Critical response
Lobby cardThe film received good advance reviews, with Otis Ferguson of The New Republic writing the film was very funny, and praising Hawks's direction.[40] 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";[41] their only criticism was the length of the jail scene.[42] Film Daily called it "literally a riot from beginning to end, with the laugh total heavy and the action fast."[43] Harrison's Reports called the film "An excellent farce" with "many situations that provoke hearty laughter,"[44] and John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote that both stars "manage to be funny" and that Hepburn had never "seemed so good-natured."[45] 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",[46] and added, "If you've never been to the movies, Bringing Up Baby will be new to you – a zany-ridden product of the goofy-farce school. But who hasn't been to the movies?"[47]
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."[48] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 91 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[49]
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, 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 on March 3, 1938 at Radio City Music Hall made only $70,000 and it was pulled after one week[50] in favor of Jezebel with Bette Davis.[51]
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;[36] its reissue in 1940 and 1941 made an additional $95,000 in the US and $55,000 in foreign markets.[50] Following its second run, the film made a profit of $163,000.[36] Due to its perceived failure, Hawks was released early from his two-film contract with RKO[36] and Gunga Din was eventually directed by George Stevens.[52] 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."[53] The director went on to work with RKO on three films over the next decade.[54] Long before Bringing Up Baby's release, Hepburn had been branded "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.[55][56] However, many critics marveled at her new skill at low comedy; Life magazine called her "the surprise of the picture".[57] 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).[54]
