Blockbuster ( entertainment ) - wikipedia Blockbuster ( entertainment ) For the video rental chain, see Blockbuster LLC. Italian film Quo Vadis ( 1913 ) was the first blockbuster in the history of cinema A blockbuster is a work of entertainment -- especially a feature film, but also applied to other media -- which is highly popular and financially successful. The term has also come to refer to any large - budget production intended for `` blockbuster '' status, aimed at mass markets with associated merchandising, sometimes on a scale that meant the financial fortunes of a film studio or a distributor could depend on it. Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External links History The term began to appear in the American press in the early 1940s, referring to aerial bombs capable of destroying a whole block of buildings. It came to be applied to movies as a metaphor, indicating something successful on a dramatic scale. Successful films such as Quo Vadis, The Ten Commandments, Gone with the Wind, and Ben - Hur, were called `` blockbusters '' based purely on the amount of money earned at the box office. Other terms for highly successful films included : `` spectacular '' ( The Wall Street Journal ) and `` super-grosser '' ( New York Times ). In 1975 the usage of `` blockbuster '' for films coalesced around Steven Spielberg 's Jaws, and became perceived as something new : a cultural phenomenon, fast - paced exciting entertainment, which became a common topic of conversation, inspiring repeated viewings. The film is regarded as the first film of the `` blockbuster era '', referring to this as a film genre. Although earlier films such as Gone with the Wind ( 1939 ) and The Sound of Music ( 1965 ) had made more in ticket sales ( when adjusted for inflation ), Jaws ' domestic box office take in excess of $250 million was seen as a new standard for `` blockbuster ''. 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 Jaws and Star Wars, many Hollywood producers attempted to create similar `` event '' films with wide commercial appeal, and 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, hoping to attract audiences over the summer, previously a moribund time for ticket sales. Blockbusters in the following decade included Close Encounters of the Third Kind ( late 1977 ), Superman ( 1978 ), Alien ( 1979 ), Raiders of the Lost Ark ( 1981 ), E.T. ( 1982 ), Ghostbusters ( 1984 ), Beverly Hills Cop ( 1984 ), Back to the Future ( 1985 ). Eventually, the focus on creating blockbusters grew so intense that a backlash occurred, with critics and some film - makers decrying the prevalence of a `` blockbuster mentality '' and lamenting the death of the author - driven, `` more artistic '' small - scale films of the New Hollywood era. This view is taken, for example, by film journalist Peter Biskind, who wrote that all studios wanted was another Jaws, and as production costs rose, they were less willing to take risks, and therefore based blockbusters on the `` lowest common denominators '' of the mass market. In his book The Long Tail, Chris Anderson talks about blockbuster films, stating that a society that is hit - driven, and makes way and room for only those films that are expected to be a hit, is in fact a limited society. See also Box office bomb Four - quadrant movie List of highest - grossing openings for films List of highest - grossing films Oscar season Sleeper hit AAA game, equivalent term in the videogame industry References Jump up ^ `` Google Ngram Viewer ''. books.google.com. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ `` blockbuster Definition of blockbuster in English by Oxford Dictionaries ''. Oxford Dictionaries English. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ Tom Shone : Blockbuster ( 2004 ). London, Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN 0 - 7432 - 6838 - 5. See pp. 27 -- 40. Jump up ^ Neale, Steve. `` Hollywood Blockbusters : Historical Dimensions. '' Ed. Julien Stinger. Hollywood Blockbusters. London : Routeledge, 2003. pp. 48 -- 50. Print. Jump up ^ Boxofficemojo.com : All Time Box Office ( adjusted for inflation ) Jump up ^ Boxofficemojo.com : Jaws Jump up ^ `` Celebrating the Original STAR WARS on its 35th Anniversary ''. cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ Gray, Tim ( 2015 - 06 - 18 ). `` ' Jaws ' 40th Anniversary : How Steven Spielberg 's Movie Created the Summer Blockbuster ''. Variety. