On September 15 , 1999 , '' American Beauty '' opened to the public in limited release at three theaters in Los Angeles and three in New York . More theaters were added during the limited run , and on October 1 , the film officially entered wide release by screening in 706 theaters across North America . The film grossed $ 8,188,587 over the weekend , ranking third at the box office . Audiences polled by the market research firm CinemaScore gave '' American Beauty '' a " B " grade on average . The theater count hit a high of 1,528 at the end of the month , before a gradual decline . Following '' American Beauty '' s wins at the 57th Golden Globe Awards , DreamWorks re-expanded the theater presence from a low of 7 in mid-February , to a high of 1,990 in March . The film ended its North American theatrical run on June 4 , 2000 , having grossed $ 130.1 million
57th Golden Globe Awards
57th Golden Globe Awards
American Beauty (1999 film)