“Wait’ll we get them silly bastards down in that rock pile. There’ll be some fun. They’ll wish their fathers had never met their mothers when they start takin’ their bottoms out and slammin’ into them rocks, boy. “
I remember that summer of ‘75 well. I was 13. It was a far bigger spectacle than Star Wars ever was. Star Wars was big but that summer of Jaws was one wild ride. Many more people could relate to it.
In general film historians credit Jaws with showing there could be blockbusters in summer and Star Wars with proving it wasn’t a fluke. After Star Wars studios started looking for tent pole blockbusters to open in summer. So it did start the era while not being the first.