How Was The Movie Received By Audiences When it Premiered?

I wonder how the movie was received by audiences when it first premiered? Was it a box office success? I suspect that it was inspired by the success of King Kong that had premiered 7 years earlier and also dealt with a primitive civilization and humans interacting with dinosaurs.

Anyway, I just saw it and quite honestly, I liked it. I like the contrast between the brutal rock people and the civilized shell people. The romance between Mature and Landis works [good chemistry between them] and even the special effects are quite good. Let's not forget that this is 1940. Yes, they could have used the stop motion effects of King Kong, but they didn't. It was undoubtedly cheaper to use lizards and they probably didn't have the budget, but it works for what it is.