Sleepless in Seattle

In 1989, Sleepless in Seattle was conceived by Jeff Arch, a struggling writer and former cinematographer who was working as an English and taekwondo teacher at the time.[6][7] Recalling that the film was largely conceived out of frustration with his career, Arch had experienced little to no success as a writer prior to Sleepless in Seattle, conceding he simultaneously had little reason to continue writing and little left to lose.[8] Following the birth of his son, Arch convinced himself to write at least three films in one year, the second of which was Sleepless in Seattle.[6] The story began as a play about two people falling in love over the telephone without meeting in person.[8] Struggling to develop an original love story, Arch initially found most of the reasons he conceived to keep the couple apart unconvincing.[8] He ultimately decided that, unlike typical romance plots in which the main characters bicker for most of the film after they "meet cute", his couple would not meet until the end of the film,[8] feeling unprecedented confidence that Sleepless in Seattle would be successful as long as he "got these people to the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day".[7] The writer drew inspiration from several sources, namely the French film And Now My Love (1974), and a Washington Post article he had read about women hiring private investigators to uncover information about their romantic partners.[8] Arch recounted that the film's remaining ideas formed organically after looking up into a star-lit sky one evening and assuring himself that "for every star in the sky there's a good idea".[8] Arch was also inspired by motivational speaker Tony Robbins, completing the script in early 1990 shortly after attending one of his seminars.[9]

Despite Arch believing in Sleepless in Seattle's success wholeheartedly, several parties warned him about the unlikelihood of the film being made due to the lack of scenes shared by its lead couple.[8] He pitched the film to at least six studios and executives, all of whom rejected it claiming audiences would not be interested in watching a film whose main couple does not meet.[7] Desperate, Arch's agent Dave Warden submitted the spec script to producer Gary Foster in 1990.[10] Although Foster typically discards new scripts that fail to captivate him within its first 25 pages, he claims to have read past the 25th page of Arch's script unnoticed,[10] only to find he was crying by the last page.[6] Immediately noticing the script's potential, Foster hoped Sleepless in Seattle would serve as his breakthrough film as a producer (despite having already produced four films by that point), and submitted the script to TriStar Pictures executive Richard Fischoff, whose studio had produced all of his previous films.[10] At first Fischoff ignored Foster's request to read the script himself instead of his staff, who ultimately passed on it.[10] The producer predicted that staff readers would fail to realize that the film worked despite being unconventional.[10] After pleading from Foster, Fischoff eventually relented and read the script, optioning it to TriStar a few days later.[10] After struggling as a writer for several years, Sleepless in Seattle was Arch's first script to be optioned as a film.[11]

Eventually TriStar chairman Mike Medavoy was heavily promoting the film,[7] and Foster began interviewing potential directors shortly after.[10] Nick Castle had been slated to write and direct Hook (1991), a big-budget adaptation of Peter Pan also for TriStar, but he was eventually removed from the film in favor of Steven Spielberg.[10] The studio re-assigned Castle to Sleepless in Seattle as a consolation.[10] Garry Marshall had also been considered to direct.[9] While Foster retained sole producer credit, the film was co-executive produced by Lynda Obst and Patrick Crowley.[12] Foster struggled to get the film made over the following two years,[9] claiming that the process of the film getting made contained " its own dramatic twists and turns".[10] After finally agreeing to maintain the idea of keeping the couple separated, TriStar insisted that the "wistful" script be re-written to make the film and each character edgier and quirkier, particularly Sam and Annie.[7] Foster found the script lacked the sophistication and complexity required to elevate an emotional, sentimental story beyond merely treacle.[10] Foster reluctantly informed Arch they were interested in changing writers in order to "sharpen" his script.[10] Although Arch submitted a re-write himself, he soon found he was essentially "kicked off my own movie", and replaced by a writer with whose work he was not pleased, such as relocating the entire film to New York without including the Empire State Building.[7] Arch begged Foster and director Nick Castle to hire a better writer "who's going to take this way up to the next level".[7]

Originally hired to improve Sleepless in Seattle's script, Nora Ephron was eventually promoted to director, replacing Nick Castle.

