How Does Hallmark make so many movies? (2024)

How Does Hallmark make so many movies?

They operate on microbudgets—less than $1 million Canadian—which allows some production companies to fly under the union radar and keep crew costs low, and tax credits take the edge off even that. “Worst-case scenario, they're breaking even,” says a Vancouver producer we'll call Britney.

Business Insider estimates that on average Hallmark holiday movies only cost about $2 million to produce.

Programming. Hallmark Channel's programming consists of classic and some recent/original television series, and original made-for-TV movies.

Since 2008, the cable Hallmark Channel has become a veritable factory of holiday-themed romance TV movies, presenting close to four dozen films every year for their 24/7 Countdown to Christmas programming, per The Wall Street Journal.

Previous estimates have found that Hallmark Channel generates a third of its annual ad revenue just from Christmas movies. That equates to more than $350 million. The franchise has held up well despite increased competition from other cable networks and now streaming networks.

Tyler Hynes

Tyler Hynes is maybe the best actor Hallmark has! His lengthy career includes titles like 12th Date of Christmas, The Mistletoe Secret, Falling For You with Taylor Cole. He's also appeared opposite Lacey Nicole Chabert in original Holiday movies like Winter in Vail. He also played Vince Legare in TV's 19-2.

According to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) pay scale, for a leading role, a Hallmark actor could make between $1,251.00 to $3,575.00 per week. Of course, for bigger stars, that amount could be more.

Hallmark pays around $50,000 to $60,000 per script (plus residuals) on movies generally budgeted around $2 million to $2.5 million. In-demand writers like the Dobrofskys can earn a little more. “They pay on time,” says Neal.

If you feel like every time you turn on the Hallmark channel, Cameron Bure is on, there's a good reason for that. The Full House star has been in a whopping nine stand-alone Hallmark films, as well as the Aurora Teagarden series of mystery movies.

There are actually psychological underpinnings to why some of us may crave corniness, experts say. “There's a lot of dopamine and oxytocin that gets released in watching these things,” said T. Makana Chock, a researcher of media psychology at the Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications.

What do Hallmark movies pay actors?

Hallmark Actors get paid between $400 to $1,200 per day. And to complete a Hallmark movie Director needs 14 to 20 days. So finally they get around $5,600 to $24,000 per movie as per their popularity, and the average budget of a hallmark movie is 2 Million Dollars.

They make a ton of money. The typical pitch-to-delivery cycle for these low-budget, high-volume Hallmark-style movies is less than three months.

The channel is also, not so surprisingly, a great place to find friendships. The actresses on Hallmark all follow one another on social media, promote each other's projects, and attend red carpets together. That camaraderie is one of Chabert's favorite parts about being in the network's, well, network.

Hallmark Just Signed Two Huge Stars After Candace Cameron Bure's Exit to GAC.

B.C.'s moderate weather and tax incentives make it a popular place to film the made-for-TV movies.

How much does it cost to produce a Hallmark movie? These feel good movies are filmed in only 2 to 3 weeks with a micro-budget of $1 to $2 million per movie. Most of the Hallmark movies are filmed on location in Canada - in Vancouver or in small towns around British Columbia - to take advantage of tax credits.

Candace Cameron Bure has ultimately chosen to leave Hallmark in order to pursue a bigger career at GAC Family, Hallmark's biggest competitor at present. TVLine reports that Bure will not only act in and produce original content for the cable network but also assume an executive position within the company.

Actors (other than background actors) get paid again when a performance is rerun. In TV's past, those payments ended after a certain number of replays; now they can go on forever — making those “Law & Order” reruns an annuity for the actors. As for how much the performers are paid, it varies.

Where does Hallmark film their movies?

It turns out, you can! The majority of Hallmark movies are filmed in Canada (didn't see that one coming) and typically set in larger cities near Vancouver. Some filming locations have even gone so far to cross the pond. For example, Christmas in Vienna really was filmed in Austria.

Daniel Stine and Rachel Hendrix

This next Hallmark couple is so cute! Stine and Hendrix met while filming Virginia Minnesota back in 2016. Later, they filmed Midway to Love together after becoming a duo! Finding love on set led to them officially getting married in 2019!

No Unsolicited Scripts

Much like Netflix, Hallmark doesn't accept unsolicited script submissions, which means that you can't just send in a screenplay for consideration. The network will either forgo replying or flat-out reject it.

Meet Karen Schaler, the writer behind Hallmark and Netflix's Christmas movies. For author and screenwriter Karen Schaler, Christmas is a year-round affair. The former war reporter tells us how her journalism unlocked the secret to writing a holiday movie.

Hallmark is unable to accept – or assume responsibility for – unsolicited manuscripts. For those seeking publication of their work, we suggest finding an agent to represent you in your search. Sources include writersdigest.com, authorlink.com and The Writer's Market book, available at local bookstores or libraries.

Hallmark pays around $50,000 to $60,000 per script (plus residuals) on movies generally budgeted around $2 million to $2.5 million. In-demand writers like the Dobrofskys can earn a little more. “They pay on time,” says Neal.

If you feel like every time you turn on the Hallmark channel, Cameron Bure is on, there's a good reason for that. The Full House star has been in a whopping nine stand-alone Hallmark films, as well as the Aurora Teagarden series of mystery movies.

B.C.'s moderate weather and tax incentives make it a popular place to film the made-for-TV movies.

Lacey Chabert Net Worth: $4 Million.