The film was a hit when it was released in April 1952 , earning over $ 7.6 million . Kelly 's '' An American in Paris '' had been a surprise Best Picture winner at the Oscars in March , and MGM decided to re-release it . '' Singin ' in the Rain '' got pulled from many theaters to showcase the earlier film , preventing it from making further profits . '' Singin ' in the Rain '' was nominated for two Academy Awards : Best Supporting Actress for Hagen and Best Original Score . Donald O'Connor won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and Comden and Green once again won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical . Initially the film received only moderate reviews from critics such as Bosley Crowther and did not begin to receive widespread acclaim until the late 1960s . One of its earliest supporters was critic Pauline Kael , who said that it " is perhaps the most enjoyable of all movie musicals – just about the best Hollywood musical of all time . " It was re-released in 1975 to critical and popular success
Academy Awards
25th Academy Awards
Stanley Donen