9 Movies That Studios Were Scared Of Releasing

6. Star Wars

Star Wars Han Luke Leia
Disney/Lucasfilm

In hindsight, it seems foolish to have ever doubted George Lucas' cultural phenomenon, but back in the 1970s, Fox had major concerns about the commercial viability of Star Wars, and the studio's executives were sure that it would fail.

It's honestly understandable that there would be a feeling of skepticism in the air: after all, Star Wars was something brand-new, and it could even be considered a little weird and silly - there was no telling how audiences would respond.

Because of this uncertainty, Fox considered the movie their "B track" release of the summer, and instead positioned The Other Side of Midnight as their top box-office contender (funnily enough, that movie ended up making just $25 million worldwide, while Star Wars made over $300 million).

One studio executive even had to convince the rest that the film would be a success. In a memo penned by Peter S. Myers - Fox's VP of Domestic Distribution at the time - he assured skittish board members that the public would be "electrified" with the film, and that Lucas had crafted something truly special. Even Lucas himself, fearful of failure, was preparing to head to Hawaii when the movie released, to remove himself from any possible negativity.

But ultimately, none of these concerns were necessary: Star Wars went on to become one of the biggest entertainment brands in history.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!