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The return of 'Star Wars'
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January 17, 1997: 9:15 p.m. ET
Re-release of 'Star Wars' trilogy has galactic financial potential for studios
From Correspondent Casey Wian
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LOS ANGELES (CNNfn) - Twenty years after Hollywood first released "Star Wars" in just 36 theaters, the re-released adventures of Luke Skywalker will fill more than 1,000 screens this month.
 Analysts expect a scheduled re-release of the "Star Wars" trilogy ("Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi") to breathe new life into what's already become a multi-billion dollar franchise.
 Even before the re-release, the "Star Wars" trilogy has taken in $1.3 billion in worldwide revenue over the past two decades, as well as more than $3 billion in licensing fees.
Hasbro Inc. said "Star Wars" toys are still its No. 1 product among boys, and the company is betting that the re-release will create a whole new generation of fans.
For Fox Filmed Entertainment, distributor of the trilogy, next month's re-release represents as close to a sure thing as Hollywood offers.
Tom Sherak, Fox's senior executive vice president, called the re-release "the best of the business. It's like being a kid in a candy store." (66K WAV) or (66K AIFF)
Movie analyst Martin Grove said Fox "could see these pictures go to $100 million or more worldwide."
Fox spent $15 million sprucing up the films with the latest digital technology, while distribution and marketing will likely add another $20 million.
But Grove said that "in Hollywood terms, (that's) small change."
 And box-office receipts are just the beginning.
Pepsico Inc. said "Star Wars" will be its biggest promotional tie-in of 1997.
The company not only plans to market beverage coolers shaped like R2D2, but to offer movie-related merchandise in Pepsico chains like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
All this will help generate publicity for trilogy creator George Lucas' current project, a series of "prequel" films that will tell the story before "Star Wars."
Fox's re-release of the original films gives it the inside track to distribute Lucas' long-awaited "prequels."
One Fox executive said that when Lucas is ready to make a deal, the studio will lock the door and not let him leave until they win an agreement.
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