What was the first movie to gross more than $100 million dollars at the box office in its original release?

When Jaws was granted a wide 1975 release, opening on 464 screens (409 in the USA and 56 in Canada) movie critics and many viewers raved. Its overall public reception was immediate and emphatic. In the opening weekend, over $7 million (£3 million) was obtained in revenue. All production costs were covered within the fortnight; by August it was showing on 900 screens across North America. It became the first movie in the U.S. to take in more than $100 million in theatrical rentals during its original release (the amount of the box-office gross that goes back to the studio/distributor after cinemas have taken their percentage for showing the film).

After director Steven Spielberg's 1975 release, it took a short time for the movie to become a major film success. Jaws was a movie that promptly began scaring the life out of cinema-goers all throughout the length and breath of North America. The name of this movie (Jaws) was almost a household norm for most people in both the U.S. and Canada. The tale of a seaside town (Amity) which was terrorized by a great white shark (a predator that very swiftly proved to be a cinematic sensation) became well known as well as the movie rogue that victimized all of the people of the town.