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Revision Booklet

THE RISE OF THE

BLOCKBUSTER: 1972 – 1984

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What is a ‘blockbuster’?

Create a mind map of as many blockbuster films as you can come up with – try and have a cross

section of films from different eras (e.g. 1970s to present day.

Can you see a pattern? Consider genre, actors, directors, film concepts, marketing strategies

etc…

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Define the term ‘blockbuster’: _________________________________________________________________

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Homework task – Choose a blockbuster of your choice and create a profile of this film which

includes your explanation as to why this film would be considered a blockbuster. Ensure you

reference specific examples.

BLOCKBUSTERS

Jurassic Park (1993)

pg. 3

What contributing factors led to the birth of the

blockbuster?

The 1960’s Film Economy – ‘times they are a-changing’:

The blockbuster was a key factor in the revitalisation of the film economy in the 1970s. There

was a slump in cinema admissions in the 1960s. To understand what led to the birth of the

blockbuster, we need to take a closer look at the film industry and its production outcomes prior

to the 1970s.

Research task:

Working in pairs, you will be undertaking detailed research into why there was a slump in

cinema admissions in the 1960s. You must present your research findings to the class in the

next lesson.

Some areas to consider:

Social changes and why cinema might have been more popular pre-1960s

TV ownership

Car ownership

Cinema’s ‘Golden Age’

Price of admissions

Number of cinemas/screens

Content of films – were they reflective of the public’s attitudes and opinions?

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Here are some sites you may find useful:

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/6693/business/cinema-attendance-in-uk/

http://www.terramedia.co.uk/reference/statistics/cinema/cinema_screens.htm

http://www.terramedia.co.uk/reference/statistics/cinema/cinema_ticket_prices_1.htm

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/about/adjuster.htm

http://www.tvhistory.tv/Annual_TV_Households_50-78.JPG

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Production, Distribution & Exhibition

Definition of PRODUCTION: ___________________________________________________________________

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Definition of DISTRIBUTION: __________________________________________________________________

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Definition of EXHIBITION: ____________________________________________________________________

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Task: For this research task you will be taking an in depth look at the production, distribution

and exhibition methods of a film from the 1960s. On the next page there is an example of the

format this work should take.

Suggestions for films you may choose to research:

Goldfinger – 1964 (or any other 1960s Bond film)

The Wild Bunch – 1969

Easy Rider – 1969

The Sound of Music – 1965

Cleopatra – 1963

The Graduate – 1967

The Birds – 1963

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – 1969

2001: A Space Odyssey – 1968

Lawrence of Arabia – 1962

Initial notes: __________________________________________________________________________________

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pg. 5

pg. 6

pg. 7

First Run

Second Run

Third Run

The Birth of the Blockbuster

Viewing notes – ‘Easy Riders, Raging Bulls’ documentary: ______________________________________

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With films like ‘The Godfather’ (1972) and ‘The Exorcist’ (1973), audiences were starting to see

a change in the way films were made and how they were distributed. The film industry was

desperately trying to win back its audiences by appealing to the untapped new generation.

As mentioned in the documentary, Paramount decided on an unprecedented move of releasing

‘The Godfather’ on 400 screens all over the country and also running a massive advertising

campaign. As a result, it made over $80 million in its initial run – an unheard of success.

To understand how unusual this method of distribution/exhibition was, let’s look at how movies

were distributed before…

This method was not great for the studios because by the time the film got to the thousands of

second and third run theatres, there was no advertising support. Money from the cinemas was

also very slowly trickling through for the studios because of this gradual release process. This

was good for the cinemas (especially the first run ones) who were seeing an immediate revenue

on the films they were showing but frustrating for the studios who were waiting months and

sometimes years to gather profits on films they had poured a lot of money into.

TASK: Read the fact sheet on the following page which details the production, distribution and

exhibition details of the 1972 film ‘The Godfather’. Using the 1960’s case study you produce,

draw up a comparison table detailing differences and similarities in P/D/E.

A new release opens at a

prime location and no

other theatre within a 50

mile location can play

the film during this first

run.

Once films had finished

their first runs (which

could be over a year),

they were available to

show in smaller

cinemas across the US.

Third run theatres were

mainly very small

independent

companies. They could

pick up older films for a

lot less.

pg. 8

Directed by Francis Coppola Screenplay adapted from the bestselling Mario Puzo novel

Studio – Paramount Pictures

Paramount did not initially choose Coppola to direct. They wanted Sergio Leone or Peter

Bogdanovich. When those two directors turned it down, Paramount offered it to Coppola

who was quite a new filmmaker who needed the money.

Paramount were in financial difficulty and needed this film to work. Coppola was on the

verge of being fired on numerous occasions because the studio felt he had made errors in

casting and budget decisions. He even had a replacement director shadowing him!

Paramount disapproved of Coppola’s desire to cast Marlon Brando because of Brando’s

behaviour on previous films. They also disapproved of Al Pacino (who wasn’t as well-

known at that time). The studio wanted bigger stars.

Shot over 77 days on location in New York

The production budget was $6.5 million.

Mechanical special effects were used, such as a gun shot through a character’s eye

achieved with loaded fake blood and compressed air. The death of Sonny was achieved

with 127 squibs to replicate being shot with a machine gun.

Paramount Pictures was responsible for the distribution

Paramount created an advertisement campaign in the run up to The Godfather’s release.

This was quite a traditional campaign of print ads and a trailer.

Distribution of the film to movie theatres was very different to what had come previously.

Initially it was released in 5 first run theatres but then it was opened wide on 316 and,

within a few weeks, 50 more were added. Paramount also demanded money up front from

the cinemas to show the film and insisted on a bigger share of the box office takings.

Because of this, Paramount received nearly $30 million from the cinema chains before the

film even opened. Paramount also had a 90% share of takings for the first 12 weeks.

Because of the decision to show The Godfather in so many screens at once for its first

run, the film’s success (through word-of-mouth and excellent reviews) meant big money

for Paramount. After 6 months of opening the film became the biggest grosser of all time

(surpassing Gone with the Wind). The first run earned $86.2 million in domestic rentals.

This, in effect, saved Paramount from its financial worries and shook up the film industry.

pg. 9

The ‘Game Changer’

What do you already know about Steven Spielberg? Advance your knowledge by researching and

making notes on the following:

What had Spielberg done previous to his hit film ‘Jaws’?

What has Spielberg done since? What have you seen of his?

How well have his films performed at the box office?

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Over the next few lessons we will be watching Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ (1975). As you watch,

consider the following and complete the following research:

JAWS (1975) Answer the following questions about the 1975 blockbuster ‘Jaws’:

Why do you think this film was categorised as a blockbuster? Think back to your case study

and draw comparisons

Research point 1: What innovative techniques in film making did Spielberg employ for the

making of Jaws?

Research point 2: Investigate the production values of Jaws – what was the original budget?

What the final cost? Where was the money spent?

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pg. 11

The Rise of the Blockbuster – Post ‘Jaws’

As you can tell from your notes, ‘Jaws’ was a major turning point in the history of cinema. It

started a tide of change in the way Hollywood produced and released films. In this section you

will be investigating this influence by producing some case studies on blockbuster films released

after ‘Jaws’.

Choose any two of the following to create detailed case studies on:

Superman (1978)

E.T (1982)

Raiders of the Lost Arc (1981)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Jaws 2 (1978)

Your case studies need to be detailed and precise – double check sources of information for

accuracy.

You will need to research the production, distribution and exhibition methods of both films.

You should also be drawing conclusions to how this film differed to what had come before in

terms of the above three key areas (P/D/E).

DO NOT focus on the film’s narrative – this is not the point of the task. You may find it relevant

if investigating patterns of narrative in these box office smashes but do not focus on it otherwise.

There are many places on the internet you may want to start your research. For example,

Wikipedia, Box Office Mojo, Den of Geek, AMC Film Site, IMDB and even YouTube for

documentaries and making of films.

‘Star Wars’ (1977)

After the phenomenal success of Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’, another film was in the works from

‘American Graffiti’ director and good friend of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas. This film would

go on to well and truly smash all box office records previously held by Universal’s ‘Jaws’. That

film was the first ‘Star Wars’ – written and directed by George Lucas and produced by 20th

Century Fox.

Make notes on the production, distribution and exhibition of 1977’s ‘Star Wars’:

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pg. 12

Changes to the film industry

With the success of ‘Jaws’ and ‘Star Wars’, studios were quick to not only realise the potential in

these ‘high concept’ films but to also consider different ways to capitalise on their success. This

led to the reinvention of THE SEQUEL and MASS-MERCHANDISING.

The sequel is not a new conceit, we can look back centuries and see that sequels or spin offs

were prevalent in the publishing industry. Even the earliest forms of cinema see filmmakers

trying to produce work closely related to their last success (e.g. Georges Melies’ ‘A Trip to the

Moon’ was followed up by ‘The Impossible Voyage’ – another script based on a Jules Verne

novel). However, it was not until the success of ‘Jaws’ that we started to see the numbered

sequel – up until this point, sequel or spin off films had used a different title with some sort of

link to the original film (e.g. The Pink Panther, The Return of the Pink Panther, The Revenge of

the Pink Panther etc…).

Studios saw a big box office success as an opportunity to produce another (usually inferior film)

quickly and ‘cash in’ on the name of the first. This seemed to work for them (even if critics were

quick to savage some of these lesser sequels). Take a look at the following to get an idea of the

amount of sequels produced, their budget, their takings and the critical success (or failure!).

BUDGET TAKINGS AVERAGE REVIEW

JAWS (1975) $7,000,000 $260,000,000 (USA) 98%

JAWS 2 (1978) $20,000,000 $81,766,007 (USA) 53%

JAWS 3-D (1983) $20,500,000 $45,517,055 (USA) 11%

JAWS IV (1987) $23,000,000 $20,763,013 (USA) 0%

BUDGET TAKINGS AVERAGE REVIEW

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

$35,000,000 $82, 258,456 45%

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

$11,000,000 $78,912,963 90%

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

$17,000,000 $76,471,046 78%

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

$25,000,000 $109,713,132 85%

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

$27,800,000 $55,210,049 21%

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

$30,000,000 $74,888,996 83%

BUDGET TAKINGS AVERAGE REVIEW

Superman (1978) $55,000,000 $134,218,018 (USA) 93%

Superman II (1978) $54,000,000 $108,200,000 (USA) 89%

Superman III (1983) $39,000,000 $60,000,000 (USA) 26%

Superman IV (1987) $17,000,000 $15,681,020 (USA) 15%

What patterns do you see in terms of budgets and takings as the franchise progresses?

pg. 13

Looking at the above, note down your thoughts on the box office figures for the 1970s to early

80s. Can you explain the rise and fall in the figures? Consider the films which were being

released.

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Release of Jaws

Release of Star Wars

pg. 14

NOTES

pg. 15

NOTES

pg. 16

NOTES