Everyone can name the highest-grossing film of 1977 -- George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope" -- as it kicked off a high-profile sci-fi franchise that persists to this day. Other big hits from that year included Steven Spielberg's alien abduction thriller "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (a movie inspired by Spielberg's real-life fascination with alien life) and John Badham's downbeat disco drama "Saturday Night Fever" (a film that John Travolta trained "Rocky"-style to prepare for). One of the more notable yet less-discussed success stories of 1977, however, was Hal Needham's laidback beer-run action-comedy "Smokey and the Bandit," a film that raked in roughly $127 million at the box office against a $4.3 million budget. That's like a $23 million movie earning $677 million in 2025.
"Smokey and the Bandit" is a playfully rebellious film about a Southern sports car owner, nicknamed Bandit (Burt Reynolds), who is tasked...
"Smokey and the Bandit" is a playfully rebellious film about a Southern sports car owner, nicknamed Bandit (Burt Reynolds), who is tasked...
- 6/29/2025
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
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