Every Disney Princess Movie, Ranked From Least To Most Expensive

The Walt Disney Company would be nothing without the iconic Disney Princesses. After all, the company would cease to exist if Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had been a box office flop. Since then, Disney has paid careful attention to who they consider a Disney Princess and even more attention crafting heartfelt and inspiring stories for these heroines.

For most of the Walt Disney Company’s history, the Disney Princess films have carried the company to success. As such, they are often given grand budgets that allow the creators to timeless masterpieces. Which Disney Princess film has the biggest budget? Keep reading to find out.

13 Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs (1937) – $1.48 Million

Not only was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Walt Disney Animation Studio’s first full-length film, but it was also the world’s first animated full-length film. Animating a short cartoon took hours and involved a huge crew; animating a feature film was even more work with even more people involved. Given this, the film was created with a massive $1.48 million budget which, in 1937, was a huge amount of money for a cartoon.

Thankfully for the Walt Disney Company and the future of animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a huge success both financially and critically. In fact, if numbers are adjusted for inflation, the film is still one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time.

12 Cinderella (1950) – $2.9 Million

Cinderella became the second Disney Princess film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Created thirteen years after the original Princess film, Cinderella earned a slight budget increase compared to its predecessor. While this is impressive, it also goes to show how massive Snow White’s budget was for its time if nearly a decade later, the budget of the next Disney feature was only increased by a million dollars.

Much like Snow White, Cinderella was a massive success for the studio and is credited for helping Disney turn things around after a series of box office bombs.

11 Sleeping Beauty (1959) – $6 Million

Sleeping Beauty was released nine years after Cinderella, making it the third Disney Princess film for the studio. It also has the third-lowest budget of all the Disney Princess films. Unlike the first two Disney Princess films, Sleeping Beauty was met with mixed reviews and ultimately was the last Disney Princess film created for several decades.

Part of the reason for the budget increase was because the film was shot using the Super Technirama 70 widescreen process, which was new to filmmakers and new to animators.

10 Beauty & The Beast (1991) – $25 Million

Beauty and the Beast is actually the fifth Disney Princess film released and yet its comparatively conservative budget lands it as the fourth-cheapest Disney Princess film. Despite being one of the cheaper Disney Princess films, Beauty and the Beast is one of the most iconic and critically acclaimed films in the Disney Princess catalog.

The film went on to become the first animated film to ever win the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and it also became the first feature film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

9 Aladdin (1992) – $28 Million

While Aladdin centers around the titular Aladdin, the film is considered a part of the Disney Princess catalog with Jasmine serving as the sixth Princess. Surprisingly, this film is currently the fifth-cheapest Disney Princess film.

Aladdin was a huge success for the studio and the Disney Princess catalog. In fact, it became the highest-grossing film in 1992, beating out Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard and John Hughes’ Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

8 The Little Mermaid (1989) – $40 Million

While Ariel from The Little Mermaid is actually Disney’s fourth Princess, her film is the eighth-most expensive Disney Princess film. This is interesting considering it had a budget greatly higher than Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, which came after its release.

The Little Mermaid had huge expectations to hit since it was Disney’s first Princess film in several decades. Much like how Snow White and Cinderella saved the studio, The Little Mermaid reinvigorated the Disney Princess catalog and set the tone for what Disney Princess would feel like for the next several decades.

7 Pocahontas (1995) – $55 Million

Inspired loosely by true events, the film centers on Pocahontas, a young Native American woman, who must convince John Smith that her people and their land don’t pose a threat to their plans.

Despite having a $55 million budget, the seventh Disney Princess film wasn’t as big of a success as Disney had hoped. In fact, the studio hoped that Pocahontas would become their next Beauty and the Beast but that was hardly the case. Instead, the film made a profit but was met with mixed reviews, with many criticizing it for its historical inaccuracies and racial overtones. Ironically, Disney’s hopes for Pocahontas were fulfilled by The Lion King, which the studio was actually nervous about.

6 Mulan (1998) – $90 Million

Mulan is considered to be the eight Disney Princess and film released by the animation studios. This is interesting considering Mulan is the only Princess who was not born into nor did she marry royalty. However, the film does carry a lot of the same messages that Disney Princess films do and thus, she is an official Disney Princess.

The film was created with a budget of $90 million, which clearly went to good use. With massive battle scenes, talented voice actors, and an incredible original score, it’s no surprise that Mulan is the sixth most expensive Disney princess film.

5 The Princess & The Frog (2009) – $105 Million

After Mulan, Disney animation studios once again took a break from creating Disney Princess films. That hiatus ended with the release of The Princess and the Frog. With eleven years between Mulan and The Princess and the Frog, it’s only fair that this Princess film got a budget increase which ended up totaling roughly $105 million.

The film, which featured Disney’s first Black Princess became a huge financial and critical success. It also became Disney’s most profitable animated feature since 2002, proving that the budget increase paid off.

4 Frozen (2013)- $150 Million

While Elsa and Anna haven’t officially become Disney Princess, as far as fans are considered, they are definitely worthy of the label. After all, Frozen is the highest-grossing Disney Princess film of the entire slate. Given this, it’s interesting to learn that Frozen is tied at third place with the next entry.

While Disney Princess films had been performing well in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, Frozen blew expectations out of the water. The film went on to earn $1.28 billion at the box office, more than eight times its budget.

3 Moana (2016) – $150 – $175 Million

Moana is the latest Disney Princess film that’s not a sequel to be released by Disney Animation Studios. She is also the twelfth and final official Disney Princess as of now. Despite being the most recent film, Moana had a budget on par with Frozen with it being estimated to be between $150 million and $175 million.

While it’s unclear, many assume that its heightened budget had to do with the massive amounts of water that had to be animated for this film. It’s also been called Disney’s “most effects-filled film ever.”

2 Brave (2012) – $185 Million

Created by Pixar Animation Studios, Merida is the only official Disney Princess that doesn’t come from a Disney Animated film. Brave had a budget of almost $200 million, making it the second-most-expensive Disney Princess film ever made.

Part of the massive budget went towards paying the animators who were tasked with creating and rendering Merida’s iconic unruly red curls. It was also the first film to be mastered in a new sound format which definitely accounted for the budget increase.

1 Tangled (2010) – $260 Million

Taking home the prize for being the most expensive Disney Princess film ever made is Tangled. Rapunzel might be the tenth Disney Princess, but her film cost the studio a fortune.

Part of the reason for Tangled’s massive budget was because it was Disney Animation studio’s first animated CGI film, though it did still combine traditional animation elements. Not only is Tangled the most expensive Disney Princess film to date, but the film is also the most expensive animated film ever made.

About The Author

Danielle Bruncati
(299 Articles Published)

Danielle Bruncati was born and raised in Southern California and has been a story-teller for as long as she can remember. She is currently a freelance writer for ScreenRant and is also pursuing a Master’s Degree in Television Writing and Producing from a top 10 film school. When she’s not writing, Danielle can be found binging the latest sitcom or teen tv series with her dog by her side or walking around Disneyland with a Mickey-shaped snack in hand.

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