Mississippi Burning held its world premiere at the Uptown Theatre in Washington, D.C., on December 2, 1988,[33] with various politicians, ambassadors and political reporters in attendance. United States Senator Ted Kennedy voiced his support of the film, stating, "This movie will educate millions of Americans too young to recall the sad events of that summer about what life was like in this country before the enactment of the civil rights laws."[33] The film was given a platform release, first being released in a small number of cities in North America before opening nationwide. It opened in Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and New York City on December 9, 1988.[33][34] Orion was confident that the limited release would help qualify the film for Academy Awards consideration, and generate strong word-of-mouth support from audiences.[33][35] The film opened in wide release on January 27, 1989,[36] playing at 1,058 theaters, and expanding to 1,074 theatres by its ninth week.[37]
Box office
Mississippi Burning's first week of limited release saw it take $225,034, an average of $25,003.40 per theater.[37] The film grossed an additional $160,628 in its second weekend.[37] More theaters were added during the limited run, and on January 27, 1989, the film officially entered wide release. Over its first weekend of wide release, the film grossed $3,545,305, securing the number five position at the domestic box office with a domestic gross to date of $14,726,112.[37] The film generated strong local interest in the state of Mississippi, resulting in sold-out showings in the first four days of wide release.[38] After seven weeks of wide release, Mississippi Burning ended its theatrical run with an overall gross of $34,603,943.[37] In North America, it was the thirty-third highest-grossing film of 1988[39] and the seventeenth highest-grossing R-rated film of that year.[40]
Home media
Mississippi Burning was released on VHS on July 27, 1989, by Orion Home Video.[41] A "Collector's Edition" of the film was released on LaserDisc on April 3, 1998.[42] The film was released on DVD on May 8, 2001, by MGM Home Entertainment. Special features for the DVD include an audio commentary by Parker and a theatrical trailer.[43] The film was released on Blu-ray on May 12, 2015, by the home video label Twilight Time, with a limited release of 3,000 copies. The Blu-ray presents the film in 1080p high definition, and contains the additional materials found on the MGM DVD.[44] Kino Lorber reissued the film on Blu-ray on June 18, 2019, with a new 4K transfer and all the previously-available extras.[45]