Several writers and directors were involved with Sleepless in Seattle at various stages of development,[6] with Arch's script being re-written approximately five times.[7] Arch's original concept was more akin to a romantic drama than a romantic comedy.[13] Despite already featuring several of the film's major elements, such as a central father-son relationship and references to the romance film An Affair to Remember (1957),[6][9] Arch admitted his script was not funny enough.[6] Dramatist Larry Atlas attempted some revisions, most of which were discarded.[9] Foster interviewed at least 10 potential writers before hiring David S. Ward to re-write Arch's script.[10] Among the most significant changes, Ward decided to have Jonah call the radio station on Sam's behalf.[10] Insisting that no self-respecting man would deliberately call a radio show to share his emotional grievances,[10] Ward suggested that Sam be coerced by Jonah into revealing how he feels about his late wife to several single women throughout the country, including Annie.[6] Arch credits Ward with convincing the studio to not give up on the film, believing the latter's Academy Award for writing The Sting (1973) helped them take him seriously as a filmmaker.[8] However, the studio constantly pushed for an edgier and quirkier film.[7] Despite acknowledging Ward's work as "a big step forward for the script", Foster was not entirely satisfied with the revisions and forwarded them to writer Nora Ephron, having been a fan of her work on When Harry Met Sally... (1989).[6] Ephron had been Foster's first choice, hoping she could offer the script "a cynical layer to justify the organic sweetness", but she was unavailable when first approached to re-write.[10]

At least four writers attempted to rework Sleepless in Seattle before Ephron was recruited to "polish" the fifth and final draft.[7][14][15] Ephron had been searching for script doctoring jobs shortly after her directorial debut This Is My Life (1992) proved unprofitable at the box office.[14][16][17] Admitting that she never would have conceived the film herself,[18] Ephron initially accepted Sleepless in Seattle as a fun, easy writing project from which she could quickly earn money.[9][19] Although she found Arch's version simple and unfunny, Ephron particularly liked his romantic ending involving the Empire State Building,[14] and was interested in several ideas discussed in Ward's second draft,[16] particularly how movies affect people's perception about romance.[17] Ephron assured Foster that she could re-write the script within three weeks,[20] adapting it into a funnier version of itself without entirely making it a comedy.[14] She specifically improved Annie and Jonah's roles.[15] In an early draft, the character of Annie was in the midst of ending an unhappy relationship; Ephron wrote this out of the film because she found Annie's original backstory inconsequential in comparison to Sam's loss of his wife.[21] Annie was also relocated from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Baltimore, Maryland, as the character had originally been conceived as a Lancaster-based reporter.[19] Foster credits Ephron with contributing most of the film's dialogue, while de-emphasizing much of Arch's sentimentality.[22] While crediting Ephron with providing her trademark wit and snark the studio felt the original script lacked, Arch does not think all of Ephron's ideas particularly elevated the film.[8] Describing themselves as quite different as writers, Arch likened their working relationship to "a parent and a step-parent of the same kid".[8] However, they shared a strong love for classic films,[8] with Ephron admitting she herself once considered An Affair to Remember to be "the greatest movie I'd ever seen".[16] Ephron said the final film turned out funnier than she had imagined.[18]

Castle left the project over disagreements with Ephron's edgier, less sentimental script,[22] accusing her of stripping the film of emotion.[7] Ephron claims virtually everyone liked the final script she submitted, apart from Castle.[15][19] Impressed by Ephron's swiftness and dedication, Foster invited her to direct.[6] Although Ephron protested the film was not quite ready to be directed, feeling it warranted at least one more rewrite, she eventually accepted and recruited her sister Delia to help improve several scenes.[14][21] One such moment was the final scene in which Annie meets Sam and Jonah atop the Empire State building; Delia suggested that the father and son should be returning to the observation deck just as Annie is readying to leave, instead of having already exited the building.[21] Despite serving as an associate producer alongside Arch,[6] Delia remains uncredited for her script contributions,[18][23] although a script dated March 10, 1992 is credited to Arch with re-writes by Nora and Delia Ephron.[24] Ephron considers Sleepless in Seattle a "secret present" to their late parents, who were also screenwriters, as well as classic Hollywood movies.[18] As "a movie about love that was also about movies about love", Ephron aimed to direct a "timeless" film audiences could watch for several years, without it feeling like it was made in 1993.[19]

