Box office The film grossed an estimated $51,000 in its first week. According to Fox records the film required $22,525,000 in
theatrical rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $27,650,000 so made a profit to the studio. Eventually, it returned worldwide rentals of $45 million, including $28.1 million from the United States and Canada from a gross of $61.7 million.
Critical response Roger Ebert said of George C. Scott's portrayal of Patton, "It is one of those sublime performances in which the personalities of the actor and the character are fulfilled in one another."
Gene Siskel gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that George C. Scott "has created an acting tour de force," but found it "repetitive – the second half doesn't tell us anything more than the first."
Vincent Canby of
The New York Times wrote, "The most refreshing thing about 'Patton' is that here—I think for the first time—the subject matter and the style of the epic war movie are perfectly matched ... Although the cast is large, the only performance of note is that of Scott, who is continuously entertaining and, occasionally, very appealing."
Charles Champlin of the
Los Angeles Times wrote, "'Patton' has, like
Lawrence of Arabia, done the near-impossible by creating a finely detailed portrait despite all the tuggings toward simplification which are inevitable in the big budget, long, loud roadshow production desperate to attract mass audiences. As Patton, George Scott gives one of the great and unforgettable screen characterizations." Gary Arnold of
The Washington Post wrote that the film "eventually shares the dramatic limitations, as well as the visual triumphs, of
Lawrence of Arabia: yet another fascinating but inconclusive portrait of a mercurial military leader. The camera focus is sharp, but the dramatic focus is blurred. We never quite understand Patton in historical context, in relation to the other generals of the period, and to the entire Allied war effort."
Pauline Kael of
The New Yorker wrote that "technically the movie is awesomely impressive," but went on to state that "I'm sure it will be said that the picture is 'true' to Patton and to history, but I think it strings us along and holds out on us. If we don't just want to have our prejudices greased, we'll find it confusing and unsatisfying, because we aren't given enough information to evaluate Patton's actions."
John Gillett of
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "While communicating a relish for the man with all his warts, [Schaffner] also pinpoints the monstrous prejudices which lay beneath the surface. And, of course, he chose the right actor. Karl Malden's Bradley is neatly observed and the German players are good, but Scott's performance rightly dwarfs all the rest." Online film critic
James Berardinelli has called
Patton his favorite film of all time and "to this day one of Hollywood's most compelling biographical war pictures." According to
Bob Woodward and
Carl Bernstein's book
The Final Days, it was
Richard Nixon's favorite film. Nixon first viewed
Patton with his family at a private screening in the
White House Family Theater on April 5, 1970. Nixon became obsessed with the film, repeatedly watching it with
Henry Kissinger over the next month. He screened it several times at the
White House and during a cruise on the presidential yacht in the
Potomac River. Kissinger sarcastically wrote of Nixon's insistence that he see the film on the cruise: "It was the second time he had so honored me. Inspiring as the film no doubt was, I managed to escape for an hour in the middle of it to prepare for the next day’s
NSC meeting." On review-aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Patton has a 90% approval rating based on 52 reviews, with an average score of 8.4/10. Its critical consensus reads, "George C. Scott's sympathetic, unflinching portrayal of the titular general in this sprawling epic is as definitive as any performance in the history of American biopics." On
Metacritic it has a score of 86% based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Accolades In 1971, the film was nominated for 10
Academy Awards at the
1971 ceremony, winning seven awards (including
Best Picture).
George C. Scott also won the
Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, but he declined it, citing a dislike of the voting process and the concept of acting competitions. He was the first actor to do so. The film's producer,
Frank McCarthy, accepted the award on Scott's behalf. The Best Picture statuette is on display at the George C. Marshall Museum at the
Virginia Military Institute, courtesy of
Frank McCarthy. • In 2006, the
Writers Guild of America West ranked
Francis Ford Coppola and
Edmund H. North's adapted screenplay as the 94th among 101 greatest screenplays of all time.
American Film Institute Lists •
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #89 •
AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: •
George S. Patton – #29 Hero ==Sequel==