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Dawn of the Dead (1978 film)
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==Reception== ===Box office=== ''Dawn of the Dead'' performed well thanks both to commercial advertising and word-of-mouth. Ad campaigns and posters declared the film "the most intensely shocking motion picture experience for all times".<ref name="Cinefantastique">[http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2007/10/dawn-of-the-dead-1979/ Dawn of the Dead] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402094216/http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2007/10/dawn-of-the-dead-1979/ |date=April 2, 2016 }}, a review by Steve Biodrowski for ''Cinefantastique''</ref> The film earned $900,000 on its opening weekend in the United States. After four weeks it had grossed {{US$|5.1 million|long=no}} in the United States and Canada,<ref name=DVBO>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|title='Dawn Of The Dead' Rises to $5 Mil B.O.|page=2|date=May 30, 1979}}</ref> and went on to gross $16 million<ref name=AFI/> with rentals of $6.8 million.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/292/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=292|isbn= 9780835717762}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada</ref> Internationally it did well too, grossing $1.5 million in six Japanese cinemas over a period of 42 days and over $1 million in Italy,<ref name=DVBO/> and by October 1979 it had grossed $24 million worldwide.<ref name=AFI/> ''[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]]'' claims it had an international gross of $49.9 million, which with a domestic gross of $16 million,<ref name=AFI/> gives a worldwide total of $66 million, making it the most profitable film in the ''Dead'' series.<ref name="thenumbers" /><ref name="filmsite">''Dawn of the Dead'' at [https://www.filmsite.org/series-dead2.html Film Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215031719/https://www.filmsite.org/series-dead2.html |date=February 15, 2021 }}. Retrieved December 10, 2009.</ref> ===Critical reception=== [[File:Emge Pilato Foree 2006.png|thumb|300px|upright|Cast members [[David Emge]], [[Joseph Pilato]] and [[Ken Foree]] at a [[Night of the Living Dead (film series)|''Dead'' series convention]]]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], a [[review aggregator]], reports that 92% of 59 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review. The average rating is 8.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "One of the most compelling and entertaining zombie films ever, ''Dawn of the Dead'' perfectly blends pure horror and gore with social commentary on material society."<ref name=rt>{{cite web|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/1005339-dawn_of_the_dead/?name_order=desc#mo|title=Dawn of the Dead (1978)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020125956/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1005339-dawn_of_the_dead/?name_order=desc#mo|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave it four out of four stars and proclaimed it "one of the best horror films ever made." While conceding ''Dawn of the Dead'' to be "gruesome, sickening, disgusting, violent, brutal and appalling," Ebert said that "nobody ever said art had to be in good taste."<ref>{{cite news | author=Ebert, Roger | title=Dawn of the Dead| work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dawn-of-the-dead-1979 | date=May 4, 1979}}</ref> Steve Biodrowski of ''[[Cinefantastique]]'' praised the film, calling it a "broader" version of ''Night of the Living Dead'',<ref name="Cinefantastique" /> and gave particular credit to the acting and themes explored: "the acting performances are uniformly strong; and the script develops its themes more explicitly, with obvious satirical jabs at modern consumer society, as epitomized by the indoor shopping mall where a small band of human survivors take shelter from the zombie plague sweeping the country." He went on to say that ''Dawn of the Dead'' was a "savage (if tongue-in-cheek) attack on the foibles of modern society", showcasing explicit gore and horror and turning them into "a form of art".<ref name="Cinefantastique" /> [[Gene Siskel]] liked the movie as well, giving it 3 stars in his Chicago Tribune print review and specifically praising George Romero's satirical view of indoor shopping malls relative to a zombie apocalypse;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-gene-siskel-movie-review/64261643/|title=Zombie Sequel Makes Impression|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|page=29|date=May 4, 1979|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> the review was later cited along with some other films (including ''[[Scanners]]'') when horror movie fans castigated Siskel for what they felt was his knee-jerk rejection of movies in that genre. Similar to the preceding ''Night of the Living Dead'', some critical reviewers did not like the gory special effects. Particularly displeased at the large amount of gore and graphic violence was ''[[The New York Times]]'' critic [[Janet Maslin]], who claimed she walked out after the first fifteen minutes due to "a pet peeve about flesh-eating zombies who never stop snacking,"<ref>{{Cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link = Janet Maslin|title = Dawn of the Dead (1978)| newspaper = The New York Times| date = April 20, 1979| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/20/archives/film-dawn-of-the-deadmorning-after.html}}</ref> and [[Gene Shalit]] of [[NBC]]'s ''[[Today (NBC program)|Today]]'' show dismissed it as "Yawn of the Living." Others, particularly ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', attacked the film's writing, suggesting that the violence and gore detract from any development of the characters, making them "uninteresting", resulting in a loss of impact. ''Variety'' wrote: "''Dawn'' pummels the viewer with a series of ever-more-grisly events β shootings, knifings, flesh tearings β that make Romero's special effects man, Tom Savini, the real "star" of the filmβthe actors are as woodenly uninteresting as the characters they play."