Extract text from Movie Magic budgets (MBD)
To convert MBD budgets to another format, you need Movie Magic Budgeting or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Budgeting Project File" file type, you need software like Movie Magic Budgeting or a similar tool.
The .MBD file extension is primarily a Movie Magic Budgeting file. Developed by Entertainment Partners, this format is the industry standard for film and television production budgeting. It stores complex, layered financial data, including global rates, fringes, cast salaries, and production schedules. Less commonly, .MBD files are used as project files for the discontinued Multimedia Builder software, or as JSON-based character builds for the City of Heroes Mids' Reborn planner.
The main disadvantage of the .MBD format is its highly proprietary nature. Opening a Movie Magic budget requires an expensive, active subscription to Movie Magic Budgeting. Without the official software, you cannot natively view the budget breakdowns, modify calculations, or share the document with team members who lack a license. This creates major friction during pre-production when sharing financials with external producers or studio executives.
To solve this, users typically need to convert .MBD files to standard formats like PDF for static viewing, or XLSX and CSV to manipulate the budget data in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. However, direct conversion outside the native software often strips away the complex formulas and dynamic macros embedded in the original file, leaving only the raw numerical output.
Because .MBD is a closed, proprietary format, standard online converters fail to process it. Only the original software can properly read or export the structured data. However, convert.guru can still help. Just drag and drop your file to identify the exact format version, inspect the file contents, and extract plain text or internal data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format - such as the JSON structure used in City of Heroes builds - viewing or partial conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MBD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MDB, SQD, BAF, DFL and BBL files.
If you want to convert MBD file to BBL, DB, SQLITE, SQLITE3, MDB, ACCDB, DBF, ODB, FDB, GDB, MYD or FRM, you can use Movie Magic Budgeting or similar software from the "Film Production Budgeting Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert NDF, SQLITE3, BAK, RDB, SQL, DB4, MDF, MDB, LDF, DB, DB3 or SQLITE files to MBD, try Movie Magic Budgeting or another comparable tool in the "Film Production Budgeting Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MBD converter.