Popcorn for filmmakers
Your film, in front of
people looking for it.
Popcorn learns each viewer's taste and recommends what actually fits it. That means an independent feature can land in front of someone the same way a blockbuster does — because it matches them.
Already have a film? You can start right now · Free until you upload
Getting your film up
Your part takes one sitting
Claiming your name, picking your film and uploading it can all happen today — nothing to wait on before you start. Then it comes to us: we confirm the film is yours and watch it before it streams, and it goes live once it's approved.
01
Claim your name
Search your name and pick your page — that links you to the films you're credited on. We'll ask for a quick bit of proof it's really you.
02
Choose the film
Everything you're credited on shows up in a list. Pick the one you want to put up.
03
Upload it
Straight from your computer, and it picks up where it left off if your connection drops. We handle the encoding.
04
We review, then it's live
A person watches every film before it streams. Once yours is approved it goes live right away, or on a date you choose.
One requirement, for now
Your film needs a page on IMDb with you credited on it — that's how we know which films you can claim. We'll also ask you to show the claim is really yours: an email from the film's own website or a message from its official account does it. If your film isn't listed anywhere yet, book a call and we'll sort it out by hand while we build a proper route for it.
What you earn
A rental costs less than a coffee. Most of it is yours.
One flat price, no subscription for the viewer to cancel and no bundle your film disappears into. Someone pays to watch your film specifically, and you keep the majority of it.
The maths, in full: a $3.99 rental loses about $0.42 to card processing, leaving $3.57. You take 75% of that — $2.68 — and Popcorn keeps $0.89. Hosting a film costs $99.99 a year, and we only ask for it at the point you upload your first one.
Your control
It stays your film
Putting it on Popcorn isn't signing it away. You choose when it appears, and you can take it down whenever you want.
- 01You decide when it goes live — the moment it's approved, or a date you set, up to about two years out.
- 02You can unlist it at any time. Anyone part-way through a rental keeps access until their window closes.
- 03Every film is watched by a person before it streams — yours and everyone else's. Nothing goes up automatically.
- 04You confirm you hold the rights when you upload, and that confirmation is stored with the film.
Rather talk first
Book a call
If you'd rather ask questions before uploading anything — about the split, the rights, or whether your film is a fit — pick a time and we'll talk it through.
Questions
The things everyone asks
What does it cost me?
$99.99 a year to host your films, asked for at the point you upload your first one — not before. After that the only other money that moves is the rental split: you keep 75% of what's left after card fees, which works out to $2.68 of each $3.99 rental.
Do I have to be on IMDb?
Right now, yes. Your credit on the film is how we confirm it's yours to upload, and IMDb is what we check against. If your film isn't listed, book a call — we'll handle it manually while we build a proper path for films that were never distributed.
How long does approval take?
Identity checks are usually done within a week, but you don't have to wait for one. You can pick your film and upload it straight away — it simply can't go live until both your identity and the film itself have been through review.
Can I set my own rental price?
Not yet. Every film on Popcorn rents for $3.99, which keeps the decision easy for viewers and means your film isn't competing on price against everything else on the service.
When do I actually get paid?
Earnings build up as people rent, and we run payouts monthly: once your balance has passed $25, that month's earnings go to your bank through Stripe. Below $25 it rolls over to the next month rather than disappearing. Refunds are netted off automatically.
What happens after I upload?
The file goes straight to our encoder, and once it's processed it lands in a review queue. A person watches it before it can stream. If something's wrong we tell you why rather than silently rejecting it, and you can re-upload.
Give your film somewhere to live.
If it's already credited to you, you can start now and be uploading in a few minutes.