 In 2017, Autostraddle ranked it at 25 of the best 102 lesbian movies of all time.In an assessment of lesbian genre films since the 1980s, "Slate" said the film was "immensely popular with lesbian audiences" and earned "cult classic status...years after it was released".By the fall of 1986, "Desert Hearts" had grossed $2.5 million in the United States and Canada.