Today in History—June 11: E.T.’s Otherworldly Success
On this day in 1982, American movie fans were introduced to the lovable, long-fingered star of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Audiences flocked to the tear-jerking science fiction film, propelling it to an opening weekend haul of $11.8 million.
E.T. stayed in theaters for almost a year, setting a new domestic earnings record of nearly $360 million. It remained the highest-grossing film until 1993, when it was overtaken by another Spielberg smash, Jurassic Park.
Set in suburban California, E.T. tells the story of a gentle alien who is stranded on Earth. A young boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas), and his siblings, older brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton) and younger sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore), shelter E.T. in their home. Elliott and the vulnerable creature form a powerful emotional and telepathic bond, and he eventually helps the homesick E.T. return to his home planet.
In helming a tale of a lonely boy who savors friendship with a visitor from outer space, the American director drew on his own memories of childhood isolation. He then wedded that with his abiding interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial life—which he had previously explored in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
Sales of Hershey’s Reese’s Pieces soared after the release of E.T. Spielberg’s first choice co-star had been M&M’s, but Mars, Inc. declined to participate.
In addition to its commercial success, E.T. was roundly praised by critics, who lauded its innovative special effects and the heartrending performances of its mostly child actors. It even won over Pauline Kael, the esteemed but sometimes curmudgeonly film critic for The New Yorker, who wrote, “The film has the soft, mysterious inexorability of a classic tale of enchantment.” E.T. won four Academy Awards and cemented Spielberg as both an artistic innovator and a reliably bankable star director.
This year the legendary filmmaker will take another bite at the science fiction apple in Disclosure Day, which comes out on June 12.
- 16: Weeks E.T. topped the box office, still a record
- 4: People—including one mime—who took turns operating the E.T. puppet
- $10.5 million: E.T.’s budget
- 1509: Henry VIII marries for the first time (of six)
- 1776: Continental Congress appoints a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence
- 1949: Hank Williams makes his debut at the Grand Ole Opry
