the film "exploit[s] a well-defined heritage iconography and strategically combine[s] American stars with supporting casts of international 'quality' players." Hilary Radner analysed the presence of the "marriage plot" – a girl succeeding only by marrying the man of her choice – in film and television, and noted that while Becoming Jane critiques this film trope, it "points to the power of the traditional marriage plot as a residual paradigm influencing feminine identity." Jarrold's adaptation also came in the wake of a number of literary biographical films, such as Shakespeare in Love and Miss Potter. Deborah Cartmell, author of Screen Adaptations: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: A Close Study of the Relationship between Text and Film, found similarities between Becoming Jane and Shakespeare in Love "almost so obvious that the [former] film risks the accusation of being dangerously derivative." A given example included the characters of Austen and William Shakespeare inputting their personal experiences directly into their works. Marina Cano López and Rosa María García-Periago explained that the film "follows the path opened by John Madden's Shakespeare in Love. The numerous intertextual connections between both movies can be reduced to one: just as Shakespeare is imagined as the hero of his own play, Jane Austen becomes the heroine of her own novel." Among other listed similarities, they noted that the romantic interests of both protagonists serve as their literary muses, and that the middle part of both films "lie" when viewed from a historical perspective. Release and reception Premiere, theatrical release, distribution and box office The world premiere of Becoming Jane took place in London on 5 March 2007. It was released to cinemas on 9 March 2007 in the United Kingdom and a week later in Ireland by Buena Vista International. It ultimately grossed £3.78 million in the UK and Ireland, placing in sixteenth among all UK films for the year in those markets. Sixty-three percent of the audience was female, and 40.5 percent were above the age of 55. The film's performance was considered "disappointing", and it influenced the US release date. It arrived in Australia on 29 March. Miramax Films distributed the film in the United States, giving it a release date of 3 August 2007. Originally, the studio intended to release Becoming Jane in June or July due to a "counter-programming" strategy, attempting to attract demographic groups who were not interested in large blockbusters. The film was