New Restoration. The film was re-released with Last Action Hero on Blu-ray 2-Movie Collection on November 2, 2021. Reception Box office The film was a box office hit grossing $255 million worldwide. The film grossed $84 million in the United States and Canada, $14 million in the United Kingdom and $13 million in Germany. It spent 11 consecutive weeks at the top of the Japanese box office. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 67% based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While it can't escape comparisons to the movies it borrows from, Cliffhanger is a tense, action-packed thriller and a showcase for the talents that made Sylvester Stallone a star." On Metacritic the film has a score of 60 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. The film was screened out of competition at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Sound (Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, and Tim Cooney), Best Sound Effects Editing (Gregg Baxter), and Best Visual Effects, all losing to Jurassic Park. It was nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor (John Lithgow), Worst Supporting Actress (Janine Turner), and Worst Screenplay at the 14th Golden Raspberry Awards. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. Although most people enjoyed Lithgow's performance, he was criticized for his inauthentic-sounding English accent, especially when next to native English actors Fairbrass and Goodall. Michael Benge of Climbing magazine was critical of the film's unrealistic portrayal of rock climbing, including the fictional gun which fires pitons directly into rock. Other media Novelization A novelization based on the film by Jeff Rovin titled Cliffhanger, was released in 1993. Video game A video game based on the film of the same name was released via numerous game consoles on November 17, 1993. In popular culture The scene where Hal's girlfriend Sarah falls to her death was spoofed in the films Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Spy Hard. Cancelled sequel and potential remake Around 1994, TriStar Pictures planned to make a sequel of the film titled The Dam (or Cliffhanger 2: The Dam), which would have Stallone's character Gabe Walker fighting against terrorists who took over Hoover Dam, but it never went beyond