Biggest Summer Blockbusters of All Time by Year since 1975
(The Movie must be the worldwide highest grossing Film of the Summer Season)
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- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRoy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussWhen a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.Worldwide Box Office: 470.6 Mio $
Budget: 9 Mio $
Quality: 5/5 - DirectorRichard DonnerStarsGregory PeckLee RemickHarvey StephensMysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?Worldwide Box Office: 60.9 Mio $
Budget: 2.8 Mio $
Quality: 3/5 - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Worldwide Box Office: 503.0 Mio $
Budget: 11 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Smokey and the Bandit - DirectorRandal KleiserStarsJohn TravoltaOlivia Newton-JohnStockard ChanningGood girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?Worldwide Box Office: 366.2 Mio $
Budget: 6 Mio $
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Jaws 2 - DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Worldwide Box Office: ~104.9-203.6 Mio $
Budget: 11 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Rocky II/Amityville Horror - DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.Worldwide Box Office: 400.1 Mio $
Budget: 23 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Airplane! - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.Worldwide Box Office: 354.0 Mio $
Budget: 18 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Superman II - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.Worldwide Box Office: 663.4 Mio $
Budget: 10.5 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Rocky III - DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.Worldwide Box Office: 374.6 Mio $
Budget: 33-43 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: WarGames - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.Worldwide Box Office: 333.1 Mio $
Budget: 28 Mio $
Quality: 4/5
Won the Summer against: Ghostbusters/Gremlins - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.Worldwide Box Office: 381.1 Mio $
Budget: 19 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Rambo II - DirectorTony ScottStarsTom CruiseTim RobbinsKelly McGillisAs students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.Worldwide Box Office: 353.8 Mio $
Budget: 15 Mio $
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Karate Kid II - DirectorTony ScottStarsEddie MurphyJudge ReinholdJürgen ProchnowAxel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogomil's near-fatal shooting and the series of "alphabet crimes" associated with it.Worldwide Box Office: 299.9 Mio $
Budget: 20 Mio $
Quality: 2/5
Won the Summer against: Dirty Dancing - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsBob HoskinsChristopher LloydJoanna CassidyWhen a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.Worldwide Box Office: 329.8 Mio $
Budget: 50 Mio $
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Coming to America - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordSean ConneryAlison DoodyIn 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.Worldwide Box Office: 474.2 Mio $
Budget: 48 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Batman/Lethal Weapon 2 - DirectorJerry ZuckerStarsPatrick SwayzeDemi MooreWhoopi GoldbergAfter a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.Worldwide Box Office: 505.7 Mio $
Budget: 22 Mio $
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Total Recall - DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonEdward FurlongA cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.Worldwide Box Office: 519.8 Mio $
Budget: 92-102 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Robin Hood - DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonDanny GloverJoe PesciMartin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue a former LAPD officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.Worldwide Box Office: 321.7 Mio $
Budget: 35 Mio $
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Batman Returns - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsSam NeillLaura DernJeff GoldblumA pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.Worldwide Box Office: 912.6 Mio $
Budget: 63 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: The Fugitive - DirectorRoger AllersRob MinkoffStarsMatthew BroderickJeremy IronsJames Earl JonesLion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.Worldwide Box Office: 763.7 Mio $
Budget: 45 Mio $
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Forrest Gump - DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisJeremy IronsSamuel L. JacksonJohn McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.Worldwide Box Office: 366.1 Mio $
Budget: 90 Mio $
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Batman Forever - DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsWill SmithBill PullmanJeff GoldblumThe aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.Worldwide Box Office: 817.4 Mio $
Budget: 75 Mio $
Quality: 4/5
Won the Summer against: Twister - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsJeff GoldblumJulianne MoorePete PostlethwaiteA research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there, while an InGen team approaches with another agenda.Worldwide Box Office: 618.6 Mio $
Budget: 73 Mio $
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Men in Black - DirectorMichael BayStarsBruce WillisBilly Bob ThorntonBen AffleckAfter discovering that an asteroid the size of Texas will impact Earth in less than a month, NASA recruits a misfit team of deep-core drillers to save the planet.Worldwide Box Office: 553.7 Mio $
Budget: 140 Mio $
Quality: 2/5
Won the Summer against: Saving Private Ryan - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsEwan McGregorLiam NeesonNatalie PortmanTwo Jedi escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to claim their original glory.Worldwide Box Office: 924.3 Mio $
Budget: 115 Mio $
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: The Sixth Sense