Top Ten Tuesday: All-Time Summer Blockbusters

With the advent of streaming platforms along with other factors, the summer blockbuster arguably isn’t what it used to be. But the recently-released Once Upon a Time In Hollywood gives the feel of a summer blockbuster and offers some optimism, so hopefully we get more of them moving forward. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday goes over the best summer blockbusters of all-time. The criterion is rough, but it’s not the best summer blockbusters—it’s more or less what best exemplifies a summer blockbuster.

 

10. Transformers

Release date: July 3, 2007

 

 

As stated, this isn’t about the best summer blockbusters, and Transformers certainly doesn’t qualify as that. But the Michael Bay action film starring Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox was all the rage back in 2007, and it spawned money-making sequels and spinoffs that are still going on years later.

 

9. Inception

Release date: July 13, 2010

 

 

The marketing for Inception leading up to its 2010 summer release was amazing, and there might not be a better movie tagline than “Your Mind is the Scene of the Crime”. The fact that the Christopher Nolan film was somewhat confusing and groundbreaking made people want to see it. And it’s hard to top the cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, and Cillian Murphy.

 

8. Back to the Future

Release date: July 3, 1985

 

 

Back to the Future was the highest grossing film of 1985, and the 80s were a good time for a movie to actually be considered a summer blockbuster—there were two sequels, along with a pop-culture impact that included President Ronald Reagan mentioning the movie in a State of the Union address.

 

7. Star Wars

Release date: May 25, 1977

 

 

Speaking of pop-culture impacts, the original Star Wars (later titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) quickly caught fire and sparked the franchise becoming one of the most valuable franchises in history. Star Wars’ May 25 release is the earliest for any movie on this list, but it of course was still in theaters in June and throughout the summer.

 

6. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Release date: July 3, 1991

 

 

The first Terminator film released in October of 1984, so Terminator 2: Judgement Day was one of the most anticipated films of all-time while releasing seven years later—and it lived up to the hype. Action movies are prototypical summer blockbusters, and T2 provided a lot of it with great performances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and the entire cast.

 

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Release date: July 16, 1982

 

 

Action-adventures don’t get much better than Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was nominated for Best Picture and was beloved by both critics and fans. Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic heroes of all-time, and Harrison Ford was a big-time box-office draw—previously starring on a film earlier on this list, Star Wars—to get people out to the theater that summer.

 

4. Jurassic Park

Release date: June 11, 1993

 

 

Action and adventure are both critical for most summer blockbusters, and Jurassic Park delivers that along with nearly-unmatched thrills. In some ways a more family-friendly of another summer thriller that also could’ve been on this Top Ten Tuesday, Aliens, Jurassic Park was at one point the highest grossing film of all-time during its 1993 release.

 

3. Batman

Release date: June 23, 1989

 

 

Again, the 80s were an ideal time for a summer blockbuster, and Batman is a prime example of that. Released in 1989, the Tim Burton film starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker became an inescapable phenomenon that led to countless gold/yellow oval Batman logos being donned throughout the world.

 

2. The Dark Knight

Release date: July 18, 2008

 

 

Unfortunately, the tragic death of Heather Ledger ahead of The Dark Knight’s release gave it a boost in terms of hype overall; but Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker was still going to be the stuff of legends anyway. The anticipation started at the conclusion of 2005’s Batman Begins, when Commissioner Gordon handed Batman a Joker card, and from there, Christopher Nolan created arguably the greatest movie in history. With epic performances by Christian Bale and the entire cast in addition to Ledger, The Dark Knight (which was up to No. 4 among highest grossing films in history at one point) has the mix of A+ hype, quality, and box-office success to make it the No. 2 summer blockbuster of all-time.

 

1. Jaws

Release date: June 20, 1975

 

 

Steven Spielberg knows how to create summer blockbusters, securing three of the top five spots including No. 1 with Jaws (he was involved with Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park). Jaws focused on a seeming-insurmountable force (the people-eating great white shark), with plenty of thrill, action, adventure, and suspense, and it remains one of the most impactful films ever and a quintessential must-see summer blockbuster.