Ephron was also determined to give each character a "moment", such as when the minor mailman character has an inconsequential conversation about hiccups with Sam's son Jonah.[20] At one point, the script mentioned that Sam and Annie had once both lived in Chicago at the same time, but this was edited out of the final film.[23] Sleepless in Seattle became Ephron's second directorial effort.[25] Premiere reported that, once Ephron became involved, the film "changed ... from a script that almost everyone had turned down into one that almost everyone wanted to be involved with".[7] Although Arch did not necessarily agree that Ephron saved the film, he understood that "sometimes, you're not the star but that if you keep doing your job right, you will be the star", and maintains that several scenes ultimately remained almost exactly how he had envisioned them in his first draft, despite several re-writes.[7]

Ephron promised Foster that her revised screenplay would be deserving of actors Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan,[20][lower-alpha 1] the latter with whom Ephron had written the character Annie in mind.[21] While Arch had also written the female role for Ryan due to her performance in When Harry Met Sally, he had envisioned Kevin Costner in the role of Sam.[8] A different pair of actors had originally been envisioned in the lead roles, but departed because they were deemed not funny enough for Ephron's material.[14][15] Several actresses pursued the role of Annie once they learned of Ephron's involvement, including Julia Roberts,[20][27][28][lower-alpha 2] Kim Basinger, Michelle Pfeiffer,[30] Sharon Stone,[22] Jodie Foster,[31] Demi Moore and Madonna,[32][33] but Ephron was determined to cast Ryan, having enjoyed working with her on When Harry Met Sally...[32] Ryan initially expected to star in the film with her then-husband Dennis Quaid,[6] who had been looking for a film to star in together.[10] The couple had also been close friends with Medavoy at the time.[10] However, Ephron felt Quaid was not funny enough to play Sam, a role she and the studio decided was more suitable for Hanks.[32][34] Having grown weary of playing goofy, immature characters by this point in his career,[32] Hanks initially turned down the role because he was unhappy with its original script, but was drawn towards Ephron's revisions because he felt her version of Sam was more serious than previous roles he had played.[35] Despite her interest in Hanks, Ephron was not entirely convinced the actor could play a romantic leading man in the vein of Cary Grant until she met him for first time.[32] Hanks and Ryan had previously starred as a couple in the film Joe Versus the Volcano (1990).[9][14] Despite being the film's romantic leads, the co-stars share only two scenes together,[36] approximately two minutes of screen time.[35]

Bill Pullman originally assumed he would have a larger role in the film as Annie's fiancé Walter, since Sleepless in Seattle had been pitched to him as a love triangle similar to The Philadelphia Story (1940),[23] envisioning himself as the James Stewart character to Hanks' Cary Grant and Ryan's Katharine Hepburn.[37] Nathan Watt was originally cast as Sam's son Jonah,[34] but after working together for a few days, Hanks found the child actor to be disruptive on set while trying to film scenes he was not involved in.[34] Watt was ultimately replaced with Ross Malinger,[34] an actor Ephron remembered from earlier auditions,[32] although Ephron did not like some aspects of his appearance.[38] Jason Schwartzman had also auditioned for the role.[39] Comedian Rosie O'Donnell was cast as Becky, Annie's best friend and coworker.[30][40] O'Donnell had made her film debut in A League of Their Own (1992) the previous year, appearing alongside both Hanks and Pullman.[14][41] O'Donnell credits Ephron's son Jacob Bernstein with helping her secure the role, as he was a fan of her friend Madonna, with whom the comedian had also starred in A League of Their Own.[30] Inspired by Whoopie Goldberg's Academy Award-winning performance in Ghost (1990), Ephron felt hiring a comedian in a funny supporting role would similarly benefit Sleepless in Seattle.[30] O'Donnell based her performance on singer and actress Bette Midler,[42] specifically emulating the way she walks and talks in order to convey "the funny, caustic best friend with a heart of gold" role she had wanted to play since deciding to become an actor.[30] Eventually reduced from two-pages, the speech was the longest of O'Donnell's career at that point.[43] She noted her experience was particularly different from A League of Their Own, which had been largely improvisational compared to Ephron's organized directorial style.[41] O'Donnell and Ephron lived in the same apartment building while filming Sleepless in Seattle, which Ephron had obtained for her.[30] Hanks' wife Rita Wilson originally auditioned for the role of Becky, but Ephron preferred her for the role of Sam's sister Suzy, which the director found particularly convenient because Wilson was already in Seattle with her husband.[21] Ephron cast Rob Reiner, who directed When Harry Met Sally..., as Sam's friend in the film, with Reiner contributing to many of the film's laughs.[8]

