The film received major recognition in France, and was proposed by Pierre Rissient to the Cannes Film Festival, and while agreed to by Eastwood and Siegel, the producers declined. It would be widely screened in France later and is considered one of Eastwood's finest works by the French. The film was poorly marketed and in the end grossed little over $1 million, earning less than a fourth of what "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" did at the same time and falling to below 50 in the charts within two weeks of release.