Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion.Barnes & Noble Glossary http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/glossary.asp?z=y&LTR=N&TRM=1007105Retrieved 2007-02-12

Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.IMDb Explanation for differences in reported budget https://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?boxofficedifferentRetrieved 2007-02-12

The term comes from the costs up to the production of the final negative.

References

External links 'We call it martian accounting', Gary Susman, The Guardian, 31 August 2001 IMDb Glossary - N