No it wasn’t for everyone. It played to specific demographic that just didn’t know what they were until they saw this.
And no. Not everyone loved it either. But people who would also see this were also limited in what was available to see at the time.
You’re old enough to remember that we didn’t have 10 movies a month in megaplexes.
And which specific demographic do you think it played to? Because I saw the original movie many times in many different theaters with quite diverse audiences. Back then, it was common for audiences to applaud when the final credits rolled. So firsthand, I experienced that a majority of people across diverse backgrounds in 1977 seemed to enjoy the film they had just watched. A good story is a good story, regardless of how many other films happen to be released in a month. And by the way, there were plenty of other movies that people could watch in theaters or on t.v. at the time, too, Sonny-boy.