TalismanRing Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 (edited) Woh why was Dr. Zhivago that big of a hit. The main actor was not even that well known at the time? That balalaika music! Jarre's score though is all around incredible. It's a sweeping historical epic when epics made big money, it's visually stunning on a grand yet intricate scale and it's a very romantic emotional film directed by the brilliant David Lean who'd already given us Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge On The River Kwai. Pasternak's novel which lead to his Nobel Prize for Literature (that the Soviets who banned the book forced him to refuse) was also as popular as it was controversial. Edited November 14, 2014 by TalismanRing 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovieMan89 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Doubt it. With Disney literally assaulting the marketplace over the next 5 years (along with some other big studios too) I'm sure you're right. Market will be way too over-saturated for any one movie to be that big. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TServo2049 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 (edited) I've read anything from $221 million to $307 being the gross of SW first run. It was $221 million from May 1977-July 1978. BOM does not separate out any reissue grosses prior to 1982. Star Wars did not have as successful a first run as Titanic in terms of ticket sales. However, the population was smaller, the market was smaller, there were fewer theaters, and the legs were even more insane. Edited November 14, 2014 by TServo2049 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfirebird2008 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 It was $221 million from May 1977-July 1978. BOM does not separate out any reissue grosses prior to 1982. Star Wars did not have as successful a first run as Titanic in terms of ticket sales. However, the population was smaller, the market was smaller, there were fewer theaters, and the legs were even more insane. Adjusted for 1997 dollars, that is $455 million. And that was in a time of no home video, so people had to run back to the theater because they weren't sure if they would ever be able to see the movie again. Titanic was just an unbelievable monster and did it in a time when the VHS ownership and rental market was firmly established. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TServo2049 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 (edited) But back then, there was still no guarantee that the VHS release would be quick. Huge movies like Titanic and Jurassic Park could still take over a year to come to video. Unlike something like Frozen, where they probably internally scheduled the home release before the film was even in theaters, I am sure that films like that were deliberately held back to get as much theatrical mileage as possible. The anecdote I like to relate is that Jurassic Park was depicted as a VHS tape on an episode of Animaniacs almost a year before it actually hit video. Edited November 14, 2014 by TServo2049 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Speaking of Star Wars, I encourage everyone to read Harlan Ellison's epic review/rant/takedown of it, from back in the day. You'll probably disagree with most (if not all) of it, but it's a funny read nonetheless. Darth Vader is a nerd and Luke Skywalker sucks runny eggs 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Wang Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Speaking of Star Wars, I encourage everyone to read Harlan Ellison's epic review/rant/takedown of it, from back in the day. You'll probably disagree with most (if not all) of it, but it's a funny read nonetheless. Darth Vader is a nerd and Luke Skywalker sucks runny eggs Harlan fucking Ellison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmac Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 But MR has two huge pre-Friday days that IS needs to make up. $200m is out of the question, maybe even $180m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmac Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Silver lining is that this weekend will probably see 3 movies above $25m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Harlan fucking Ellison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRing Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Speaking of Star Wars, I encourage everyone to read Harlan Ellison's epic review/rant/takedown of it, from back in the day. You'll probably disagree with most (if not all) of it, but it's a funny read nonetheless. Darth Vader is a nerd and Luke Skywalker sucks runny eggs I had to take a break and stop after he recommended A Boy & His Dog I loathe that movie with the fiery intensity of a thousand suns and now he's made me remember it. I need to collect myself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 (edited) I had to take a break and stop after he recommended A Boy & His Dog I loathe that movie with the fiery intensity of a thousand suns and now he's made me remember it. I need to collect myself. Take a breath and continue to read. (btw, the entire book is well worth reading, especially if you're interested in reviews/op-eds of older movies (most, but not all, genre releases of one sort or another), through the words of one of America's greatest genre writers.) Edited November 14, 2014 by Telemachos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Speaking of Star Wars, I encourage everyone to read Harlan Ellison's epic review/rant/takedown of it, from back in the day. You'll probably disagree with most (if not all) of it, but it's a funny read nonetheless. Darth Vader is a nerd and Luke Skywalker sucks runny eggs You're a sadistic man. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRing Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Take a breath and continue to read. Not enough. I may need to lie down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#ED Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Just read 50 Shades of Grey... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPink Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I think I'm moving to South Korea, where the true Nolan fans are. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#ED Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I think I'm moving to South Korea, where the true Nolan fans are. My thoughts exactly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empire Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I think I'm moving to South Korea, where the true Nolan fans are. After you gave Interstellar a B those true fans wouldn't want you there. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TServo2049 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 (edited) E.T. was almost as crazy as Titanic - even though its run was spread out over a longer period of time, adjusted for inflation it didn't have a single weekend PTA under $3,000 for 52 weeks, and on only three out of those 52 was it out of the top 12. It made a billion dollars adjusted in first run, and yet its highest daily gross out of its entire run adjusts to only $14.3 million. Edited November 14, 2014 by TServo2049 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPink Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 My thoughts exactly. Let's go. Take Nick for a little trip. After you gave Interstellar a B those true fans wouldn't want you there. I uh, was giving a certain actor's subplot a B. The rest is A+++++ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
