Editing The Godfather Part III (section)

==Reception and legacy==
===Box office===
''The Godfather Part III'' grossed $66.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $70.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $136.8 million, against a production budget of $54 million.<ref name="Mojo"/>

The film opened in 1,901 theaters, and grossed $19.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing second behind ''[[Home Alone]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Godfather-Part-III-The#tab=summary|title=The Godfather: Part III (1990)|publisher=numbers.com|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=September 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904030602/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Godfather-Part-III-The#tab=summary|url-status=live}}</ref> It went on to generate a total of $6 million on Christmas Day, which was the highest at the time. For seven years, the film held that record until 1997, when it was surpassed by ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Jeff |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102407881/scream-2-losing-its-voice-at-box/ |title='Scream 2' losing its voice at box office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613024916/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102407881/scream-2-losing-its-voice-at-box/ |date=December 30, 1997 |access-date=June 13, 2022 |archive-date=June 13, 2022 |page=8 |work=Associated Press Writer |publisher=[[Lebanon Daily News|The Daily News]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref> In its second weekend, it made $8.3 million, finishing third.<ref>[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1991W01/?ref_=bo_rl_table_3  Domestic 1991 Weekend 1 - Box Office Mojo]</ref>

On the release of the recut version, ''The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone'', in December 2020, it made $52,000 from 179 theaters.<ref>{{cite news |date= December 6, 2020 |last=Brueggemann |first=Tom |title= 'Croods' and 'Half-Brothers' Lead Universal-Dominated Box Office Weekend to Less Than $9 Million |url= https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/croods-half-brothers-lead-universal-dominated-box-office-weekend-less-than-9-million-1234602698/ |website=[[IndieWire]] |access-date= December 6, 2020}}</ref> In total, the film made $95,000 domestically, and $71,000 in four international markets.<ref name="Mojo"/>

===Critical response===
====Original film (1990)====
[[File:Sofia Coppola Cannes 2013.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sofia Coppola]] in 2013; her performance in the film was panned by critics.]]

Common criticisms of ''The Godfather Part III'' focused on Sofia Coppola's acting, the convoluted plot, and the film's inadequacy as a "stand-alone" story.<ref>[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/20079/The-Godfather-Part-III/overview New York Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308162556/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/20079/The-Godfather-Part-III/overview |date=March 8, 2013 }} Retrieved March 2009; ''The Godfather Part III (1990)''</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/12/books/12book.html |title=You Think You're Out, but They Try to Pull You Back In |first=Michiko |last=Kakutani |date=November 12, 2004 |access-date=August 22, 2013 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=May 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528044307/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/12/books/12book.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 66% based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The final installment of ''The Godfather'' saga recalls its predecessors' power when it's strictly business, but underwhelming performances and confused tonality brings less closure to the Corleone story."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godfather_part_iii/|title=The Godfather, Part III (1990)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date= June 16, 2023 |archive-date=May 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517183628/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godfather_part_iii/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a [[weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average score]] of 60 out of 100, based on 19 critics, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/godfatherpart3 | title = The Godfather: Part III Reviews | work = [[Metacritic]] | access-date = August 10, 2011 | archive-date = July 27, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100727070621/http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/godfatherpart3 | url-status = live }}</ref> Opening day audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B+" on a [[Academic grading in the United States|scale of A+ to F]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemascore.com|title=Find CinemaScore|format=Type "Godfather" in the search box|publisher=[[CinemaScore]]|access-date=April 4, 2020|archive-date=January 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102130540/https://www.cinemascore.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In his review, [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' stated that it is "not even possible to understand this film without knowing the first two". Nonetheless, Ebert wrote an enthusiastic review, awarding the film three-and-a-half stars out of four. He also defended the casting of Sofia Coppola, who he felt was not miscast, stating, "There is no way to predict what kind of performance [[Francis Ford Coppola]] might have obtained from [[Winona Ryder]], the experienced and talented young actress, who was originally set to play this role. But I think Sofia Coppola brings a quality of her own to Mary Corleone. A certain up-front vulnerability and simplicity that I think are appropriate and right for the role."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-godfather-part-iii-1990 |title=The Godfather, Part III Movie Review (1990) |first=Roger |last=Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=December 25, 1990 |access-date=August 22, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185136/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-godfather-part-iii-1990 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ebert's colleague, [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' also gave the film high praise and placed it tenth in his list of the ten best films of 1990. Siskel admitted that the ending was the film's weakest part, citing Al Pacino's makeup as very poor. He also said, "[Another] problem is the casting of Sofia Coppola, who is out of her acting league here. She's supposed to be Andy Garcia's love interest but no sparks fly. He's more like her babysitter." In response to Ebert's defense of Coppola, Siskel said, "I know what you're saying about her being sort of natural and not the polished bombshell, and that would've been wrong. There is one, a photographer in the picture, who takes care of that role, but at the same time, I don't think it's explained why [Vincent] really comes onto her, unless this guy is the most venal, craven guy, but look who he's playing around with. He's playing around with the Godfather's daughter."

