The Forgotten 1977 Movie That Fox Thought Would Be Bigger Than Star Wars

by

George Lucas’s original Star Wars is one of the most popular movies ever made. It perfectly captured the spirit of the time, launched the careers of its actors, introduced iconic phrases and characters into everyday language, and started a hugely successful franchise that continues to thrive today. Surprisingly, very few people had faith in the film before it came out – even at 20th Century Fox, who initially needed to pair it with another movie to convince theaters to show it. Star Wars ended up playing in theaters for an entire year, earning $314.4 million domestically. That was an impressive amount of money then, and even more so now – adjusted for inflation, it’s equivalent to around $1.685 billion in today’s dollars. The film was re-released twice shortly after its initial run, adding another $22.5 million and $17.3 million to its earnings. Simply put, it was incredibly profitable. In fact, it made so much money that a special edition released 20 years later outperformed newer releases from popular franchises like Batman and James Bond.

The main reason people doubted it was simply because it was so different. While not the most expensive film ever made, Star Wars was a truly original creation. It combined elements of classic soap operas with futuristic settings, featuring lightsabers, dramatic deaths, and a large, furry creature who mostly just growled. Considering how unusual it was, some hesitation was understandable. It’s hard to believe, though, that the film it was paired with wouldn’t also become successful. Let’s take a look at what that other movie was.

You Can’t Predict Fate

Before Star Wars came out, 20th Century Fox wasn’t confident it would be a success. To get theaters to show it, they bundled it with The Other Side of Midnight, a film based on a popular novel by Sidney Sheldon. Most theaters weren’t interested in Star Wars, and Fox didn’t want to risk a complete financial loss on the film. So, theaters that wanted to screen Midnight in June were required to show Star Wars the previous month.

The Other Side of Midnight is a romance centered on Noelle Page, a French woman who falls for American pilot Larry Douglas. She anticipates a proposal, but Larry returns to the U.S. and marries Catherine (Susan Sarandon). Though Noelle has moved on with her life and become a successful actress, she remains haunted by Larry. Seeking revenge, she reconnects with him, and they begin a dangerous plan to eliminate Catherine and finally be together.

The movie’s story wasn’t terrible, but reviewers thought it relied too much on familiar tropes, especially when compared to the originality of Star Wars. At nearly three hours long, it was a bit of a gamble that so many people would enjoy such a serious and lengthy film during the summer. While the idea of a dedicated ‘summer movie season’ was relatively new, having only begun with Jaws two years prior, this movie seemed like the opposite of what typically succeeds during those months – unlike a film like Star Wars.

This just proves you can’t know what will be successful in advance. Before they came out, very few people predicted that movies like Jaws, The Sixth Sense, Paranormal Activity, or My Big Fat Greek Wedding would become huge hits with audiences of all types. The opposite happened with big failures like Wild Wild West and Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla. Many expected Wild Wild West to do well after the success of Men in Black and Independence Day, and the Godzilla trailers led a lot of people to believe it would be the biggest movie of the summer.

Star Wars perfectly demonstrates that audiences often crave something new and original. Despite initial uncertainty, the film delivered a truly fresh experience, and its continued success serves as a valuable lesson for the entertainment industry.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/star-wars-original-sequel-splinter-minds-eye-history-explained/embed/#

Read More

2025-11-08 03:13