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 found the novella's prose comparable to that of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (1970) by Richard Bach. "The Independent" Nicolette Jones found the novella reminiscent of the books published by Mills & Boon while Owen Gleiberman found it more similar to an anecdote than a regular narrative. "Orlando Sentinel" "Publishers Weekly" found "The Bridges of Madison County" "Quietly powerful and thoroughly credible". L.S. Klepp of "Entertainment Weekly" called "Bridges" "a short, poignant story, moving precisely because it has the ragged edges of reality". Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" praised the novella's "compelling" story for "elevating to a spiritual level the common