Box office The film grossed $5,168,142 in its opening weekend in more than 1,200 theaters, It was one of two disaster films (the other being
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure) directed solely by the "master of disaster" Allen, who had experience directing several films and many episodes of his TV shows – and both featured Michael Caine in the lead role. The film is listed in
Golden Raspberry Award founder
John J.B. Wilson's book
The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made, where Wilson states that under Allen's unsubtle direction, "despite the enormous production budget,
The Swarm turned the tale of an invasion of killer bees into the ultimate
B movie".
Vincent Canby of
The New York Times called the film "nothing less than the ultimate apotheosis of yesterday's B-movie". Comparing the film unfavorably to recent blockbusters such as
Star Wars and
Grease, which also evoked old B-movies, he wrote, "Allen merely reproduces a tacky genre while spending a great deal of money doing it. There's not a frame of film, not a twist of plot, not a line of dialogue, not a performance in
The Swarm that suggests real appreciation for film history, only a slavish desire to imitate it. That's not enough."
Gene Siskel of the
Chicago Tribune gave the film 1½ out of 4 stars, and wrote that it was "surprisingly flaccid in its thrills", explaining: "In these days of
Star Wars (which was made for less money), it takes more than a fleet of helicopters and a flameout on the Gulf of Mexico to convince audiences that they are being dazzled." Arthur D. Murphy of
Variety called it a "disappointing and tired non-thriller. Killer bees periodically interrupt the arch writing, stilted direction and ludicrous acting."
Kevin Thomas of the
Los Angeles Times wrote that the film was "fun in its primitive way", adding, "One wishes it were silent, as were the
DeMille epics of the '20s it so closely resembles." Tom Zito of
The Washington Post wrote, "While subtlety has never been a strong theme in Allen's films,
The Swarm does manage to turn the industrious little honeybee into a menace so seemingly convincing that America may go bee-crazy this summer." Richard Velt in the
Wilmington Morning Star stated, "
The Swarm may not be the worst movie ever made. I'd have to see them all to be sure. It's certainly as bad as any I've seen." Velt also wrote, "All the actors involved in this fiasco should be ashamed." James Baker of
Newsweek declared, "It may be early, but it's probably safe to nominate
The Swarm for the worst movie of the year."
The Sunday Times described
The Swarm as "simply the worst film ever made", while
Time Out magazine called
The Swarm a "risibly inadequate disaster movie".
Leslie Halliwell called
The Swarm a "very obvious disaster movie with risible dialogue", and suggested its commercial failure was partly due to the fact that prior to its release, several American television movies with similar plots had been broadcast. In Leonard Maltin's 2015 publication of movie ratings, the film is rated as a "BOMB".
Accolades Despite its large negative reception and box office failure,
Paul Zastupnevich was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Costume Design. == Soundtrack ==