1. Production Strategy

Start as usual, but only produce three films at the same time. Don’t attempt four until you have at least 10+ million in the bank — and yes, that’s easily achievable. I’ll explain how.

In research, focus first on upgrading your Screenwriting rank to 7. Rank 8 can wait — with good writers and crew, you can already push your film to rank 8. Getting rank 8 early won’t make your films go beyond that, so only research 8 when you’re ready to go straight for rank 9, which actually raises your film’s cap.

Also, research Story Elements under Screenwriting.

On the Tech side, buy the new camera — after you’ve made five films with it, the camera will automatically upgrade and increase your overall film quality.

Under Research Services, focus on Gifts — whiskey, cigars, and clocks are still the best options for keeping people happy. After that, research whatever you prefer.

Production Line research is also important, especially the upgrade that unlocks Services on Set. It makes all production smoother and improves crew morale.


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2. Distribution Formula

This is the formula I use for distribution — it works consistently.

Focus on your Commercial Ranking. For example, if your rank is 7, double that for your first week of cinema seats — 14,000.
In the second week, reduce it back to your rank (so 7,000 seats), and then decrease it by 20% per week until the film has been in theaters for eight weeks. I rarely push it beyond that.


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3. Advertising

Advertising is simpler than it seems. Always aim to have at least three ad campaigns.

Start them one month before release — for example, if your film releases on July 3, start ads on June 3 — and run them until one month after release.


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4. Money Management

Be mindful of who you hire — especially editors and composers. I usually have only three. Some can cost absurd amounts; I once had a composer charging $22,000 per month, and unlike actors, directors, or cinematographers, their salary continues nonstop. So choose carefully.

Focus on getting high-grade cinematographers — at least three, since you’re producing three films at a time. Do the same with directors.
Actors depend on the script rank, so hire accordingly.

Producers are different — they continue working in post-production even after filming is done. Always get producers when available so you can run three projects at once. Six producers total isn’t unusual.

To save money, hire actors, directors, and producers on movie contracts, not yearly ones — you’ll cut a lot of wasted funds this way.


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5. The Big Money Trick

Here’s the major key to earning serious money:
Once the Alliance is established, make sure you have enough Influence Points. As early as possible, push to increase ticket sale prices.

Once that passes — boom. Money will never be an issue again.
I went from earning $2 million profit per movie to $11 million. No joke. It’s insane.


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6. Extra Tip – Luxa Contract

When you get the Luxa contract, where you’re supposed to build $500,000 worth of buildings, simply agree to honor it — but don’t build anything.

Instead, focus on making the Mayor’s film to get him on your side.
When the timer on the Luxa contract expires, use your Influence Points to get an experienced lawyer from the Mayor. You’ll win the lawsuit easily.


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Hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

One more thing — be mindful of how many writers you hire and how much they cost per month. I currently spend around $350,000 monthly because some of my writers charge between $20,000 and $60,000 each. Be aware of where your money is leaking. I earn more than enough now, but in the beginning, that kind of expense can drain you fast. You can check this by hovering over the monthly expenses section in the Screenwriter building

Additional Tips and Tricks for Hollywood Animal

Here are some additional tips and tricks.

At the start, don’t worry about making movies right away — focus on building your studio and hiring a solid production team. I recommend setting up three full teams, meaning three good directors, three good producers, and three good cinematographers. Of course, early on you’ll need some luck to find that balance, so make sure to check the Staff/Employee section at the start of each new month, as new people appear regularly — and yes, other studios will snatch them up fast.

I personally only start making movies after building the Workshop building. I don’t use the “Ideas” section — I write every script myself. I always keep three of my best writers constantly working on scripts.

With the new Freshness mechanic, I rotate them between genres to ensure I always have a “fresh” script available. The remaining four writers focus entirely on Story Elements or Research.

Here’s something I didn’t know at first: before assigning a writer to create a script, make them research a Story Element. Once that’s done, you can have them write — and both actions will progress simultaneously. I didn’t realize this earlier, but it makes a big difference. Now I have more writers doing research in the background.

Keep replacing your lower-ranked writers as you find better ones in the employee section. Don’t hesitate to fire and replace — it’s just business. Also, save the game every time you successfully gain a new Story Element. It’ll save you from regretting missed opportunities later.

Blackmail and Influence

Use blackmail to get better actors or staff if you’re struggling to hire high-ranking people. Send your agents to find dirt on them. Don’t worry too much about losing loyalty if the target finds out — once you’ve forced them to work for you, you can easily win back their loyalty with gifts and on-set production services.

Get friendly with the mob boss — make his movie, and he’ll help you find dirt on potential targets more easily. I haven’t tested using threats from the bootlegger yet, so I’m not sure if that helps as well.

Gifts

Gifts are now ordered in bulk. Here’s how I handle it:

For the first gift unlocked, I order 10 units — that’s roughly 60 days of delivery time. Once those arrive, I order another 10. This way, I have gifts ready early on.

When I have 20 or more gifts stored, I start ordering larger batches — 40 for 120 days, and so on. The goal is to always have gifts available quickly in the early game.

Illegal gifts can help too, but be aware: you need an executive with at least 85 loyalty to unlock them. I don’t use them often, but they can be fun.

Also, get on good terms with the police chief — it’ll help keep police raids off your back.

Executives

When hiring executives, always aim for ones with research speed bonuses focused on money — not influence.

If you have to choose between a Head of Staff with 10% money speed and 10% influence speed, or a Level 1 Head of Staff with no bonuses, go for the Level 1. You can level them up yourself easily, and they’ll be cheaper. Always check their monthly cost — that’s crucial.

Advertisements and Film Genres

In the early game, the movies that earn me the most are Romantic Comedies and Romantic Dramas, so focus on those.

When it comes to ads, the Velvet ad targets women — always use that for romance films. The other ads depend on your film type, but I always use three ads per movie.

For example, with a romance film, I’ll use Velvet, Nate, and one more general ad — usually Sparks.

Avoid Ross — it’s the weakest ad. Use Nate and either the Paper or Radio ad instead.
For detective films, I use Zola and Intelligent ads — they perform best there.

For Romantic Comedies, you can use Velvet and the Children’s ad, but be careful — some romance themes aren’t suitable for family audiences.

Hope this helps