In English Canada, it was among only three Canadian films to gross over $500,000 between 1987 and 1990, along with "Black Robe" and "Dead Ringers" with a gross of C$747,000. "Jesus of Montreal" did not enjoy the degree of success in France as Arcand's prior "The Decline of the American Empire" (1986), drawing an audience of 187,827 people, the eighth highest for a Quebec film to date. Generally, the film did not meet expectations in drawing audiences in countries with predominantly Roman Catholic populations, with Arcand claiming using the name Jesus in the title made the subject matter appear cliché. In the U.S., Stephen J. Nichols referred to it as "not-very-popular" and said it was Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" "to dominate the 1980s" in dramatic portrayals of Jesus. "Jesus of Montreal" enjoyed positive reviews, with a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars, calling Arcand "the best of the new generation of Quebec filmmakers", and saying "It's interesting the way Arcand makes this work as theology and drama at the same time", adding Lothaire Bluteau is perfectly cast. Caryn James of "The New York Times" called the film "intelligent" and "audacious", particularly praising the first half "before it gives in to leaden, self-conscious Christ imagery". Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" wrote "Arcand has exposed a world that can't recognize its own hypocrisy or hear a voice in the wilderness". Jonathan Rosenbaum called it a "must-see". David Denby of "New York" felt "Jesus of Montreal" was "smug from the beginning", but the film was not boring thanks to Arcand's "theatricality and skill". "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a C-, questioning the controversy depicted in the film, saying "Hasn’t Canada, in the past 20 years, ever seen a single touring company of "Jesus Christ, Superstar"?" and claiming the film "flits between the smug and the ersatz mystical". Hal Hinson of "The Washington Post" said the scenes where Daniel collects his actors are the best part of the film, but the rest is outdated. In terms of religious response, "Jesus of Montreal" met "dead calm" on its release, in contrast to Scorsese's more controversial "The Last Temptation of Christ".