At its debut in 1958 in France, "Mon Oncle" was denounced by some critics for what they viewed as a reactionary or even "poujadiste" view of an emerging French consumer society, which had lately embraced a new wave of industrial modernization and a more rigid social structure. However, this criticism soon gave way in the face of the film's huge popularity in France and abroad – even in the U.S., where rampant discretionary consumption and a recession had caused those on both the right and the left to question the economic and social values of the era. The film was another big success for Tati with a total of 4,576,928 admissions in France.