I still remember the impact that this movie came on it first came out in 1977 it was amazing
I’ve still never ever seen a movie since they had lines around the corner for weeks after opening
Yes. I stood in long lines several times, for hours.
They went from deep within the parking lot of the Century Domes (22) of San Jose, out to the Bob’s Big Boy restaurant, then south along Winchester Boulevard (past the Winchester Mystery House).
The Empire Strikes Back had a regular 1 AM showing there when it released; it still had a line. I ended up in the front row in one of the last seats available.
The last time I remember anything like that was for Batman (1989?), but not nearly as long. I did, however, wait in a line for hours for Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith, in San Francisco in 2005.
Multiplexes came about, I think, as a direct response to Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, et al.
Now the old, grand theaters like the Century Domes are dead and gone.