Buckaroo Banzai was originally scheduled to be released on June 8, 1984 but was pushed back to August 10. It opened on 236 screens and faced stiff competition against the likes of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (also featuring Banzai co-star Christopher Lloyd), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Ghostbusters. It made US$620,279 on its opening weekend before finally grossing $6.2 million in North America, earning back less than half of its production costs.