Box office
The film earned $8 million domestically and $6.6 million internationally, despite the positive reviews bringing its final gross to $14.6 million—around $6 million short of earning its budget back.[4]
Critical response
Inherent Vice was met with positive reviews. Critics praised the film for its performances, particularly those of Phoenix, Brolin, and Waterston, while some were frustrated by its complicated plot. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 74% based on 258 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Inherent Vice may prove frustrating for viewers who demand absolute coherence, but it does justice to its acclaimed source material – and should satisfy fans of director P.T. Anderson."[42] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[43]
Film Journal International's Ethan Alter commented that the film is "confounding, challenging and consistently unique."[44] IGN reviewer Matt Patches gave the film an 8.9 out of 10 score, saying "There's nothing certain – a surprisingly rewarding sensation that demands repeat viewings. There's so much, too much, to soak up, and all the laughter Anderson piles on top of the thematics means there's plenty to miss. Inherent Vice is a high grain strain: Provocative, hilarious, and its own breed of weird."[45] Collider's Adam Chitwood named it one of the top ten films of 2014.[46]
The film was ranked 75th in a survey of 177 critics conducted by the BBC in 2016 to determine the 100 best films of the 21st century.[6]
Top ten lists
Inherent Vice was listed on many film critics' top ten lists of 2014 films.[47]
- 1st: Drew McWeeny, HitFix
- 1st: Glenn Kenny & Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
- 1st: Ben Kenigsberg, The A.V. Club
- 1st: Jordan Raup, The Film Stage
- 2nd: RogerEbert.com
- 2nd: J. Hoberman, Artforum
- 2nd: Sasha Stone, Awards Daily
- 2nd: Marlow Stern, The Daily Beast
- 2nd: David Ehrlich, Little White Lies
- 2nd: Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
- 3rd: Keith Phipps, The Dissolve
- 3rd: The Guardian
- 3rd: Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
- 3rd: Kristopher Tapley, HitFix
- 3rd: Andrew O'Hehir, Salon
- 4th: Scott Foundas, Variety
- 5th: Wesley Morris, Grantland
- 5th: Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
- 5th: Adam Chitwood, Collider
- 5th: Gregory Ellwood, HitFix
- 5th: Kimberly Jones, Austin Chronicle
- 6th: Jake Coyle, Associated Press
- 6th: Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed
- 7th: Cahiers du Cinéma
- 8th: Ty Burr, The Boston Globe
- 9th: William Bibbiani, CraveOnline
- 9th: Sight & Sound
- 9th: David Ansen, The Village Voice[48]
- 9th: Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times (tied with A Most Violent Year)
- 10th: Eric Kohn, IndieWire
- 10th: Harry Knowles, Ain't It Cool News
- 10th: Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
- Best of 2014 (listed alphabetically, not ranked): Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
