George Lucas thought Star Wars was going to fail

George Lucas was so worried about how Star Wars would do he went on a holiday to Hawaii on the day the first movie premiered. Photo: AFP

It may well be one of Hollywood's biggest success stories, but when the original Star Wars film was released in 1977 many people, including creator George Lucas, believed it would be a flop.

"I don't think anyone could have predicted what a smash hit and what a cultural phenomenon it was going to become," said Jonathan Kuntz, professor at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television in California.