Endless Love — those who have read the richly imaginative novel on which the movie is based and those who have not. There will be dismay in the first camp, but it may be nothing beside the bewilderment in the second." Film historian Leonard Maltin seemed to agree, calling the film a "textbook example of how to do everything wrong in a literary adaptation." In 2014, Scott Spencer, the author of the novel on which the film was based, wrote, "I was frankly surprised that something so tepid and conventional could have been fashioned from my slightly unhinged novel about the glorious destructive violence of erotic obsession". Spencer described the film as a "botched" job and wrote that Franco Zeffirelli "egregiously and ridiculously misunderstood" the novel. As of November 2021, Endless Love holds a rating of 26% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews. Release and box office The film premiere for Endless Love took place on July 16, 1981, at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. The film was released the next day. Despite the poor critical reception, the film was a box office success. It made $4,163,623 on its opening weekend and went on to gross $31,184,024 in total, becoming the twenty-second highest earning film domestically in 1981. Internationally, the film took in a further $1,308,650 bringing its total worldwide gross to $32,492,674. Home media The film was released on Blu-ray on Shout! Factory in mid-August 2019, with enhanced 5.1 surround sound. It is also available in the streaming format via various providers. Awards and nominations Other Honors American Film Institute: 100 Passions (2002) – Nominated 100 Songs (2004): "Endless Love" – Nominated See also Endless Love (2014 American film) Menstruation and culture References External links 1981 films 1980s coming-of-age drama films 1981 romantic drama films 1980s teen drama films 1980s teen romance films American coming-of-age drama films American romantic drama films American teen drama films American teen romance films Coming-of-age romance films Films about dysfunctional families Films about virginity Films based on American novels Films based on romance novels Films directed by Franco Zeffirelli Films set in Chicago Films shot in Chicago Films shot in New York City PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films Universal Pictures films Juvenile sexuality in films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films