(no subject)
Hmm, just looking at a recent thread in the Slayers community, I've started to think about the production costs for anime series. I'm gonna look at the production values in Japan and then the licensing/distrubution costs for American companies.
Japanese Costs
First, most places online seem to say that the average cost for producing one episode of an anime series ranges from ¥10-¥20 million. That's about $110,700-$221,400 USD. This article goes on to say that the airing block fees are about ¥25-¥50 million ($276,800-$553,600) and the total investment by Square Enix for the first season of Fullmetal Alchemist was about ¥500 million ($5.5 million). The same article states that Square Enix made a profit of ¥1,620 million ($14 million) via DVD releases.
Comparatively, the average production values of a single pilot for a North American TV show is about $4 million. The pilot episode for Lost cost between $10-$14 million. So already, one pilot episode for a locally produced series is already around the same cost as producing a full 26-episode anime series. Point here is that by our standards, $5 million is not a lot of money.
American Costs
Companies like FUNimation and Viz have to pay for licensing and distribution rights. First of all, it seems as if in 2005, the fees for licensing and distributing a high-end series was $50,000 per episode. That means it'd cost a company about $1.3 million for the rights to a 26-episode series.
In addition to these fees, companies have to pay for translation, dubbing, advertising and product manufacturing. The most expensive part of this process is the dubbing, as it can apparently cost quite a bit to hire voice actors to fill the roles of all characters in a series. This article says that dubbing can cost just as much or sometimes more than the initial licensing fees. That would end up being another $1.3 million, bringing the total to $2.6 million.
These numbers seem off to me. If a company like FUNimation had to pay $2.6 million for a 26-episode series and only managed to sell 20,000 copies at $50 each, they'd only be making $1 million and would be at a loss of $1.6 million. Yet they manage to meet their profit quotas each quarter. And seem to make around $100 million a year, which really makes me think that the figures above are just totally skewed. o_O
I don't doubt that a company might pick up a series or two that aren't altogether too popular and lose money on it, but then make up for the profit loss with their more popular series. But in that case, can you imagine the costs for licensing a series like One Piece or Naruto? One Piece is over 400 episodes long. That'd end up being $20 million in licensing fees alone for just the 400 episodes. $40 million for dubbing. o_O Even in selling in allotments of 13 episodes each at $50 a piece, that'd be $30 million, $10 million in the red. Augh! IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. It'd make sense if the $1.3 million included the dubbing and manufacturing costs...
....Augh, I give up. I need sleep. 9_6
Japanese Costs
First, most places online seem to say that the average cost for producing one episode of an anime series ranges from ¥10-¥20 million. That's about $110,700-$221,400 USD. This article goes on to say that the airing block fees are about ¥25-¥50 million ($276,800-$553,600) and the total investment by Square Enix for the first season of Fullmetal Alchemist was about ¥500 million ($5.5 million). The same article states that Square Enix made a profit of ¥1,620 million ($14 million) via DVD releases.
Comparatively, the average production values of a single pilot for a North American TV show is about $4 million. The pilot episode for Lost cost between $10-$14 million. So already, one pilot episode for a locally produced series is already around the same cost as producing a full 26-episode anime series. Point here is that by our standards, $5 million is not a lot of money.
American Costs
Companies like FUNimation and Viz have to pay for licensing and distribution rights. First of all, it seems as if in 2005, the fees for licensing and distributing a high-end series was $50,000 per episode. That means it'd cost a company about $1.3 million for the rights to a 26-episode series.
In addition to these fees, companies have to pay for translation, dubbing, advertising and product manufacturing. The most expensive part of this process is the dubbing, as it can apparently cost quite a bit to hire voice actors to fill the roles of all characters in a series. This article says that dubbing can cost just as much or sometimes more than the initial licensing fees. That would end up being another $1.3 million, bringing the total to $2.6 million.
These numbers seem off to me. If a company like FUNimation had to pay $2.6 million for a 26-episode series and only managed to sell 20,000 copies at $50 each, they'd only be making $1 million and would be at a loss of $1.6 million. Yet they manage to meet their profit quotas each quarter. And seem to make around $100 million a year, which really makes me think that the figures above are just totally skewed. o_O
I don't doubt that a company might pick up a series or two that aren't altogether too popular and lose money on it, but then make up for the profit loss with their more popular series. But in that case, can you imagine the costs for licensing a series like One Piece or Naruto? One Piece is over 400 episodes long. That'd end up being $20 million in licensing fees alone for just the 400 episodes. $40 million for dubbing. o_O Even in selling in allotments of 13 episodes each at $50 a piece, that'd be $30 million, $10 million in the red. Augh! IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. It'd make sense if the $1.3 million included the dubbing and manufacturing costs...
....Augh, I give up. I need sleep. 9_6