---
title: "Which came first, Monopoly or Star Wars?"
description: "Monopoly vs Star Wars: Monopoly came first, by 73 years — 1904 against 1977. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/monopoly-vs-star-wars/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Monopoly or Star Wars?

**Which came first, Monopoly or Star Wars?: Monopoly**

1904 — 73 years before Star Wars

Monopoly came first, by 73 years. Lizzie Magie patented The Landlord's Game.

## Side by side

|  | Monopoly | Star Wars |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1904 | 1977 |
| Date | 1904-01-05 | 1977-05-25 |
| Category | media | media |
| What happened | Lizzie Magie patented The Landlord's Game. | The first film opened in 32 American cinemas. |

## Monopoly

Parker Brothers published Monopoly in 1935 and told the story of Charles Darrow, an unemployed man who invented it at his kitchen table. The truth is that Elizabeth Magie patented The Landlord's Game in 1904 — a nearly identical board designed to demonstrate how land monopolies impoverish tenants, which is precisely the opposite of the message the commercial version carries. Parker Brothers bought her patent for $500.

## Star Wars

Star Wars opened in May 1977 on fewer than forty screens because the distributor had little faith in it, and it went on to be the highest-grossing film made to that point. Fox let Lucas keep the merchandising and sequel rights in exchange for a lower directing fee, a decision that transferred an extraordinary amount of money. It is eleven years younger than Star Trek.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Monopoly or Star Wars?

Monopoly, by 73 years — 1904 against 1977.

### When did Monopoly start?

1904. Lizzie Magie patented The Landlord's Game.

### When did Star Wars start?

1977. The first film opened in 32 American cinemas.

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## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]