Posted on 12/29/2017 9:18:37 AM PST by EdnaMode
Did Star Wars ruin movies? Prior to the 1977 blockbuster, a variety of dramas, comedies, animated movies, and musicals were among the top ticket sellers of all-time. Since Star Wars' release, special effects blockbusters dominate the box office.
Here is a comparison between the top 25 ticket sellers (domestic) prior to 1977, and the top 25 ticket sellers from 1977 present. The difference between the two lists is noticeable. In the first group, 16 of the top 25 were nominated for Best Picture. In the second group, only 7 were nominated for Best Picture.
The top 25 movies based on estimated tickets sold (Domestic)
Pre 1977:
1. Gone With the Wind (1939): 202 million tickets sold 2. The Sound of Music (1965): 142.4 3. The Ten Commandments (1956): 131 4. Jaws (1975): 128.1 5. Doctor Zhivago (1965): 124.1 6. The Exorcist (1973): 110.6 7. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937): 109 8. 101 Dalmatians (1961): 100 9. Ben-Hur (1959): 98 10. The Sting (1973): 89.1 11. The Graduate (1967): 85.6 12. Fantasia (1941): 83 13. The Godfather (1972): 78.9 14. Mary Poppins (1964): 78.2 15. Grease (1978): 77 16. Thunderball (1965): 74.8 17. The Jungle Book (1967): 73.7 18. Sleeping Beauty (1959): 72.7 19. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): 70.6 20. Love Story (1970): 70 21. Pinocchio (1940): 67.4 22. Cleopatra (1963): 67.2 23. Goldfinger (1964) 66.3 24. Airport (1970): 66.1 25. American Graffiti (1973): 65.7
Top 25 ticket selling movies that came out 1977 to the present:
1. Star Wars: 178.1 million tickets sold 2. ET: The Extra Terrestrial (1982): 141.9 3. Titanic (1997): 135.6 4. The Force Awakens (2015): 108.1 5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980): 98.2 6. Avatar (2009): 97.3 7. Return of the Jedi (1983): 94.1 8. Jurassic Park (1993): 91.9 9. The Phantom Menace (1999): 90.3 10. The Lion King (1994): 89.1 11. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): 88.5 12. Jurassic World (2015): 79 13. Forrest Gump (1994): 78.6 14. Marvel's The Avengers (2012): 76.9 15. The Dark Knight (2008): 74.5 16. Ghostbusters (1984): 71.2 17: Shrek 2 (2004): 71.1 18. Spider-Man (2004): 69.5 19. Independence Day (1996): 69.3 20. Home Alone (1990): 67.7 21. Beverly Hills Cop (1984): 67.2 22. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006): 64.6 23. Batman (1989): 63 24. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): 61.6 25. Finding Nemo (2003): 61.6
Source: Box Office Mojo http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm?adjust_yr=1&p=.htm (Set to ticket sales)
Escapism............it’s all the rage.....................
NO, leftards ruined movies as they ruin everything else. They are always on the destruction warpath.
It’s a cycle.
I watched the original Star wars in the theater 26 times. I need a bit more story nowadays. My wife and I enjoy MUCH quieter movies now. The sparkle of effects isn’t enough.
(spoiler alert)
That said, I own Rogue One on Blue Ray and I think it’s a great story, expecially how it ties in seemlessly to the beginning of the first movie.
Movies didn’t get “ruined”. Rather, the market demand changed. Did video games “ruin” slot cars? Did the Model T “ruiin” the horse and buggy?
Of course not. Star Wars (1977) saved movies. Up to then, the 70s produced the dreariest, most depressing sci fi.
Star Wars Episodes 1-3 ruined movies...and Star Wars.
The Ten Commandments did not have special effects? Jaws? Wizard of Oz?
Special effects have been around for a while and are here to stay.
VCRs and expanded cable TV came on board around the same time. Just as home TV forced Hollywood to go to color, wide screens and improved sound, cable and VCRs pushed Hollywood to take the over the top blockbuster one that made for an “everyone’s going to see...” experience that doesn’t work with having a larger number of “regular” movies.
One thing that accounted for those top box office draws is that epics (and classics) would be trotted out for theatrical re-release every so many years.
Disney seems to have stopped rereleasing their cartoons theatrically to each generation.
Home video has replaced it (and they put product “in the vault” to build up cyclical demand).
The big thing Star Wars did was usher in high dollar franchises. James Bond came around again and again but with new actors in the lead and without a continuity.
There were 2 Godfathers and 5 Planet of the Apes films and you probably couldn’t get very far coming into the middle of the storyline.
Before that the “Franchises” were Boston Blackie, the Bowery Boys, Charlie Chan, Ma and Pa Kettle, etc. B-movie companions to the A-movie on a double bill.
No, movies ruined movies.
rwood
It’s about supply and demand.
But there are issues in Hollywood about real creative innovation and risk-taking.
I think there’s a demand for real creative genius with a heart, that parts from the current mode and direction of things.
The lack of morals ruined movies, the writers and directors can only follow formulas now. They have nothing to say that people need to hear.
Look at ticket sales. Gone with the Wind is still the most popular film of all time. And think about ticket sales vs. population.
>>Did the Model T “ruiin” the horse and buggy?
Socialist mayor DeBlassio ruined the horse and buggy.
What would those results be if adjusted for tickets per population?
Surprised Ishtar isn’t on the post star wars list. The dialog was magnificent.
Many of those on the first list are simply the “Star Wars” movies of their day. Epics were the rage in the 50s and 60s. Now epics are superhero or sci-fi or special effects-laden affairs. Of the ones in the “old” list, I’d rank Gone With the Wind, The Ten Commandments, Jaws, Doctor Zhivago, Ben-Hur, Thunderball and Cleopatra as being expensive, epic or special effects-laden movies just like their modern counterparts. They may be better movies, but they are still expensive epics. I almost put The Godfather on the list because it was a period film and the was of an epic length.
70’s movies were nothing but pompous left-wing sermons before Star Wars.
That’s not the problem for me, rather the left hand turn most programs make into LBGTBBQBLT characters, the PC, “all cultures are peachy” crap and all men are evil. It’s the Gaia over God shtick and the, “offensiveness” of raunchy humor that killed comedy. Electronic “music” and “reality” programs that are entirely staged , the entertainment industry sucks eggs.
You have Grease (1978) in the pre-1977 group.
I do hate all the emphasis on special effects. Not blaming that, but I generally don’t watch movies made after about 1985. With a few exceptions. I do, on the other hand, love to catch some never before seen classic from the 40’s, 50’s or 60’s.
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