Bette Davis well-known, particularly "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night". She was again nominated for an Academy Award, and critics such as Gene Ringgold described her Margo as her "all-time best performance". Pauline Kael wrote that much of Mankiewicz' vision of "the theater" was "nonsense", but commended Davis, writing "[the film is] saved by one performance that is the real thing: Bette Davis is at her most instinctive and assured. Her actress - vain, scared, a woman who goes too far in her reactions and emotions - makes the whole thing come alive." Davis won a Best Actress
All About Eve award presentation. The film earned $2.9 million in box office receipts in the United States during its release. "All About Eve" received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics upon its release on October 13, 1950 at a New York City premiere. The film's competitor, "Sunset Boulevard," released the same year, drew similar praise, and the two were often favorably compared. Film critic Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" loved the film, stating that "a fine Darryl Zanuck production, excellent music and an air of ultra-class complete this superior satire." "Variety" called it "a literate, adult film" with "exceedingly well-cast performances,"