To say that the film 9 to 5 split the opinions of critics is an understatement. Indeed, film critics at the time, and even modern reflections on the film are split. However you might feel about the film itself, you cannot deny the movie was both ahead of its time and a big moneymaker at the box office. It’s hard to imagine these days, but a movie not based on comics, a novel, or any other previous IP and made on a modest budget could pull in the kind of money 9 to 5 did.
On a $10 million budget, the movie pulled in over $100 million, which adjusted to today’s figures would be roughly $400 million. This is important to note because the interest the public had, despite mixed reviews, certainly had to make an impact on the culture at large. Genre cinema has always been great at exploring salient issues in a way that never feels like it dilutes its message, yet never hits you over the head with it either. Over four decades later, directors Camille Hardman and Gary Lane gather the insanely talented people behind this iconic film for an eye-opening documentary.
