[citation needed] The film was unable to be released in Taiwan as it failed to meet the country's yearly 10-film quota on mainland China imports.

[8] 1911 received generally negative reviews from Western film critics; it holds an 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

[11] Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter largely criticized the film's "insipid, poorly structured screenplay", and wrote: "A mainland Chinese propaganda vehicle through and through, the film postulates history in such a scrappy, inaccessible manner that either as entertainment or education, it's a lost cause.

"[12] Rachel Saltz of The New York Times described the film as "overly faithful" to being a commemorative work that honors the 1911 revolution, approaching the event "like a great, bloody historical pageant"; she concluded that despite its "excellent" cinematography and engaging early battle scenes, 1911 "remains a kind of lavishly illustrated history lesson.

[15] The Economist noted that while the film was endorsed by the Chinese government officials, ticket sales have been poor.