[[Leonard Maltin]], giving the film three out of four, stated that it is "masterfully told", but that casting Sofia Coppola was an "almost-fatal flaw".<ref name="2009Maltin">{{cite book|first=Leonard|last=Maltin|author-link=Leonard Maltin|title=Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide|publisher=Penguin Group|location=New York City|date=2009|isbn=978-0-452-28978-9|page=530|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EgPDierNGUC&q=casting+Sofia+Coppola+was+an+%22almost-fatal+flaw.%22&pg=PA530}}</ref> [[James Berardinelli]] gave the film a positive review, awarding it three-and-a-half stars out of four.<ref>[https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/godfather-part-iii-the Godfather Part III movie review by James Berardinelli] reelviews.net</ref> [[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]] of the ''[[National Review]]'' described the film as "a tedious effort to flog an old hippopotamus into action".<ref>{{cite book |title=John Simon on Film: Criticism 1982-2001|last1=Simon|first1=John |publisher=Applause Books |year=2005 |page=197}}</ref>

====Recut version (2020)====
On Rotten Tomatoes, the recut version, ''The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone'', holds an approval rating of 86% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "''The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone'' pulls the audience back into Francis Ford Coppola's epic gangster saga with a freshly — albeit slightly — edited version of its final installment."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_godfather_coda_the_death_of_michael_corleone |title= THE GODFATHER, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (2020) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date= February 7, 2021}}</ref> On Metacritic, the film was assigned a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-godfather-coda-the-death-of-michael-corleone |title=The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[Red Ventures]] |access-date=December 18, 2020 }}</ref>

Writing for ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[Peter Bradshaw]] gave the film three out of five stars and stated, "I'm not sure how much, if anything, Coppola's re-edit does for the film, but it's worth a watch."<ref name=guardian>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/dec/01/the-godfather-coda-the-death-of-michael-corleone-review-francis-ford-coppola-al-pacino|title=The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone review – Coppola edits the past|work=The Guardian|date=December 1, 2020|access-date=December 5, 2020|author=Peter Bradshaw}}</ref>

[[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' stated, "Here's the news and the ever-so-slight scandal: It's the same damn movie. [...] The one impactful change is the new opening scene" and that the film "gathers force as it goes along. It's a movie that can sweep you up if you let it [...] I salute Coppola's decision to put the movie back out there. I hope that a lot of people revisit it (or discover it for the first time), using that word 'coda' as a key — for, of course, ''The Godfather Part III'' always was an extended coda to what is arguably the greatest epic saga in the history of American cinema."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/columns/godfather-3-coda-review-death-of-michael-corleone-francis-ford-coppola-1234846553/|title='The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone' Is a Chance to Revisit a Film That Didn't Deserve Its Brickbats|publisher=Variety|date=December 4, 2020|access-date=December 5, 2020|author=Owen Gleiberman}}</ref>

Writing for ''[[IndieWire]]'', David Ehrlich said, "But when it was announced that [Coppola] had inevitably assembled a new cut of his most famous cause célèbre and re-christened it with the title he'd always wanted for the film... he wasn't trying to make it 'better' so much as he was trying to shift its place in history and reframe the picture as less the third part of a flawed trilogy than the postscript of a legendary dyad."<ref>{{cite news |last1= Ehrlich |first1= David |title= How 'The Godfather Coda' Allows Francis Ford Coppola to Redefine His Biggest Disappointment |url= https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/the-godfather-coda-the-death-of-michael-corleone-review-1234603176/ |date= December 10, 2020 |work= [[IndieWire]] |access-date= December 10, 2020 }}</ref>