Before 1975, summertime meant small audiences in movie theaters. Studio executives saw little value in releasing big films when everybody would rather be outside or away on vacation.

Then came “Jaws.” Universal Pictures decided on a summer release date of June 20 because of the seasonal setting and the recent success of the book, which came out just a year earlier.

The timing was perfect, and “Jaws” went on to become the first film to earn $100 million domestically and shattered the way studios see summertime. Ever since, summer has marked the time for big blockbusters and some of the best of what Hollywood has to offer.

The success of the film propelled its director, Steven Spielberg, into stardom. His immediate success gave studios the confidence in other young directors that were dubbed a part of “New Hollywood.”

Directors like George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and many others of that era gained prominence through large summer audiences. These directors gave us the biggest movies in Hollywood ever, and they owe their stardom to the fact that Jaws realized the industry was missing out on a huge summer market.

In a way, it was the perfect situation. Jaws had no competition, a memorable soundtrack, and the perfect summer feel to break open the summer movie market. The trailer generated intrigue during a time and all the pieces came together. Take a look:

So, where are we 40 years later? Every pop culture website and magazine makes a summer movie preview, every movie star has their biggest release during the summer. The actual summer movie season now stretches from early May to the middle of September with multiple new popular films each weekend.

It is absolutely crazy to think that one film’s success led to the entire scheduling and producing mayhem of the summer movie season, but “Jaws” deserves that credit. And oh yeah, it’s a great freaking movie.

Jaws returns to theaters on June 21 to commemorate its 40-year anniversary. Go see it.

Here’s a fun video of Bill Murray’s Love Theme from Jaws from the SNL 40th Reunion Show earlier this year:

Published on June 1, 2015 at 11:48 pm