film received a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom and Ireland in July 2020 through Vertigo Releasing. It began screening in select theaters in New Zealand on July 16, and was released internationally on August 5, 2020. In October 2020, IFC Midnight acquired the film’s distribution rights for the United States from Blumhouse and set it for a February 26, 2021, release. Reception Box office Upon release in the UK and Ireland, The Vigil grossed £30,302 ($39,500 USD) from 97 sites over its opening weekend. Critical response On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Consistently clever and creepy, The Vigil mines richly atmospheric supernatural horror from a deep well of religious traditions." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 69 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Varietys Dennis Harvey gave the film a mostly positive review, calling it an "effectively creepy, small-scale chiller that does a nice job eking suspense from its simple story and limited setting." Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a grade of B, praising Davis's performance and writing that, "even as The Vigil settles into a familiar routine, it tackles that task with a polished, at times even elegant approach to a haunted house formula." Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that writer-director Keith Thomas "keeps the tension high throughout most of the movie, even if some of his scare tactics can feel redundant", and that he "transforms Orthodox culture into gory material for a slightly elevated horror flick". Phil Hoad of The Guardian gave the film a score of 3 stars out of 5, writing that the film "doesn’t examine rising antisemitism, so it doesn’t have the same contemporary punch as Get Out had regarding Black Lives Matter, or The Invisible Man for #MeToo", but added: "it is all the same an authentically Jewish and reasonably competent chiller." Joe Lipsett of Bloody Disgusting wrote that "The Vigil doesn't exactly break the mould of demonic spirit films, though its sound design, lighting and lead performance certainly make it a solid entry." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film a mostly negative review, writing: "Sadly, director Keith Thomas doesn't trust his own themes or visual sense, swallowing his entire film up in abrasive sound design and a reliance