After a screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1976 , Astral Bellevue Pathé Limited sold distribution rights to '' The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane '' , allowing it to make $ 750,000 worldwide by June . The film was shown in Paris with a French dub on 26 January and in Toronto on 28 January 1977 . According to '' Variety '' , Beachfront Properties secured a temporary restraining order which gave it ownership of the film per a contract from September 1976 . This order forbade any new sales but would not change the American International Pictures scheduled April 1977 release . The film had trial screenings in Albuquerque and Peoria , Illinois on 18 March 1977 . It opened in Los Angeles on 11 May and in New York City on 10 August 1977 , with a PG rating
Cannes Film Festival
1976 Cannes Film Festival
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane