At The Box Office
Cabaret was clearly a critical success, receiving rave reviews for its acting, direction, cinematography, sound, and many other aspects, and it proved to be a commercial success as well. It was very successful at the box office. By May of 1973, Cabaret had earned $4.5 million in North American rentals and an additional $3.5 million in other countries.
Liza Minnelli and Marisa Berenson at the Cabaret Premiere party for Liza Minnelli, February 6th, 1972. Photo by Fairchild Archive / Penske Media / Shutterstock
It had an initial budget of $4.6 million, so it was already in profit based on these rentals alone. In the years that followed, it became even more successful, earning a grand total of over $40 million at the box office. For any kind of film, that sort of money represented an exceptional result in the 1970s, and it was even more impressive for a musical.