the burning of Louis's plantation, whereby CGI flames were imposed on a miniature of the house. The most difficult digital effects to illustrate were Louis and Claudia's transformations into vampires, which were technologically very advanced for the time. The scene where Claudia cuts Lestat's throat was achieved by transferring from Tom Cruise bleeding from a prosthetic wound to an animatronic model designed to 'wither' as it bled out, enhanced with CGI blood. Winston also sculpted the rough model for the charred remains of Claudia and Madeleine, using archival photographs of victims from Hiroshima for inspiration. Pre-screening A rough-cut of Interview was shown to test audiences, who according to producer David Geffen felt "there was a little too much blood and violence." The screenings were held over the objection of Neil Jordan, who was planning on further paring down the length of the film before previewing it, but Geffen wanted to show the longer version in order to "get a feel for what the audience wanted." Eventually about 20 minutes' worth of footage was either cut or re-arranged before the theatrical version was ready. Release Box office Interview with the Vampire was a box-office success. The film opened on November 11, 1994 (Veterans Day) and opening weekend grosses amounted to $36.4 million, surpassing Home Alone 2: Lost in New York to achieve a November record, placing it in the number one position at the US box office above The Santa Clause which opened with $19.3 million. However, some in the industry disputed the figure and the range of estimates by others were from $34 to $37 million. At that time, Interview with the Vampire had the fifth-highest three-day opening weekend of all time, behind Jurassic Park, Batman Returns, The Lion King and Batman. Its opening was at that time the biggest non-summer opening and the biggest R-rated opening weekend ever. The film would hold the latter record until 1997 when it was surpassed by Air Force One. Moreover, Interview with the Vampire held the record for having the highest opening weekend for a Brad Pitt film until it was taken by Ocean's Eleven in 2001. In subsequent weeks, it struggled against Star Trek Generations and The Santa Clause. Total gross in the United States was $105 million, while the worldwide gross was $224 million, with an estimated budget of $60 million. Critical reception On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval