Synopsis

The stork delivers a baby elephant to Mrs. Jumbo, veteran of the circus, but the newborn is ridiculed because of his truly enormous ears and dubbed "Dumbo". After being separated from his mother, Dumbo is relegated to the circus' clown acts; it is up to his only friend, a mouse, to assist Dumbo to achieve his full potential.

What is the budget of Dumbo?

"Dumbo," a animation released in 2019, was directed by Ben Sharpsteen, Bill Roberts, Samuel Armstrong, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Norman Ferguson and stars Edward Brophy, Margaret Wright. The production budget was $812,000, placing it in the micro-budget range for animation productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Animation Production Pipeline: The bulk of an animated film's budget funds the multi-year production pipeline: storyboarding, character modeling, rigging, animation, lighting, rendering, and compositing.
Voice Talent: Celebrity voice casting has become standard for studio animation, with A-list actors earning $5 to 15 million for voice roles.
Music, Songs & Sound Design: Original songs and orchestral scores are central to animated storytelling. Sound design for animated worlds must be created entirely from scratch.

What were the major cost factors in Dumbo?

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

Animation Production Pipeline: Animation Production Pipeline is one of the primary cost drivers in animation productions of this scale.
Voice Talent: Voice Talent is one of the primary cost drivers in animation productions of this scale.
Music: Music, Songs & Sound Design is one of the primary cost drivers in animation productions of this scale.

Dumbo Box Office Performance

"Dumbo" earned $1,600,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $812,000, the film showed modest profitability in theatrical release.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Dumbo," that break-even threshold was roughly $1,624,000. With worldwide earnings of $1,600,000, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $812,000
Worldwide Gross: $1,600,000
Net Return: $788,000
ROI: approximately 97%

At 97%, "Dumbo" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.

Awards and Recognition

Won 1 Oscar. 6 wins & 1 nomination total

Academy Award for Best Original Musical Score: Oliver Wallace (14th Academy Awards)
Academy Award for Best Original Musical Score: Frank Churchill (14th Academy Awards)
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films