I doubt that either the timing or the changes hurt the box office much. After all, the STAR WARS trilogy was re-released in January, February and March – with major changes – and it did extremely well.
One interesting point of comparison: the STAR WARS films were re-appraised much more harshly by critics during their re-release, yet they still did well with audiences. E.T., on the other hand, has received nothing but a chorus of praise from the nation’s mainstream critics. No one has come out to say what several of you have said in this thread: that maybe the film was okay in its time, but doesn’t stand up so well two decades later.
steve biodrowski
www.thescriptanalyst.com