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Thursday, May 23, 2013
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Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope
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| Production Budget: | $11,000,000 |
| Theatrical Release: |
May 25th, 1977 (Wide) by 20th Century Fox
July 21st, 1978 (Wide) by 20th Century Fox
August 15th, 1979 (Wide) by 20th Century Fox
April 10th, 1981 (Wide) by 20th Century Fox
August 13th, 1982 (Wide) by 20th Century Fox
January 31st, 1997 (Wide) by 20th Century Fox |
| Video Release: |
September 12th, 2006 by Fox Home Entertainment |
| MPAA Rating: |
PG for sci-fi violence and brief mild language |
| Franchise: |
Star Wars |
| Keywords: |
Visual Effects |
| Source: | Original Screenplay |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Production Method: | Live Action |
| Creative Type: | Science Fiction |
| Prints and Advertising Budget |
$4,000,000 |
| UK TV Rights (ITV, January 1982): | $3,000,000 (THR, 1/19/1982, p. 1)
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| US TV Rights (CBS, 1981 for 3 broadcasts): | $25,000,000 - $26,000,000
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| US TV Rights (Spike TV, 2008-2013): | $11,000,000 (part of package for all Star Wars movies)
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| First day sales of Star Wars trilogy DVD box set: | $100 million (est. based on $115m total for box set and "Battlefront" video game)
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History
Star Wars: A New Hope was the movie that spawned a multi-billion dollar business empire and made George Lucas arguably the most successful movie maker in history.
But its chances of success seemed slim indeed when it was initially released on May 25, 1977.
After production problems and budget over-runs, Fox had considerable trouble booking the movie with distributors, and opened it in 43 theaters only after threatening to pull The Other Side of Midnight from many of those venues.
What happened next has passed into box office legend.
Lines around the block on opening weekend soon became lines around the block across the nation as the movie stayed at the top of the charts for most of the Summer.
Re-releases over the next 5 years generated more business, and the 20th anniversary release in 1997 set new benchmarks, including a then-record January weekend that only Titanic has beaten since.
In the forums…
Discuss Star Wars
Production and Technical Credits
 Weekend Chart Record
| Date | Rank | Gross | % Change | Theaters | Per Theater | Total Gross | Days |
|---|
| 1977/05/27 |
2 |
$1,554,475 |
|
43 |
$36,151 |
$2,048,249 |
5 |
| 1977/06/17 |
2 |
$2,788,281 |
|
157 |
$17,760 |
$12,943,513 |
26 |
| 1977/06/24 |
1 |
$4,885,463 |
+75% |
360 |
$13,571 |
$20,514,376 |
33 |
| 1977/07/01 |
1 |
$7,452,980 |
+53% |
452 |
$16,489 |
$32,157,349 |
40 |
| 1977/07/08 |
1 |
$6,197,462 |
-17% |
589 |
$10,522 |
$0 |
47 |
| 1977/07/15 |
1 |
$6,806,951 |
+10% |
757 |
$8,992 |
$53,777,851 |
54 |
| 1977/07/22 |
1 |
$7,000,644 |
+3% |
843 |
$8,304 |
$65,887,563 |
61 |
| 1977/07/29 |
1 |
$6,234,376 |
-11% |
950 |
$6,563 |
$77,323,425 |
68 |
| 1977/08/05 |
1 |
$7,195,573 |
+15% |
1,044 |
$6,892 |
$90,284,705 |
75 |
| 1977/08/12 |
1 |
$6,705,755 |
-7% |
1,074 |
$6,244 |
$102,267,928 |
82 |
| 1977/08/19 |
1 |
$5,908,751 |
-12% |
1,096 |
$5,391 |
$113,031,275 |
89 |
| 1977/08/26 |
1 |
$5,239,535 |
-11% |
1,048 |
$5,000 |
$122,576,055 |
96 |
| 1977/09/02 |
1 |
$7,737,847 |
+48% |
915 |
$8,457 |
$133,727,463 |
103 |
| 1977/10/21 |
1 |
$2,891,000 |
|
675 |
$4,283 |
$174,518,466 |
152 |
| 1977/10/28 |
1 |
$3,292,879 |
+14% |
739 |
$4,456 |
$177,811,345 |
