If the script has a car crash and there is no stunt line, adding the stunt costs to contingency just hides a hole in the budget.

## How it's tracked during production

Once shooting starts, the [production accountant](https://storiara.com/roles/production-accountant) keeps contingency as its own account in the [cost report](https://storiara.com/glossary/cost-report). When an account runs over, the overage is shown against that account first, and the [estimate to complete](https://storiara.com/glossary/estimate-to-complete) shows whether the picture as a whole is heading past the budget. A typical line on a weekly report:

| Acct | Description | Budget | Actual to date | ETC | EFC | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9800 | Contingency | $75,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $75,000 |
| 3400 | Grip | $41,000 | $32,500 | $14,200 | $46,700 | ($5,700) |

The producer can choose to cover the $5,700 grip overage from contingency. After that draw, contingency's remaining balance is $75,000 - $5,700 = $69,300.

## Common confusions

Contingency is separate from [overhead fees](https://storiara.com/glossary/overhead-fee) and producer fees, which are payments, not reserves. It is also different from the guarantor's own protection: the completion guarantor typically expects contingency to be used before its own money is at risk. The [film budget contingency](https://storiara.com/blog/film-budget-contingency) post has more on negotiating the percentage, and the [film budget template](https://storiara.com/templates/film-budget) already includes the line.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much contingency should a film budget have?

10% is the common starting point, and it's what most financiers and completion guarantors expect. Shoots with more risk, like heavy exteriors, animals, water work, or VFX, sometimes carry more.

### Is contingency calculated on above-the-line and below-the-line?

Either way is common. Many producers take it on below-the-line only, because above-the-line deals are fixed contracts. Others use above plus below. Label which base you used on the top sheet.

### Can a producer spend the contingency?

On bonded films, access to contingency is usually controlled by the financing and completion agreements, and the guarantor may need to approve its use. On unbonded indies, the producer decides, but the cost report should show every draw against it.