Bryan Singer previewed "Apt Pupil" at the Museum of Tolerance's L.A. Holocaust Center to assess feedback from rabbis and others about referencing the Holocaust. With a positive response, the director proceeded with the film's release. "Apt Pupil" was originally scheduled to be released in February 1998, but the film's distributor moved the release date to autumn, feeling that it belonged "alongside other more serious-minded films". It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 1998. It was then commercially released on October 23, 1998 in 1,448 theaters in the United States and Canada, grossing on its opening weekend and placing ninth at the weekend box office. The film went on to gross in the United States and Canada. "Apt Pupil" was considered a critical and commercial disappointment. The film was less successful than Singer's previous film "The Usual Suspects", with critics describing it as "a somewhat disturbing movie that works as a suspenseful thriller, yet isn't completely satisfying".