Editing Roman Holiday (section)

==Reception==
The film opened the [[14th Venice International Film Festival]] on August 20, 1953.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Venice Pix Fete Preems With Par Film; Redtape Irks U.S. Majors|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=August 26, 1953|last=Hawkins|first=R. F. |page=2|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-08/page/n195/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=March 12, 2024|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> It opened at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in New York City on August 27, 1953,<ref name=AFI/> grossing $165,000 in its first week.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Heat Fails to Wilt B'Way Grosses|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 2, 1953|page=9|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n8/mode/1up|access-date=September 24, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> The film also opened the same week in two theatres in Portland, Oregon, on a double bill with ''[[Murder Without Tears]]'', grossing $14,000.<ref>{{cite magazine |title='Holiday' Smash $14,000, Port.Ace |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=September 2, 1953 |page=8 |url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n7/mode/1up |access-date=September 24, 2019 |via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>

The film received critical acclaim from reviewers of its initial release.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Luban |first=Milton |date=August 27, 2019 |title='Roman Holiday': THR's 1953 Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/roman-holiday-review-movie-1953-2-1234508/ |access-date=March 4, 2025 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |quote=The critical acclaim and word-of-mouth praise that is bound to come should help make it a box office bonanza.}}</ref> Milton Luban of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' said the movie "proves a charming, laugh-provoking affair that often explodes into hilarity... it has a delightful screenplay that sparkles with wit and outrageous humor that at times comes close to slapstick" and that the "cinematographers do a fine job of incorporating Roman landmarks into the storyline".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/roman-holiday-review-movie-1953-1234508|title='Roman Holiday': THR's 1953 Review|newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Miton|last=Luban|date=August 27, 2019|access-date= December 23, 2020|archive-date=25 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025091454/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/roman-holiday-review-movie-1953-1234508|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' observed that it was "a natural, tender and amusing yarn" with "laughs that leave the spirits soaring".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/08/28/archives/roman-holiday-at-music-hall-is-modern-fairy-tale-starring-peck-and.html |title=' Roman Holiday' at Music Hall Is Modern Fairy Tale Starring Peck and Audrey Hepburn |first=A. |last=W |date=August 28, 1953 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=December 24, 2020 |archive-date=November 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106222056/https://www.nytimes.com/1953/08/28/archives/roman-holiday-at-music-hall-is-modern-fairy-tale-starring-peck-and.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

''Roman Holiday'' was the second most popular film at the US box office during September 1953 behind ''[[From Here to Eternity]]'', grossing almost $1 million.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=12 Biggest Pix Grossers in September Paced by 'Eternity' ('Robe' Excluded)| magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]| date=October 7, 1953| page=4| url=https://archive.org/stream/variety192-1953-10#page/n3/mode/1up| access-date=September 23, 2019| via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> It earned an estimated $3 million at the United States and Canadian box office during its first few months of release,<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Top Grossers of 1953| magazine=Variety| date=January 13, 1954}}</ref> and a total of $5 million.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8G7CEAAAQBAJ&dq=USIA+Hollywood+Eastern+Europe++television+1990s&pg=PA110 |title=Cinematic Cold War: The American and Soviet Struggle for Hearts and Minds |last2=Youngblood |first2=Denise J. |date=2014-08-15 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-2020-3 |pages=108–110 |language=en}}</ref> While the domestic box office disappointed Paramount, it was very successful elsewhere, including the UK, where the film benefited from both the current [[Princess Margaret#Romance with Peter Townsend|romance between Princess Margaret and commoner Peter Townsend]]—"No film studio could have bought such publicity", [[Alexander Walker (critic)|Alexander Walker]] wrote—and a fad for Italian culture.<ref name="walker1997">{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Alexander |title=Audrey: Her Real Story |publisher=Macmillan |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-3121-8046-1 |pages=83–87 |chapter=8: Loves and Hates |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g1b_sUYLROMC&q=townsend&pg=PA83 |access-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915022848/https://books.google.com/books?id=g1b_sUYLROMC&q=townsend&pg=PA83 |url-status=live }}</ref> It earned around $12 milion in the overseas market.<ref name=":0" />

Due to the film's popularity, both Peck and Hepburn were approached about filming a sequel, but this project never got off the ground.<ref name="TCM" />

The film has been well received, with a 95% rating at [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 63 reviews with an average rating of 8.50/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "With Audrey Hepburn luminous in her American debut, ''Roman Holiday'' is as funny as it is beautiful, and sets the standard for the modern romantic comedy."<ref name=rt>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roman_holiday |title=Roman Holiday (1953) |access-date= February 8, 2023 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |archive-date= June 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160624154120/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roman_holiday |url-status=live}}</ref> It is considered a classic by twenty-first-century viewers and reviewers.<ref name=Berardinelli>{{cite web |last=Berardinelli |first=James |title=Roman Holiday |url=https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/roman-holiday |date=May 6, 2021|access-date=October 9, 2022 |website=Reelviews Movie Reviews |language=en}}</ref> [[Peter Bradshaw]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted that the film is a "modern fairytale whose two leads have a charm and innocence that irradiate the whole movie", giving the film five out of five.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 18, 2013 |title=Roman Holiday review – charm and innocence by the bucketload |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jul/18/roman-holiday-review |access-date=October 9, 2022 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|first=Peter |last=Bradshaw |location=London |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' concluded that the film is a "timeless, exuberant classic, with Hepburn's naïve sense of fun and perfectly charming performance matched equally by Peck's louche and charismatic worldy American".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roman Holiday |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/roman-holiday-review/ |access-date=October 9, 2022 |website=Empire|date=January 2005 }}</ref> James Berardinelli of [[James Berardinelli|ReelViews]] gave the film three and a half stars out of four, calling the movie a "staple of the romantic comedy fan's library", and "remains one of only a few black-and-white movies that modern audiences willingly watch".<ref name=Berardinelli />

The film was very popular outside of the United States.<ref name=":0" /> As late as of 1990, it was cited as the favorite foreign film of all time for Japanese audiences.<ref name=":0" />

The February 2020 issue of ''[[New York Magazine]]'' lists ''Roman Holiday'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."<ref>{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=[[New York Magazine]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>