how much does it cost to make a anime movie

by Prof. Bart Gutmann III 7 min read
image

So knowing that an animated film can really cost anywhere from about $1,000 per finished minute for the most bare-bones and basic animations such as a whiteboard animation and up to $200,000 per finished minute for complex animations such as those in many Disney movies, let’s take a look at some past animated films and their costs:

Answer by Balaji Viswanathan, Founder Zingfin.com:
A good animation movie can take $50 million or more to produce.
Jun 20, 2013

Full Answer

How much does it cost to make an anime episode?

So how much does one Anime Episode cost to make? The average cost of a simple 60-second 2D Animation is around 6000 $. A whole Episode can cost between 100.000 $ to 300.000 $. So a 12 Episode long Season can cost up to 3.6 million US Dollars.

How much does it cost to make an animated film?

So knowing that an animated filmcan really cost anywhere from about $1,000 per finished minute for the most bare-bones and basic animations such as a whiteboard animation and up to $200,000 per finished minute for complex animations such as those in many Disney movies, let’s take a look at some past animated films and their costs:

Why are anime movies so expensive?

But since then, the technology used for animation has improved and changed, and the cost of making movies has become much higher, animated or otherwise. It’s no surprise that the production costs of some of the anime films coming out of Japan in the last decade have blown Steamboy out of the water.

How long does it take to make an anime?

So all this work goes into creating every minute of every Anime and depending on the studio creating only 60 seconds of Animation can take anywhere between three weeks and up to two months! I hope, you got a little bit of an idea of how much work actually goes into making pretty much any Animation.

image

Is it cheaper to make an animated movie?

Animation is more malleable in terms of how you can simplify its costs, but a good animation will involve many specialized talents and require as much budget as live-action. Just as you can do live action with budgets of all sizes, the same applies to animation. More budget allows better and more sophisticated outputs.

Does anime cost more than movies?

Animation is expensive, more so than live action. I have produced both for series television and the animated one had twice as many artists working on one property than in live action.

How much does it cost to animate an episode?

Anime, however, goes much, much lower. A typical show can cost as little as US$125,000 per episode. On occasion a very well-off production can go north of US$300,000 per episode, but that's pretty rare.

How much does a 30 second animation cost?

How much does a 30-second animated explainer video cost? A 30 second, high quality animated explainer video production costs between $2000 – $4500, depending on the style and number of revisions in the process.

What is the #1 anime?

Anime Top 10Top 10 Best Rated (bayesian estimate) (Top 50)#titlerating1Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (TV)9.082Steins;Gate (TV)9.043Clannad After Story (TV)9.028 more rows

How much is Naruto worth?

Naruto - $10.3 Billion The series follows the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a ninja-in-training from the leaf village. His ultimate goal is to become the next village leader, known as the Hokage.

Is anime expensive to make?

According to Masamune Sakaki , a CG creator in the anime industry, an average 13-episode anime season costs around 250 million yen (or $2 million). He also made it clear that most anime can't recoup this expense, and the industry rests on the windfall of a few big hits.

What was the budget for Naruto?

Naruto Shippuden – $90,000-$100,000 Per Episode As a general rule of thumb, an acclaimed and widely followed anime costs 100,000 to 300,000 dollars per episode. Naruto Shippuden is one of the greatest anime series ever made. Experts speculate the anime costs north of 90,000 dollars per episode.

How much does Peppa Pig make per episode?

TV Animation Budgets Peppa Pig – 2D animated children's show running at a cost of £5,000 ($7755) per minute, so for a 52-show series that comes to £1.3m ($2m). Kaeloo – 3D animated teen show produced for roughly $4.4m, which equates to around $12,000 per minute.

How do animators charge?

Freelancers negotiate their animation rate with clients. Most animators bill clients on a fee-per-second basis, while others prefer to charge their clients on an hourly basis.

Why is animation so expensive?

It takes a lot of effort (and wages) to create the smooth story that will capture the audience. In a regular movie, an experienced actor might carry the show even with a bad story line and could do a lot of spontaneous things. There is no saving in an animated movie.

How much do animators cost?