According to some of the main cast, Ephron typically insisted that the actors recite their lines almost exactly as-written,[6][40] although Ephron herself said she was open to the cast improvising and re-writing dialogue they felt was unfunny.[13][19][30] Hanks and Victor Garber improvised the scene in which their characters feign tears while recounting the film The Dirty Dozen (1967),[6] mocking Suzy who has been brought to tears by summarizing the plot of An Affair to Remember.[35] Hanks and Ephron agreed that his character was underwritten.[15] Ephron invited the actor to help rewrite his character, which ultimately resulted in "a grumpier, funnier Sam".[32] Hanks did not truly commit to the role until he, Ephron and Delia reviewed his character scene by scene, ultimately improving his part.[15] Hanks and Ephron sometimes disagreed over his character's actions, with Hanks accusing the director of making Sam too "wimpy" by writing him from a woman's perspective.[32][44] He also complained that better lines had been written for his character's son,[32] and lobbied for Sam and Jonah's relationship to be more paternal than maternal.[30] In the original screenplay, Sam decides not to spend a weekend away with his new girlfriend Victoria in fear of upsetting Jonah.[44] Hanks found this unconvincing for a grown man, suggesting to Ephron that, despite his son's feelings, his character would most likely be absolutely determined to sleep with Victoria after having been single for several years by that point.[23] Ephron re-wrote the scene so Sam only relents once he learns Jonah has stowed away on a plane to New York.[23] Hanks believes the film's drama ultimately benefited from being rooted in logic and "true, human behaviour".[44] Arch explained that, despite some resistance from the actor, Hanks ultimately "rode that boundary, between being a man and having feelings he's able to express", which was rare for a male character during the 1990s.[8] Ephron described Hanks as "manly in a part that requires him to be tender -and a lot of other things", calling him "one of the few actors around ... who can do tender and irritable and angry all at the same time".[45] She credits Hanks with teaching her that writers should always provide the main actor with something to play off of, so they are never passive or idle during a scene.[15]

Ephron had envisioned the role of Clarisse, Jonah's babysitter, as a Shelley Duvall-type role.[22] They ultimately cast Amanda Maher in the role, a waitress they had discovered at the Gravity Bar in Seattle, citing her as a natural.[22] Ephron herself voices "Disappointed In Denver", a depressed character who calls into the radio show Annie is listening to in the middle of the night.[35] Actress Parker Posey was cast in a minor role that was ultimately cut from the film.[35] The director wrote Posey an apologetic letter assuring her that the removal from the film was not her own fault.[46] Ephron eventually cast her in a larger role in the romantic comedy You've Got Mail (1998), also starring Hanks and Ryan.[35] Foster appears as an extra in the restaurant scene, during which Sam and Victoria attend their first date.[47] Hanks accused Foster of being too loud during the scene.[47]

