The Biggest Summer Blockbusters of Each Year Since 1975
Do you remember the biggest summer blockbuster of your childhood? There’s a list that compiles every summer’s domestic box office hit since “Jaws” became the first true summer blockbuster in 1975.
Here’s the first 10, the income is NOT adjusted for inflation:
1975: “Jaws”. $260 million
1976: “The Omen”. $60.9 million
1977: “Star Wars: A New Hope”. $461 million
1978: “Grease”. $190 million
1979: “The Amityville Horror”. $86.4 million
1980: “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”. $290.5 million
1981: “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”. $248.2 million
1982: “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”. $435.1 million
1983: “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”. $309.3 million
1984: “Ghostbusters”. $242.2 million
These are the 10 most recent:
2013: “Iron Man 3”. $409 million
2014: “Guardians of the Galaxy”. $333.2 million
2015: “Jurassic World”. $652.3 million
2016: “Finding Dory”. $486.3 million
2017: “Wonder Woman”. $412.6 million
2018: “Incredibles 2”. $608.6 million
2019: “The Lion King”. $543.6 million (You know, the CGI “live-action” version.)
2020: “The New Mutants”. $23.8 million (Most movies at this time went straight to streaming because of the pandemic.)
2021: “Black Widow”. $183.6 million
2022: “Top Gun: Maverick”. $718.7 million
(You can see the complete list at MentalFloss.com.)
(What do you think will be 2023’s box office hit? “Barbie”? “The Flash”? “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”?)
