Star Wars: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Empire Strikes Back
7. It's A Rare Sequel That Had A Staggered Theatrical Rollout
Generally when a film enjoys unexpected box office success, its sequel will get a massive, immediate theatrical rollout, yet such wasn't in fact the case with The Empire Strikes Back.
The film actually premiered in a limited number of cinemas in larger cities because its initial run was presented in 70mm, which only a fraction of cinemas were actually equipped to project.
It wasn't until many weeks later that the film began its 35mm rollout worldwide, as surely left anyone without a 70mm cinema nearby fuming. At least spoilers were a little easier to avoid in 1980 without Twitter and the like...