Although Seattle, Washington had always been the film's main setting, the filmmakers only realized how significant the location was upon seeing it for themselves.[22] Arch was inspired to have Sam live in a houseboat upon watching a Seattle-based episode of This Old House, which featured host Bob Vila visiting a similar home.[8] Ephron initially believed that, during the 1990s, young Americans prioritized their careers over their personal lives.[35] However, upon visiting Seattle, she discovered it as a city where "people have chosen lifestyle over work", and decided to set the film there.[35] Ephron explained that this is one of the reasons why Sam moves to Seattle from the work-focused Chicago.[16] Vancouver, British Columbia, which film studios typically use as an affordable Seattle stand-in, was briefly considered an option, but Foster ultimately found the Canadian city to be less diverse than Seattle, hardly distinguishable from other large cities and too Canadian-looking.[22] Principal photography began in July 1992.[9] Once she submitted the final draft in March 1992, Ephron described the film's filming schedule as almost instant, recalling that they were scouting locations in June and filming by August that same year.[14] The film had a production budget of $25 million, with The Seattle Times reporting that the studio spent approximately $4 million on Seattle-based labor, hotels, meals and local vendors.[22] Foster explained that they decided to primarily use resources local to save money on necessities such as crew, import labor and airfare.[22] Specific Seattle landmarks featured in the film include the Pike Place Market, the Sorrento Hotel, Alki Beach, the Fremont Bridge, SeaTac Airport, the Dahlia Lounge, and several 1st Avenue shops.[22]

The filmmakers could not find a warehouse large enough to host one set, therefore much of the film was shot on the Sand Point Naval Base.[22] Due to the lack of sound stages in Seattle at the time, the filmmakers sought to use the base as it was about to be shut down, but received little response from The Federal Bureaucracy until Ephron herself contacted Republican senator John Warner, a former Secretary of the Navy.[6] At times sets and parts of props were shipped between Seattle to Baltimore to ensure sets remained consistent,[35] particularly a door that both Ryan's and Hanks' characters use in separate scenes.[16] Ephron ensured the same door was used to demonstrate the connection between the characters,[20] working with editor Robert M. Reitano to connect their stories via visual parallels, since otherwise the characters hardly share screen time.[13] Because Seattle was experiencing a drought while filming, the filmmakers imported water trucks to simulate the rain scenes.[20] The city was reportedly angry about what they perceived as a waste of water.[14][23] In addition to Seattle, scenes were shot in Chicago, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; and New York City.[9] Ironically, Foster deemed a house located on Queen Anne Hill "Baltimore enough" to serve as the Baltimore-based home of Annie's parents.[22] Ephron intended for the opening shot of the Chicago skyline at Maggie Baldwin's funeral to evoke artist Saul Steinberg's 1976 The New Yorker cover View of the World from 9th Avenue.[23] A set designer reportedly found working with Ephron so difficult that they begged to be fired from the film.[48]

The studio was initially denied permission to shoot some of the film's final scenes at the Empire State Building,[20] whose management refused to close the observation deck to tourists to allow filming.[34] Ephron strongly believed that "you are two phone-calls away from anyone".[47] Ephron knew the publicist who was representing building owner Leona Helmsley, who was in prison for tax evasion at the time.[6][34] After discussing the matter with her publicist who visited her in jail,[47] Helmsley granted them permission to use the building for only six hours.[20] This allowed them to film the helicopter shot, Annie's lobby scene, and Jonah searching the observation deck for Annie.[6] The observatory of the Empire State Building on which Sam and Annie finally meet during the film's climax was actually a replica built in Hangar 27 of the Sand Point Naval Base, instead of New York City.[22] The building was digitally lit for the film.[8] Ryan was physically uncomfortable while running towards the Empire State Building in order to meet Sam because her shoes were ill-fitting.[49]

The film's costumes were designed by Judy Ruskin, who designed most of Ryan's wardrobe.[50] Ruskin was careful to dress Ryan in modest, loose-fitting clothes to demonstrate Annie's "pure heart", as per Ephron's direction.[50] Ephron hired Sven Nykvist as the film's cinematographer, as she was instructed to recruit "the world's best cinematographer".[19] According to Ephron, he was typically able to light scenes in as little as six minutes.[51] Ephron and production designer Jeffrey Townsend deliberately limited the use of the color red during the first hour of Sleepless in Seattle. The color appears more frequently after Sam and Annie first pass each other at the airport in Seattle, and a soccer team wearing red uniforms spills into the crowd between them.[21] Red gradually becomes more common throughout the rest of the film, representing the "passion shared by the pair as they finally meet and fall in love".[21] The filmmakers also avoided using blue, a color Ephron particularly dislikes.[21] Arch was surprised to find that certain shots matched what he had envisioned when writing the film, including the use of shooting stars in the title sequence.[8]

