Editing Waiting to Exhale (section)

==Reception==
===Box office===
''Waiting to Exhale'' was a financial success, opening at number one at the North American box office and grossing $14.1 million its first weekend of release.<ref>{{cite news|title=It's a Big Sigh of Relief for ''Exhale'': Box office: Whitney Houston film opens strongly and could take in $11 million or more for the four-day weekend. 'Nixon' and 'Cutthroat Island' perform poorly.|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=December 25, 1995|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-25-ca-17784-story.html|access-date=November 1, 2010|first=Elaine|last=Dutka|archive-date=March 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323154531/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-25-ca-17784-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In total, the film grossed $67.05 million in North America, and $14.4 million internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $81.45 million.<ref name="boxofficemojo1">[https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=waitingtoexhale.htm WAITING TO EXHALE] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817055901/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=waitingtoexhale.htm |date=August 17, 2016 }} ''Box Office Mojo''. Retrieved February 21, 2010</ref> Its widest release was just over 1,400 theatres, and it was the 26th highest-grossing film of 1995.<ref name="boxofficemojo1"/>

===Critical response===
Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics. Film critic Susan Stark from ''[[The Detroit News]]'' stated, "For all the pleasure there is in seeing effective, great-looking black women grappling with major life issues on screen, ''Waiting to Exhale'' is an uneven piece."<ref name="rottentomatoes1" /> Reviewer Liam Lacey from ''[[The Globe and Mail|The Daily Globe and Mail]]'' wrote of the film, "[It] never escapes the queasy aura of ''Melrose Place'': just another story about naive people with small problems."<ref name="rottentomatoes1">[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waiting_to_exhale/?page=1&critic=approved&sortby=date&name_order=asc&view=#contentReviews Waiting to Exhale (1995)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915181618/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waiting_to_exhale?page=1&critic=approved&sortby=date&name_order=asc&view=#contentReviews |date=September 15, 2024 }} ''Rotten Tomatoes''. Retrieved February 21, 2010</ref> However, film critic [[Roger Ebert]] positively reviewed the film, stating that it is "an escapist fantasy that women in the audience can enjoy by musing, 'I wish I had her problems'—and her car, house, wardrobe, figure and men, even wrong men."<ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19951222/REVIEWS/512220305 Waiting to Exhale (1995)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010112702/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19951222/REVIEWS/512220305 |date=October 10, 2012 }} ''Chicago Sun Times''. Retrieved February 21, 2010</ref> The film is notable for having an all-[[African-American]] cast. The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it a "social phenomenon".<ref>Dutka, Elaine. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-31-ca-14282-story.html "The Money's Where the Action Is; Movies: Big budgets and special effects push the film industry to yet another record performance"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207190036/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-31-ca-14282-story.html |date=February 7, 2023 }}, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. May 22, 2006. December 31, 1996.</ref> The film received a 56% approval rating at [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's consensus states: "''Waiting to Exhale'' looks at life's ups and downs from an underseen perspective -- albeit one that's poorly served by uneven acting and a sporadically interesting story."<ref name="rottentomatoes1"/>

In the book ''[[Is Marriage for White People?]]'' writer and [[Stanford Law School]] professor [[Ralph Richard Banks]] states that the film is a perfect example of the problems African-American women have in finding serious relationships.<ref name=city>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[City Journal (New York)|City Journal]]|url=http://www.city-journal.org/2011/bc0902jm.html|title=Marrying Out|author=John H. McWhorter|access-date=September 15, 2011|archive-date=October 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011112452/http://www.city-journal.org/2011/bc0902jm.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Accolades===
* [[NAACP Image Awards|Image Awards]]
** Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture:
*** ([[Angela Bassett]]) '''Winner'''
*** ([[Whitney Houston]]) '''Nominated'''
** Outstanding Soundtrack: '''Winner'''
** Outstanding Motion Picture: '''Winner'''
** Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture: ([[Gregory Hines]]) '''Nominated'''
** Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture:
*** ([[Loretta Devine]]) '''Winner'''
*** ([[Lela Rochon]]) '''Nominated'''
* [[MTV Movie & TV Awards|MTV Movie Awards]]
** Best Female Breakthrough Performance: ([[Lela Rochon]]) '''Nominated'''
** Best Song from a Movie:
*** [[Whitney Houston]] - "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"
*** [[Brandy Norwood|Brandy]] - "Sittin' Up in My Room"