Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for The Tale of The Princess Kaguya?

Directed by Isao Takahata, with Aki Asakura, Takeo Chii, Nobuko Miyamoto leading the cast, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya was produced by Studio Ghibli with a confirmed budget of $49,300,000, placing it in the mid-budget category for animation films.

With a $49,300,000 budget, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya sits in the mid-range of studio releases. Marketing costs for a wide release at this level typically add $30–60 million, putting the break-even point near $123,250,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Basic Instinct (1992): Budget $49,000,000 | Gross $352,927,224 → ROI: 620% • Deep Water (2022): Budget $49,000,000 | Gross N/A • The Highwaymen (2019): Budget $49,000,000 | Gross N/A • Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019): Budget $49,000,000 | Gross $120,600,000 → ROI: 146% • Ricky Stanicky (2024): Budget $49,700,000 | Gross N/A

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ 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. Major studio animated features employ 300–600 artists over 3–5 years.

▸ Voice Talent Celebrity voice casting has become standard for studio animation, with A-list actors earning $5–15 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.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Aki Asakura, Takeo Chii, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kengo Kora, Atsuko Takahata Key roles: Aki Asakura as The Princess Kaguya (voice); Takeo Chii as Sanuki no Miyatsuko (voice); Nobuko Miyamoto as Ōna / Narrator (voice); Kengo Kora as Sutemaru (voice)

DIRECTOR: Isao Takahata CINEMATOGRAPHY: Keisuke Nakamura MUSIC: Joe Hisaishi EDITING: Toshihiko Kojima PRODUCTION: Studio Ghibli, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, KDDI, Mitsubishi Shoji, Nippon Television Network Corporation, TOHO, T2 Studio FILMED IN: Japan

Box Office Performance

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya earned $974,913 domestically and $23,391,743 internationally, for a worldwide total of $24,366,656. International markets drove the majority of revenue (96%), indicating strong global appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), The Tale of The Princess Kaguya needed approximately $123,250,000 to break even. The film fell $98,883,344 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $24,366,656 Budget: $49,300,000 Net: $-24,933,344 ROI: -50.6%

Detailed Box Office Notes

The film debuted at first place during its opening weekend in Japan, grossing (). By 2 February 2014, it had grossed ¥2,313,602,733 ($22,613,153) at the Japanese box office. It subsequently grossed () in Japan, where it was the eleventh top-grossing Japanese film of 2014.

It grossed $703,232 in North America and $969,920 in other countries, for a worldwide total of .

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Unprofitable (Theatrical)

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya earned $24,366,656 against a $49,300,000 budget (-51% ROI), falling short of theatrical profitability. Ancillary revenue may have reduced the deficit.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

The underperformance may have increased risk aversion around mid-budget animation productions.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

As a child, Takahata read The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. He recalled that he struggled to relate and sympathize with the protagonist; to him, the "heroine's transformation was enigmatic" and that it "didn't evoke any empathy from [him]". In 1960, Takahata was preparing for a potential adaptation for his employer Toei Animation, which eventually was abandoned. After rereading the tale, he realized the story's potential to be entertaining, as long as an adaptation allowed the audience to understand how Princess Kaguya felt.

Studio Ghibli revealed that Isao Takahata was working on a feature-length film in 2008. Takahata announced at the 62nd Locarno International Film Festival in 2009 that he intended to direct a film based on the anonymous Japanese literary tale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was financed by Nippon TV, whose late chairman, Seiichiro Ujiie, gave (approximately ) towards the project. Ujiie loved Takahata's work, and pleaded with Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki to let Takahata make one more film. Ujiie died on 3 March 2011, but not before being able to view the script and some of the storyboards.

To make sure the audience emotionally connected with the film, it was important to Takahata that viewers were able to "imagine or recall the reality deep within the drawings", rather than be distracted by a realistic art style. He wanted to have people "recollect the realities of this life by sketching ordinary human qualities with simple props". To assist with this vision, Osamu Tanabe provided the character designs and animation, and Kazuo Oga drew the watercolor backgrounds.

▸ Music & Score

In 2012, Shin-ichiro Ikebe was announced to write the film's score. However, in 2013, Joe Hisaishi replaced Ikebe as the composer. This would be the only time Hisaishi scored a film directed by Isao Takahata. The theme song "When I Remember This Life" was written and performed by Nikaido Kazumi. The music from the film's original soundtrack was released on 20 November 2013.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 13 wins & 38 nominations total

Awards Won: ★ Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film ★ Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film ★ Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film

Nominations: ○ Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film ○ Annie Award for Best Animated Feature ○ Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Animated Film ○ Annie Award for Music in a Feature Production ○ Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (87th Academy Awards) ○ Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year ○ Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production

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CRITICAL RECEPTION

The film received critical acclaim. It was the first film of the 2010s to receive an approval rating of 100% on the website, making it one of the highest-rated films of the decade.

In February 2014, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya placed 4th in both Kinema Junpo's Best Ten and their Reader's Choice Awards. David Ehrlich of The A.V. Club gave the film an A, deeming it "the best animated movie of the year", adding that it is "destined to be remembered as one of the revered Studio Ghibli's finest achievements." Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times praised the artwork calling it "exquisitely drawn with both watercolor delicacy and a brisk sense of line". For IndieWire's 2018 list of the best Japanese films of the 21st century, Carlos Aguilar expressed agreement with the common view that Spirited Away is the greatest, but still chose The Tale of the Princess Kaguya for the list and referred to the latter as "a work of nearly identical caliber [...] an artistic triumph that delights with exuberant handcraft where the each pencil stroke comes alive on screen. Takahata made something at once pastoral, timeless, and epic in proportion with an emotional depth rarely seen in films – animated or not."

In July 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 279.