This 1982 sci-fi classic held the top spot at the box office longer than any other film

When James Cameron’s “Titanic” was released at Christmas 1997, no one expected it to do as well as it did. In fact, before its release, fans and pundits thought it would be explosive, as it had a then-astronomical production budget of $200 million. Cameron seemed to capture the hearts of the world, however, as “Titanic” has since earned more than $2.2 billion at the box office after several theatrical re-releases. Even today, it remains one of the top five highest-grossing films of all time worldwide.

However, in the late ’90s, it was shocking to see “Titanic” remain No. 1 at the domestic box office week after week throughout Oscar season. It wasn’t until the release of “Lost in Space” on April 3, 1998 that “Titanic” was finally knocked from its perch. Yet despite holding the No. 1 spot in North America for 15 consecutive weeks, “Titanic” has not broken the record for most weekends at No. 1 nationally.

That record just so happens to remain that of Steven Spielberg’s 1982 sci-fi film, “ET the Extra-Terrestrial.” At this point, Spielberg had already established himself as a crowd-pleasing hitmaker, having previously directed “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The dour, adult dramas of the 1970s were quickly coming to an end as a trend, and the warm, effects-driven genre pictures were grabbing audiences’ attention instead. “ET” fell smack in the middle of a changing market on June 11, 1982 and pushed forcefully in the direction it was already headed. It then spent the next four months or so at number one in the United States.

“ET the Extra-Terrestrial” is one of the most famous films of all time, but for the uninitiated, it tells the story of a kindly alien botanist who is accidentally left behind on Earth during a specimen-collecting mission. The alien wanders into the garden of Elliott (Henry Thomas), a 10-year-old boy who lives unhappily with his recently divorced mother (Dee Wallace) and siblings (Robert MacNaughton and Drew Barrymore). Elliott begins tending to the lonely alien in private, marveling at its strange face and appetite. The children nickname the alien ET, and it forms a psychic link with Elliott. The film culminates with ET falling into the hands of evil government agents, forcing Elliott to save them. It’s a whimsical, heartwarming picture with great alien effects and some of John Williams’ best music.

“ET” was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It won four Oscars in total (including one for Williams’ music), although it lost the Best Picture award to Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” (which Attenborough himself considered a mistake). It seems the world was ready for a happy, sentimental film about a friendly alien and the boy he cares for. Many have also noted that “ET” debuted shortly before John Carpenter’s “The Thing” and Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner,” two much darker sci-fi films that initially bombed at the box office before eventually being celebrated. Once again, the world was in the mood for cuddling with big-eyed creatures like ET, not grotesque things. Spielberg’s film ultimately surpassed all other films before it, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time.

And he was also a marketing heavyweight.

It’s hard to underestimate the cultural ubiquity of “ET” in the early to mid-1980s. 1968’s “Planet of the Apes” had spin-off merchandise, and “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” really threw the door wide open when it came to ancillary movie merchandise, so the pump was primed when “ET” arrived. Indeed, the child characters of “ET” have their own “Star Wars” merchandise, which was Spielberg’s way of tipping his hat to his real-life friend, “Star Wars” creator George Lucas. There were ET toys, coloring books and T-shirts. Meanwhile, Reese’s Pieces were featured prominently in the film and its sales skyrocketed after the film’s release.

Unfortunately, there was also a rushed and terrible “ET” video game made for the Atari 2600 that bombed something fierce. In fact, Atari’s “ET” was such a failure that it set back the then-nascent video game industry by a few years. It would not be fully operational until the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985.

For years, “ET” has also been considered the gold standard for family entertainment. Dozens of films and TV shows have managed to do this, telling stories of lonely children raising strange creatures or going on adventures on their own. The shadow of the film fell over the entire decade.

And then, at some point, it almost seemed to disappear from public consciousness. “ET” has not been subjected to endless spinoffs, remakes, or sequels, and its spinoff products are no longer widely available. It sort of passed as a temporary fad, and it’s unclear to what extent younger generations still watch the film. “AND” was once one of the most important things in the world; now it’s more of a curiosity for Generation X than anything else.