Star Wars opens in theaters

George Lucas's Star Wars opened in a small number of US theaters and grew into one of the highest-earning films of its time. Its special effects and merchandising reshaped Hollywood.

Context

The film opened on May 25, 1977, the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend. Reports commonly say it started in 32 theaters, though that count was not confirmed in the sources checked here. Twentieth Century Fox had modest expectations for the science-fiction film and its budget is generally reported at roughly 11 million dollars. Long lines soon formed, and the number of screens grew as audiences came back repeatedly.

History.com reports about 461 million dollars in US ticket sales and close to 800 million worldwide, figures that include later re-releases. The film won seven Academy Awards, including awards for visual effects, sound and John Williams's score. Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic to build the effects, and the company went on to supply effects for many other films.

Lucas negotiated to keep merchandising and sequel rights, and toy lines based on the film became a major business that Smithsonian writers describe as reshaping how films were marketed. The original release was titled simply Star Wars. The subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope was added in a 1981 re-release, after The Empire Strikes Back in 1980.