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 a true story, but it is in fact entirely fictional. The novel is one of the bestselling books of the 20th century, with 60 million copies sold worldwide. It has also been adapted into a feature film in 1995 and a musical in 2013. Without expecting to, Robert James Waller conceived of "The Bridges of Madison County" in the early 1990s. On leave from his teaching job at the University of Northern Iowa, Waller was photographing the Mississippi River with a friend when he decided to photograph Madison County, Iowa's, covered bridges. This event, alongside a song Waller wrote years