Spielberg changed the ending of this film, but this did not save it from failure

Director Steven Spielberg began his career on the small screen by directing the TV movie Duel, followed by episodes of the TV series, including Columbo. His first feature film, Sugarland Express, was a big flop, but it allowed him to gain the trust of Universal Studios, to which he was then under contract.

Universal wanted to change the ending

When studio executives discovered Sugarland Express, they asked Spielberg to change the ending. Sugarland Express ends tragically with the death of Goldie Hawn’s husband and her arrest.

Steven Spielberg at the film’s 50th anniversary screening at the recent Tribeca Film Festival tell him When the writers were asked for their opinion:

I asked Hal and Matthew, “Do you think we should shoot the ending?” They answered me: Are you crazy or not? But the studio was upset not by the film, but by its ending.

“They wanted me to write a caption at the end announcing that her child had been found. I said, ‘You can’t do that, the end is the end.’ was able to return it. I fought as hard as I could, but they finished the inscription and still people did not come.

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Flop Express

Indeed, Sugarland Express was a huge flop, grossing just $7.5 million at the box office, and Universal pulled it just two weeks after its release. But despite his disagreements with the finale, Studio Universal was pleased with the film and Spielberg’s work, to the point of allowing him to direct a new feature film. The director will receive a project called “Jaws”.

Initially disappointed that a director had already been chosen—Dick Richards, who would later make Goodbye My Pretty with Robert Mitchum and Charlotte Rampling—Spielberg called back a month later and was told that Richards had been fired.

It takes its place and makes Jaws aka Jaws, a success that shakes up the entire release strategy of American studios, bringing in $260 million upon release, a far cry from Sugarland Express’s $7.5 million. His career took off, but it was thanks to the Sugarland Express that he established himself and met John Williams, who would contribute greatly to the success of Jaws.