Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Reception

Box office

As of January 25, 2023, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody has grossed $23.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $30.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $53.9 million.

In the United States and Canada, I Wanna Dance With Somebody was released alongside Babylon, and was initially projected to gross $12–15 million from 3,625 theaters over its four-day opening weekend.The film made $2 million on its first day, including $750,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $5.3 million in its opening weekend (and a total of $7.5 million over the four days), finishing third behind Avatar: The Way of Water and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Deadline cited the threat of a tripledemic surge in COVID-19 and flu cases and the nationwide impact of Winter Storm Elliott as reasons for lower-than-expected theater attendance.The film held well in its second weekend, dropping just 16 percent to $3.9 million, finishing in fourth.

In the United Kingdom, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody debuted in second place, behind Avatar: The Way of Water. The film grossed £3.3 million ($3.9 million) in its opening weekend.It held its place of second in the following week, grossing £1.3 million for a total of £6.2 million ($7.5 million).

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 45% of 122 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's consensus reads, "Another wiki-biopic for posterity's sake, the relatively watchable I Wanna Dance with Somebody leaves you feeling like you were on stage with Whitney Houston, but didn't really get to dance with her."[24] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[25] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 88% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with 68% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Accolades

The film was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature at the 21st Visual Effects Society Awards.

Naomi Ackie was nominated for the EE Rising Star award, for I Wanna Dance with Somebody, at the 76th British Academy Film Awards.

The film was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing- Feature Motion Picture at the 70th Motion Picture Sound Editors’ Golden Reel Awards. 

Kasi Lemmons was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture for I Wanna Dance with Somebody, at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards.