Back to the Future Part III effects for "Part III" were managed by effects company Industrial Light & Magic; the head of its animation department, Wes Takahashi, returned to once again animate the DeLorean's time travel sequences. The film grossed $23 million in its first weekend of U.S. release and $87.6 million altogether in U.S. box office receipts (or about $152.4 million when adjusted for inflation as of January 2011) – $243 million worldwide. On December 17, 2002, Universal released "Back to the Future Part III" in a boxed set with the first two films on DVD and VHS. In the DVD widescreen edition, there was
Back to the Future a rousing time-travel adventure with an unforgettable spirit." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" felt "Back to the Future" had similar themes to the films of Frank Capra, especially "It's a Wonderful Life". Ebert commented "[Producer] Steven Spielberg is emulating the great authentic past of Classical Hollywood cinema, who specialized in matching the right director (Robert Zemeckis) with the right project." He gave the film 3 1/2 out of 4 stars. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" believed the film had a balanced storyline: "It's a cinematic inventing of humor and whimsical tall tales for a long time to