The film was first announced in December 2008 with Keanu Reeves attached to star, and Chris Morgan's script appeared on the 2008 Black List of best unproduced screenplays.

Variety described the intended tone as mixing fantasy elements similar to The Lord of the Rings with gritty battle scenes akin to Gladiator.

Director Carl Rinsch had no prior feature film experience, having only directed stylish commercials, yet Universal entrusted him with a production budget of $175 million, a move The Hollywood Reporter called 'large-scale, downright risky'.

Between March and April 2011, five Japanese actors—Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi, Ko Shibasaki and Jin Akanishi—were cast alongside Reeves because Universal wanted the film to feel more authentic rather than casting actors more recognizable to American audiences.

Keanu Reeves revealed that many scenes were first filmed in Japanese to help the cast get familiar with the material, then reshot in English.

The film used a total of 998 costumes and 400 suits of armor designed by British costume designer Penny Rose, who based the look on traditional kimono shapes but added colorful, unusual fashion twists.

Reshoots took place in London in late August 2012 but were delayed by the 2012 Summer Olympics and by Keanu Reeves' filming of his directorial debut, Man of Tai Chi.

During editing, Universal pulled director Carl Rinsch from the project, with studio chairwoman Donna Langley taking over the editing process; the studio also added a love scene, extra close-ups and additional dialogue to boost Reeves' presence, significantly increasing the budget.

The film was delayed twice, from an original November 2012 release to February 2013 (due to 3D effects work) and finally to December 25, 2013, due to reshoots and post-production needs.

Despite featuring a well-known Japanese cast and being based on a famous national legend, 47 Ronin flopped in Japan, opening in third place with only $1.3 million, which Nikkan Gendai attributed to local distaste for a Hollywood take on the Chūshingura story.

The film grossed $151.8 million worldwide against a production budget of $175–225 million, making it one of Hollywood's biggest box-office bombs of 2013 according to Variety.