Box office Hustlers grossed $105 million in the United States and Canada, and $52.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $157.6 million. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside
The Goldfinch, and was projected to gross $25–30 million from 3,250 theaters in its opening weekend. On
Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale, and those at
PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars and a 50% "definite recommend".
HuffPost, and
NPR as one of the best films of 2019.
Christy Lemire rated the film 3 stars, describing
Hustlers as "
Goodfellas in a G-string... Scafaria's film is always a blast to watch, resulting in a surprising level of emotional depth." Lemire also described it as "Lopez's best screen work since her early heyday of
Selena and
Out of Sight..." and a "...career-best performance." Kate Erbland of
IndieWire rated
Hustlers an A− and describes the film as "funny, empowering, sexy, emotional, and a bit scary. The Oscar chatter for Lopez's revelatory, nuanced, and emotional turn as a brilliant con artist and better exotic dancer is no joke."
Varietys Peter DeBruge writes, "flashy, fleshy and all-around impossible to ignore,
Hustlers amounts to nothing less than a cultural moment, inspired by an outrageous New York Magazine profile... adapted by writer-director Scafaria at her most Scorsese, and starring Jennifer Lopez like you've never seen her before."
Justin Chang, writing for the
Los Angeles Times, describes the film as "brassy and invigorating" stating that "Scafaria's clear-eyed grasp of that distinction that makes
Hustlers more than just a girls-gone-wild cautionary tale, a peekaboo parade or a hypocritical amalgam of the two. The movie's empathy for its leads and its wholly justified rage against the architects of financial collapse is held in check by the knowledge that every hustle has its collateral damage."
The Guardians Benjamin Lee, rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "even when films have focused on strippers as something other than window dressing, they've still been written and directed by men and have smoothed over rougher edges, turning them all into titillating one-note archetypes. Instead, Scafaria views the strip club like any other workplace, filled with internal politics and an ever-changing hierarchy of power." Beandrea July of
The Hollywood Reporter stated that "
Hustlers delivers on its hype while consistently doing the unexpected. Scafaria, whose last pic was the
Susan Sarandon vehicle
The Meddler (2015), excels at immersing the audience in the world of sex-work in clubs, quietly disabusing us scene by scene of any stereotypes about who these women are."
Emily VanDerWerff of
Vox writes "as you're distracted by all that razzle-dazzle and the movie's many, many great jokes,
Hustlers is quietly composing some deeply profound thoughts about the relationships women build with each other." Brennan Carley of
GQ called
Hustlers the best movie of 2019 to date, noting: "starting with a bang is one thing, though; maintaining that energy throughout its entire run-time is what makes this strippers-turned-criminals flick such a masterful feat."
Rolling Stones film critic
Peter Travers was also positive, stating that, "
Hustlers doesn't pussyfoot about what goes on in those 'champagne rooms' off stage. The intent is not to exploit but to show how women manage to live and work in a predatory man's world", adding that "in Scafaria's fiercely funny provocation of a film—there's no running from the shadows—it's the women who seize control." ==Accolades==