‘The Wizard of Oz’ 1939 movie poster
When “The Wizard of Oz” premiered nationwide on Aug. 25, 1939, audiences had no idea they were about to see one of the most groundbreaking films ever made.
Moviegoers were captivated by the dramatic shift from sepia tones to vibrant Technicolor — a visual transformation unlike anything most audiences had experience before. Early viewers praised Judy Garland’s performance and the film’s imaginative world, though initial box office returns fell short of expectations.
Produced on a then-massive $2.77 million budget, the film grossed only about $3 million worldwide during its original run, and it did not become profitable until its 1949 re-release.
The film’s cultural explosion truly began in 1956, when CBS aired the movie on television for the first time, introducing Dorothy, Toto and the Yellow Brick Road to millions of American households and establishing an annual viewing traditon that continues today.
The movie earned multiple Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Original Song (“Over the Rainbow”) and Best Original Score. In 1989, it was selected as part of the first group of films preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry.
Thanks to countless theatrical re-releases, home video editions and television broadcasts, “The Wizard of Oz” is widely considered one of the most-watched films of all time. More than 87 years after the movie’s debut, its message — “there’s no place like home” — still resonates.