The 10 Largest Film Bonding Companies
Producing your next film involves a lot of backhanded work. Even with a solid plan and budget, your film is bound to face a number of risks and uncertainties such as budget overruns or delays that can prevent you from delivering your project on time. So, it’s not surprising to find investors hesitant to fund your next film.
That's where film bonding companies come into play. Serving as a financial safety net, they are crucial partners in ensuring your film project receives financial support and risk management solutions, allowing investors to rest assured they are investing in a secure project.
In this blog, we're cutting straight to the chase and introducing you to ten of the largest film bonding companies out there. These are the partners who understand the complexities of film production and are prepared to back your project with financial guarantees that further allows your production to work with financiers, lenders and distributors.
We'll also provide a breakdown on the role of film bonding companies and go into detail on how to prepare your production when engaging with a film bonding company. By understanding the services, track records, and unique approaches of these bonding companies, you'll be better equipped to choose a bonding company that aligns with your project's needs and challenges.
Top Companies for Bonding a Film
| Film Bonding Companies | Specialty |
|---|---|
| UniFi | Films TV Series New Media |
| Loeb & Loeb LLP | Motion Picture, TV and Digital Media Music Sports & Esports Interactive Media Theater and Live Entertainment Entertainment Labor |
| Film Finance Inc. | Movies Mini-Series TV Streaming |
| Allen Financial Insurance Group | Special Events |
| ProSure Group | Films Video Games |
| The Fyzz | Feature Films International TV Drama Series |
| Blue Fox Financing | Film & TV |
| Rainmaker Holdings Group | Feature Films TV Shows |
| 30West | Feature Films New Media |
| Media Guarantors | Independent Films and TV |
What Are Film Bonding Companies?
Film bonding companies provide your production a completion bond, which is a written contract between your production, the investors, and the film bonding company that guarantees your production will be completed and delivered on time within the film budget.
When engaging with film financiers, many will require a completion bond before deciding to invest in your film to reduce the risk of financial loss.
Film bonding companies can be considered as a financial backup for your upcoming production as they’ll provide extra funds for any financial bumps along the way— allowing investors to feel safe to invest and fund your production.
Steps to Bond Your Next Film
Before a film bonding company commits to your next film project, they will conduct a long and thorough assessment. This evaluation breaks down several documents, including the script, budget and detailed work schedule.
The more documents you can provide to film bonding companies will increase their ability to assess how feasible your production will be, ensuring it can be realistically produced, completed, and delivered as planned.
Supporting documents you need to apply for a completion bond may include:
Production Documents
Final Script
Final Production Budget
Cash Flow Report
Pre-production Cost Report
Shooting Schedule
Day out of Day Report
Post Production Schedule
Cast and Crew Sheets
Vendors List
Budget Breakdowns
Agreements / Contracts for Major Locations, Studios, Equipment, Special Effects, Visual Effects, Unions, Sound and Film Labs and Music
Legal Documents
Release Forms for Talent, Location, and Music
Financing Agreements
Distribution Agreements
Director’s Agreements
Individual Producer’s Agreement
Evidence of Insurance
Top 10 Largest Film Bonding Companies
There’s a long list of film bonding companies out there that can help producers bond their upcoming project. To save you time on research, we’ve consolidated the ten largest film bonding companies categorized by their service, location, specialty, and past projects.
1. UniFi
UniFi is a film bonding company to global independent feature film and television producers, financiers and investors. They bond projects ranging from $5 million to $200+ million ensuring a secure and efficient bonding experience.
Service: Completion bonds, credit facilities, insurances, tax incentives and other financial solutions.
Location: Based in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Toronto
Specialty: Feature films, TV series, new media
Past projects: The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bohemian Rhapsody
2. Loeb & Loeb LLP
Loeb & Loeb LLP is a law firm that provides legal project management for the entertainment industry including completion bonds.
Service: Legal project management for the entertainment industry
Location: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., San francisco, Beijing, Hong Kong
Specialty: Motion picture, TV and digital media, music, sports & esports, interactive media, theater and live entertainment, entertainment labor
Past projects: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Matrix, Titanic
3. Film Finance Inc.
Film Finances Inc. offers several services including completion guarantees providing financiers with assurance their film will be delivered as scheduled. They have guaranteed over 6,000 feature films, television series, documentaries and streaming productions.
