The Hollywood Reporter lists one of the reasons The Dark Knight won’t top Titanic’s $601 million box office record is because Warner Bros is planning on releasing the film on DVD in December to capitalize on the Holiday sales season. The film has currently grossed $441.6 million domestically, and is on track to make $510-$525 total in the US.

It is interesting to think about how much cinema has changed in the last 25 years. Now-a-days, the long tail is on DVD, Downloads and On Demand. Two decades ago you could have kept Dark Knight in the theaters for 7 months. Without an available home video option, people would still pay to see it on the big screen. And I’m talking about after the practice of road show releases came to an end.

  • E.T. was in theaters for over a year.
  • Star Wars screened for 44 weeks.
  • Back to the Future was in theaters for 37 weeks.
  • Beverly Hills Cop played for 30 weeks.

Can you imagine a movie now-a-days playing in theaters for more than six months? It’s rare.

Which brings me to today’s trivia question:

What Movie has been shown continually in movie theaters since its release in 1975 making it the longest theatrical run in history?

I’ll answer the trivia question in the comments!

  • The answer is... The Rocky Horror Picture Show
  • Captain Awesome
    Peter,

    God damn it, I was just about the type that. You can't answer your own article. Fucking cheater!
  • mikle
    dammit dammit!
  • I was going to Rocky Horror Picture Show even before you posted it in the comics...
  • Sam R.
    I'd guessed that just before hitting the comments. Now, about this remake they're planning...*groans*
  • Christopher Edwards
    The Rocky Horror Show never gets shown enough either in small or big screen.
  • Salmonbot
    Not so awesome now, are you captain?
  • Daniel Wellwood
    Another reason movies dont get played fo as long is because megaplexes play the same movie in several theaters so people can see the movie sooner rather than waiting, like back in the day, to find a show, playing in a single theater, that isnt sold out
  • remaking the rocky horror picture show is the worst idea ever. they should just do a huge nation-wide re-release. that could be a memorable event.

    why does Hollywood insist on re-making classics?
  • Swordfishbot
    I don't feel like RHPS really counts, though. It hasn't really been CONTINUOUSLY shown, has it? I can't go to my local theater and see it. There was a point where mainstream theaters stopped showing it.

    What was the movie that had the longest legitimate (I.E. appearing in thousands of mainstream theaters all over, multiple times a day) theater run?
  • Captain Awesome
    @ Salmonbot

    It appears so >:(
  • Zach
    haha, I figured that would be the answer as soon as I read "What Movie has been shown continually in movie theaters", no need to comment any further. Too easy!
  • Grant
    How long was Gone with the Wind in theaters?
    I believe that it was repeatedly released over the course of many years so I would think that Gone with the Wind would have the longest theatrical run, but I could be wrong.
  • Jessica D
    Er... am I the only one who thinks the holiday season (smile!) isn't exactly the best time to promo a really dark film like Dark Knight (run screaming from the Joker)?
  • I can remember 12 years ago when it would take 9 months once a movie ended in theaters to make it to video, Now I catch myself seeing the new dvd release's and seeing some smaller movies and saying to myself "Man, I didn't even notice that had came to theaters yet"
  • freemachine
    @ Swordfishbot

    True. However, at least in places like Los Angeles and New York you can always find midnight showings of RHPS on the weekends. And the theaters are packed!
  • freemachine
    @ Swordfishbot

    True. However, at least in places like Los Angeles and New York you can always find midnight showings of RHPS on the weekends. And the theaters are packed!
  • Meli
    Damn Peter! I thought you'd at least wait a few minutes before
    you posted the answer! LoL

    I guess Rocky Horror before I clicked on the comments. It's been
    years since I've seen it at a theater...might have to give that a go with some crazy friends.
  • Chuck Phoenix
    Somebody already said it but the Rocky Horror Picture Show... damn good movie..
  • ah damnit i was going to say that ! good one !
  • In 1975 Jaws maxed out at 675 theaters. Now big films play in 4300. Its simple math, the more screens there on the quicker they run there course. Frankly I loved the good old days when movies played for months on end and were still a popular attration!
  • I d say it was probably clockwork orange. After being banned in the uk it played in rep permanently in Paris so all those uk cineastes had a chance of seeing it. I remember seeing it there when the only copy you could see in the uk was a ropey 3rd gen vhs. Also didnt reservoir dogs play the uk for 2 years after having its vhs release held back
  • Good one. This makes me think of another similar question. Which major motion picture has the most sequels?
  • andy
    Sholay! No mention of Sholay? I actually don't know much about it, but it's a Bollywood spaghetti western and it's also been playing since 1975.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholay
  • OkayPineapple
    As I read this post, Rose Tint My World just happened to come up on shuffle. Why does iTunes always know exactly what to play?

