The Bridges of Madison County (film) opened theatrically on June 2, 1995 in 1,805 venues. It earned $10,519,257 in its opening weekend, ranking number two in the North American box office, behind "Casper" (which was in its second weekend). At the end of its run, the film grossed $71,516,617 domestically and $110,500,000 overseas for a worldwide total of $182,016,617. Rotten Tomatoes reports a score of 90% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's consensus states: "Sentimental, slow, schmaltzy, and very satisfying, "The Bridges of Madison County" finds Clint Eastwood adapting a bestseller with heft, wit, and grace." On Metacritic, the film
The Bridges of Madison County (film) but they were unsatisfied with the results. But a third draft by Richard LaGravenese was liked by Eastwood, who quite early had been cast for the male lead, and by Spielberg, who liked LaGravenese's version enough to consider making "Bridges" his next film after "Schindler's List", which was in post-production at the time. Both men liked that LaGravenese's script presented the story from Francesca's point of view; Spielberg then had LaGravenese introduce the framing device of having Francesca's adult children discover and read her diaries. When Spielberg decided not to direct, he then brought in Bruce Beresford, who got Alfred