text:  Star Wars was released in May of 1977 to only 32 theaters in the United States. Just to put that in perspective, so 32 theaters. When The Force Awakens was released, it debuted in over 4,000 theaters. So, again, there are people who have documented the story of Star Wars, the little movie that could, and how it just changed everything. When that movie came out, there was nothing like it.