It’s hard to believe now, but there was time, just after the movie was released that Star Wars was not a big deal.  I know by the time the movie came to my town in 1977 it was already a phenomenon.  Going to see it was the first time that there was a line for the theatre that I could remember.  But when the movie was released it was only in 40 theatres nationwide.

It’s interesting to see these reviews before the movie made the splash that it did.

http://ratter.com/ratter/all/heyday-in-tabloids/213950-what-is-star-wars

It’s interesting to note that to the Movie execs, “Damnation Alley” was the new big SF film for 1977 and “Star Wars” was the quirky little movie that nobody gave much of a chance.  The ability of Hollywood execs to pick the winners hasn’t changed much