Box office The film premiered at
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, with Betty Thomas and Arielle Kebbel in attendance. In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $14.3 million, ranking third in the box office results for that weekend. The film went on to gross $41.9 million in the United States and Canada, and a total of $68.8 million worldwide. The opening weekend 3rd place rank was at the high-end of studio expectations. and the studio believed this campaign was successful, as the opening weekend audience was 75% female and 68% under 25.
Critical response On
Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 28% based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "This derivative teen comedy tries to go for cute when it could use more bite." On
Metacritic assigned the film a
weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Angel Cohn of
TV Guide gave the film a three stars rating out of four, writing that the 19 to 27 year old age range of the six leads meant that "not one member of this teen picture's cast appears remotely young enough to be in high school", though adding that "veteran director Betty Thomas' light revenge comedy is surprisingly entertaining, if less than original." Cohn concluded, "Teen comedies are notoriously predictable, and screenwriter Jeff Lowell isn't out to rock the genre boat, but his smartly written dialogue and the infectious charm of the cast, particularly Snow and Metcalfe, add up to a winning combination." Jeannette Catsoulis of
The New York Times wrote that the film is "unforgivably clueless about teen culture" and "can't even sustain the courage of its
girl-power convictions." Catsoulis was also critical of Metcalfe's "unconvincing" performance, writing that he musters "fewer expressions than a
Botox infomercial."
Michael Medved gave
John Tucker Must Die two stars out of four, calling it "slick, stupid and slightly sleazy," and that at the half-way mark, the plot collapses. He praised
Jenny McCarthy, in a supporting role, saying she "...is notably better than the rest of the cast." Medved concedes that his 17-year-old daughter was more the target demographic and that she liked the film enough to want to watch it again.
James Berardinelli of
ReelViews also disliked the film. He gave it 1.5 stars out of 4, saying "The gulf is vast between what the studio wants us to think
John Tucker Must Die is and what it really is. The marketers and publicists would have us believe this is a dark, edgy teen comedy about a band of two-timed girls taking revenge on the school's biggest hunk. Unfortunately, Betty Thomas' film is neither dark nor edgy (although it occasionally tries masquerading in those categories), nor is it particularly funny." He goes on to mention "The movie may be able to bamboozle a few teen female fans into multiplexes, but it's hard to imagine any of them – even those who swoon at the sight of Jesse Metcalfe – labeling this as better than forgettable. And for anyone outside that demographic unfortunate enough to endure
John Tucker Must Die, the memory will be too painful to fade quickly." Jenny McCarthy's performance in the film earned her a
Razzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress. ==Home media==