Critics panned the 1999 film "Fight Club" upon its initial release, with reviewers describing it as brutal and dumb. While the negative reviews hurt box office numbers, the film found an audience on home video and is now considered a cult classic. The themes of masculinity and consumerism explored in the film remain relevant to modern audiences over 20 years later.

1. “Fight Club” opened in theatres on October 15, 1999 to scathing reviews from movie
critics. Lisa Schwarzbaum, movie critic for Entertainment Weekly, described the film as a
“Dumb and brutal shock show of a movie that floats the winky, idiotic premise that a modern-
day onslaught of girly pop-cultural destinations has resulted in a generation of spongy young
men unable to express themselves as fully erect males.” Renowned film critic Roger Ebert gave
the film 2/5 stars and wrote in his review on his website that “the movie stops being smart and
savage and witty, and turns to some of the most brutal, unremitting, nonstop violence ever
filmed.” Both critics’ opinions were similarly shared
The negative reviews from critics affected the audience’s desire to see the film; it was
considered a box office failure during its theatrical run. However, since the movie has been
released on DVD, it has managed to gain a strong following and is now considered a classic. On
Rotten Tomato, Fight Club currently holds a 96% audience score. In an article written by Garin
Pirnia 10 years after the film’s theatrical release, he says, “Most of Fight Club comes off as a
masculine, caustic satire, but the ideas in the movie metastasized into real-life 21st-century
America.” Pirnia explores the idea that the film is still popular because the themes in Fight Club
are relatable to today’s audience.