"The Fox and the Hound" was released to movie theaters on July 10, 1981 by Buena Vista Distribution. The movie was a success at the box office. It was the 14th highest-grossing movie of the year and made $39.9 million in the United States. At the time of release, it was the most expensive animated movie produced to date. It cost $12 million to make the movie. It was re-released to theaters on March 25, 1988. An intermediate follow-up, "The Fox and the Hound 2", was released directly-to-DVD on December 12, 2006.