Editing Chariots of Fire (section)

== Reception ==
Since its release, ''Chariots of Fire'' has received generally positive reviews from critics. {{as of|2024}}, the film holds an 84% rating from the review aggregator website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 117 reviews, with a [[weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]] of 7.8/10. The site's consensus reads: "Decidedly slower and less limber than the Olympic runners at the center of its story, ''Chariots of Fire'' nevertheless manages to make effectively stirring use of its spiritual and patriotic themes."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chariots_of_fire|title=Chariots of Fire|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 78 out of 100 based on 19 critics' reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/chariots-of-fire|title=Chariots of Fire Reviews|website=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=28 February 2021}}</ref>

For its 2012 re-release, Kate Muir of ''[[The Times]]'' gave the film five stars, writing: "In a time when drug tests and synthetic fibres have replaced gumption and moral fibre, the tale of two runners competing against each other in the 1924 Olympics has a simple, undiminished power. From the opening scene of pale young men racing barefoot along the beach, full of hope and elation, backed by Vangelis's now famous anthem, the film is utterly compelling."<ref>[https://www.thetimes.com/sport/olympics/article/chariots-of-fire-6gd5vlm00hm]. "First Night Reviews: Chariots of Fire". Retrieved 3 January 2017.</ref>

In its first four weeks at the Odeon Haymarket it grossed £106,484.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=13 May 1981|title=Premiere Engagement at the Odeon Haymarket (advertisement)|pages=242–243}}</ref> The film was the highest-grossing British film for the year with [[theatrical rental]]s of £1,859,480.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=12 January 1983|page=146|title=Top Grossing British Films on the U.K. Market: '81-'82}}</ref> Its gross of almost $59 million in the United States and Canada made it the highest-grossing film import into the US (i.e. a film without any US input) at the time, surpassing ''[[Meatballs (film)|Meatballs]]''{{'}} $43 million.<ref name=mojo/><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=7 July 1982|title='Chariots of Fire' Becomes Top Import Pic In U.S. B.O. History|page=1|last=Cohn|first=Lawrence}}</ref>

The film was included by the Vatican in [[Vatican's list of films|a list of important films]] compiled in 1995, under the category of "Values".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |title=Vatican Best Films List |work=Official website of the [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops|U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops]] |access-date=2012-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422064928/http://old.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |archive-date=2012-04-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2024, filmmaker [[Christopher Nolan]] cited it as one of his favorite films and as one of the sources of inspiration for his film ''[[Dunkirk (2017 film)|Dunkirk]]'' (2017).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/christopher-nolan-favorite-movies/chariots-of-fire-3/ | title=Christopher Nolan's Favorite Movies: 42 Films the Director Wants You to See | date=25 March 2024 }}</ref>