Dutch public television aired the complete, uncut movie on February 23, 2008. It was the first time hardcore porn had been shown on Dutch public television. It led to discussion all the way up to Parliament.
Harry Reems was the first actor ever to be prosecuted for distributing obscenity. Co-star Linda Lovelace and director Gerard Damiano made a deal with the prosecutors in exchange for immunity, so the court focused all attention on him. Reems received open support from Hollywood stars, including Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty. The conviction was overturned on appeal one year later.
As of 2000, the highest-grossing film ever made in Florida.
The total box office revenue has often been stated as $600 million. As noted by Roger Ebert in his review of Inside Deep Throat (2005), most porn theaters in pre-video days were owned by the mafia. Inflating box office receipts could have been one way to launder money from drugs and prostitution. Some estimates put the figure around $100 million, while the Los Angeles Time in 2005 estimated it earned $30-50 million. Whatever the case, very few of the people directly involved in making the film saw much of the money. According to Inside Deep Throat (2005), much of the box office disappeared when mobsters came to cinemas to collect the profits.
The profits were used to create Bryanston Distributing, which also handled several non-pornographic features, including The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).