Not Just 'Jaws': The Literal "Block-Long" Origin of "Blockbuster" Films

Before Steven Spielberg's *Jaws* famously set the template for modern summer event movies, "blockbuster" was already in use, emerging around the Second World War. Initially, it described theatrical plays and then films that achieved unprecedented popular success, drawing such enormous crowds that the lines of patrons would extend for a whole city block. This early usage focused on a film's immense drawing power and its ability to disrupt urban traffic, rather than its production value or marketing strategy, highlighting a film's impact on public space more than its internal characteristics.