Jaws opened in 1975 and changed the film industry. It was not the first hit movie, but it was the first to open wide on hundreds of screens, supported by a massive television advertising campaign. It grossed $470 million worldwide. The blockbuster era had begun. A blockbuster is a film that achieves enormous commercial success, usually through a combination of spectacle, marketing, and wide release. The term comes from a type of bomb, and the metaphor is intentional.

Blockbusters are typically big-budget productions with franchise potential. Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Marvel films, and Fast & Furious sequels are all blockbusters. They rely on visual effects, known actors, and global marketing. They open in thousands of theaters simultaneously. They spawn merchandise, sequels, spin-offs, and theme park attractions. The blockbuster is not just a film. It is a commercial ecosystem.

The blockbuster model has its critics. It crowds out smaller films from theaters. It favors familiar properties over original stories. It can lead to a monoculture of superheroes and sequels. But it also funds the industry. The profits from blockbusters subsidize the risks that studios take on smaller projects. Without them, the economics of Hollywood would look very different.