The Trial of Billy Jack

According to Variety by 1976 the film had earned $6,716,000 in theatrical rentals in North America.[5] Its international take was very small, which Laughlin suggested was due to U.S. government agencies conspiring to get the film "banned in almost every country in the world" to hide its "scorching exposés" from foreign audiences, though he indicated he had no evidence.[6][7]

The film was a commercial success upon its release in theaters, but met with a harsh reaction from movie critics.[3][8]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "three hours of naiveté merchandised and marketed with the not-so-innocent vengeance that I associate with religious movements that take leases on places like the Houston Astrodome."[8] Variety wrote that the film was "badly in need of trimming its 170-minutes running time" and that Laughlin sometimes seemed to be "only a visiting guest star, since he does not figure in what seems to be reels of irrelevant school action. It is only when he is on-camera that the picture picks up, a commanding figure whose low-key characterization adds to the brilliance of his performance."[9] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1 star out of 4 and called it "gross, misleading and a run-on bore," writing that "whereas the original had moments of genuine humor and refreshing improvisation, 'The Trial of Billy Jack' comes on as totally committed to establishing half-truths. In reality, both My Lai and Kent State are testaments to the danger of arming young men and placing them in combat situations. But 'The Trial of Billy Jack' twists those facts so as to make the killings a direct policy statement of the national government."[10] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times described it as "one of the longest, slowest, most pretentious and self-congratulatory ego trips ever put to film. The running time is an excruciating three hours, which make you wonder what the five count 'em five credited editors did for their pay."[11] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it "such a rambling, maudlin, sanctimonious rehash of its phenomenally successful predecessor that one can at least hope for a few defections among the legions of young fans who evidently thrilled to the self-flattering gospel according to 'Billy Jack,'" concluding, "Laughlin's point of view may be militantly liberal, but his artistic methods are reactionary in the extreme."[12] Pauline Kael of The New Yorker declared, "This film probably represents the most extraordinary display of sanctimonious self-aggrandizement the screen has ever known."[13] Donald J. Mayerson wrote in Cue, "this sequel proved more of a trial for me than it was for Billy."[3] Leonard Maltin's film guide assigned its lowest possible grade of BOMB and called the film "Laughable" until the final massacre scene that rendered its peaceful message "ludicrous."[14]

In a retrospective review Donald Guarisco of AllMovie wrote: "Ultimately, most viewers are likely to be baffled by The Trial of Billy Jack, and it can only be recommended to B-movie fans with a hearty constitution...it's a mess, but it's a fascinating mess".[15]

When the film was re-issued for another theatrical run in the spring of 1975, an accompanying newspaper ad campaign attacked critics as being out of touch with the tastes of mass audiences.[16][17]

Despite its initial commercial success, it marked the effective end of success for the Billy Jack series.

It was followed by another film, Billy Jack Goes to Washington in 1977, which never saw widespread theatrical release. A fifth movie, The Return of Billy Jack filmed in 1985-86, was never completed and remains unreleased. The Trial of Billy Jack was included as one of the choices in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time.[3]