30 years ago, the biggest sci-fi blockbuster of the '90s quietly changed Hollywood forever

The 1996 hit helped launch one of Hollywood's biggest stars just as intellectual property was becoming the industry's biggest draw There was a time when the biggest name on a movie poster wasn't the title. It was the actor — names like Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, and Bruce Willis. Audiences weren't just buying tickets to a story, they were buying tickets to spend two hours with performers they already loved. Today, blockbuster marketing usually works the other way around. The franchise comes first. The actors are often secondary. 30 years ago, one alien invasion movie proved an original blockbuster could still create a movie star. Even as Hollywood was beginning to move in a different direction. When Independence Day arrived in theaters on July 3, 1996, it looked like the ultimate summer blockbuster: dazzling visual effects, unforgettable set pieces, and one of the most crowd-pleasing presidential speeches ever committed to film. Independence Day follows an unlikely group of heroes who must unite after an alien invasion threatens to wipe out humanity. It also did something Hollywood blockbusters rarely do anymore. It helped turn Will Smith into