$8,000 per minute from a professional studio One minute of 2D animated video could cost from $8,000 to $50,000. 3D animation is much pricier, as it could cost from $10,000 to $200,000 per minute. The price range difference is based on the number of characters and advanced features.

How much does an animated film cost?

In terms of per finished minute, we hear animated films announced at rates of anywhere from $10,000 to more than $200,000. Likewise, animated films can cost anywhere from $50 to nearly $50,000 per finished second. Most fall somewhere in between.

How long is an animated movie?

Typically, animated films are between 30 and 90 minutes in total length.

How much did Jungle Book 2 cost?

The Jungle Book 2 – A Disneytoons production that cost $20M.

How much did it cost to make Tangled?

Tangled – This Disney film cost $260M to create.

Is animation gaining popularity?

Animations are gaining popularity and with changes in production recently causing a shift in the scheduling of live-action films, many have considered shifting gears and producing animated films.

Do 3D animations require more hardware?

Additionally, as previously mentioned, the type of animation will play into the complexity of the project. 3D animations require significantly more hardware and software to produce than a basic frame-by-frame production.

Is 2D animation more expensive than 3D animation?

The type of animation is also considered. A 2D cutout animation is certainly going to be less invasive and probably less expensive than a 3D advanced render . When considering the price of an animated film there’s also frame-by-frame animations, motion graphics, stop motion, and kinetic typeset animations — each have their own expected costs per finished minute. If you’re looking for maximum affordability, whiteboard animation or a motion graphic project will most likely be first on the list!

How much did the Tale of Princess Kaguya cost?

1 The Tale of Princess Kaguya: $53,400,000. It is both surprising and unsurprising that a Studio Ghibli film is at the top of this list. On the one hand, they are responsible for four other entries on the list, making it easy to believe that they could take the top spot for most expensive production.

How much is the movie "Up on Poppy Hill"?

5 From Up On Poppy Hill: $28,000,000. From Up on Poppy Hill is Studio Ghibli’s earliest film in the 2010s, with a 2011 release date. The film, like many of the later Studio Ghibli films, is a drama about two teenagers in 1960s Japan who are working with their friends to try to save an old school club building where they spend time.

What is the last movie Hayao Miyazaki made?

The Wind Rises is considered by many to be Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus. It was the last film he made before he announced his retirement. The story, which follows Jiro Horikoshi, a real-life man who designed airplanes in Japan that were later used for warfare.

How long does it take to make an anime?

These are the works that go into creating every minute of Anime and depending on the studio, creating only 60 seconds of Animation can take anywhere between three weeks and up to two months. And even though Anime is not as expensive as other Animations like 3D rendered Animations or very detailed as other 2D Animations, it still is not cheap to make.

How much does it cost to make a 2D animation?

According to industry reports, the average cost of a simple 60 – second 2D Animation is around $6,000. A whole episode will more or less cost between $100,000 to $300,000. A 12 episode long Season can cost up to $3.6 million. Remember, this is only the production and does not factor in the marketing costs. While these production costs tend ...

Why was anime invented?

According to reports, Anime was invented because of the high Animation costs and was specially developed to cost less . If you think anime can only be made in Japan then you will need to have a quick rethink. Animes are made in America too.

Why are anime studios closed?

Many studios have closed because they can’t find animators. Some envisage that animators could start leaving Japan for foreign animation studios.

Why is animation so expensive?

Anime already is one of the cheaper variations of Animation, maybe because it is comparably simple in style.

How much does a 30 minute episode of My Hero Academia cost?

Also, a report published by the Media Development Research Institute Inc in 2018 noted that a single My Hero Academia 30 minute anime episode costs 12,000,000 yen, which exchanged to $108,480.00. The report also broke down where all that money goes. Costs are set for current exchange rates:

How much does a Simpsons episode cost?

A single episode of the Simpsons costs about $2 million USD (much of that going to the voice actors who’ve been keeping the show alive for nearly 30 years). Other American shows have similar costs, with many coming in around $1 million per episode. According to experts, part of the difference in cost in the industry boils down to Japan’s reputation ...

How long does it take to make an animation?

