Editing Midnight Run (section)

==Reception==
===Box office===
''Midnight Run'' was released on July 20, 1988, in 1,158 theaters, grossing US$5.5 million in its opening weekend. It went on to make $38.4 million in North America and $43.2 million in the rest of the world, for a worldwide total of $81.6 million.<ref name= "boxoffice">{{cite news| title = ''Midnight Run''| work = Box Office Mojo| publisher = IMDb| url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=midnightrun.htm| access-date = December 18, 2008 }}</ref>

===Critical response===
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 95%, based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 8.00/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Enlivened by the antagonistic chemistry between Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, ''Midnight Run'' is an uncommonly entertaining odd couple comedy."<ref>{{cite web |title=Midnight Run (1988) |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/midnight_run/ |access-date=April 19, 2025 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/midnight-run|title = Midnight Run|website = [[Metacritic]]}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.<ref>{{cite web |title=Home – Cinemascore |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/ |website=Cinemascore |access-date=December 28, 2019}}</ref>

Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] of the [[Chicago Sun-Times|''Chicago Sun-Times'']] gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, and wrote, "What ''Midnight Run'' does with these two characters is astonishing, because it's accomplished within the structure of a comic thriller ... It's rare for a thriller to end with a scene of genuinely moving intimacy, but this one does, and it earns it."<ref name= "Ebert">{{cite news| last = Ebert| first = Roger| title = ''Midnight Run''| work = [[Chicago Sun-Times]]| date = July 20, 1988| url = https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midnight-run-1988| access-date = September 26, 2022}}</ref>

In his review for ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', [[Jay Scott]] praised the performances: "De Niro has the time of his acting life lightening up and sending up all those raging bulls that won him all those Oscars ... Charles Grodin, master of the double-take and maestro of the slow burn, the best light character comic since [[Jack Benny]] stopped playing himself".<ref name="Scott">{{cite news| last = Scott| first = Jay| title = ''Midnight Run''| work = [[The Globe and Mail]]| location = Toronto| date = July 20, 1988}}</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]], in his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', wrote, "Mr. De Niro and Mr. Grodin are lunatic delights, which is somewhat more than can be said for the movie, whose mechanics keep getting in the way of the performances."<ref name="Canby">{{cite news| last = Canby| first = Vincent| title = De Niro and Grodin in Cross-Country Chase| work = [[The New York Times]]| date = July 20, 1988| url = https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=940DE5DA1E30F933A15754C0A96E948260| access-date = March 16, 2009 }}</ref>

In his review for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', [[Hal Hinson]] said of the director that, "carrying the dead weight of George Gallo's script, Brest isn't up to the strenuous task of transforming his uninspired genre material in {{sic}} something deeper, and so the attempts to mix pathos with comedy strike us merely as wild and disorienting vacillations in tone."<ref name="Hinson">{{cite news| last = Hinson| first = Hal| title = Random Bounty| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]| date = July 20, 1988| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/midnightrunrhinson_a0a8d0.htm| access-date = December 18, 2008}}</ref>

[[David Ansen]], in his review for ''[[Newsweek]]'', wrote, "The outline of George Gallo's script—odd couple antagonists become buddies under perilous circumstances—was stale five years ago, and the outcome offers no surprises. Too bad: a lot of good work has been wasted on an unworthy cause."<ref name="Ansen">{{cite news| last = Ansen| first = David| title = Reactivating Action Heroes| work = [[Newsweek]]| date = July 25, 1988}}</ref>