Some 10,000 people are expected each day at the Convention Centre, many of them seeking light-sabre combat training, photographs alongside their favourite characters, and autographs. The first day of the congress was reserved for members of the Club Star Wars, thousands of whom watched the six films in a non-stop, 17-hour showing. , one of the top grossing movies of all time, had a modest beginning in just 32 theatres across North America on May 25, 1977.
But the science fiction-fantasy movie grew into a monster hit worldwide and quickly became a classic, prompting writer-director-producer Lucas to make two equally successful sequels: in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. After a 16-year break he made three "prequels": in 1999, Attack of the Clones in 2002 and Revenge of the Sith in 2005, which tell the story leading up to the original movies. The films set new standards for special effects.
They are also known as the first to make fortunes in movie tie-in merchandise. spawned television series, books, comics, video games and toys, which magazine estimated in 2005 generated $US20 billion ($A24.48 billion).
The most recent in the series raked in $US850 million ($A1.04 billion) in box office receipts worldwide. Antonio Villaraigosa, mayor of the city of Los Angeles, which with a population of four million is the second-most populous in the United States, even proclaimed today Star Wars Day.
The US Postal Service marked today's anniversary by issuing limited-edition stamps depicting Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, the feisty robot R2D2 and others. Fans can vote on the postal service website for their favourite stamp of the series. The winner will be re-issued at mid-year.
In early March the postal service announced that some 400 mailboxes would be made up to look like R2D2. Some 10,000 people are expected each day at the Convention Centre, many of them seeking light-sabre combat training, photographs alongside their favourite characters, and autographs.
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