CBS films would delay the release of Beastly because it would cause a "real dilemma" to fans of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' relationship. The film's new release date was March 18, 2011 to avoid clashing with films opening during summer 2010. However, the new date was four weeks after Pettyfer debuted in American cinema in I Am Number Four, and three weeks before the release of Hudgens' other film Sucker Punch. CBS Films distribution head Steven Friedlandere said, "There wasn't much left in the summer that we could move it to. We didn't want to go in fall, and the holidays are for four-quadrant movies. So we figured if we went to March, we'd have some school breaks happening around that time." After a successful test screening, CBS Films decided on an earlier release date, March 4, 2011. The movie was released on Blu-ray Disc on June 28, 2011. Critical reception Beastly received mostly negative reviews, earning a 21% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes from 97 reviews, with an average rating of 3.70/10. The critical consensus read "Fundamentally misguided, poorly written, and badly acted, Beastly adds little to the legacy of its timeless source material." Adam Markovitz gave it a D− in Entertainment Weekly, commenting, "Spectacularly poor judgment in everything from acting to costuming (Olsen's Harajuku-troll get-up is scarier than her curse) puts Beastly right on the cusp of the so-bad-it's-good Hall of Shame." Lou Lumenick of the New York Post said the film " more than lives up to its name with ultra-campy performances, high-glucose direction (Daniel Barnz), laughable dialogue, cheesy effects and a back-lot simulation of a Manhattan street that wouldn't pass muster on an after-school special." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle, while noting problems with the plot and script, argued that these problems were largely acceptable within the confines of the genre, and were alleviated by the charm of the actors and the direction. He remarked that Barnz "showed imagination and sensitivity in his feature Phoebe in Wonderland and hasn't lost those qualities now that he's entered the world of the big budgets." Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today that "This modern reworking of Beauty and the Beast has none of the charm of the Disney animated version. It's dogged by awkward dialogue, a ridiculous plot and lackluster performances, especially by the leads ..." A number of reviewers criticized that Kyle did not look