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In film production, a negative pickup is a contract entered into by an independent producer and a movie studio conglomerate wherein the studio agrees to purchase the movie from the producer at a given date and for a fixed sum. Depending on whether the studio pays part or all of the cost of the film, the studio will receive the rights (theatrical, television, home entertainment) domestic and/or international to the film, with net profits split between the producer and the studio.
The word "negative" in this context can be confusing because it does not relate to a numerical value (where negative means less than zero), but instead comes from the pre-digital era in which a motion picture was embodied in physical film negatives.