July 1993, Poetic Justice debuted at number one at the box office, grossing $11,728,455; it grossed a grand total of $27,515,786. Conception and titling After writing songs with themes of independence for Control and social injustice for Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson desired to devote her new album to love and relationships, describing the theme of her new album as "intimacy" and that "[s]exual communication is the name of the game." She stated in an interview with David Wild for Rolling Stone that "[w]hile I was doing Rhythm Nation, I was thinking about how things were so hard, so regimented and so black and white ... I thought I'd do something on the sexy side—which is hard for me since I grew up as a tomboy and don't really think of myself that way. But I think this album is more on the feminine tip." She also commented on how her experience acting in Poetic Justice played a role in taking a new direction with her music. Speaking with biographer David Ritz, she stated that "Rhythm Nation was a heavy record, and Poetic Justice was a heavy movie. I wanted to do something lighter but also daring ... When I wrote the album, I was still in a poetic frame of mind, inspired by Maya's beautiful language. You can hear that inspiration or the interludes and especially on the song "New Agenda". This time I felt much freer expressing myself." Despite the critical and commercial success of her two previous albums, Jackson continued to receive numerous comparisons to her brother Michael, often with doubts that she held staying power in the music industry. When Edna Gundersen of USA Today questioned her about the subject, she responded: "Certain people feel I'm just riding on my last name ... That's why I just put my first name on janet. and why I never asked my brothers to write or produce music for me." Virgin Records expressed the album title "punctuates the declaration of strength the singer, songwriter and producer boldly expresses on this moving collection of songs which explore love, sensuality, the power of sisterhood and her own evolving self-identity." Thomas Harrison, author of Music of the 1990s (2011) wrote that "[t]he conscious decision was made, by the company and/or Jackson, to put her into the same league as other one-named artists, such as Madonna, Bono, Beyonce and Prince, or at least to