> Those figures are pretty remarkable. Especially when they were supposed to get "40 percent of net receipts"! The clue is in the word 'net'. Classic Hollywood

> Those figures are pretty remarkable. Especially when they were supposed to get "40 percent of net receipts"! The clue is in the word 'net'. Classic Hollywood accounting. If the owners make sure that Spinal Tap doesn't turn a profit, then they don't have to pay out anything. As long as their revenue is going some other direction (wages, say, or paid out to suppliers who do turn a profit), then they can still make money, while denying it to the suckers who put in work for points on the net receipts. If Hollywood calls, and you're offered a percentage of net takings, then the example above probably is a pretty good indicator of how much you can expect to receive - $170 split four-ways over 30 years on a modern day classic.