--- description: Of course, when you're talking about Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, there are no losers title: George Lucas Lost a Huge 'Star Wars' Bet to Steven Spielberg image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4134e57b91fb2616/69868828d0b6f2372430386f/spielberg-lucas-cropped.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # George Lucas Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven Spielberg Over _Star Wars_ by [Eric Dodds](/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 31, 2014 3:54 PM CUT  $40 million probably buys a lot of bunny ears. $40 million probably buys a lot of bunny ears.Valerie Macon—Getty Images by [Eric Dodds](/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 31, 2014 3:54 PM CUT It’s no secret that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are good pals, but perhaps the best demonstration of their friendship is the fact that not even a $40 million bet has been able to come between them. Back in the late 1970s, Lucas [was reportedly nervous](http://www.businessinsider.com/george-lucas-star-wars-bet-made-steven-spielberg-millions-2014-3 "undefined") that his upcoming sci-fi film _Star Wars_ wouldn’t be a big hit. At the time, Spielberg was in the midst of making his own sci-fi epic, _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_. With _Jaws_ already under his belt, Spielberg was the better-established director. During a break from filming on _Star Wars_, Lucas visited to the _Close Encounters_ set. According to [an interview with Spielberg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54i9-BYVvQA "undefined") for Turner Classic Movies, the visit did little to allay Lucas’ concerns: --- > “” --- Lucas was right that _Close Encounters_ would be a hit, but it was _Star Wars_ that would become the standard-bearer for the genre. The film made $775 million at the global box office compared with $304 million for _Close Encounters_. Adjusted for inflation, Spielberg’s edge could come out to as much as $40 million. What’s perhaps most remarkable is that Lucas supposedly actually made good on his bet with Spielberg — and the two have remained friends, teaming up for four Indiana Jones films in the years since the lopsided bet. Of course, the fact that they’re both billionaires may have made the wager a slightly less bitter pill to swallow. \[[_Business Insider_](http://www.businessinsider.com/george-lucas-star-wars-bet-made-steven-spielberg-millions-2014-3 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/43618/george-lucas-steven-spielberg-star-wars-bet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/43618/george-lucas-steven-spielberg-star-wars-bet/"},"headline":"George Lucas Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven Spielberg Over Star Wars","datePublished":"2014-03-31T15:54:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:02:51.143Z","description":"Of course, when you're talking about Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, there are no losers","url":"https://time.com/43618/george-lucas-steven-spielberg-star-wars-bet/","keywords":["movies","Star Wars topic","steven spielberg","george lucas"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4134e57b91fb2616/69868828d0b6f2372430386f/spielberg-lucas-cropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Dodds","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-dodds/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4134e57b91fb2616/69868828d0b6f2372430386f/spielberg-lucas-cropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Steven Spielberg and George Lucas pal around.","caption":"Steven Spielberg and George Lucas pal around.","creditText":"Valerie Macon—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/43618/george-lucas-steven-spielberg-star-wars-bet/","name":"George Lucas Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven Spielberg Over Star Wars"}}]}] ```