The film remained a steady success; six months after its release, industry executives joked "Raiders of the Lost Ark" would be the year's big Christmas film. Its success continued into the following spring (March–May). The film officially left theaters on March 18, 1982, although some were still playing it over a year later. By the end of its run, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" had earned an approximate box office gross of $212.2million. This figure made it the highest-grossing film of 1981, ahead of the drama film "On Golden Pond" ($119.3million), "Superman II" ($108.1million), and the comedy film "Stripes" ($85.3million). According to estimates by Box Office Mojo, over 77million people bought tickets to see the film. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" remains the "leggiest" film ever released (referring to the difference between the highest-weekend gross earned and the time taken to achieve the overall total gross).