The Weekend When ‘E.T.’ and ‘Star Trek II’ Crushed Ridley Sc

In the early 1980s, Cinefantastique was an extraordinarily detailed and authoritative sci-fi film magazine. Founded as a mimeographed fanzine a year before the 1968 release of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” it became a serious, almost scholarly glossy. And in 1982, Cinefantastique opened the year with a double issue that featured “Blade Runner,” Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”

Looking back, Cinefantastique was right to recognize “Blade Runner;” its impact is still felt nearly 40 years later. However, in 1982 the $65 million production grossed just $41 million worldwide (in adjusted dollars, about $95 million) as one sci-fi title among many. June 11 saw the release of Steven Spielberg’s instant classic “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial;” June 4 was “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Those far less complex, more audience-friendly titles had already grossed over $125 million (this and all grosses here adjusted to 2020 values).


June 25 also saw the debut of “The Thing,” John Carpenter’s remake of the 1951 classic, as well as 20th Century Fox’s “Megaforce.” The supernatural “Poltergeist” was riding high in its fourth week, and soon to come was Disney’s much-anticipated and very expensive “Tron.”

However, at around $65 million “Blade Runner” was the most expensive of these (“E.T.” only cost $26 million!). It starred Harrison Ford, who after the “Star Wars” films and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” was the ideal actor to attach to this. And while this was only Scott’s third feature, his “Alien” showed that complicated, highly visual, stylized, R-rated sci-fi films could work along with the Spielberg/Lucas kind