Editing Rocky II (section)

==Reception==

===Box office===
''Rocky II'' opened in 805 theatres and grossed $6,390,537 during its opening weekend,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hannan |first1=Brian |title=In Theaters Everywhere: A History of the Hollywood Wide Release, 1913-2017 |date=2018 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-1-4766-3391-6 |page=202 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=632CDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181-IA21}}</ref> and $11 million in its first week, to rank [[List of 1979 box office number-one films in the United States|number one at the US box office]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|title=Golden Glow To Early Summer B.O.|last=Pollock|first=Dale|page=1|date=June 25, 1979}}</ref> It went on to gross $85,182,160 in the United States and Canada, and $200,182,160 worldwide.<ref name="The Numbers"/> It finished in the top three highest-grossing films of 1979, in both the [[1979 in film#Highest-grossing films|North American market]] and [[List of highest-grossing films by year|worldwide]].

''Rocky II'' returned to UA 75% of ''Rocky'''s rentals in the United States and Canada ($42 million vs. $56 million<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/1997/digital/features/rental-champs-rate-of-return-1116680329/|title=Rental Champs Rate of Return|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=December 15, 1997|access-date=July 1, 2018}}</ref>) when the rule of thumb at the time was that a sequel would only do 30% to 40% of the business of its predecessor.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Daily Variety]]|title=Year's Number One Grosser Punches A Hole in Theory Covering Sequels & Wickets|last=Pollock|first=Dale|date=October 17, 1979|page=1}}</ref>

===Critical response===
''Rocky II'' holds a 73% approval rating on review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 34 reviews with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's consensus reads: "''Rocky II'' is a movie that dares you to root again for the ultimate underdog – and succeeds due to an infectiously powerful climax."<ref>{{cite web |title='Rocky II |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rocky_ii/ |access-date=February 12, 2024|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]]}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rocky II Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rocky-ii |access-date=July 10, 2023 |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[Fandom, Inc.]]}}</ref>

[[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the film "has a waxy feeling, and it never comes to life the way its predecessor did."<ref>Maslin, Janet (June 15, 1979). "Screen: 'Rocky II' Fights a Rematch". ''[[The New York Times]]''. C14.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "In its boxing and training scenes ''Rocky II'' packs much of the punch the original did, complete with an exciting pugilistic finale that's even better than its predecessor. However, in an attempt to tell the new story—that of Rocky's adjustment to near-success and an attempt to live a non-boxing life—the plot tends to drag and the picture takes on a murky quality."<ref>"Film Reviews: Rocky II". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. 14.</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "What is most remarkable about ''Rocky II'' is that it recalls so many scenes from the original film, which is only three years old and was shown on national television last fall, and yet—amazingly—it all works. Almost every bit of it."<ref>Siskel, Gene (June 15, 1979). "''Rocky II'' doesn't pull any emotional punches". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 3, p. 1.</ref> [[Charles Champlin]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that "''Rocky II'' does not merely exploit the original, it extends it logically and grippingly, preserving all the traits of character (and of movie character) that made ''Rocky I'' work so well—those notions that ordinary people are worth knowing about, that love is the surpassing emotion in our lives and that some things are worth struggling hard for, even if there may only be the honor of the struggle to show in the end."<ref>Champlin, Charles (June 17, 1979). "'Rocky II': A Winning Rematch". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Calendar, p. 35.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote that the film "slavishly repeats the plot of ''Rocky'', achieving differentiation only in dubious forms: soap opera detours, delaying tactics and an ugly new mood of viciousness surrounding a rematch between the boxers."<ref>Arnold, Gary (June 15, 1979). "'Rocky II': Down For the Count". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. B1.</ref>

===Accolades===
The film won Best Picture at the American Movie Awards<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19800212&id=TXcUAAAAIBAJ&pg=7074,195343&hl=en|title=Alan Alda, Sally Field Earn Outstanding Acting Awards|author=<!-- Staff -->|agency=[[Associated Press]]|work=[[Toledo Blade]]|date=February 12, 1980|page=P2}}</ref> and won the [[People's Choice Award]] for Favorite Motion Picture.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/41859/Rocky-II/awards|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208225551/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/41859/Rocky-II/awards|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 8, 2015|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2015|title=Rocky II (1979)|access-date=December 2, 2015}}</ref> Dre Rivas of [[Film.com]] included it in his list of top ten films of 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1979/15020416 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210170018/http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1979/15020416 |title=The 10 Best Movies of 1979 |last=Rivas |first=Dre |work=[[Film.com]] |publisher=[[RealNetworks|Film.com]] |date=June 8, 2007 |archive-date=December 10, 2008 |access-date=June 11, 2010}}</ref>