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ Shone ( 2004 ), Chapter 1. Jump up ^ `` Photos : Premiere of `` Close Encounters of the Third Kind '' ``. JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Superman ( 1978 ) ''. www.filmsite.org. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 09. ^ Jump up to : `` Did ' Jaws ' and ' Star Wars ' Ruin Hollywood ? ''. Ross Douthat. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ Peter Biskind : Easy Riders, Raging Bulls : How the Sex - Drugs - And Rock ' N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. Simon and Schuster, 1998. Jump up ^ Anderson, Chris. `` The Long Tail '' ( PDF ). Chris Anderson. Retrieved April 20, 2011. External links Look up blockbuster in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Box Office Mojo list of all - time U.S. blockbuster motion pictures Film genres By style Action Arthouse Heroic bloodshed Hong Kong action Adventure Survival Art Biographical Christian Comedy Black Commedia all'italiana Commedia sexy all'italiana Bromantic Dramedy Gross out Horror Parody Mo lei tau Thriller Remarriage Romantic Sex Screwball Silent Slapstick Documentary Animated Docudrama Mockumentary Mondo Pseudo Semi Travel Drama Dramedy Historical Legal Melodrama Korean Erotic Commedia sexy all'italiana Pink Sexploitation Thriller Educational Social guidance Epic Sword - and - sandal Experimental Exploitation see Exploitation film template Fantasy Comic Contemporary Dark Fairy tale Fantastique High Historical Magic realism Science Film noir Bad girl Neo-noir Occult detective Pulp noir Tech noir Gothic Romance Southern Space Suburban Urban Horror Body Cannibal Comedy Eco Fantastique Found footage German underground Ghost Giallo Holiday Japanese Korean Lovecraftian Mumblegore Natural New French Extremity Occult detective Psycho - biddy Psychological Religious Science Fiction Slasher Splatter Satanic Mumblecore Mumblegore Musical Backstage Jukebox Musicarello Operetta Sceneggiata Mystery Giallo Occult detective Pornographic Hardcore pornography Softcore pornography Propaganda Reality Romantic Comedy Bromantic Fantasy Gothic Paranormal Thriller Science fiction Comic Cyberpunk Fantastique Fantasy Gothic Horror Military Mundane New Wave Parallel universe Planetary romance Space opera Steampunk Western Thriller Comedy Conspiracy Erotic Financial Giallo Legal New French Extremity Political Psychological Romantic Techno Transgressive Cinema of Transgression New French Extremity Trick By theme Animals Beach party Blaxploitation Body swap Bourekas Buddy Buddy cop Female Cannibal Chicano Colonial Coming - of - age Concert Crime Gentleman thief Gong'an Heist Hood Gangster Mafia Mafia comedy Poliziotteschi Yakuza Gokudō Dance Disaster Apocalyptic Drug Psychedelic Stoner Dystopian Economic Ethnographic Extraterrestrial Food and drink Funny animal Gendai - geki Ghost Goona - goona epic Gothic Romance Southern Space Suburban Urban Ecchi Girls with guns Harem Hentai Tentacle erotica Lolicon Kaitō Magical girl Mecha Shotacon Yaoi Yuri Homeland Jidaigeki LGBT Luchador Martial arts Bruceploitation Chopsocky Gun fu Kung fu Wuxia Mecha Mexploitation Monster Giant monster Jiangshi Kaiju Vampire Werewolf Zombie Mountain Mouth of Garbage Muslim social Nature Environmental issues Opera Outlaw biker Ozploitation Partisan film Pirate Prison Women Race Rape and revenge Road Rubble Rumberas Samurai Sexploitation Bavarian porn Commedia sexy all'italiana Mexican sex comedy Nazi exploitation Pornochanchada Nunsploitation Sex report Shomin - geki Slavery Slice of life Snuff Crush South Seas Sports Spy Eurospy Superhero Surfing Swashbuckler Sword - and - sandal Sword and sorcery Travel Trial Vigilante War Anti-war Euro War Submarine Western Acid Florida Meat pie Northern Ostern revisionist Space Spaghetti Weird Zombie Zombie comedy By movement or period Absolute Australian New Wave Auteur films Berlin School Bourekas Brighton School British New Wave Kitchen sink realism Budapest school Cannibal boom Cinéma du look Cinema Novo Cinema of Transgression Cinéma pur Commedia all'italiana Documentary Film Movement Dogme 95 Erra Cinema European art cinema Film gris Free Cinema French New Wave German Expressionist German underground horror Nigerian Golden Age Grupo Cine Liberación Heimatfilm Hollywood on the Tiber Hong Kong New Wave Iranian New Wave Italian futurist Italian neorealist Japanese New Wave Kammerspielfilm L.A. 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Question: who decides if a movie is going to be a blockbuster
Answer: major film studios and distributors