HISTORY's Moment in Media: "Jaws" -- The Summertime Blockbuster That Changed the Film Industry Forever

But when it was released on June 20 1975 47 years ago this month Jaws instead became a wild success and a legendary blockbuster Ultimately it irrevocably changed both moviemaking and summertime in America It39s even in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first summer blockbusterThe recipe for the success of Jaws starts with Benchley39s novel a suspenseful potboiler that became a runaway hit in 1974 and spent 44 weeks on the best seller lists Two producers at Universal had read the book before publication and snapped up the rights Spielberg who39d worked with them on his first feature The Sugarland Express saw the book in their office and asked to direct Thinking the novice director would bring a fresh perspective they persuaded the studio to sign him onIt was Spielberg39s masterful touch that turned Jaws into the classic it is today Before Jaws there were serious films and there were throwaway entertainments Shark attacks were the kind of thing left to pulpy B movies It was Spielberg39s innovation to bring his essentially sunny outlook and serious chops to what otherwise could have been a throwaway project He stripped out most of Benchley39s subplots and he developed the archetype of a crowdpleasing blockbuster ordinary people forced to take extraordinary action in the face of tremendous evilBut ultimately what made it the first blockbuster was its marketing Before Jaws summer was seen as a time for throwaway movies when only kids were going to theaters And the standard model for debuting a big movie before Jaws was a staged release first in a handful of theaters in big cities then in more theaters in midsize cities along the way building word of mouth and finally bringing the picture to theaters around the countryWhen The Godfather opened in 1972 it spent its first week in only five theaters Jaws opened in more than 400Jaws was also the first film to have a major prepremiere marketing blitz behind that wide release Universal spent 2 million on advertising the film much of it on 30second TV ads aired in national primetime slots There were talk show appearances marketing tieins and a renewed push for book sales refreshed with the movie poster on its cover In many ways it paved the way for the marketing juggernaut that would be Star Wars released just shy of two years laterMore than that though it set the stage for what big movies would feel like for the next halfcentury So much of what we see in today39s blockbusters even the superhero franchises and blow39emup action flicks started with Jaws The simple highconcept premise the everyman protagonist the gettingtheteamtogether the signature oneliners the unambiguously happy ending even the memorable hummable theme songIn other words Jaws swam up alongside the auteurdriven New Hollywood of the 1960s and early 1970s and it attacked Dun dun Dun dun Dun dun dun dun dun dun amp8230Click the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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HISTORY's Moment in Media: "Jaws" -- The Summertime Blockbuster That Changed the Film Industry Forever

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HISTORY's Moment in Media: "Jaws" -- The Summertime Blockbuster That Changed the Film Industry Forever

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