Although Foster and Ephron estimate that the studio spent at least $20 million marketing the film, TriStar senior vice president of publicity Ed Russell claims they spent significantly less, despite their admittedly competitive marketing campaign.[86] Sleepless in Seattle was heavily advertised during daytime programming to target female viewers, who responded well to its posters and trailers.[86] The film's official theatrical release poster, which depicts Hanks and Ryan gazing into the sky from opposite time zones, features the tag line "What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only someone for you", which was inspired by a line spoken by Ryan's character in the film.[37] Despite its female target audience, trailers and television spots were geared towards men by prominently featuring Hanks and Reiner.[86] A trailer aired during the televised broadcast of President Bill Clinton's inaugural ball in January 1993, five months before its release date,[86] with Clinton's inaugural committee specifically asking TriStar to advertise during the gala.[87] TriStar paid approximately $250,000 for the 30-second commercial.[87] Foster claims advertising during the inaugural ball implied that the studio was warning the film industry to "Watch out, we believe in this movie and we're not afraid to do anything. We're not afraid to spend money".[86] He also maintains that the decision to advertise during the telecast was business-driven as opposed to political, explaining that the studio saw anticipated the gala's expected high ratings would promote Sleepless in Seattle to a significantly larger audience.[87]

The studio also discussed corporate tie-ins with companies such as greeting card companies, teleflorists and Tiffany & Co. for corporate tie-ins.[88] On Valentine's Day 1993, chocolate recreations of the Empire State Building were offered to 200 critics.[89] Test screenings hosted in January were well-received and widely covered by several American magazines, including Premiere, Redbook, Allure and Movieline.[86] Variety reported that Sleepless in Seattle scored 94 out of 100 in at least one of its screenings, encouraging the studio to reschedule the film for a summer release.[88] Senior vice president of publicity Ed Russell arranged several word of mouth screenings for the film, including a conference held for romance novel and magazine editors on May 16, 1993 in San Diego.[86] A benefit premiere was hosted for Sleepless in Seattle at the Cinedome in Seattle in June 1993, with proceeds going towards the Pike Place Market Foundation.[22]

Originally planned to be released in April 1993, Sleepless in Seattle was rescheduled for summer 1993 because studio executives predicted it could be a popular summer hit, despite competing with several large-scale blockbusters and action-adventure films at the time,[22] notably Jurassic Park,[89] The Firm, Cliffhanger and Last Action Hero.[88] Sleepless in Seattle was considered to be one of the year's few "date movies", and was also branded "1993's When Harry Met Sally ...".[90] According to Kathy Tyre of Adweek, TriStar crafted a marketing campaign that branded Sleepless in Seattle as the summer's "romantic alternative".[89] Marketing executive Kathy Jones confirmed that the studio would spend significantly more money marketing the film due to its summer relocation but claims they wanted to avoid over-promoting "a lovely, romantic movie".[88] Tri-Star theorized the romantic comedy would attract women who were not particularly interested in watching the year's action films,[22] serving as "counter-programming" to the roster of more traditional summer blockbuster fare.[86] Columbia, TriStar's sister studio, had used the same strategy for When Harry Met Sally... four years prior.[30] Rescheduling the film also removed direct competition such Indecent Proposal (1993), which was expected to have higher box office returns than Sleepless in Seattle.[86] However, releasing the film in June also proposed the risk of Sleepless in Seattle being overlooked by an estimated 60 films being released that summer, among them What's Love Got to Do With It and The Firm.[86]

