The Classic 1970s Action Movie That Took On Star Wars at the Box Office (& Originally Won)

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These days, how a movie is marketed and when it’s released is just as crucial as the movie’s quality. Studios carefully plan release dates, hoping their strategy pays off. For example, Warner Bros. has currently scheduled Dune: Part Three for December 18, 2026 – the same day as the new Avengers movie. Releasing two huge blockbusters on the same weekend is risky, as they’ll compete for the same audience and likely cut into each other’s profits. People don’t go to the movies as often as they used to, and with higher ticket prices, they’re more selective about which films they see.

Things were quite different in the 1970s when it came to going to the movies. It was a common and affordable pastime for most people. Movie studios also didn’t face competition from streaming services or numerous cable channels, allowing them more control over when films were released. In one instance, an action movie even dared to open at the same time as the original Star Wars, and surprisingly, it was initially successful.

Star Wars Didn’t Change the World in Its First Weekend

George Lucas always loved science fiction, and after achieving success in Hollywood, he initially wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie. When that didn’t work out, he created his own story: an epic space adventure focused on the fight between good and evil. This became Star Wars. Though many studios weren’t interested at first, 20th Century Fox decided to fund it because a studio executive was a fan of Lucas’ earlier film, American Graffiti. Despite going slightly over budget, Fox remained confident and scheduled Star Wars for a summer 1977 release. The only potential obstacle to becoming the number one movie was another highly anticipated action film.

Hal Needham, like Lucas, struggled to get funding for his movie Smokey and the Bandit, a story about two men illegally transporting beer across the country while evading the police. But when Burt Reynolds agreed to star, things changed quickly, and Universal Pictures provided a good budget for the film. By 1977, the movie was finished. Smokey and the Bandit debuted in over 300 theaters on the same day as Star Wars, which opened in about 30. That weekend was a win for Reynolds and his team, though they didn’t realize the impact the film would have. Ultimately, they created a lasting and impressive body of work.

Smokey and the Bandit Is One of Hollywood’s Greatest Success Stories

Following the success of Smokey and the Bandit, Universal Pictures had over $100 million in profits and quickly began working on a sequel, reuniting the original cast. It was released the same year as the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Fox strategically released their film in May, where it immediately became a hit – a move Universal likely anticipated. Smokey and the Bandit II came out in August and proved successful, earning $66 million despite a $17 million production cost. This performance was enough to justify a third film, though it wouldn’t feature director Hal Needham or significant involvement from Burt Reynolds.

I remember seeing Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 back in 1983, right after Return of the Jedi wrapped up the original Star Wars trilogy. Sadly, that’s where the similarities ended. While it cost less to make than the previous Bandit film, it just didn’t make enough money at the box office, and audiences weren’t exactly thrilled. But the Bandit character proved surprisingly resilient! It bounced back in 1994 as a TV series, with Brian Bloom taking on a younger version of Reynolds’ iconic role. It’s interesting to me that while Star Wars hasn’t done a full reboot yet, it’s clearly followed Bandit‘s lead and found success by expanding into television.

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2025-11-28 22:43