Wes Anderson earned his reputation as a unique film director. His style is unmistakable, dating back to his breakthrough indie hit 'Rushmore' via his Oscar-winning The Grand Budapest Hotel. There's no denying a Wes Anderson movie when you see it. The director has been working continuously for 30 years, which is no easy feat. There have been some bumps along the way, that's for sure, but Anderson always manages to recover.

One such speed bump occurred in 2009 with the release of Anderson's stop-motion animated feature Fantastic Mr. Fox". Although it was received critically, the film was not a box office winner, to put it mildly. Against a reported budget of $40 million, the film grossed just over $46 million worldwide in its original run. However, the relative failure of that film eventually paved the way for one of his greatest successes. Namely, 2012's Moonrise Kingdom.

In a 2012 interview with DeadlineAnderson explained that after Fantastic Mr. Fox flopped at the box office (something he takes responsibility for)securing a larger budget for his next project was more difficult. As a result, when he decided to pull the trigger on Moonrise Kingdom, he had to do so for a more modest sum. According to Anderson:

"I think after we did Fantastic Mr. Fox and that movie didn't do very well, we had to make Sunrise Kingdom for less money than I feel we would have under other circumstances. We probably would have had a little more, not a lot more, and still made the same movie, but it was a little more gimmicky than it could have been."

Although "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was not a huge success in its time, it eventually found its audience. It even got a Criterion Blu-ray release in 2019, which you can pick up on Amazon. Anderson's films tend to have a long shelf life, which not all directors allow. Besides, the director learned a valuable lesson from making that film. "I'd rather make the movie I want to make than the hit he thought we could make," Anderson said in the same interview.

In the end, Anderson was able to secure a budget of $16 million to make his love story about two runaway 12-year-olds on the island of New Penzance in New England in the 60s. It's no easy task to make an A-list period piece for that budget, but Anderson pulled it off. Even if it had to be on a lower budget, he made Moonrise Kingdom the way he wanted to make it. As he alluded to, it was certainly more difficult under financial constraints, but it was also uncompromisingly his film.

Newcomers Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman lead the cast as Susie and Sam, respectively, but Anderson also sparred with Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton, among others. However, the total budget of the film is not much more than what an A-lister could earn for a blockbuster at the peak of his career. Fortunately, Anderson's reputation as a filmmaker makes it so that actors want to work with him, regardless of payday.

"I think I made $4,200 on this movie," Edward Norton said in a 2019 interview. Entertainment Weekly. "People ask me, 'Why were you in that Prada ad in London?' It's because I want to make movies like 'Moonrise Kingdom,' and Wes isn't paying... I've lost money, for sure, on every Wes Anderson movie I've ever done." Norton also said he would like to mirror Anderson as a director.

Moonrise Kingdom was a big hit both critically and commercially. It grossed $68.8 million at the box office worldwide, or more than four times its production budget. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards that year. The only Anderson movies to make more money were The Grand Budapest Hotel ($163 million) and The Royal Tenenbaums ($71.4 million).

Taking less money but retaining creative control is the template Anderson has largely followed ever since. That's a big part of what allowed Asteroid City to become such a big hitwith an A-list cast once again working for less just for the chance to be in a Wes Anderson movie. If "Fantastic Mr. Fox” was a big hit, who knew? Maybe Anderson's filmography looks very different.

Moonrise Kingdom is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.