You’ve Got Mail (1998)
78%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: 6 wins & 8 nominations
Great chemistry between the leads made this a warm and charming delight
If you’re looking for a rom-com that’s predictable but still sweet, You’ve Got Mail is the perfect movie for you. Sure, the coincidences that bring the two main characters together aren’t the most subtle, but who cares when you’re getting some seriously clever one-liners? And let’s be real, who doesn’t love a good email romance? Plus, it’s got Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan at their absolute best. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the nostalgia trip that is You’ve Got Mail.
Production Company(ies)
Toho Company, Kurosawa Production Co.,
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for some language
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 59m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 18, 1998 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 3, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, Greg Kinnear, Jean Stapleton, Steve Zahn, directed by Nora Ephron, written by Miklós László, Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron, comedy, romance, PG, box office, $115.7M, reviewed by Lisa Alspector, Nell Minow, Geoff Andrew, Jeff Millar, Jeff Strickler, Rick Groen, Hanif Abdurraqib, Danielle Solzman, Sarah Gorr, Debbie Holloway, Rachel Wagner, Lindsay Pugh, The Shop Around the Corner, internet romance, corporate rivalry, bookstore, Foxbooks, email, dial-up internet, soundtrack
Worldwide gross: $250,821,495
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $460,292,811
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 325
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 50,195,508
US/Canada gross: $115,821,495
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $212,548,775
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 318
US/Canada opening weekend: $18,426,749
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $33,815,683
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 387
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $65,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $119,284,165
Production budget ranking: 311
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $64,234,523
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $276,774,122
ROI to date (est.): 151%
ROI ranking: 766
Meg Ryan – Kathleen Kelly
Parker Posey – Patricia Eden
Greg Kinnear – Frank Navasky
Jean Stapleton – Birdie Conrad
Steve Zahn – George Pappas
Director(s)
Nora Ephron
Writer(s)
Miklós László, Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron
Producer(s)
Nora Ephron, Lauren Shuler Donner
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 8 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (88) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (27)
The coincidences that make the destined lovers’ paths cross aren’t contrived with much finesse, but the characters get in some decidedly clever lines.
May 27, 2011
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Predictable-but-sweet romantic comedy.
December 29, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
The clumsily loaded characterisation not only treats almost every other figure as dispensable, but doesn’t even bother to make Meg and Tom properly sympathetic.
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Mail may not be as romantic as Sleepless, but it’s wittier.
July 21, 2005
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
A love story destined to be remembered as one of the best of the decade.
November 6, 2002
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Fully-stocked, well-oiled and soulless, You’ve Got Mail sure feels like a franchise operation — all that’s missing is a greeter and a discount card.
July 12, 2002 | Rating: 2.5/4
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
The most worthwhile tension in You’ve Got Mail lies in the simple but pure ecstasy of receiving an email from a person you are excited about. Long live the parts of the film that refurbish the excitement of our sometimes-misguided yearnings.
October 2, 2020
Hanif Abdurraqib
4Columns
What Nora and Delia Ephron do is update The Shop Around the Corner for the digital era. Or at least how the era looked in the mid-1990s.
July 9, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
It’s the emotional complexity of Kathleen’s interior journey that still resonates.
January 23, 2020
Sarah Gorr
The Spool
It’s surprising how relevant this movie feels, even 20 years later. But it’s not just nostalgia or deep themes that keep bringing us back, it’s everything!
August 21, 2019
Debbie Holloway
Narrative Muse
It is chock full of Nora Ephron’s perfect writing.
February 28, 2019 | Rating: 10/10
Rachel Wagner
rachelsreviews.net
“You’ve Got Mail” is a messed up story of early 90s catfishing. Watch it for the city/apartment/style porn, but don’t let the Ephrons (or Tom Hanks) fool you: Joe is scum.
October 24, 2018
Lindsay Pugh
Woman in Revolt…
Plot
This sweet romantic comedy reunites Sleepless In Seattle stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. He’s the owner of a bookstore chain; she’s the woman he falls for online. Both are unaware that she runs the little shop his company is trying to shut down.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for “You’ve Got Mail.”
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