Box office The Other Woman opened at number one in North America on April 25, 2014, in 3,205 theaters debuting atop the weekend box office with earnings of $24.7 million across the three days. The film grossed $83.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $112.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $196.7 million, against a production budget of $40 million. On
Metacritic, the film has a score of 39 out of 100 based on reviews from 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Justin Chang of
Variety said, "Beneath the wobbly pratfalls and the scatological setpieces, there's no denying the film's mean-spirited kick, or its more-than-passing interest in what makes its women tick."
The Hollywood Reporters critic
Todd McCarthy said, "It would have helped if director Nick Cassavetes had something resembling a sure hand at comedy."
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of
The A.V. Club gave the film grade C−, saying, "All of a sudden, a spotted Great Dane squats in the middle of a Manhattan apartment and out plop several gleaming, glistening CGI turds. It's one of those cases where a Hollywood movie inadvertently summarizes itself in a single shot."
Michael Phillips of
Chicago Tribune gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "Line to line, it's fresher than any number of guy-centric "Hangover"-spawned affairs, despite director Cassavetes' lack of flair for slapstick." ''
The Boston Globe's''
Ty Burr gave the film one out of four stars and said, "It's
The First Wives Club rewritten for younger, less demanding audiences, or a
9 to 5 with absolutely nothing at stake."
Stephanie Zacharek of
The Village Voice said, "
The Other Woman doesn't give these actresses much to do except look ridiculous, if not sneaky and conniving."
Michael Sragow of
The Orange County Register gave the film grade C, saying that the film is "a coarse, rickety comedy."
Richard Corliss wrote for
Time magazine that "All three women are less watchable and amusing than Nicki Minaj as Carly's legal assistant Lydia." Film critic
Stephen Holden of
The New York Times said that the film is "so dumb, lazy, clumsily assembled and unoriginal, it could crush any actor forced to execute its leaden slapstick gags and mouth its crude, humorless dialogue."
James Berardinelli of
ReelViews wondered, "Has it come to this for director Nick Cassavetes?", comparing his career negatively to that of his father,
John Cassavetes. Berardinelli elaborated, "what a comedown to find him in charge of such an unfocused, unfunny, scatologically-obsessed 'comedy.'"
Christy Lemire of
RogerEbert.com gave the film two out of four stars and said, "While "The Other Woman" raises some thoughtful questions about independence, identity and the importance of sisterhood, ultimately it would rather poop on them and then throw them through a window in hopes of the getting the big laugh."
Wesley Morris of
Grantland said, "No one knows which takes are funny and which aren't. More than once, all three women, especially poor Upton, are caught looking like they don't know what they're doing."
Bilge Ebiri of
Vulture said, "You can't shake the feeling that in a just world, all these women – even Kate Upton – would have better material than this." Connie Ogle of
The Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars and called the film a "goofy, ridiculous, with more gross-out humor than is strictly necessary but still funny. It falls into the category of Girlfriend Films – as in, go with your girlfriends and leave your date/partner/spouse at home with the PlayStation or the NBA playoffs." Colin Covert of
Star Tribune gave the film three out of four stars, saying "It's an escapist women's empowerment comedy like many others, but elevated by the simple virtue of being, for most of its length, very, very funny." Ann Hornaday of
The Washington Post gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying "A movie as generic and forgettable as the sofa-size art on its characters' walls."
Linda Holmes wrote for
NPR, calling the film "a conceptually odious, stupid-to-the-bone enterprise ..." Betsy Sharkey of the
Los Angeles Times advised guys to "Step away from the vehicle, because
The Other Woman is out of control and intent on running down a certain kind of male."
Accolades ==References==