Citizen Kane was released in 1941, premiering in New York
on May 1, 1941 and having a wider U.S. release on September
5, 1941.

The movie was produced by RKO Radio Pictures and was
loosely based on the life of publisher William Randolph Hearst.

Welles threatened to sue Hearst for trying to suppress the
film and also to sue RKO if the company did not release
the film.

It had originally been intended to open at Manhattan’s Radio
City Music Hall. But months before its release, Orson Welles’
landmark film began generating such controversy that the
venue eventually refused to show it.        
        
        
        

George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985)