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Most of us eagerly await the newest summer blockbuster releases with bated breath. While some of them flop at the box office, others go on to become legends in their own right that we want to watch over and over again (some of them even in 3D) – and leave a lasting impression that stays with us for years and years.
A lot of those movies become classics, beloved by many around the world and with a huge following. So, which summer blockbusters are the highest grossing of all time?
1. Star Wars: A New Hope – $1.55 billion (around £1.2 billion)
It doesn’t come as a surprise that the original Star Wars film is the highest grossing summer blockbuster of all time. This 1977 adventure film by George Lucas stole the hearts of millions of sci-fi aficionados and stayed in theatres for more than 500 days. Its influence in the pop culture of today clearly showcases just how important this movie was at the time and how difficult it will be for another film to be even more successful.
2. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial – $1.23 billion (around £950 million)
Although not as action-packed as we have come to expect from summer blockbusters, ET: The Extra-Terrestrial has nonetheless become a sensation still beloved to this day. Directed by Steven Spielberg, this story about a boy who befriends an alien was only one day short of remaining in theatres for a full year – and it still attracted people to the cinema the following summer!
3. Jaws – $1.114 billion (around £850 million)
A movie that caused fear in the hearts of many beachgoers at the time, Jaws (1975) was a massive success at the time – and is still incredibly famous today! It spawned several sequels and kept bringing people back to the cinema, proving that an action-packed film is perfectly capable of becoming a true classic.
4. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – $854.2 million (around £650 million)
Due to the success of the first film in the trilogy, a sequel was inevitable. And fans got it in 1980 when The Empire Strikes Back made it to theatres. This movie might most fans’ favourite, especially due in part to the surprising revelation that Luke Skywalker was (spoiler alert) Darth Vader’s son. Even though some people seemed to be in on this shocking climax, they still bought tickets to the cinema to see it for themselves!
5. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – $818.3 million (around £630 million)
This was the least successful of the three original Star War movies – however, this doesn’t mean it suffered at the box office. On the contrary, it might not have been as popular as the other two films but it still drew countless people to the theatres, who kept them full for a very long time.
And there you have it, the top five highest grossing summer blockbusters of all time!
Summer blockbusters are something we all look forward to when summer finally arrives. Some of these movies have been a resounding success and still have a fair amount of influence in the filmmaking of today. These might currently be the highest grossing movies of all time – who knows, maybe next summer a new film will surpass them!
