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)
We dumped TV in 1997. But we found out about a year ago that our amazon prime membership gave us free videos, and our TV we bought at about the same time includes a ton of streaming services, including Amazon prime, via our wi-fi router.
We leapfrogged cable. We now watch old TV shows, which we love, many movies from several decades, etc. And it is all on demand. Cable seems downright quaint now.
In the 70s, when Star Wars came out...
Over that air, broadcast TV there’s some good watching if you enjoy more the classic TV stuff. Depends on where you live, though, for the channel line up. I get a couple dozen channels, with about 6 of them showing classic TV/films.
But yeah, the streaming choices are pretty good. I tried Amazon Prime once - I thought you could watch anything they had - smorgasbord-style, but then I got charged for watching an obscure 70s movie, so I unsubscribed.
Summer blockbuster also meant having to have biggest take opening weekend than the competition, couldn’t roll a movie gradually across the country. Only art house/indie films do that now.
Disney owns Marvel and Warner Bros owns DC. They both own print and broadcast networks to tell you that their product is ‘popular’.
That is why ‘comic books’.
I’m shocked at how many movies are simply re-done movies from 20/30 years ago (with appropriate social engineering modifications); there is a real creativity crisis.
Major studios are holding companies those thousands of tv shows and movies dating back 70+ years. Takes a big screw up to ‘go under’ with all that money sitting in the vault.
No. But the fact is that dramas and comedies can be made for a fraction of the action/special effects movies and have gravitated to Amazon, Netflix and tv series.
There is really little reason to see a drama or comedy on a big screen, given all the disadvantages of going out, having to be there at a certain time, parking, etc. But when it’s something you really can’t experience at home, that’s different.
Note that my list is just a first pass and could be done better, but I don’t see the effect that the article complains about. It looks like we are making the same movies, just in slightly different proportions - because that is what the audience chooses.
The parallels among the cartoons are strong. The same is true for Jaws/Jurassic and for Exorcist/GhostBusters. The doomed romance of Love Story is the doomed romance of Titanic. James Bond is Batman is Indiana Jones. Gone with the Wind is Lord of the Rings. Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur are the Star Wars movies.
Pre- and post- groups:
Disney-ish cartoons -
7. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937): 109, or
17. The Jungle Book (1967): 73.7
8. 101 Dalmatians (1961): 100, or
21. Pinocchio (1940): 67.4,
12. Fantasia (1941): 83, or
18. Sleeping Beauty (1959): 72.7
and
10. The Lion King (1994): 89.1
17: Shrek 2 (2004): 71.1
25. Finding Nemo (2003): 61.6
(Mostly) Live action children -
14. Mary Poppins (1964): 78.2,
and
2. ET: The Extra Terrestrial (1982): 141.9 or
20. Home Alone (1990): 67.7
Monsters/demons -
4. Jaws (1975): 128.1, or
6. The Exorcist (1973): 110.6,
and
8. Jurassic Park (1993): 91.9 or
12. Jurassic World (2015): 79, or
19. Independence Day (1996): 69.3, or
16. Ghostbusters (1984): 71.2
(Usually Doomed) romance or coming of age -
11. The Graduate (1967): 85.6, or
20. Love Story (1970): 70, or
15. Grease (1978): 77,
25. American Graffiti (1973): 65.7,
and
3. Titanic (1997): 135.6
Superheros -
16. Thunderball (1965): 74.8, or
23. Goldfinger (1964) 66.3,
and
11. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): 88.5, or
15. The Dark Knight (2008): 74.5, or
18. Spider-Man (2004): 69.5, or
23. Batman (1989): 63, or
14. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012): 76.9
Buddy movies -
19. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): 70.6, or
10. The Sting (1973): 89.1,
and
21. Beverly Hills Cop (1984): 67.2
Dramatic comedy (surely I can’t be serious) -
24. Airport (1970): 66.1,
and
13. Forrest Gump (1994): 78.6
Epics -
1. Gone With the Wind (1939): 202
2. The Sound of Music (1965): 142.4
3. The Ten Commandments (1956): 131
5. Doctor Zhivago (1965): 124.1
9. Ben-Hur (1959): 98
13. The Godfather (1972): 78.9, or
22. Cleopatra (1963): 67.2,
and
1. Star Wars: 178.1 million tickets sold
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
9. The Phantom Menace (1999): 90.3
22. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006): 64.6
24. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): 61.6
I tried to watch a couple of modern TV shows. The problem is that they are too “to be continued”. We did get hooked on The Marvelous Mrs Maisel” though. But each episode stands on its own. That is what I need. I don’t like being strung along. For me, TV needs to be episodes with a beginning and an end.
Forrest Gump, Home Alone, and Beverly Hills Cop sorta ruin that “special effects” story, don’t they?
In the 1940’s and 1950’s they had ‘Film Noire’.
In the late 1960’s and into the 1980’s they had what I call, ‘The Theater of Despair’.
I call it that because almost every movie out of that ~20 year period has an ending where everyone dies, the world ends, the bad guys win, and at the end there’s no hope.
‘Rogue One’ was all about hope, sacrifice, honor, nobility, and above all: redemption.
No way Hollywood would have allowed that kind of film in the Despair period.
Funny, these movies are basically cartoons with live actors. All the background is fake and computer created, much the same as a cartoon.
As a whole, I prefer the pre-1977 movies. The story lines are much better, IMO.
Funny, seen many of those movies, but only 4 of them actually in a theater.
Thanks. Agreed about Jaws and Star Wars.
I saw most of those movies aboard ship. A few in theaters, but not many except from age 15-20.
Now you mention it, did not have to pay to see theearly Bond movies in the base theater, or the old Disney stuff as a kid at the VA theater.
Well, when it seems, in some movies, that every other word is the "F" word; well then, you are right. They have nothing to say.
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