“Star Wars” today is the bar by which all other franchises currently aspire. But the movie’s initial success in 1977 caught virtually every industry by surprise, including the toy industry. Here’s a rare set of Christmas cards published by Drawing Board Greeting Card in 1977.
Star Wars, space opera film series (created by George Lucas) that became one of the most successful and influential franchises in motion picture history. Begun in the 1970s and ’80s and resuscitated at the turn of the 21st century, the Star Wars films continually advanced the field of motion picture special effects and developed into an enormously lucrative merchandising industry.
Lucas’s success as a writer and director with American Graffiti (1973) gained him the backing of 20th Century Fox, which put up $9.5 million for the production of the first Star Wars film. The film, directed by Lucas, was in production for four years, with scenes shot in Tunisia and Death Valley, California, and on soundstages in England. When it was released on May 25, 1977, Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope) met with runaway success.
Though Star Wars initially opened in only 42 theaters, the film earned almost $3 million in its first week and had grossed $100 million by the end of the summer. The film won six Academy Awards along with a special-achievement award for accomplishments in sound, and it revolutionized the motion picture industry with its advancements in special effects.
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