Comps (Comparable Films)

Comps — comparable films — are produced titles used to position a new script: "film A meets film B," or "the dread of X in the world of Y." Good comps do two jobs at once: they communicate tone instantly, and they make a financial argument, because each comp carries a public record of budget and box office.

The classic mistakes:

• Aspirational comps. Comparing your $2M thriller to a $150M franchise tells a producer you don't know your own budget tier.
• Ancient comps. Films older than ~15 years prove little about today's audience.
• Tone-deaf comps. Matching plot but not tone ("it's Alien… but a comedy?") creates confusion where there should be recognition.

Strong comps are recent, budget-honest, and tonally true. Every coverage scorecard we produce includes three, each with a one-line rationale — and they're often the fastest way to see how a producer will mentally shelve your script. They're also page 3 of every good pitch deck.