Following its major success in Jamaica, Roger Corman’s New World Pictures acquired United States distribution rights and released The Harder They Come across the US in 1973. Initially failing to find an audience, the film did very well with midnight showings, bringing in a slightly older audience interested in seeing the first feature from Jamaica. Aided by the release of its soundtrack, which features songs by the star Jimmy Cliff and helped popularize reggae music in the US, the fandom grew rapidly. At the Elgin Theater in New York City, the film ran consistently from late 1974 through early 1977 in its midnight timeslot.