Earnings and budgets in movies often have a surprising relationship. Just because a movie has a big budget doesn’t mean it will make a lot of money.

Here are some challenges filmmakers face:

• There can be big gaps between how much a movie costs to make and what people actually want to see.
• It’s hard to guess how audiences will react to a film.

To help movies make more money, studios can try the following solutions:

• They should do thorough market research before deciding on a budget.
• They should be willing to adjust their budgets based on what audiences say.

The connection between budgets and earnings is tricky. But with careful planning, studios can find ways to make a profit, even when things get tough.