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Did Star Wars ruin movies?
December 29, 2017 | EdnaMode

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)


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: boxoffice; hollywood; starwars; vanity
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5 of the top 25 on the second list are Star Wars movies. Rogue One missed by one spot, and The Last Jedi will make it easily.
1 posted on 12/29/2017 9:18:37 AM PST by EdnaMode
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To: EdnaMode

Escapism............it’s all the rage.....................


2 posted on 12/29/2017 9:20:20 AM PST by Red Badger (Road Rage lasts 5 minutes. Road Rash lasts 5 months!.....................)
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To: EdnaMode

NO, leftards ruined movies as they ruin everything else. They are always on the destruction warpath.


3 posted on 12/29/2017 9:20:50 AM PST by dforest (Never let a Muslim cut your hair.)
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To: EdnaMode

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?


4 posted on 12/29/2017 9:22:16 AM PST by robroys woman (So you're not confused, I'm male.)
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To: EdnaMode

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.


5 posted on 12/29/2017 9:23:31 AM PST by Bryanw92 (Asking a pro athlete for political advice is like asking a cavalry horse for tactical advice.)
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To: EdnaMode

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.


6 posted on 12/29/2017 9:23:47 AM PST by plain talk
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To: EdnaMode

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.


7 posted on 12/29/2017 9:25:34 AM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics.)
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To: EdnaMode

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.


8 posted on 12/29/2017 9:27:03 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Did Barack Obama denounce Communism and dictatorships when he visited Cuba as a puppet of the State?)
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To: EdnaMode

No, movies ruined movies.

rwood


9 posted on 12/29/2017 9:27:16 AM PST by Redwood71
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To: robroys woman; EdnaMode

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.


10 posted on 12/29/2017 9:27:27 AM PST by Jim W N
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To: EdnaMode

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.


11 posted on 12/29/2017 9:28:00 AM PST by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: EdnaMode

Look at ticket sales. Gone with the Wind is still the most popular film of all time. And think about ticket sales vs. population.


12 posted on 12/29/2017 9:28:07 AM PST by Cowboy Bob
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To: robroys woman

>>Did the Model T “ruiin” the horse and buggy?

Socialist mayor DeBlassio ruined the horse and buggy.


13 posted on 12/29/2017 9:28:31 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Did Barack Obama denounce Communism and dictatorships when he visited Cuba as a puppet of the State?)
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To: EdnaMode

What would those results be if adjusted for tickets per population?


14 posted on 12/29/2017 9:31:17 AM PST by ealgeone
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To: EdnaMode

Surprised Ishtar isn’t on the post star wars list. The dialog was magnificent.


15 posted on 12/29/2017 9:34:13 AM PST by Rebelbase (The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.-- H.L. Mencken)
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To: EdnaMode
Yeah but look at the bright side: At least we get a lot of superhero movies today! YEAH! I'm just waiting for them to make a movie of my favorite superhero - The Coon.


16 posted on 12/29/2017 9:34:31 AM PST by GrandJediMasterYoda (The remoulade was a trifle tart, but the souflee for dessert more than made up for it.)
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To: EdnaMode

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.


17 posted on 12/29/2017 9:35:38 AM PST by Sans-Culotte (Time to get the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US!)
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To: EdnaMode

70’s movies were nothing but pompous left-wing sermons before Star Wars.


18 posted on 12/29/2017 9:36:04 AM PST by stinkerpot65 (Global warming is a Marxist lie.)
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To: EdnaMode

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.


19 posted on 12/29/2017 9:36:31 AM PST by outofsalt ( If history teaches us anything it's that history rarely teaches us anything)
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To: EdnaMode

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.


20 posted on 12/29/2017 9:39:14 AM PST by John Milner (Marching for Peace is like breathing for food.)
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