People didn't care about the fact that it was the "special edition", though. They just wanted to see Star Wars on the big screen again. We suffered through the bullshit SE additions in order to be able to do that. The "special edition" label wasn't what got people to go to the theaters...it was the words, "Star Wars". It was those original films, the ones Lucas hates, and the memory of seeing them on the big screen that drove people to theaters. It wasn't until the "Toontown" entry to Mos Eisley, and Greedo shooting first that people began to mumble..."what the hell is this?"

The way I see it, the SE didn't "succeed" in 1997. It simply road the wave of success from the original releases. People wanted to experience "Star Wars" again. They couldn't care less about whether it was a "Special Edition", or not.