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When E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial hit US theaters on June 11, 1982, nobody thought it would knock off Star Wars. But it did. It became the highest-grossing film ever, and it held that spot for 11 years, until Spielberg’s own Jurassic Park beat it in 1993.
Truth be told, the movie’s budget was small. Producer Kathleen Kennedy told reporters at Cannes on May 26, 1982, that the film cost $10.5 million, though Time critic Richard Corliss later guessed it was closer to $19 million. Either way, that was cheap for a sci-fi movie. Universal also got the project on the cheap. The script came from Columbia Pictures for $1 million after Columbia decided to pass on it. Steven Spielberg once described the alien as “something that only a mother could love.”
The opening was good, but nothing huge. The first three days brought in about $11.8 million (per Box Office Mojo). However, what made E.T. special was how long people kept showing up. It was the No. 1 movie in America for a record 16 weekends (per No Film School), and no film has done that since. About a year after its release, it surpassed Star Wars to become the biggest movie of all time.
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How did E.T. Beat Star Wars at the Box Office?
Box office analyst Scott Mendelson says E.T. was the first film to make over $300 million in the US in a single release. Star Wars only got there after being re-released. Box Office Mojo estimates that more than 120 million tickets were sold in the first run (per The Insider), which was more than half the country’s population back then.
Critics also saw why it worked right away. Variety’s 1982 review said the film “may be the best Disney film Disney never made.” Film historian Joseph McBride remembers that Variety’s box office expert, Art Murphy, believed the movie connected with people because Spielberg was honest about how many American marriages were ending in divorce.
The story was personal too. It grew out of an imaginary friend Spielberg made up after his parents split. Many movies that copied Star Wars leaned on action and adventure, but E.T. went for ideas and feelings instead. That made it something the whole family could watch together.
E.T. Worldwide Box Office Total & Lasting Legacy
The money didn’t stop at the ticket counter. In August 1982, UPI reported that E.T. merchandise, from underwear to rubber space creatures, could bring in $1 billion. The report also said the producers and the studio were just as unprepared for this success as Fox and the Star Wars team had been in 1977.
The film’s lifetime worldwide total sits at about $797.3 million, counting re-releases in 1985 and 2002 and an IMAX run in 2022. One estimate puts the total at $1.667 billion once you adjust for inflation, which is many times what it cost to make. In 1994, E.T. was added to the US National Film Registry.
More than 40 years later, E.T. still shows that a story with real heart can outearn a big spectacle. Its record fell in 1993, but very few films have stayed on top for as long as it did.
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