Why Your Film Is Not an “Investment” (And What To Say Instead)
Most filmmakers sabotage their capital raise before it even begins.
How?
By calling their film an investment.
But it isn’t one.
At least not in the way that most investors understand it.
And the moment you frame it that way, capital quietly exits left.
Let’s unpack why, and what to say instead.
Why This Matters
When investors hear the word investment, they subconsciously think of:
Property
Private equity
ETFs
Infrastructure
Operating businesses
All of these have:
Historical datasets
Cash flow modelling
Downside insulation
Predictable variance
Film has almost none of that.
Film returns don’t behave like traditional asset classes. They’re asymmetrical, power-law driven, and defined by Black Swan breakouts.
A small number of outlier titles generate a disproportionate share of industry profits, while most projects cluster around breakeven or modest loss.
Think:
The Blair Witch Project
Paranormal Activity
Moonlight
These are statistical outliers.
Success in film is less about predicting median outcomes and more about positioning for extreme upside in a chaotic, winner-takes-most marketplace.
That’s not how bonds behave.
That’s not how property behaves.
And that’s not how dividend stocks behave.
So, when you call a single film an “investment,” you’re implying predictability.
And that’s simply not true.
What Your Film Actually Is
1. It’s Venture-Style Speculative Equity
A single film behaves far more like an early-stage startup than a rental property.
High variance
Hit-driven returns
Real possibility of capital impairment
Disproportionate upside if it connects
If an investor does one film, they are taking a massive swing for the fences.
It's important you know this, and they know this.
2. It’s a High-Variance, Asymmetric Bet
This is the better framing.
In almost every financial model I’ve built, the low or worst-case scenario shows negligible return, oftentimes negative.
Some filmmakers I work with get scared putting that in front of investors.
They think: “If they see the downside, they’ll run.”
And they’re right. Some will.
But that’s good.
Because those investors were never suited for a high-risk, power-law asset class in the first place.
When you soften the downside to make it look safe, you don’t attract better capital, you attract misaligned capital.
And misaligned capital is far more dangerous than no capital, as your investor will always be displeased.
3. It’s Also a Cultural Option
Film is not purely financial.
Some investors are also buying:
Executive Producer credit
Festival access
Cultural proximity
Network adjacency
Social capital
That doesn’t remove financial risk.
But it does mean film is a hybrid asset.
Ignoring that dimension leaves valuable positioning on the table.
Knowing what's important to each investor is what leads to a successful pitch.
The Bigger Myth
The real issue isn’t that film isn’t an investment.
It’s that calling it one attracts the wrong type of investor.
When you say “investment,” you attract:
Yield-seeking capital
Conservative allocators
Property-minded thinkers
People seeking stability
Film requires:
Risk-tolerant capital
Portfolio thinkers
Strategic allocators
People comfortable with variance
The word itself filters the room.
And most filmmakers are filtering incorrectly, or not at all.
The Filtering Principle
This is no different from running a business.
When you tighten your qualification criteria, applications drop.
At first, that feels scary.
But what you’re left with are better-fit clients you can serve well.
Raising film finance works the same way.
When you clearly articulate:
The asymmetry
The variance
The real downside
The power-law nature of returns
You repel some people. But you attract the right ones.
What To Say Instead
Instead of: “This is a great investment.”
Try:
“This is a high-variance, asymmetric bet.”
“This is venture-style cultural equity.”
“This is a power-law asset where upside is disproportionate, downside is real.”
“This is speculative equity with structured risk mitigation.”
That language builds credibility.
And credibility is what unlocks capital.
Well that's it for this week, see you next time.
- Alexi
If you’re financing your debut feature film, start here.
