 Miramax paid $5.5 million for the rights to distribute the film in North America and some other territories, but it shelved the film for a year due to the September 11 attacks and the film's "unpatriotic" message.The film finally received an Oscar qualification release in November 2002 and went on to gross US$12.9 million in limited theatrical release in the United States.The film received positive reviews from critics and Michael Caine was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.