It was a nothing weekend because of school schedules.įor over half of the 20th century, the length of the school year in the United States fluctuated wildly by region. So, the studio was more or less dumping Star Wars into what was thought to be a nothing weekend at the time. ![]() Ladd was staring at such a dead zone for Star Wars because Fox’s marketing department determined anything with “star” or “war” in the title was box office poison. “A dead date, the deadest date in the history of movies,” as quoted in Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer. Prior to Star Wars, here’s how 20th Century Fox Senior Vice President Alan Ladd, Jr. Star and War in the same title? Sounds like box office poison. Just the release of Star Wars and Smokey and the Bandit. What the heck happened to bring about such a drastic change? There were only a couple of real notable hits – Daisy Miller and Beneath the Planet of the Apes. By the end of the decade and into the 80s, however, Memorial Day had become the premiere launching pad for classics like Alien, The Shining, Return of the Jedi, and various Rocky, Indiana Jones, Rambo, Beverly Hills Cop, and Crocodile Dundee sequels. ![]() ![]() Throughout the early 70s, largely forgotten movies like The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart, Pufnstuf, Big Jake, Z.P.G., The Other, and Cornbread, Earl and Me filled the cinemas over Memorial Day.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |