Which came first, Netflix or Star Wars?
Star Wars came first, by 20 years. The first film opened in 32 American cinemas.
Side by side
| Netflix | Star Wars | |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1997 | 1977 |
| Date | 1997-08-29 | 1977-05-25 |
| Category | technology | media |
| What happened | Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded a DVD rental-by-post company. | The first film opened in 32 American cinemas. |
Netflix
Netflix was founded in August 1997, a year before Google, and posted DVDs for a decade before streaming launched in January 2007. The famous origin story — Hastings founding it after a $40 late fee on Apollo 13 — has been called a useful myth by co-founder Marc Randolph. Blockbuster declined to buy the company for $50 million in 2000.
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, Netflix or Star Wars?
- Star Wars, by 20 years — 1977 against 1997.
- When did Netflix start?
- 1997. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded a DVD rental-by-post company.
- When did Star Wars start?
- 1977. The first film opened in 32 American cinemas.
Related pages
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- Python or Star Wars? Star Wars
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Sources
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)