Service: Completion bonds, gap financing, and other financial solutions
Location: Los Angeles, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Scandinavia, Germany.
Specialty: Feature films, mini-series, TV, documentaries and streaming productions.
Past projects: The Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games, The Fast and the Furious franchise.
4. Allen Financial Insurance Group
Allen Financial Insurance Group offers completion bond insurance for film productions offering tailored insurance to match the unique needs of your production.
Service: Completion bonds, cast insurance, and other insurance solutions
Location: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Nashville, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Beijing, Hong Kong
Specialty: Feature films
Past projects: The Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America
5. ProSure Group
ProSure Group is a surety agency that provides nationwide coverage providing many services including completion bonds for film productions.
Service: Bonds, credit facilities, and other financial solutions
Location: Los Angeles, New York, London, and Toronto
Specialty: Films, video games
Past projects: The Lego Movie, The Angry Birds Movie, The Smurfs
6. The Fyzz
The Fyzz is a production and financing company specializing in feature film content and international television drama series.
Service: Completion bonds, gap financing, and other financial solutions
Location: Los Angeles and London
Specialty: Feature films, international TV drama series
Past projects: The King's Speech, The Artist, The Theory of Everything
7. Blue Fox Financing
Blue Fox Financing is a lending network in film financing providing completion bonds as well as other services related to entertainment film finance, production and distribution.
Service: Tax credit loans, gap loans, US minimum guarantee, Foreign pre-sales
Location: California,
Specialty: Film & TV
Past Projects: Never Too Late, The True Adventures of Wolfboy, The Lost husband, My Zoe, A Magical Journey, Signs of Love
8. Rainmaker Holdings Group
Rainmaker Holdings Group is a specialty finance company for the entertainment economy focusing primarily on film and TV projects offering tax credit and pre-sales financing, finishing film and production financing.
Service: Completion bonds, risk management, film monitoring, post completion bonds
Location: London
Specialty: Film and television
Past Projects: Exremis, Dusty and Me, Awaiting, The Good Night, Sometimes Always Never
9. 30West
30WEST offers capital and strategic guidance to creative projects providing filmmakers guidance through every stage of the reactive process with investment for productions, sales, distribution and licensing.
Service: Entertainment providers
Location: Los Angeles and New York
Specialty: TV and Films.
Past Projects: Killers of the Flower Moon, The Comeback, I, Tonya, Triangle of Sadness
10. Media Guarantors
Media Guarantors supports the independent film creators through completion guarantees, insurances and cash flow solutions to facilitate the film-making experience.
Service: Completion bonds, insurances and cash flow solutions.
Location: California and New York
Specialty: Independent film and television
Conclusion: Next Steps After Securing Your Film Bond
In conclusion, working with any of these qualified film bonding companies will ensure your production has the sufficient resources to complete the project as scheduled allowing your financiers to give your next film the green light to invest.
Working with film bonding companies is just one of many steps to add to your ongoing list of getting your project on the way. Producers' next concern would be securing cast and crew for your production.
CMS Productions is a third-party union signatory signed directly to the AICP I.A.T.S.E. and Teamsters 399 (LA) and 817 (NY) agreements and can service on almost all kinds of productions including:
Commercials / Promos
Music Videos
Live Events
Features
BTS / EPK (Behind the Scenes content)
Television
New Media
Contact us today to set up a call on how we can assist you on your next project.
FAQ’s
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The earlier you get them involved the better. Ensure your film production documents are complete, film production budget is approved and finalized, and that cast and crew are secured.
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Completion bonds are written contracts that guarantee your upcoming film production will be completed and delivered on time.
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Film bonding companies cover risks related to production delays, budget overruns, and other unforeseen issues that could impact the completion and delivery of a film project on time and within budget.
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Not all film projects automatically qualify; eligibility depends on a thorough assessment by the bonding company, which includes reviewing the script, budget, and production plans to ensure the project is feasible and financially sound.
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The bonding process can vary, but it generally takes several weeks to a few months, depending on the complexity of the project and the thoroughness of the documents submitted.