Cinderella Budget

1950

FamilyFantasyAnimationRomance1h 14m

Updated April 25, 2026

Budget

$2,900,000

Domestic Box Office

$93,141,149

Worldwide Box Office

$263,600,000

Synopsis

The story of Cinderella follows the fortunes of young Ella whose merchant father remarries following the death of her mother. Eager to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother and her daughters Anastasia and Drisella into the family home. But, when Ella’s father unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family. Finally relegated to nothing more than a servant girl covered in ashes, and spitefully renamed Cinderella, Ella could easily begin to lose hope. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother’s dying words and to “have courage and be kind.” She will not give in to despair nor despise those who mistreat her. And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an apprentice at the Palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears her fortunes may be about to change when the Palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella’s hopes of once again encountering the charming Kit. Alas, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But, as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand, and a kindly beggar woman steps forward and – armed with a pumpkin and a few mice – changes Cinderella’s life forever.

What is the budget of Cinderella?

"Cinderella," a family released in 1950, was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske and stars Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley. The production budget was $2,900,000, placing it in the micro-budget range for family productions of the 1950s.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a family production like this include:

Talent Salaries & Producing Deals: Established comedic talent can command $15 to 20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals.
Production & Location Filming: While comedies generally avoid the VFX costs of action films, location shooting in recognizable cities or exotic locales adds meaningful production expense.
Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising): Comedies rely heavily on marketing to build opening-weekend momentum.
Casting: Nearly 380 applicants were auditioned for the role of Cinderella.

What were the major cost factors in Cinderella?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Cinderella."

Talent Salaries: Talent Salaries & Producing Deals is one of the primary cost drivers in family productions of this scale.
Production: Production & Location Filming is one of the primary cost drivers in family productions of this scale.
Marketing: Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) is one of the primary cost drivers in family productions of this scale.

Cinderella Box Office Performance

"Cinderella" earned $93,141,149 domestically and $263,600,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $2,900,000, the film performed strongly at the box office.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Cinderella," that break-even threshold was roughly $5,800,000. With worldwide earnings of $263,600,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $2,900,000
Worldwide Gross: $263,600,000
Net Return: $260,700,000
ROI: approximately 8989.7%

At 8989.7%, "Cinderella" earned roughly $90.9 for every $1 invested in production.

Cinderella Production History

Nearly 380 applicants were auditioned for the role of Cinderella. In March 1948, The Hollywood Reporter announced that singer Jeannie McKeon had been signed to voice the character, but eventually the deal did not work out. That same month, Ilene Woods announced on national radio that she had been cast as Cinderella.

The original songs were written and composed by Tin Pan Alley songwriters Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman, who had written six songs for the film by March 1949. Oliver Wallace and Paul Smith composed the score. A soundtrack was not issued during the initial release in 1950.