Foster believes that had the film been released in April as originally planned, they would have already spent most of their marketing budget by the time the year's blockbusters were released, explaining that "This kind of counterprogramming in the summer seems to work",[22] whereas Ephron felt releasing the film earlier would have forced them to remove the film from theatres in order to make way for the summer blockbuster films.[86] Sneak previews were hosted in 750 theatres the Saturday before the film's release, which were filled to 80% capacity.[86] In addition to much publicity, previews were consistently very well-received by audiences.[19] The film was ultimately released to theatres on June 25, 1993.[19]

Despite initially being perceived as an underdog,[86] the film was surprisingly successful at the box office, becoming "the surprise hit of the season" according to The Baltimore Sun's Mike Littwin.[91] The film was widely touted the sleeper hit of the summer.[7] Sleepless in Seattle opened theatrically on June 25, 1993, coincidentally the same day as former Sleepless in Seattle director Nick Castle's Dennis the Menace.[19] It premiered in 1,579 venues, earning $17,253,733 in its opening weekend, ranking second in the North American box office behind the third weekend of Jurassic Park.[92][45] Sleepless in Seattle had the most successful opening weekend for a romantic comedy at the time.[30][93] The Los Angeles Times reported that the opening weekend audience was 60% female and 40% 30 years and older.[86] At the end of its run, the film grossed $126,808,165 in the United States and Canada, and $101,119,000 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $227,927,165.[2]

According to HuffPost, Sleepless in Seattle's earnings established it as "the most successful traditional romantic comedy of all-time" at the time of its release.[94] Ephron and Foster attribute the film's success to its release being postponed from March 26 to June 25.[86] The film became one of the highest-grossing of 1993,[30][82][95][96] and remains the 13th highest-grossing romantic comedy in the United States.[97][98] According to The Numbers, Sleepless in Seattle is the 21st highest-grossing romantic comedy of all-time.[99]

In July 1993, Rolling Stone journalist Lawrence Frascella predicted that Ephron "is poised to become one of Hollywood's leading women directors" with the success of Sleepless in Seattle.[16] To commemorate the film's 25th anniversary, Fathom Events and Sony Pictures Entertainment re-released Sleepless in Seattle in approximately 400 theatres throughout the United States for two days,[100] on the 2nd and 5 December 2018.[101][102] Ryan and Foster filmed a new introduction exclusive to the re-issue.[103]

The film continues to be aired regularly on various television stations.[104]

Sleepless in Seattle received positive reviews upon release.[22][45][105][106] Critics particularly praised Hanks and Ryan's performances and chemistry in the lead roles.[107] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[108] Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers lauded Sleepless in Seattle as "the hippest, frankest and funniest date movie around", praising the leads' performances and Ephron's writing for poking fun at classic romance films "without for a second denying their potency. In Sleepless, she breaks your heart without making you feel like a jerk. As date movies go, that's the ultimate in compliments".[109]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film was "as ephemeral as a talk show, as contrived as the late show, and yet so warm and gentle I smiled the whole way through." He added:

The actors are well-suited to this material. Tom Hanks keeps a certain detached edge to his character, which keeps him from being simply a fall guy. Meg Ryan, who is one of the most likable actresses around and has a certain ineffable Doris Day innocence, is able to convince us of the magical quality of her sudden love for a radio voice, without letting the device seem like the gimmick it assuredly is.[110]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a feather-light romantic comedy" and wrote, "It's a stunt, but it's a stunt that works far more effectively than anybody in his right mind has reason to expect. Not since Love Story has there been a movie that so shrewdly and predictably manipulated the emotions for such entertaining effect."[111]

In a mixed review, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly lauded Hanks performance for anchoring but found Sleepless in Seattle itself to be too contrived, writing, "it feels programmed to make you fall in love with it". Criticizing Ephron's reliance on clichés, Gleiberman said the director "mixes old ones from Hollywood with new ones from pop-psych therapy", describing the film as "a '50s tearjerker synthesized by microchip" which lacks the "delicately sexy sparkle" of its predecessors.[112] John Simon of the National Review wrote that the "entire picture is a collection of nauseating quotations and references to An Affair to Remember, both visual and verbal".[113] The Baltimore Sun's Mike Littwin dismissed the film as a "chick flick" geared towards women with little pay off for male audiences, apart from "forc[ing] us to re-examine our values".[91]

