Synopsis

While protecting his village from rampaging boar-god/demon, a confident young warrior, Ashitaka, is stricken by a deadly curse. To save his life, he must journey to the forests of the west. Once there, he's embroiled in a fierce campaign that humans were waging on the forest. The ambitious Lady Eboshi and her loyal clan use their guns against the gods of the forest and a brave young woman, Princess Mononoke, who was raised by a wolf-god. Ashitaka sees the good in both sides and tries to stem the flood of blood. This is met by animosity by both sides as they each see him as supporting the enemy.

What is the budget of Mononoke-hime?

"Mononoke-hime," a adventure released in 1999, was directed by Hayao Miyazaki and stars Yoji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida. The production budget was $23,500,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for adventure productions of the 1990s.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects: Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director): A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation.
Production Design, Sets & Locations: Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment , all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.
Pre-Production: Hayao Miyazaki composed the preliminary ideas for what would become Princess Mononoke in 1980 after releasing his first film, The Castle of Cagliostro(1979), drawing sketches of a princess living in the woods with a beast.

What were the major cost factors in Mononoke-hime?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Mononoke-hime."

Stunts: Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast: Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Production Design: Production Design, Sets & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.

How Does Mononoke-hime's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $23,500,000, Mononoke-hime sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

The Visitors II: The Corridors of Time (1998): Budget $23,030,000 , Gross $66,000,000
The Secret World of Arrietty (2010): Budget $23,000,000, Worldwide Gross $149,660,003
Bad Santa (2003): Budget $23,000,000, Worldwide Gross $76,500,000
Chasing Liberty (2004): Budget $23,000,000, Worldwide Gross $12,195,626
Chéri (2009): Budget $23,000,000, Worldwide Gross $9,400,000

The median budget for wide-release adventure films in the era ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Mononoke-hime Box Office Performance

"Mononoke-hime" earned $4,845,631 domestically and $176,506,186 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $23,500,000, 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 "Mononoke-hime," that break-even threshold was roughly $47,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $176,506,186, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $23,500,000
Worldwide Gross: $176,506,186
Net Return: $153,006,186
ROI: approximately 651.1%

At 651.1%, "Mononoke-hime" earned roughly $7.51 for every $1 invested in production.

Mononoke-hime Production History

As with most of Miyazaki's previous films, Princess Mononoke score was composed by Joe Hisaishi. According to McCarthy, the score's development involved a much closer collaboration between the two than on previous works. Hisaishi first composed an image album, a collection of demos and musical sketches that serve as a precursor to the finished score, which he shared with Miyazaki and Suzuki.

Awards and Recognition

14 wins & 6 nominations total

Animation Kobe Theatrical Film Award
Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year

Critical Reception

The film was generally well received by critics in Japan, and Kanō described a "flurry of praise" in the Japanese media following its box office success. The Asahi Shimbun Noboru Akiyama felt that the work displayed a "strong artistic quality" and a number of reviews in animation magazines highlighted its visual fidelity. Several publications featured articles from critics and academics covering several aspects of the film's production as well as interviews with key staff.