Biggest Summer Blockbusters in the US by Year (since 1975)
(The Movie must be the highest grossing Film of the Summer Season)
List activity
311 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
47 titles
- 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.Box Office: 260.6 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~128 Mio
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: --- - 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?Box Office: 60.9 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ???
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: --- - 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.Box Office: 307.2 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~146 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?Box Office: 160.0 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~70 Mio
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Jaws 2 - DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsJames BrolinMargot KidderRod SteigerNewlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.Box Office: 86.4 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~34 Mio
Quality: 1/5
Won the Summer against: Rocky II/Alien - 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.Box Office: 209.4 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~79 Mio
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Smokey and the Bandit II - 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.Box Office: 212.2 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~78 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.Box Office: 359.2 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~124 Mio
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: An Officer and Gentleman - 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.Box Office: 252.5 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~81 Mio
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Trading Places - DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThree parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.Box Office: 229.2 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~69 Mio
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom/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.Box Office: 210.6 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~59 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.Box Office: 176.7 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~47 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.Box Office: 153.6 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~39 Mio
Quality: 2/5
Won the Summer against: The Untouchables - 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.Box Office: 156.4 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~38 Mio
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Coming to America - DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonJack NicholsonKim BasingerThe Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.Box Office: 251.1 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~63 Mio
Quality: 4/5
Won the Summer against: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - 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.Box Office: 217.6 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~51 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.Box Office: 204.8 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~48 Mio
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Robin Hood - DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonDanny DeVitoMichelle PfeifferWhile Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.Box Office: 162.8 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~39 Mio
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: Lethal Weapon 3 - 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.Box Office: 357.0 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~86 Mio
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: The Fugitive - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksRobin WrightGary SiniseThe history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.Box Office: 329.7 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~79 Mio
Quality: 4/5
Won the Summer against: The Lion King - DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsVal KilmerTommy Lee JonesJim CarreyBatman must battle former district attorney Harvey Dent, who is now Two-Face and Edward Nygma, The Riddler with help from an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.Box Office: 181.4 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~42 Mio
Quality: 1/5
Won the Summer against: Apollo 13 - 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.Box Office: 306.1 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~69 Mio
Quality: 4/5
Won the Summer against: Twister - DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsTommy Lee JonesWill SmithLinda FiorentinoJames, an NYC cop, is hired by Agent K of a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth. Together, they must recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic villain.Box Office: 250.6 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~54 Mio
Quality: 4/5
Won the Summer against: The Lost World: Jurassic Park - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.Box Office: 216.5 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~46 Mio
Quality: 5/5
Won the Summer against: Armageddon - 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.Box Office: 431.0 Mio $
Sold Tickets: ~85 Mio
Quality: 3/5
Won the Summer against: The Sixth Sense