---
title: "Which came first, Star Wars or Mario?"
description: "Star Wars vs Mario: Star Wars came first, by 4 years — 1977 against 1981. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/star-wars-vs-super-mario/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Star Wars or Mario?

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

1977 — 4 years before Mario

Star Wars came first, by 4 years. The first film opened in 32 American cinemas.

## Side by side

|  | Star Wars | Mario |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1977 | 1981 |
| Date | 1977-05-25 | — |
| Category | media | media |
| What happened | The first film opened in 32 American cinemas. | Mario debuted as "Jumpman" in the arcade game Donkey Kong. |

## 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.

## Mario

Mario first appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981, credited as Jumpman, four years before Super Mario Bros. of 1985 made him a household name. He wears a cap because animating hair at that resolution was impossible, and dungarees because they made his arm movements legible against his body — the design is entirely a consequence of an 16×16 pixel sprite.

## Common questions

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

Star Wars, by 4 years — 1977 against 1981.

### When did Star Wars start?

1977. The first film opened in 32 American cinemas.

### When did Mario start?

1981. Mario debuted as "Jumpman" in the arcade game Donkey Kong.

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## Sources

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