Order of credits in the end crawl and on posters — determines size and sequence of names. Contractually locked, frequently a source of tension.
Who is mentioned first, who how large — this decides about career perception and fees in the next round. Billing is the contractually recorded hierarchy of names in the credits and on all marketing materials. This sounds administrative, but it is one of the hottest points of conflict on set and in production offices. The order, font size, background design, and even the placement on the poster — everything is negotiated down to the third decimal place.
In practice, it works like this: The leading actor receives First Billing — their name appears first, larger, more prominent. Then follows Second, Third Billing, and so on. But it's not just about the order. An A-list star might demand that their name stands alone on a line and is shown at least 50 percent of the size of the film title. An established character actor might negotiate Shared Billing with the lead — two names side-by-side, the same size. And then there are the footnotes: an actor might have it contractually stipulated that their name must appear *before* the production logo — this is called Above the Line Billing, a matter of status.
On set, this creates real tension. If a high-caliber guest star appears whose contract guarantees them billing above a main actor, the marketing department has to redesign the poster. Producers get annoyed, agents block, and the editor later has to create all versions of the credits — one for cinema, one for streaming, one for the DACH region with different requirements. If it's not done correctly, lawsuits are threatened: actors have a right to their contractually guaranteed visibility.
In smaller productions, this is handled more loosely. In indie films, work is often done with Alphabetical Billing — names in alphabetical order, which ends internal discussions. This is impossible on larger blockbusters. There, negotiations, box-office potential, and marketing power decide. The post-production supervisor must keep all versions ready because festivals, territories, and platforms have different requirements.