Blockbuster (entertainment)
In May 1943, advertisements in Variety and Motion Picture Herald described the RKO film Bombardier as "The block-buster of all action-thrill-service shows!" The term began to appear in the American press during the early 1940s referring to aerial munitions capable of destroying a whole block of buildings. Publicists drew on readers' familiarity with these bombs to create an analogy for huge impact. Another trade advertisement in 1944 boasted that the war documentary With the Marines at Tarawa hit the heart like a two ton blockbuster. Trade publications subsequently appropriated the term as short-hand for a film's commercial potential. Throughout 1943 and 1944 the term was applied to films such as Bataan No Time for Love and Brazil. One explanation pertains to the practice of block booking whereby a studio would sell a package of films to theaters rather than permitting them to select which films they wanted to exhibit. However this practice was outlawed in 1948 before the term became common parlance.
By the early 1950s the term had become standardised within the film industry and the trade press to denote a film that was large in spectacle scale and cost. In December 1950 the Daily Mirror predicted that Samson and Delilah would be "a box office block buster". In November 1951 Variety described Quo Vadis as "a b.o. blockbuster [...] right up there with Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind for boxoffice performance". Stephen Prince noted that Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film Seven Samurai had a racing powerful narrative engine and sense-assaulting visual style. He called it a kinesthetic cinema approach to action filmmaking and exciting visual design. According to Prince Kurosawa became a mentor figure to a generation of emerging American filmmakers who went on to develop the Hollywood blockbuster format in the 1970s. These directors included Steven Spielberg George Lucas Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. The term fell out of usage in the aftermath of World War II but was revived in 1948 by Variety in an article about big budget films.
In 1975 the usage of blockbuster for films coalesced around Steven Spielberg's Jaws. It was perceived as a new cultural phenomenon fast-paced exciting entertainment inspiring interest and conversation beyond the theatre. Two years later Star Wars expanded on the success of Jaws setting box office records and enjoying a theatrical run that lasted more than a year. After the success of these two films many Hollywood producers attempted to create similar event films with wide commercial appeal. Film companies began green-lighting increasingly large-budget films and relying extensively on massive advertising blitzes leading up to their theatrical release. These two films were the prototypes for the summer blockbuster trend in which major film studios and distributors planned their annual marketing strategy around a big release by July 4. Alongside other films from the New Hollywood era George Lucas's 1973 hit American Graffiti is often cited for helping give birth to the summer blockbuster. Blockbuster cinema of this decade also included Superman released in 1978 and Star Trek: The Motion Picture released in 1979.
The twenty-first century saw studios invest increasingly in franchises while Hollywood had long been aware of the value of sequels to successful movies. The eight-part Harry Potter film series starting with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001 demonstrated the power of cinematic universes. The Lord of the Rings trilogy ran from 2001 to 2003 and superhero trilogies like X-Men ran from 2000 to 2006. The turning point for Hollywood would be Iron Man released in 2008 as the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are now 43 movies in the MCU with a combined global box office of $31 billion. The franchise inspired other cinematic universes including the DC Extended Universe the MonsterVerse and the Wizarding World. Other successful franchises of the era included Fast & Furious starting in 2001 Shrek starting in 2001 Ice Age starting in 2002 Pirates of the Caribbean starting in 2003 The Dark Knight trilogy running from 2005 to 2012 and Transformers starting in 2007.
The rise of streaming media and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema significantly changed the film landscape in the 2020s. Analysts disagree about whether decreased cinema attendance would make Hollywood more reliant on blockbusters or would instead favor smaller films. Expected blockbusters such as Onward and Tenet each from 2020 had cinema releases that were curtailed postponed or replaced entirely with direct-to-streaming releases. Blockbusters increasingly were booked in competition with each other with shorter runs rather than being treated as tentpole releases. Many expected blockbusters from 2024 were delayed to 2025 to create a busier slate. In the following decade Hollywood saw blockbusters such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse released in 2023 Oppenheimer released in 2023 Minions: The Rise of Gru released in 2022 and Spider-Man: No Way Home released in 2021. Avatar: The Way of Water released in 2022 topped massive $2.3 Billion Global Box Office while Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Barbie released in 2023 became top-grossing movie of 2023 domestically.
Eventually the focus on creating blockbusters grew so intense that a backlash occurred with some critics and film-makers decrying the prevalence of a blockbuster mentality. Film journalist Peter Biskind wrote that all studios wanted was another Jaws and as production costs rose they were less willing to take risks. He argued that studios based blockbusters on the lowest common denominators of the mass market. His book Easy Riders Raging Bulls argues that the New Hollywood movement marked a significant shift towards independently produced and innovative works by a new wave of directors. This shift began to reverse itself when the commercial success of Jaws and Star Wars led to the realization by studios of the importance of blockbusters advertising and control over production. In his 2006 book The Long Tail Chris Anderson talks about blockbuster films stating that a society that is hit-driven makes way and room for only those films that are expected to be a hit. Writer David Foster Wallace posited in 1998 that films are subject to an inverse cost and quality law.
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Common questions
When did the term Blockbuster first appear in American press referring to aerial munitions?
The term began to appear in the American press during the early 1940s referring to aerial munitions capable of destroying a whole block of buildings. Publicists drew on readers' familiarity with these bombs to create an analogy for huge impact.
What year was the practice of block booking outlawed before the term became common parlance?
This practice was outlawed in 1948 before the term became common parlance. Trade publications subsequently appropriated the term as short-hand for a film's commercial potential throughout 1943 and 1944.
Which Steven Spielberg film caused the usage of blockbuster for films to coalesce around 1975?
In 1975 the usage of blockbuster for films coalesced around Steven Spielberg's Jaws. It was perceived as a new cultural phenomenon fast-paced exciting entertainment inspiring interest and conversation beyond the theatre.
How many movies are currently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with what combined global box office total?
There are now 43 movies in the MCU with a combined global box office of $31 billion. The franchise inspired other cinematic universes including the DC Extended Universe the MonsterVerse and the Wizarding World.
Who wrote Easy Riders Raging Bulls arguing that studios based blockbusters on lowest common denominators?
Film journalist Peter Biskind wrote that all studios wanted was another Jaws and as production costs rose they were less willing to take risks. He argued that studios based blockbusters on the lowest common denominators of the mass market.