It would've cost you about $2.32 to see "Star Wars" in 1977. In 1999, you could be paying $9.50

Web posted on:
Friday, May 14, 1999 6:04:33 PM EST

From Sherri Sylvester
CNN Entertainment News Correspondent

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- When writer-director George Lucas first whetted the world's appetite for the "Star Wars" saga in 1977, eight-track tapes were all the rage. The hand-held calculator was considered advanced.

"Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope" was shot on a comparatively small $9.5 million budget, didn't even have a premiere and starred a cast of virtual unknowns, none of whom seemed sure the film would be a success.

"I did predict that this thing was going to be bigger than 'Planet of the Apes,' and that's a quote," says Mark Hamill, who battled the Dark Side as Luke Skywalker in all three original films.

How times change.

Both the first three "Star Wars" films and the new 1999's "Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace" feature Jedi knights, lightsabers, the Dark Side and Obi-Wan Kenobi, but that's pretty much where the similarities end.

Original "Star Wars" merchandise wasn't ready for the film's 1977 release

In 1977, "A New Hope" opened on about 2,100 screens and grossed around $36 million in its opening weekend.

"'Star Wars,'" says James Meigs, Premiere magazine editor-in-chief, "was one of a handful of movies in the '70s -- including 'Jaws' -- that totally changed the way movies were released. Back in the '50s and '60s, movies were released sort of a city at a time. There was no coordinated national release."

As the nothing-if-not-coordinated wide release of "The Phantom Menace" approaches, several cities are hosting charity benefits. And those fans lined up for first-day showings on about 3,000 screens will pay $8.50 in Los Angeles and $9.50 in New York for tickets. In 1977, the average movie ticket cost $2.23.

When "A New Hope" opened, that's all kids had when it came to action figures -- hope. Children were offered early-bird certificates to trade in later.

"I figured if I got posters and T-shirts and things with the name of the movie on it, it would help promote the movie," says Lucas. "The whole idea that licensing would be a revenue stream didn't occur to anybody."

It has occurred to them now. The space fable has become a $4.5 billion marketing dynasty.

Hasbro has a licensing deal estimated at $600 million. Fast-food tie-ins, including Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell, are valued at a reported $2 billion.

A model of the Millennium Falcon was used for special effects before computer-generated images

The production costs on this year's feverishly awaited feature came in at some $110 million -- under the projected $120 million budget and about 11 times the 1977 film's price.

"The Phantom Menace" uses more computer-generated imagery than any film before it. "A New Hope," on the other hand, relied on models and motion-control to paint a world of lightsabers and space battles. Last time around, Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic specialists numbered 45; this time,there were 1,000 of them.

"There were things I could have done then, I just didn't have the time and money to do it," says Lucas.

"On a massive, huge film like 'Titanic' you might have 450 (or) 500 shots," says producer Rick McCallum. "This has just over 2,000. So virtually, it's a total-digital movie."

Perhaps most importantly, no one predicted the mind-blowing success of the first film. Not even the stars. In fact, prior to the release of "A New Hope," 20th Century Fox was in trouble. The studio had netted only $10 million in profit in 1976. But the new film crammed cash into the studio's war chest and quadrupled its stock prices.

Today, expectations are all the higher. And despite less-than-stellar reviews, the prognosis for sales looks lucrative.