159 |
| 1977/11/04 |
1 |
$2,626,914 |
-20% |
665 |
$3,950 |
$181,289,965 |
166 |
| 1977/11/11 |
1 |
$2,269,052 |
-14% |
642 |
$3,534 |
$184,397,772 |
173 |
| 1977/11/18 |
1 |
$1,949,157 |
-14% |
605 |
$3,222 |
$186,924,661 |
180 |
| 1977/11/25 |
1 |
$2,472,656 |
+27% |
593 |
$4,170 |
$190,762,521 |
187 |
| 1977/12/02 |
1 |
$1,595,568 |
-35% |
561 |
$2,844 |
$192,899,264 |
194 |
| 1977/12/09 |
1 |
$1,152,953 |
-28% |
485 |
$2,377 |
$194,427,140 |
201 |
| 1977/12/16 |
3 |
$844,662 |
-27% |
414 |
$2,040 |
$195,666,111 |
208 |
| 1978/01/13 |
1 |
$916,606 |
|
217 |
$4,224 |
$203,786,099 |
236 |
| 1978/01/20 |
1 |
$865,239 |
-6% |
196 |
$4,414 |
$204,940,117 |
243 |
| 1978/01/27 |
1 |
$829,571 |
-4% |
184 |
$4,509 |
$205,993,101 |
250 |
| 1978/02/03 |
2 |
$817,290 |
-1% |
174 |
$4,697 |
$207,054,654 |
257 |
| 1978/02/24 |
1 |
$759,126 |
|
144 |
$5,272 |
$209,760,454 |
278 |
| 1978/03/10 |
1 |
$622,291 |
|
130 |
$4,787 |
$211,463,812 |
292 |
| 1978/03/31 |
1 |
$543,897 |
|
107 |
$5,083 |
$213,706,458 |
313 |
| 1978/04/07 |
1 |
$790,452 |
+45% |
104 |
$7,601 |
$214,745,822 |
320 |
| 1978/04/14 |
1 |
$602,039 |
-24% |
103 |
$5,845 |
$215,537,332 |
327 |
| 1978/07/21 |
1 |
$10,166,336 |
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1,750 |
$5,809 |
$0 |
425 |
| 1979/08/17 |
1 |
$6,760,165 |
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1,520 |
$4,447 |
$0 |
817 |
| 1979/08/24 |
1 |
$3,585,492 |
-47% |
1,471 |
$2,437 |
$0 |
824 |
| 1982/08/13 |
5 |
$3,766,803 |
|
1,070 |
$3,520 |
$311,092,510 |
1,909 |
| 1982/08/20 |
8 |
$2,308,429 |
-39% |
1,069 |
$2,159 |
$315,552,861 |
1,916 |
| 1982/08/27 |
14 |
$1,250,604 |
-46% |
712 |
$1,756 |
$318,165,253 |
1,923 |
| 1982/09/03 |
13 |
$1,258,912 |
+1% |
659 |
$1,910 |
$319,996,814 |
1,930 |
| 1982/09/10 |
12 |
$789,503 |
-37% |
666 |
$1,185 |
$321,026,168 |
1,937 |
| 1982/09/17 |
16 |
$518,949 |
-34% |
491 |
$1,057 |
$321,796,066 |
1,944 |
| 1982/09/24 |
17 |
$500,807 |
-3% |
511 |
$980 |
$322,467,568 |
1,951 |
| 1982/10/01 |
30 |
$174,451 |
-65% |
31 |
$5,627 |
$322,802,492 |
1,958 |
| 1997/01/31 |
1 |
$35,906,661 |
|
2,104 |
$17,066 |
$358,646,803 |
7,194 |
| 1997/02/07 |
1 |
$24,277,091 |
-32% |
2,104 |
$11,539 |
$393,498,671 |
7,201 |
| 1997/02/14 |
1 |
$21,370,589 |
-12% |
2,104 |
$10,157 |
$421,371,522 |
7,208 |
| 1997/02/21 |
2 |
$11,031,743 |
-48% |
2,200 |
$5,014 |
$438,692,889 |
7,215 |
| 1997/02/28 |
3 |
$6,856,626 |
-38% |
2,375 |
$2,887 |
$447,821,935 |
7,222 |
| 1997/03/07 |
6 |
$3,894,728 |
-43% |
2,039 |
$1,910 |
$453,311,456 |
7,229 |
| 1997/03/14 |
10 |
$2,275,828 |
-42% |
1,430 |
$1,591 |
$456,754,545 |
7,236 |
| 1997/03/21 |
17 |
$896,449 |
-61% |
741 |
$1,210 |
$458,275,556 |
7,243 |
| 1997/03/28 |
32 |
$229,023 |
-74% |
177 |
$1,294 |
$458,838,909 |
7,250 |
| 1997/04/04 |
38 |
$141,632 |
-38% |
104 |
$1,362 |
$459,095,451 |
7,257 |
| 1997/04/11 |
16 |
$795,245 |
+461% |
1,252 |
$635 |
$459,923,376 |
7,264 |
| 1997/04/18 |
23 |
$340,452 |
-57% |
634 |
$537 |
$460,517,975 |
7,271 |
| 1997/04/25 |
27 |
$202,166 |
-41% |
290 |
$697 |
$460,841,468 |
7,278 |
| 1997/05/02 |
50 |
$50,163 |
-75% |
114 |
$440 |
$460,935,665 |
7,285 |
Daily Chart Record
| Date | Rank | Gross | % Change | Theaters | Per Theater | Total Gross | Days |
|---|
| 1977/05/25 |
1 |
$254,809 |
|
32 |
$7,963 |
$254,809 |
1 |
| 1977/05/26 |
1 |
$238,965 |
-6% |
32 |
$7,468 |
$493,774 |
2 |
| 1978/01/13 |
- |
$202,493 |
|
217 |
$933 |
$203,071,986 |
234 |
| 1978/01/14 |
- |
$443,575 |
+119% |
217 |
$2,044 |
$203,515,561 |
235 |
| 1978/01/15 |
- |
$270,538 |
-39% |
217 |
$1,247 |
$203,786,099 |
236 |
| 1978/02/20 |
- |
$137,561 |
|
144 |
$955 |
$208,808,405 |
272 |
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