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Variety Staff |title=Movie Review Dawn of the Dead (1978) |magazine=Variety |date=April 22, 1979 |url=http://au.rottentomatoes.com/m/1005339-dawn_of_the_dead/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091210143115/http://au.rottentomatoes.com/m/1005339-dawn_of_the_dead/ |archive-date=December 10, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref> [[Pauline Kael]] wrote that, in contrast to the "truly frightening" ''Night of the Living Dead'', "you begin to laugh with relief that you're not being emotionally challenged or even affected; [''Dawn of the Dead'' is] just a gross-out."<ref name="Kael">{{cite book|last=Kael|first=Pauline|title=Taking It All In|url=https://archive.org/details/takingitallin00kael|url-access=registration|year=1984|publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston|isbn=0-03-069361-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/takingitallin00kael/page/194 194β201]|chapter=Waddlers And Bikers}}</ref> [[Leslie Halliwell]] of ''Halliwell's Film Guide'' stated that the film was "occasionally laughable, otherwise sickening or boring." [[Vincent Canby]] of ''The New York Times'' dismissed it as "fake mayhem and not worth getting exercised about," adding: "Here is a picture that anyone can walk out of with head held high and a clear and untroubled conscience."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/20/archives/film-view-cannesah-i-remember-it-well-mostly-film-view-i-remember.html|title=FILM VIEW; I Remember Cannes|last=Canby|first=Vincent|author-link=Vincent Canby|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 20, 1979|page=D17}}</ref> The film is often cited as being one of the few sequels that are superior to the original. The film was selected as one of ''The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time'' by ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine in 2008.<ref name="Empire Magazine" /> It was also named as one of ''The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made'', a list published by ''The New York Times''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612032429/https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.] ''[[The New York Times]]'' via [[Internet Archive]]. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.</ref> In 2016, James Charisma of ''[[Playboy]]'' ranked the film #10 on a list of ''15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals''.<ref name="Playboy">{{cite magazine | title = Revenge of the Movie: 15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals | magazine = [[Playboy]] | url = https://www.playboy.com/articles/15-sequels-better-than-the-original | author = Charisma, James | date = March 15, 2016 | access-date = July 19, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160726093750/http://www.playboy.com/articles/15-sequels-better-than-the-original | archive-date = July 26, 2016 | url-status = dead }}</ref> The 25th anniversary issue of ''[[Fangoria]]'' named it the best horror film of 1979 (although it was released a year earlier),<ref>{{cite journal|title=1979: Dawn of the Dead|journal=Fangoria| volume=234|page=55|date=June 2004}}</ref> and ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' ranked it #27 on a list of "The Top 50 Cult Films."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.filmsite.org/cultfilmsew2.html |title=''Entertainment Weekly's'' "The Top 50 Cult Films" |publisher=Filmsite.org |access-date=May 22, 2010 |archive-date=July 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722133953/http://www.filmsite.org/cultfilmsew2.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Film.com]] and [[Filmsite.org]] rated it as one of the best films of 1978.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/1978.html |title=The Greatest Films of 1978 |publisher=Filmsite.org |access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/movies/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1978/14955431/ |title=The 10 Best Movies of 1978 |publisher=Film.com |access-date=May 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701173433/http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1978/14955431 |archive-date=July 1, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In 2024, Paste Magazine ranked ''Dawn of the Dead'' number 8 on its list of the 100 greatest horror movies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/horror-movies/best-horror-movies-ever-of-all-time-scariest-films|title=The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time|magazine=Paste|date=October 18, 2024}}</ref> Rotten Tomatoes lists the film on its 100 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=100 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/essential-zombie-movies/ |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
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