Box office I, Tonya has grossed $30 million in the United States and Canada, and $23.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $53.9 million. After the film earned its three Oscar nominations, it was added to 161 theaters the following week and made $3 million.
Critical response On
review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes,
I, Tonya holds an approval rating of 90% based on 384 reviews, with an
average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Led by strong work from Margot Robbie and Allison Janney,
I, Tonya finds the humor in its real-life story without losing sight of its more tragic – and emotionally resonant – elements." On
Metacritic, which assigns a rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Christy Lemire of
RogerEbert.com described it as "an irresistible, soapy mix of jealousy, competition and class warfare, fortified by powerful performances and unexpected emotional resonance." Lemire also complimented Gillespie for "what would seem to be an impossible high-wire act: He's made a movie that's affectionately mocking—of this theatrical sport, of the idiots who surrounded Harding, of this hideous moment in fashion and pop culture—without actually mocking Harding herself."
Angelica Jade Bastién of
Vulture praised Robbie's performance, feeling she had found a new "weight".
Ty Burr of
The Boston Globe wrote that it was one of the most surprising films of the year - a "multi-layered saga of
talent and
class resentment".
Richard Brody of
The New Yorker felt the film failed to find an original depiction of the
working class, and "treats Tonya's background, her tastes, her habits, her way of talking, as a joke... The result is a film that's as derisive and dismissive toward Tonya Harding as it shows the world at large to have been". In
The Guardian, Jean Hannah Edelstein felt that the film was "played for laughs" at the expense of its subject.
Allison Janney was widely lauded for her performance as LaVona Golden, singled out for praise by critics. Lemire of
RogerEbert.com said: "Janney absolutely tears it up as the profane, chain-smoking LaVona Harding, constantly insulting Tonya and messing with her mind in the name of making her a champion. It's a showy, scenery-chewing performance but it's not one-note; Janney brings an undercurrent of sorrow to the part in revealing LaVona's twisted methodology." Helen O'Hara from
Empire called Janney's performance flawless and flamboyant, and an unforgettable one. Brian Truitt of
USA Today said, "Janney is magnificent as Tonya Harding's villainous and abusive mommy dearest. No curse word goes unused and no scenery is left unchewed by the actress, who takes over whenever she's onscreen, whether dealing with a pesky parakeet or
breaking the fourth wall." The film received some criticism for taking liberties with facts in order to make Harding sympathetic. Reviewing the film for
USA Today,
Christine Brennan, who covered the real story in 1994, wrote that "the movie certainly doesn't worry about letting facts get in the way of a good story or bother to tell you that the only person Tonya has to blame...is herself." In the
Sonoma Index-Tribune and
The Oregonian, J.E. Vader, who covered Harding's rise as a local up-and-coming hero, wrote a scathing review titled "I, Nauseated", in which she accuses Harding of being an "unrepentant felon" and "habitually 'truth challenged'", adding that "this fantasy film is Harding's dream come true". ==Accolades==