Now depending on how many hours they work depends on how intense the animation is; if the animation is 3D more than likely it will take 6 months to 2 years to do. Within those months and years depends on how detailed the characters are, how detailed the settings are, are there special effects, if so, how detailed the special effects are. Don’t forget about lip syncing, and the actors use to voice the characters. Don’t forget about post production which is editing, sound (music, and sound effects) lighting, touch ups. Don’t forget about pre production which is before post production. Pre production is when all the designers get together to talk the concept over with the director and producer, and screen writer. It is here where designers will show their concept art for the film. There’s a lot more to it than just this small paragraph though. A LOT!

How much did the rotoscoped A Scanner Darkly movie cost?

Just to give a sense of how big a range we’re looking at - the cheapest animated feature I can recall getting a “wide release” in theatres was probably the rotoscoped “ A Scanner Darkly ” from 2006 which I believe cost around $9M USD when it was completed. The most expensive I’m aware of was Disney’s “Tangled” (trailer above) at ~$275M USD.

How much did A Scanner Darkly cost?

Just to give a sense of how big a range we’re looking at - the cheapest animated feature I can recall getting a “wide release” in theatres was probably the rotoscoped “ A Scanner Darkly ” from 2006 which I believe cost around $9M USD when it was completed. The most ex

Does the distribution company pay the production company?

None theless if the distribution company accepts the film because the theatre chains accept the film, the distribution company will then pay the production company, and the film is NO LONGER the production company’s. The distribution company has ALL the rights, unless another contract was written and signed in front of witnesses such as entertainment lawyers.

Can you edit a Pixar storyboard?

Once you have storyboards you can slug in dialog and edit your scenes together with your storyboards. This is the point where Pixar first screens their productions for a test audience. If people aren’t emotionally attached to your

Average Cost of Making a Movie

The average cost of making a feature film is between $100 million and $150 million. Keep in mind that this is an average, meaning that there are feature films that cost less than $80 million and those that cost more than $200 million to produce.

Deciding the Budget of the Production

What is it about making a movie that costs so much? The answer to that question varies considerably depending on the production. Some films are made for relatively little money, while others cost a lot of money.

Budget of a Short Film

Even short films, which many aspiring directors utilize to develop a portfolio or generate buzz for a lengthier project, are not inexpensive. A short film ’s typical cost per minute is between $700 and $1,500, possibly higher. Regardless of a film’s length, though, the reality is that filmmaking is an expensive industry in general.

Budgets of Big Movies

The mega-budget movies that you see these days are pretty common. Avatar, directed by James Cameron, is a classic example of a mega-budget film with a $236 million budget. As a result, their significant investment paid off handsomely, with the film grossing more than $2 billion worldwide.

Breakdown of Expenses While Making a Feature Movie

While making a movie, you must break down the cost into the following categories:

Role of Movie Genres in Budgeting

Using data from IMDb and Statista, we can see that some genres cost more on average than others. For example, on average, adventure films are the most expensive cinema genre, with a budget of roughly $76 million. Sci-fi, animation, and fantasy films are among the most costly genres, with an average budget of over $60 million.

Tips for Newbie Filmmakers to Finance their Movies

Test Waters with Low Stakes: Allow for a margin of error. Allow yourself to take a big breath and go for it without putting your life on the line.

image

What Factors Influence Animated Film Cost?

Image
First, let’s take a look at some of the factors that an animation studio will present in relation to the total cost. For example, basic things like the length of the film and the style of animation are going to play a very important role in budgetingout the answer to your question, ‘how much does it cost to make an animated film?” Typi…
See more on beverlyboy.com

The Complexity of The Project

  • Animated films are almost certainly going to fluctuate on price based on the complexity of the project. Do you have a script or do you need to hire a scriptwriter? Does your story have 15 characters or 1 (or none)? Will, there be multiple voiceovers or can a single voice artist do the trick? All of this will play a role in the final overall cost per finished minute of your animated film…
See more on beverlyboy.com

How Much Past Animated Films Cost

  • So knowing that an animated filmcan really cost anywhere from about $1,000 per finished minute for the most bare-bones and basic animations such as a whiteboard animation and up to $200,000 per finished minute for complex animations such as those in many Disney movies, let’s take a look at some past animated films and their costs: 1. Tangled – This...
See more on beverlyboy.com