The Rocky Horror Picture Show Chronicle" John Wasserman, who had liked the stage play in London, found the film "lacking both charm and dramatic impact". "Newsweek" called the film "tasteless, plotless and pointless" in 1978. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 80% based on 41 reviews, with the critical consensus reading ""Rocky Horror Picture Show" brings its quirky characters in tight, but it's the narrative thrust that really drives audiences insane and keeps 'em doing the time warp again". A number of contemporary critics find it compelling and enjoyable because of its offbeat and bizarre qualities; the BBC summarised: "for
The Rocky Horror Picture Show reached No. 12 on the Australian albums chart and No. 11 on the New Zealand albums chart. The album is described as the "definitive version of the ["Rocky Horror"] score." The film opened in the United Kingdom at Rialto Theater in London 14 August 1975 and in the United States on 26 September at the UA Westwood in Los Angeles, California. It did well at that location, but not elsewhere. Before the midnight screenings' success, the film was withdrawn from its eight opening cities due to very small audiences, and its planned New York City opening on Halloween night was