<P> Since its release, some people have criticized Gremlins as being culturally insensitive . Jonathan Rosenbaum argued that the film presents gremlins as African Americans . In Ceramic Uncles & Celluloid Mammies, Patricia Turner writes that the gremlins "reflect negative African - American stereotypes" in their dress and behavior . They are shown "devouring fried chicken with their hands", listening to black music, breakdancing, and wearing sunglasses after dark and newsboy caps, a style common among African American males in the 1980s . </P> <P> Financially, Gremlins was a success . Produced on an $11 million budget, it was more expensive than Spielberg had originally intended but still relatively cheap for its time . The trailer introduced the film to audiences by briefly explaining that Billy receives a strange creature as a Christmas present, by going over the three rules, and then coming out with the fact that the creatures transform into terrible monsters . This trailer showed little of either the mogwai or the gremlins . In contrast to this, other advertisements concentrated on Gizmo, overlooked the gremlins, and made the film look similar to Spielberg's earlier family film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). </P> <P> Gremlins was released into North American theaters on June 8, 1984, the same day as Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters . Gremlins ranked second, with $12.5 million in its first weekend, $1.1 million less than Ghostbusters . By the end of its American screenings on November 29, it had grossed $148,168,459 domestically . This made it the fourth highest - grossing film of the year, behind Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . In August 1984, it opened in Argentina and Spain, and in October it premiered in West Germany . Screenings began in Mexico, Australia, and much of the rest of Europe in December . Since Gremlins had an international audience, different versions of the film were made to overcome cultural barriers . Mandel learned to speak his few intelligible lines, such as "Bright light!", in various languages, including German . Regional music and humor were also incorporated into foreign - language versions . Dante credited this work as being one of the factors which helped to make Gremlins a worldwide success . However, many critics questioned the summer release date of the film in America, as the film takes place during the Christmas holiday season, causing them to comment that it should have had a Christmas release date instead . </P> <P> In addition to this, there were also complaints from audiences about the violence depicted in the film . These complaints were particularly present in people who had brought their children to see the film, many of whom walked out of the theater before the film had ended . Dante admitted to reporters later that "the idea of taking a 4 - year - old to see Gremlins, thinking it's going to be a cuddly, funny animal movie and then seeing that it turns into a horror picture, I think people were upset...They felt like they had been sold something family friendly and it wasn't entirely family friendly". </P>

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