the film's budget is disputed. in 1972, "the hollywood reporter" stated that "fritz the cat" recouped its costs in four months following its release. a year later the magazine reported that the film grossed $30 million worldwide and was produced on a budget of $1.3 million. in 1993, director ralph bakshi said ""fritz the cat", to me, was an enormous budget -- at $850,000 -- compared to my terrytoon budgets ..." in an interview published in 1980, bakshi stated "we made the film for $700,000. complete".