Star Wars opened in 43 theaters on May 25, 1977 and expanded to 757 theaters on July 15. The film remained the number one U.S. domestic box-office film for the rest of that summer and was still number one at weekend box office in April 1978, nearly 11 months after its premiere. The film received 10 competitive Oscar nominations and won six of them, plus a non-competitive Special Achievement Award for Ben Burtt for creature and robot voices. Competitive wins included Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing.
To put into perspective the magnitude of the Death Star-like juggernaut that was the original 1977 film, consider this: Before it was later subtitled "A New Hope," the film simply known as "Star Wars" opened in 43 theaters on May 25, 1977 before going wide on July 15, which at the time meant just 757 theaters. It was the number one film at the U.S. domestic box office for the rest of the summer.
George Lucas's film won six of the 10 categories for which it was nominated, and won a seventh Oscar, as well, a non-competitive Special Achievement Award for Ben Burtt in recognition of his creation "of the alien, creature, and robot voices" in it. In the competitive categories, "Star Wars" won Best Original Score (for John Williams), Best Sound, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing (for the team of Paul Hirsch, Richard Chew, and Lucas's wife Marcia Lucas).
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