Less than 40 theaters agreed to book showings of Star Wars after its release date was moved up to before Memorial Day (the studio thought it would bomb in a crowded summer movie slate).

Needless to say, Star Wars eventually became the highest-grossing movie ever made up to that time, while The Other Side of Midnight didn’t even break the $25 million mark.

One of the most infamous entries in Star Wars’ filmography is The Star Wars Holiday Special, a bizarre holiday variety show that aired in 1978.

“Fox said, ‘You can promote the film by doing the TV special,’” Lucas explained in an interview with Empire magazine. “So I kind of got talked into doing the special.”

“Harrison Ford was not happy to be there at all,” camera operator Larry Heider told The Press. “Carrie Fisher, I think part of her deal was she got to sing a song, and that was her draw to it.

Kershner initially turned down the offer because he thought anything trying to one-up Star Wars would be doomed to fail. Lucas then met with Kershner to explain that The Empire Strikes Back wouldn’t try to surpass the first movie, but would simply build on its mythology. Lucas’s assurance—and the fact that Kershner’s agent reminded him the job would be highly lucrative—convinced the professor to say yes.