It seems unreal compared to the average salary, though a movie also involves lots of people making full salaries and the cost determines whether you will “flip a real bus or flip a toy bus”.

A movie studio wants to cut costs by owning some of the things indie movie makers would have to buy a new, like stages, camera equipment and post production facilities, as well as staff that they can use without hiring again.

Movies make back their money with a profit by being seen. Distributors, like movie theaters, who think they can attract the most people for a movie will pay a certain price (licensing fee) and up-sell things like popcorn to go along with the movie. Smaller distributors, like indie theaters or internet channels, can only afford to pay a lower price (licensing fee) because they don’t believe they can attract as many big spending customers as big chains. The lower price means they might not get the movie as a first release.