Editing Bringing Up Baby (section)

=={{anchor|Reception}}Reception==
===Critical response===
[[File:BabyPoster2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|[[Lobby card]]]]
The film received good advance reviews, with [[Otis Ferguson]] of ''[[The New Republic]]'' writing the film was very funny, and praising Hawks's direction.{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=268}} ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' also praised the film, singling out Hawks' pacing and direction, calling Hepburn's performance "one of her most invigorating screen characterizations" and saying Grant "performs his role to the hilt";{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=266}} their only criticism was the length of the jail scene.{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=267}} ''[[Film Daily]]'' called it "literally a riot from beginning to end, with the laugh total heavy and the action fast."<ref>{{cite journal |date=February 11, 1938 |title=Reviews of the New Films |journal=[[Film Daily]] |page=12}}</ref> ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' called the film "An excellent farce" with "many situations that provoke hearty laughter,"<ref>{{cite journal |date=February 19, 1938 |title=Bringing Up Baby |journal=[[Harrison's Reports]] |page=31}}</ref> and [[John Mosher (writer)|John Mosher]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote that both stars "manage to be funny" and that Hepburn had never "seemed so good-natured."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mosher |first=John |author-link=John Mosher (writer) |date=March 5, 1938 |title=The Current Cinema |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |pages=61–62}}</ref> However, [[Frank S. Nugent]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' disliked the film, considering it derivative and cliché-ridden, a rehash of dozens of other screwball comedies of the period. He labeled Hepburn's performance "breathless, senseless, and terribly, terribly fatiguing",{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=265}} and added, "If you've never been to the movies, ''Bringing Up Baby'' will be new to you&nbsp;– a zany-ridden product of the goofy-farce school. But who hasn't been to the movies?"{{sfn|Laham|2009|p=29}}

On review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "With Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant at their effervescent best, ''Bringing Up Baby'' is a seamlessly assembled comedy with enduring appeal."<ref>{{cite web | title=Bringing Up Baby (1938) | url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bringing_up_baby | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date=July 26, 2023}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film holds a weighted average score of 91 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web | title=Bringing Up Baby reviews| url= https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bringing-up-baby?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa0e | work=[[Metacritic]] | access-date=June 3, 2020}}</ref>

===Box office===
Despite ''Bringing Up Baby''{{-'}}s reputation as a flop, it was successful in some parts of the U.S. The film premiered on February 16, 1938, at the [[Golden Gate Theatre]] in [[San Francisco]] (where it was a hit), and was also successful in [[Los Angeles]], [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Denver]], [[Cincinnati]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] However, it was a financial disappointment in the Midwest, as well as most other cities in the country, including NYC; to RKO's chagrin, the film's premiere in [[New York City|New York]] on March 3, 1938, at [[Radio City Music Hall]] made only $70,000 and it was pulled after one week{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|p=255}} in favor of ''[[Jezebel (1938 film)|Jezebel]]'' with [[Bette Davis]].{{sfn|Brown|1995|p=140}}

During its first run, ''Bringing Up Baby'' made $715,000 in the U.S. and $394,000 in foreign markets for a total of $1,109,000;{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=14}} its reissue in 1940 and 1941 made an additional $95,000 in the US and $55,000 in foreign markets.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|p=255}} Following its second run, the film made a profit of $163,000.{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=14}} Due to its perceived failure, Hawks was released early from his two-film contract with RKO{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=14}} and ''[[Gunga Din (film)|Gunga Din]]'' was eventually directed by [[George Stevens]].{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|p=257}} Hawks later said the film "had a great fault and I learned an awful lot from that. There were ''no'' normal people in it. Everyone you met was a screwball and since that time I learned my lesson and don't intend ever again to make everybody crazy."{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|p=256}} The director went on to work with RKO on three films over the next decade.{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=16}} Long before ''Bringing Up Baby''{{-'}}s release, Hepburn had been branded "[[Box Office Poison (magazine article)|box office poison]]" by Harry Brandt (president of the Independent Theatre Owners of America) and thus was allowed to buy out her RKO contract for $22,000.{{sfn|Eliot|2004|pp=180–1}}{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=255–7}} However, many critics marveled at her new skill at [[low comedy]]; [[Life magazine|''Life'' magazine]] called her "the surprise of the picture".{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=15}} Hepburn's former boyfriend Howard Hughes bought RKO in 1948, and sold it in 1955; when he sold the company, Hughes retained the copyright to six films (including ''Bringing Up Baby'').{{sfn|Mast|1988|p=16}}