    Hmm. Its been about a year since I've been to Rocky. Maybe its time to dust off the old fishnets...
  • boogerdong
    gigli?
  • Is the 44 weeks for Star Wars the original run or does it include the re-releases?
  • I miss double features...
  • Tyler J
    didn't read the comments, but I"ll still probably sound stupid repeating it if it's already been said, but...

    Rocky Horror Picture Show?
  • K Murdah
    No fucking duh it's Rocky Horror Picture Show. DAMMIT, JANET! I LOVE YOU! Man what a classic.
  • charles
    As long as a film stay in the top 10 I think a long theater run would be awesome. I like seeing movies on the big screen anyway. I don't know if its just me but films lose there magic once on DVD.
  • S Byers
    Star Wars actually played in Toronto for well over a year. It started at the Varsity Cinema at Bay and Bloor May 77, through the re-release in 78 and stayed there for a few more weeks afterwards. I know this because I saw it lots of times.
  • I was going to guess Rocky Horror as well. It plays at a theater here every week in Atlanta, on Ponce De Leon Avenue.

    By the way, just because a movie doesn't play in your town doesn't mean it's not showing. Even a wide release doesn't play in every theater; just as many theaters and movie chains as are willing to play it.
  • max
    rocky horror has the never ending end. That film just won't die.

    However, seeing a cabaret performance is an awesome time all around.
  • Yevacles
    I knew that
  • SJ
    There are 2 independent theaters in Sydney, Australia that have been playing' As It Is in Heaven' for close to 2 years... they bus people in for screenings!

    For some reason it is still popular as the day it opened!

    golden banner down the page a little bit - http://www.orpheum.com.au/
  • amenda
    lol i go everytime its in theaters for the sake its really fun all dressed up like columbia love rocky horror
    but i would have def guess star wars tho
  • TheLM
    I would be curious to know if this includes second run theaters, I too remember Star Wars playing in theaters, and drive-ins for over a year.
  • Jordan
    my girlfriend dragged me to that for her birthday. my first time seeing the movie too. haha. it was...entertaining. :)
  • Andrew
    I knew it was Rocky Horror ... and I've never even seen it.
  • Daniel Crichton-Rouse
    I read somewhere that a cinema in India has been showing Star Wars (Episode IV) continuously since its original release.
  • Ulhas [India]
    @Daniel Crichton-Rouse

    I don't think it is Star Wars. Most people here don't even know what it is. The longest running cinema in India is "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" [The loverboy shall sweep the bride off her feet]. Since it's release in the year 1995 it has been continuously running in a Mumbai theater for more than 600 weeks.
    It is recognized as one of the most commercially successful Indian film.
  • Tom
    While it didn't set records, The Gods Must Be crazy had surprisingly long runs in many major markets--86 weeks in Manhattan [http://articles.latimes.com/2006/sep/25/nation/na-arthouse25], 532 consecutive days at the Oaks Theaters in Cupertino, California [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080801/trivia]
  • Presto117
    Am I the only person that thinks that RHPS was terrible?

    Like, completely utterly terrible?

    *slowly backs away...*
  • I dunno. JAWS?
  • I don't think that "Rocky Horror" counts as a continuous run.. At its peak, it only played two shows a week in most locations. Here in St. Louis, "The Sound of Music" played for well over a year in its first showing (on a single screen), then moved to a theatre a block away and played there for over a year too. I also seem to recall "American Graffiti" playing for more than a year in its premiere engagement...
  • .. I also remember reading about a theatre in New York that showed "Freaks" from the 30s until some time in the 70s, but I wonder if that's not just an urban legend...
  • stan
    sound of music it still playing over here in a uk cinema and has been for years they do a sing a long every few weeks doe's that count i cant remember when it was not playing
  • ian
    there's an i-max movie out right now thats been playing, continuously, for 460 weeks.
  • shalkalash
    Apparently RHPS approximately has shown 64,000 times
    Jaws 52,000 times and Shalkalash 84,000,000,000 times (84 billion)
    I know that this is shocking as most of you have probably never heard of it but it is official. All Shalkalash cinemas show it at least 6 times a day. (But you have to ask to see it. Say" May I see Shalkalash please?") It has been going since 1964.
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