ultimate revenue

ASC 405-926 governs how film production and distribution entities accrue participation costs — amounts owed to third parties such as actors and writers — and costs of insignificant post-release changes to a film. Participation costs are accrued using the individual-film-forecast-computation method (current period actual revenue over estimated remaining unrecognized ultimate revenue at the beginning of the fiscal year), but only when it is probable an entity will sacrifice assets to settle the obligation, and never for less than amounts currently payable. If the recorded participation liability exceeds estimated unpaid ultimate participation costs, the excess reduces unamortized film costs first, then goes to income.

ASC 855-926 was the film-industry-specific subsection of the subsequent events guidance, which previously required film entities to consider post-balance-sheet information (such as actual results after the reporting date) in estimating ultimate revenue and testing film costs for impairment. Every substantive paragraph (855-926-05-1, 15-1, and 35-1) was superseded by ASU 2012-07, so the subtopic now contains no operative guidance. Film cost impairment and ultimate revenue estimation are addressed instead in ASC 926-20, and general subsequent events guidance remains in ASC 855-10.

ASC 926-20 governs how film production and distribution entities capitalize, amortize, impair, and disclose film costs, which must be reported as a separate asset on the balance sheet (926-20-25-1). Films predominantly monetized on their own are amortized by the individual-film-forecast-computation method — current-period revenue over remaining unrecognized ultimate revenue as of the beginning of the fiscal year (926-20-35-1) — while films in a film group are expensed based on a reasonably reliable estimate of the film's use (926-20-35-2). Unamortized film costs are written down to fair value when triggering events indicate impairment, and such write-downs may never be restored (926-20-35-13).