in 1975, this film is looked to as having "set the standard for the New Hollywood popcorn blockbuster."

according to the , and

1975-2002
on a $12,000,000 budget, with an average $2.05 ticket price, opening on 409 screens, Jaws made $260.000 million total domestically and was the highest-grossing film of the year.

in 2002, on $139,000,000 budget, with an average $5.08 ticket price, opening on 3,615 screens, Spiderman made $405.85 million total domestically and was the highest-grossing film of the year.

OPENING WEEKENDS
Jaws:$7,061,000 (22 June 1975) (409 Screens)=$17,264 per screen=8,421 tickets per screen
Spiderman: $114,844,116 (5 May 2002) (3,615 Screens)=$40,067 per screen=7,887 tickets per screen

1977
considering that the initial reaction, as a result of the box-office toll of Jaws, could not be seen totally in effect in 1976 (films were already in production or finished by the time it was released), we look at 1977.

on a $11,000,000 budget, with an average $2.23 ticket price, opening on 43 Screens, Star Wars made $322.74 million total domestically and was the highest-grossing film of the year.

the second highest-grossing summer blockbuster (4th of the year) was Smokey and the Bandit, making $126.737 million total domestically.

of the top five-grossing movies still only two were released during the summer.

1978
'78 saw 3 of the top five-grossing movies released in the summer, including the sequel to Spielberg’s picture that set this all off.

1979
the top 3 money-making movies of 1979 all came out in the month of December, although 2 of them, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Jerk, would be pushed in the middle months now and were spurred on by a popular television show and a comedian at the height of his notoriety.

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW

it is said by "THEM" that the last great decade of American Cinema exitsed in the 1970's. having fully felt the effect of Jaws, here is what we see-

1980
Empire Strikes Back
1981
Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982
E.T.
1983
Return of the Jedi
1984
Ghostbusters
1985
Back to the Future
1986
Top Gun
1987
Three Men and a Baby
1988
Rain Man
1989
Batman
1990
Home Alone
1991
T2: Judgment Day
1992
Aladdin
1993
Jurassic Park
1994
The Lion King
1995
Batman Forever
1996
Independence Day
1997
Titanic
1998
Saving Private Ryan
1999
The Phantom Menace
2000
The Grinch
2001
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2002
Spider-Man
2003
Finding Nemo (most likely)

so from 1975 until 2003, of the 29 top-grossing films, 20 were released in the summer.

from 1975 until 2003, of the 29 top-grossing films, 23 either spawned/were sequels, were animated films for the kiddies, were seasonal specialties, or were based on other already established artistic material.

WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS MEAN?!

since 1975, and serving as an ever-present fact now, Hollyw**d has been force-feeding an all-too-willing public escapism and way out of the heat and into the air-condition multiplexes, exhibiting extreme levels of unoriginality to an already accustomed-audience, feeding off the open-pockets of franchise-hungry folks, and generally lead to the dumbing-down of the majority of movie-goers by way of quick edits, loud explosions, and flashy commercials turned into 95 minutes of marketing-tie ins and catch phrases.

is that a run-on?

WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?!

who do you think they're making the movies for? you! you seeing "scary movie 3" or "bad boys 2." no, i haven't and won't see them, but i'm casting a blind first stone. usually the number one film has some quality, not redeeming, but some. it generally will get positive reviews and some from the fray will frequent over. but let's look at those further out of the number one slot. some i've seen, some i haven't, but i reserve my right to not like them from outward appearances:

Bruce Almighty
T3: Rise of the Machines
Bad Boys II
Anger Management
Bringing Down the House
2 Fast 2 Furious
S.W.A.T.
Spy Kids 3-D
The Italian Job
Daredevil
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

and it goes along the lines of the whole rap music concept popular on the boards: the record companies push on MTV and the radio what consumer trends are showing demand for. likewise, the movie studios push on the television and the theaters what consumer trends are showing demand for. and if you still wanna see some shit blown up or some half-assed comedian mug over a one-joke premise, that is where the money will be going towards.

if a film loses money, then the worth of that director and cast take a dive.

if a film makes money, then the director signs a three-picture deal and the actor stars in the sequel.

financial success and future go hand-in-hand with artistic merit and intentions being edited out of the picture as a whole.

IN THE END

to quote King_Friday, "movie-making should be totally removed from the profit system."