<Li> $3 million (original release) </Li> <Li> $23.3 million (unadjusted, re-releases) </Li> <P> The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer . Widely considered to be one of the greatest films in cinema history, it is the best - known and most commercially successful adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming (who left production to take over direction on the troubled Gone with the Wind production). It stars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, alongside Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton, with Charley Grapewin, Pat Walshe and Clara Blandick, Terry (billed as Toto), and Singer's Midgets as the Munchkins . </P> <P> Legendary for its use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score, and memorable characters, it has become an icon of American popular culture . It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but lost to Gone with the Wind . It did win in two other categories, including Best Original Song for "Over the Rainbow" and Best Original Score by Herbert Stothart . While the film was considered a critical success upon release in August 1939, it failed to make a profit for MGM until the 1949 rerelease, earning only $3,017,000 on a $2,777,000 budget, not including promotional costs, which made it MGM's most expensive production to that time . </P>

What year did the original wizard of oz movie come out