1977 - Detail

May 25, 1977 - The movie Star Wars opens and becomes the highest grossing film at the time.



George Lucas was a mastermind, graduating from USC in 1967, and immediately partnering with Francis Ford Coppola, Zoetrope Studios, on the film THX 1138, which was a financial flop, but critical success in 1971. The idea for Star Wars was flowing through his head first when acquiring a two film development deal from United Artists, but they eventually passed on both films. His next film adventure took him back to his upbringing, American Graffiti, 1973, now written and directed by Lucas and produced by his new company, Lucasfilm, for Universal Pictures. It won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director.

Lucas then had the clout to return to his science fiction roots with the elaborate space film Star Wars. He had been thinking of the concept while finishing American Graffiti, inspired by the Flash Gordon saga and had attempted to buy the rights to the characters of that franchise to make a film. That did not happen. His treatment for Star Wars was based in a fictional universe with aliens and humans, ruled by the Galactic Empire which was opposed by the Rebel Alliance. It would be more optimistic than his original science fiction film. It's budget a modest $8.25 million. The characters of the film have become legends, as well as the actors who played them, ... Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker; Harrison Ford as Han Solo; Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia; and James Earl Jones as Darth Vader.

The elaborate production had a difficult time and the studio, Twentieth-Century Fox, did not have a lot of faith in the film. However, on May 25, 1977, it was released in a limited number of theaters, thirty-two, with eight more theaters added over the next two days, and became an overnight phenomenom. This was a shock not only to the studio, but to Lucas. He traded 2.5% of his profits to Stephen Spielberg in exchange for 2.5% of the profits of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, thinking that Spielberg's film would outperform his, with Spielberg thinking the opposite. With Fox so pessimistic about its success, Lucas also traded his $500,000 director's fee for the rights to its merchandise and sequel rights.

Once that first weekend had showed that almost all of the predictions had been wrong, Fox immediately increased the number of screens. By the end of its first run, it had grossed $550 million, which eventually grew to $775 million, surpassing Jaws. It remained the highest grossing film until 1982, when Stephen Spielberg's E.T. surpassed it.

It was also a critical success. Overall, Star Wars won six Oscars within its ten nominations, but not Best Picture. That went to Woodie Allen's Annie Hall.

History of Subsequent Star Wars Films

The amount of merchandise and films, both television, and theatrical has been astounding and proves George Lucas correct in keeping both the rights to the characters, sequels, and merchandise. Lucas has stated that he had an idea for a three trilogy, nine film arc. In 1980, the Empire Strikes Back was the second movie, with the Return of the Jedi, 1983, rounding out the first trilogy.

Lucas continued the Saga of Luke Skywalker with a prequel trilogy following the original; The Phantom Menace in 1999, Attack of the Clones in 2002, and Revenge of the Sith in 2005. These are now considered episodes 1-3 in the timeline, although films 4-6 in release. They, again, were popular, with the first two not as successful critically.

By the time of the next trilogy in the series, called the Sequel Trilogy, George Lucas had sold the franchise and LucasFilm to Walt Disney Studios in October 2012, stating that he would no longer make any more Star Wars movies. He did, however, include the treatments for the next films in the hands of the Disney studios in the sale, who chose to disregard them, preferring to craft the future of Star Wars on their own. Episode VII: The Force Awakens was released in 2015 to critical and box office success, as was Episode VIII: The Last Jedi in 2017. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker recieved mixed reviews.

Outside the three originally conceived trilogies, other Stars Wars films and television franchises have been made. The films, under the Anthology series, have included Rogue One in 2016, Solo in 2018, and Rogue Two to be released at the end of 2023. An animated film, Clone Wars, was also produced in 2008.

Television franchises have been prolific: there were/are fourteen animated series, including Galactic Pals, still in production as of 2022, and live action series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, both also still in production as of 2022. These have been produced and aired on a variety of networks, mostly Disney owned or affiliated.

Highest Grossing Films of All-Time, Adjusted for Inflation, as of 2019

Rank - Title, Year, Estimated tickets, Adjusted gross

#1 - Gone with the Wind, 1939, 202,286,200 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,895,421,694.

#2 - Star Wars, 1977, 178,119,500 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,668,979,715.

#3 - The Sound of Music, 1965, 142,485,200 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,335,086,324.

#4 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982 , 141,854,300 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,329,174,791

#5 - Titanic, 1997, 135,549,800 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,270,101,626

#6 - The Ten Commandments, 1956, 131,000,000 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,227,470,000

#7 - Jaws, 1975, 128,078,800 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,200,098,356

#8 - Doctor Zhivago, 1965, 124,135,500 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,163,149,635

#9 - The Exorcist, 1973, 110,599,200 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,036,314,504

#10 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , 1937, 109,000,000 tickets sold, adjusted gross $1,021,330,000

Source: Box Office Mojo, North American Box Office (United States and Canada), not world-wide.

Hollywood Reporter Review

"May 25, 1977 - "Star Wars, a Lucasfilm Ltd. production for 20th Century-Fox, will undoubtedly emerge as one of the true classics in the genre of science fiction/fantasy films. In any event, it will be thrilling audiences of all ages for a long time to come.

The film, written and directed by George Lucas and produced by Gary Kurtz, is magnificent in scope, but the script and the engaging performances also add an effective human element to the totally believable technological aspects. Lucas combines excellent comedy and drama and progresses it with exciting action on tremendously effective space battles. Likable heroes on noble missions and despicable villains capable of the most dastardly deeds are all wrapped up in some of the most spectacular special effects ever to illuminate a motion picture screen. The result is spellbinding and totally captivating on all levels.

The story is set "a long, long time ago in a galaxy not too far from here" where Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) rules the Galactic Empire from his Death Star, an enormous artificial planet managed by Imperial Storm Troopers. Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), one of the leaders of the rebel forces, gets hold of the plans for the Death Star, which reveal its one weak point. When she is captured, she sends these charts on to Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi (Alec Guinness), the last of the Jedi Knights, who were once the guardians of peace and justice and who drew their power from the "force," a mystical energy field composed of all living matter. Kenobi enlists Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) whose father had also been a Jedi Knight and who has inherited the "force," and together with Han Solo (Harrison Ford), a smug and cynical space smuggler whose ship and services they entice with promises of great riches, they go off to save the Princess and the world." - Ron Pennington, originally reviewed on May 20, 1977, Hollywood Reporter original article, including all reviews..

Photo above: Parade of people dressed as Star Wars characters at the McMenamins UFO Festival, 2018, Carol M. Highsmith. Courtesy Library of Congress. Photo below: George Lucas, 2009, Nicolas Genin. Original photo has been cropped. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons C.C. 2.0. Source Info: Box-office Mojo; Wikipedia Commons; "When Star Wars Hit Theaters for the First Time," 2014, Eric Hayden, Bryan Bishop, hollywoodreporter.com.

History Photo Bomb

The Watergate Office Complex exhibit photo. Trial of June 17, 1972 burglary of the Democratic National Committee. Source: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Construction on the site of Expo 74, Spokane, Washington, one year before opening. Theme to be the Environment. May 1973. Photo: Environmental Protection Agency.

Camp David Peace Accord negotiated at the presidential retreat within Catoctin Mountain Park. Courtesy National Archives.

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