Retrospective reviews have remained mostly positive. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 75% out of 60 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.6/10. The consensus states, "Sleepless in Seattle is a cute classic with a very light touch and real chemistry between the two leads – even when spending an entire movie apart."[114] According to the same website, Sleepless in Seattle is their 146th highest-rated romantic comedy of all-time (out of 200), warning readers that they might find the film's relatively low placement surprising considering its popularity.[115] Rotten Tomatoes also ranked Sleepless in Seattle the 53rd best blockbuster of the 1990s decade.[116] On Metacritic, the film has a 72 out of 100 rating, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[117]

Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club praised both the lead and supporting cast's performances; the father-son dynamic between Hanks and Malinger's characters during both comedic and heartfelt moments.[13] Praising the performances of Hanks, Ryan, O'Donnell and Reiner, as well as the film's humor, The Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw said Ephron "brought her terrific flair, wit and nous, although she propagates the terrifying fallacy that a widower makes a wonderful romantic catch".[118] Virginia Florey of the Midland Daily News said the film "still do[es] a fantastic job of pulling you into their story and their search to find that one person to love".[119] While declaring that Sleepless in Seattle remains the best romantic comedy ever released, Body+Soul contributor Hannah-Rose Yee said despite being "the kind of movie that gives romantic comedies a bad name ... no film has come close to distilling what Sleepless in Seattle does about the ridiculous enterprise that is opening up your heart to someone else".[80] However, she admitted that one's ability to enjoy the film depends "entirely on how on board you can get with a romance in which the two lead characters don't meet until the last five minutes".[80] The Guardian's Luke Walpole, who had avoided watching the film until 2020 in fear that it had aged poorly, ultimately found Ephron's screenplay to be a gorgeous "balance of melancholy and fizzing optimism", but criticized Sleepless in Seattle's "narrowly middle class and privileged" characters.[120] Common Sense Media wrote that the film is successful in Ephron's hands, despite its "frustrating" structure at times.[4]

Siede noted that in recent years, Annie's actions in pursuit of Sam have been re-evaluated as what some critics perceive as stalker behavior,[13] with Nicole Sperling of Vanity Fair feeling Annie's determination "verges into stalker territory".[84] Siede defended the character, writing "Annie's 'romantic' stalking falls well within the purview of creepy real-world behavior we're somehow willing to forgive in a heightened rom-com context. And plenty of beloved rom-com leading men have pulled stunts just as creepy".[13] R. Eric Thomas of Elle noted that "in terms of rom-com hijinks and poor decisions that turn out great, nothing beats [Annie's behavior] in Sleepless in Seattle", but relented that the film remains "a jewel".[85] Thomas also found Wilson's An Affair to Remember monologue to be deserving of an Academy Award, and one of the film's best scenes.[85] Guy Lodge of The Guardian commended Ryan for helping "her character's wildly irrational whimsy ... make sympathetic sense".[121] Upon re-watching the film in 2016, Bustle's S. Atkinson perceived Annie as "a woman who is pretty damn morally dubious with regards to her relationship to her fiancée", explaining that "I'd gone from completely doting on the two leads when watching it first time round as a kid to finding them the absolute worst watching again an adult".[122]

The film received two nominations for awards in the 66th Academy Awards (held in 1994). It lost the award to The Piano for Best Original Screenplay while the song "A Wink and a Smile" lost out to "Streets of Philadelphia" (from Philadelphia, another Tom Hanks movie) for Best Original Song. The film was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards: one for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy (Tom Hanks) another for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Meg Ryan) and a third for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The film earned Ephron her third Academy Award nomination.[123]

The film won four awards at different ceremonies. Ryan won the award for Funniest Actress in a Leading Role at the American Comedy Awards. At the 1994 Young Artist Awards, Malinger won the award for Best Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture and the film itself won Outstanding Family Motion Picture for Comedy.[124] The screenplay was also nominated for Writers Guild and BAFTA awards.[11]