Editing Shaft's Big Score! (section)

==Reception==
===Box office===
After two weeks in five theaters, ''Shaft's Big Score!'' expanded to an additional 99 theaters and grossed $2,175,811 by the end of its third week.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Shaft Means Business (advertisement)|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=5 July 1972|pages=12–13}}</ref> It went on to earn [[theatrical rental]]s of $4 million in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Updated All-time Film Champs|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=9 January 1974|page=60}}</ref> It had a total $10 million gross.<ref name=RetFan10/>

===Critical response===
[[Roger Greenspun]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' observed that "the new Shaft follows a new and glossier and tidier image, an image that is much more [[James Bond]] than [[Humphrey Bogart|Bogart]]." His review concluded, "Gordon Parks keeps improving as a technician, and 'Shaft' Big Score' is far more ambitious and professional than the original 'Shaft.' But it is also more mechanical and more exploitative of the material. And so it becomes less responsible, less detailed, less personal, less serious and less fun."<ref>Greenspun, Roger (June 22, 1972). "Film: Something Happened on Way to the Sequel". ''[[The New York Times]]''. 47.</ref> Conversely, [[Roger Ebert]] awarded the film 3 stars out of 4, describing it as "mass-audience escapist entertainment" that works better than the original film did.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title= Shaft's Big Score|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|publisher=[[Sun-Times Media Group]]|location=[[Chicago]]|date=June 26, 1972|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shafts-big-score-1972|access-date=2019-05-07}}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' also gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and wrote, "The 'Shaft' series works, and will continue to work, because John Shaft is black, beautiful (to women), and a winner."<ref>Siskel, Gene (June 26, 1972). "'...Shaft's Score". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 2, p. 13.</ref> Arthur D. Murphy of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' stated, "The first 'Shaft' had a running-scared excitement not only in the characters, but also throughout the whole picture. The new film seems more self-conscious, contrived, ambitious, and sluggish."<ref>Murphy, Arthur D. (June 21, 1972). "Film Reviews: Shaft's Big Score". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. 18.</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote, "As pure escapist fare it's every bit as successful as 'Shaft.'"<ref>Thomas, Kevin (June 30, 1972). "Roundtree Stars in 'Score'". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part IV, p. 12.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' panned the film as "strenuous but unimaginative,"<ref>Arnold, Gary (July 5, 1973). "'Shaft in Africa': Last Gasp". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. C11.</ref> expressing disappointment that the filmmakers didn't "attempt to do a little more the second time around—maybe give the hero some more humor and dimension and his adventures more scope and relevance." He also called the absence of Isaac Hayes' score "a crucial loss ... You really miss that sound, which gave 'Shaft' a persistent, rhythmic drive and undercurrent."<ref>Arnold, Gary (July 1, 1972). "'Shaft' Gimmick Squeezed Dry". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. D1, D4.</ref> Clyde Jeavons of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote, "It's efficient, exciting in a predictable, routine way, and excessively violent (with the emphasis on pyrotechnics, beatings and messy bullet-holes); but plot-wise it's patently absurd, with Shaft's invulnerability attaining supernatural proportions in the climax, as he makes life as easy as possible for his murderous opponents by scampering about suicidally in front of their machine guns, which he survives with nary a scratch."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jeavons |first=Clyde |date=September 1972 |title=Shaft's Big Score! |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=39 |issue=464 |page=195 }}</ref>

On [[review aggregation]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds a "rotten" rating of 58% based on 12 reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Shaft's Big Score! (1972)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shafts_big_score|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|language=en|access-date=September 5, 2021}}</ref>