Editing The Empire Strikes Back (section)

=== Context ===
{{See also|1980 in film}}
[[File:Mark Hamill 1980.jpg|thumb|alt=A photograph of Mark Hamill in 1980, promoting ''The Empire Strikes Back'' while pointing at a puppet of Yoda|[[Mark Hamill]] promoting the film in 1980]]

Industry professionals expected comedies and positive entertainment to dominate theaters in 1980 because of low morale in the United States caused by an [[Early 1980s recession in the United States#1980|economic recession]]. This generally increased theatrical visits as audiences sought escapism and ignored romantic films and depictions of [[Blue-collar worker|blue-collar life]].<ref name="NYTimesMostPopular" /><ref name="NYTimesTanenPredict" /> A surge of interest in science fiction following ''Star Wars'' led to many low-budget entries in the genre attempting to profit by association and big-budget entries such as ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'' and ''[[The Black Hole (1979 film)|The Black Hole]]'', both released just months before ''The Empire Strikes Back''.<ref name="NYTimesKurtz" /> Sequels were not expected to perform as well as their originals, and there were low expectations for merchandising.{{sfn|Rinzler|2010|p=300}} Even so, tie-in deals were arranged with [[Coca-Cola]], [[Nestlé]], [[General Mills]], and [[Topps]] collectibles.{{sfn|Rinzler|2010|p=255}}

Fox was confident in the film and spent little money on advertising, taking out small advertisements in newspapers instead of full-page spreads.{{sfn|The New York Times, June|1980}} The studio's market research showed 60% of those interested in the film were male.{{sfn|Rinzler|2010|p=335}} Lucasfilm set up a telephone number allowing callers to hear a message from cast members.{{sfn|Rinzler|2010|p=324}} Fox demanded a minimum 28-week appearance in theaters, although 12 weeks was the norm for major films.{{sfn|Rinzler|2010|p=321}} Estimates suggested ''Empire'' needed to earn $57.2{{nbsp}}million to be profitable, after marketing, distribution, and loan interest costs.{{sfn|Rinzler|2010|pp=154,323}}