The Summer Blockbuster
How Jaws and Star Wars Changed the World of Film Forever!
There are many reasons for the failure of the 1970s art film. However, none may be as viable as the emergence of the summer blockbuster. Prior to 1975, films were released at different times of the year with no specific time line in place to guarantee a success (maybe Christmas time?). This all changed however when Jaws (1975), directed by Steven Spielberg, arrived in theatres on June 20. Audiences flocked to this film and lined up around the block for hours on end, all to witness the carnage perpetrated by a shark. The film was a major success and made the studios more money then they could have ever imagined. As a result, the art film was all but finished. It was now time for the popcorn era to begin.
Though Jaws was a major success, there was still no guarantee that the summer was the perfect time to release high concept films (little story, lots of action). That is, until Star Wars, written and directed by George Lucas, was released on May 25, 1977. The film became an unprecedented success and soon became the highest grossing film of all time (this is no longer true). The studios and George Lucas himself never had complete faith in the film and were all the more surprised by the reaction of audiences around the globe.
Prior to its success, the studios had made a deal with Lucas. They would receive a hefty portion of the profits for the film and in return, Lucas wanted Star Wars produced by his own company, insisted on the music rights and profits from sales of the soundtrack, sequel rights and lastly, merchandising rights. The studios believed that Lucas was out of his mind, especially with this final request. They had a right to feel this way though. Up until this point, merchandise such as shirts, action figures and so on had never been a successful enterprise in the past. So, they agreed to these terms and gave him full rights to any profits garnered from the merchandise. What happened afterwards changed the way cinema and films would forever be marketed.
The tremendous success of Star Wars brought about a new day in film. Films no longer had to be a success in order to gain a profit. Merchandise and soundtracks could now be seen as possible revenue income. Lucas had made so much money with the merchandise of Star Wars that it proved to the studios that they could exploit this success from now on.
Studios also began to realize that there was no money to be truly made of art house films any longer. The artists who had been in control for the past decade had become egomaniacs and their desires were becoming increasingly inflated as a result. Their successes went to their heads and their visions became morbidly obese. Films were costing more to produce and were not making the profits they had once garnered.
As well, times were changing. There was, once again, optimism in the air. Society no longer wanted to be bombarded with character driven stories. They wanted to be entertained once again. The success of Jaws and Star Wars was perhaps not the final nail in the coffin on the art house era but it was more than likely the most important.
Since the late 70s, films have desired to entertain, especially in the summer. They have stripped their art house attire and have become ‘dumbed-down’ escapist filled entertainment (with a tremendous amount of merchandise to boot). Computer generated graphics have risen to such a degree in the past few years that they have become the key character in some films. The truth of the matter is, is that some people would rather be entertained then to be taught. There are still films that strive to teach but these are few and far between in the world of entertainment. To some, the summer is the greatest time for movies. For others, it is a definitely an example of all that is wrong with Hollywood.
*Of note-film release dates are usually set in stone these days.
*January is typically a month where studios dump films (into theatres) that they believe will not be successful. They hope to make a little bit of profit.
*February is the month where a tremendous amount of romantic films come out to satisfy the Valentine’s Day crowd.
*March and April is the spring season which sees the release of medium blockbuster type films. Not necessarily a summer blockbuster but not a dump by the studio either.
*May thru August is the major summer release dates.
*September is usually the time where the studios dump films once again hoping to prepare for the awards season.
*October thru December is the release of many films the studios hope will be nominated for awards. Many art films and serious character-driven films are released during this time. It is also the release of some Christmas and blockbuster films as well.
Original Jaws Poster
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Original Star Wars Poster
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