May 25, 1977: Star Wars is released.
Before the release of his first Star Wars film, George Lucas was convinced that his genre-busting space opera epic would flop at the box office, so he made a bet with Steven Spielberg, whose science-fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind was also set to release that year. If Spielberg’s film made more money than his own, he would collect a percentage of whatever profit Close Encounters made, and vice versa. Spielberg’s sci-fi classic made an impressive $337 million by the end of its run, but Star Wars made nearly $800 million which, adjusted for inflation, makes it the third highest-grossing film of all time (it also spawned a franchise which, according to some estimates, has yielded a total revenue of $27 billion). Needless to say, Spielberg lost the battle of films but won the bet, and reportedly continues to benefit from that bet today.
Promo shot of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
Never-Ending List of Favorite Movies - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
