yeah, i know movies had a longer runs, time to build word of mouth unlike how most movies are marketed today but return engagements? i could see that there were second run movie houses but returning to first run regularly? yeah, i guess i can imagine a star wars returning to a theater months after it initially ran, or rocky, or jaws. 

anyway, surprised to see hbo was in 1.something million homes by 1979. still a far cry from its peak of 50 million. and vhs was picking up steam.

"The number of movie rentals in the United States increased dramatically over the course of the 1980s. In 1980, there were an estimated 1.5 billion movie rentals. By 1989, that number had grown to 5.5 billion. This growth was driven by a number of factors, including the increasing availability of VCRs, the growing popularity of movies on demand, and the decreasing cost of renting movies."