Re: Top Grossing 1950's Sci-Fi Movies?

> "Steven Litvintchouk" wrote :
> > I always wondered how well the classic sci-fi movies of the
> > 1950's did at the box office when they first premiered. 
> > Which movies were really popular with the public in their
> > initial releases?  "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms"?  "The
> > War Of The Worlds"?  "Forbidden Planet"?  Any others?
> >
> > ("Forbidden Planet" had a fairly big budget for a 1950's
> > sci-fi movie. How long did it take for it to break even?)
> >
> "Cadet Grey" wrote :
> I finally got around to consulting the _Variety_ list of Top 20
> moneymakers for the years 1950-1959, and was surprised to find
> that no Sci-Fi classics show up on any of the lists.  Only one
> horror film showed up: in 1953, "House of Wax" came in at #7 with
> a $5.5 million gross.
> 
> In 1951, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" came in at #52 ($1.9
> million); I couldn't readily find figures for the films you
> specifically named.

There were few break-out Science Fiction hits before the mid-1970s,
and almost none made it into the top ten (or even top 20) box office
performers of any year.

I've misplaced my notes from a thread I contributed to earlier this
year over on rec.arts.sf.tv, but I recall that there was generally one
SF hit film per decade until 1977 when STAR WARS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
OF THE THIRD KIND were released.  Certainly none of the SF films that
we consider classics were major hits, not even FORBIDDEN PLANET or
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.  They did okay business and made a tidy profit,
but rarely more than that.  The exceptions are the various Jame Bond
films, which to me are obviously SF, but saying so will engender great
debate.

Even some of the most beloved films of all time, like SINGIN' IN THE
RAIN, weren't huge money earners.  SitR, in fact, was the 10th
highest-grossing film of 1952.

Fantasy, on the other hand, has always been pretty well represented,
particularly due to the various Disney films.  Not coincidentally,
it's Disney's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA that was one of the biggest
SF hits until the 1970s.  (It may in fact have been _the_ biggest, but
as I say, I've misplaced my notes.  Dangit.)

Doug