Above the Line (ATL) costs are all the expenditures that one can expect before production begins. Usually these are the principal creative elements such as story and script, producer, director and the lead performers.  The costs of their services appear on the top half of the budget summary, above a heavy line, which divides the page.  The other aspect of the budget is referred to as below the line costs or budget. Below the line budget includes all the costs associated with the filming and post production.  

This term comes from the old studio days when they actually had a line drawn between these two distinct aspects of the budget. Typically, above the line or ATL expenditures are negotiated or spent before filming begins. Some of these costs include rights for the screenplay and the material on which it is based, and the salaries for the screenwriter, producer, leading actors, and director.

Examples

M. Night Shyamalan has enjoyed tremendous success with Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village, and Signs. Let’s look at some of the above the line cost for these films. For Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis made $14 million dollars in addition to a $450,000 private jet bill and an “other allowance” for him at $339,492. In contrast, the 10 year old star, Haley Joel Osment who played “Cole Sear” received $150,000. The actress who played the boy’s mother, Toni Collette, was payed $1 million. Shyamalan himself received 2.6 million to write and direct the film. All of these are ATL or above the line costs. 

When studios are budgeting and negotiating above the line costs, lead actors are often the biggest expense. However, as Shyamalan has become more established, he has increased his earnings to about $10 million per film. Nonetheless, this pales in comparison to Mel Gibson’s $25 million package for Signs.