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Top 10 Summer Box Office Movie Releases Of All Time

Top 10 Summer Box Office Movie Releases Of All Time
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Spoiler Alert- It's a lot of Star Wars

With some movie theaters reopening, it's a great time to take a look at some Blockbuster classics! Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?


"Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) - $789 million

The 10th highest-grossing summer movie at the domestic box office of all time goes to the infamous Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford). In this epic story, the powerful archaeologist strives to beat a band of Nazis to discovering a unique religious relic central to their plans for world domination.

Fun Fact- Creator George Lucas' dog was named Indiana and was actually the inspiration for Indiana Jones. The character "Chewbacca" was also inspired by the furry pup.

9. "The Lion King" (1994) - $803 million

The Disney classic begins in Africa after young Simba's father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones) is killed by his brother Scar (Jeremy Irons) to claim the throne. Fast forward to Simba's (Matthew Broderick) adulthood and many iconic songs later, he has to take back his home from Scar with help from friends Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella).

Fun Fact- The idea for Lion King is loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet!

8. "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" (1999) - $814 million

This franchise classic starts with Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) as a young apprentice Jedi knight under the guardianship of Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Also, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) is just a 9-year-old boy when the film starts but later on he will father Luke Skywalker and become known as Darth Vader. When the Trade Federation blocks all routes to the planet Naboo, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are assigned to settle the matter.

Fun Fact- E.T. the extraterrestrial makes an appearance. In the scene with the Galactic Senate, if you look at the bottom-left corner of the screen, you can see E.T. and a few of his friends participating in the meeting.

7. "Jurassic Park" (1993) - $826 million

In this blockbuster hit, paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are among a select few chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA. While the park's owner, billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), tells everyone that the facility is safe, they find out quite the opposite when a myriad of ferocious predators break free.

Fun Fact- Only one dinosaur (T-Rex) made it to the Hawaii set but the crew claim it was as dangerous as a real dinosaur. This was because of the size and agility of the 9,000 pound animatronic robot dinosaur machine.

6. "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: (1983) - $847 million

In this film, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) battles vicious Jabba the Hut and evil Darth Vader to save his team in the Rebel Alliance and win over the Galactic Empire. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) reaffirm their love and work with Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williamsams), the Ewoks and the androids C-3PO and R2-D2 to aid in the disruption of the Dark Side and defeat of the horrible emperor.

Fun Fact- George Lucas initially called the film "Blue Harvest" to throw fans off and keep production cost low.

5. "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) - $858 million

This epic Marvel film begins with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in space with no food or water, as he sends Pepper Potts a message while his oxygen supply dwindles. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers - Thor, Black Widow, Captain America and Bruce Banner - must find a way to bring back their vanquished allies for an epic showdown with Thanos (Josh Brolin) -the cruel demigod who decimated the planet and the universe with his infinity ring.

Fun Fact- Thanos' infinity gauntlet was worn on the left hand. When Tony Stark creates a new gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame, it was worn on the right hand. Swapping hands symbolizes the reversal of Thanos' snap, for which the new gauntlet was created.

4. "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) - $884 million

In this Star Wars sequel, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) are under attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet, Hoth. While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to Dagobah in search of Yoda. Only with the Jedi master's help can Luke survive when the dark side of the Force calls him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader (David Prowse).

Fun Fact- Darth Vader never actually says "Luke, I am your father." Instead, he says "No, I am your father," and since the line has been misquoted for decades, many believe this is an example of the Mandela Effect.

3. "Jaws" (1975) - $1.1 billion

When a young woman is killed by a shark near the New England town, Amity Island, Ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and ship captain Quint (Robert Shaw) offer to help police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) capture the killer beast. The trio engages in an epic battle of man vs. nature.

Fun Fact- One day on set the boat began sinking with Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss onboard. Spielberg sent out another boat to retrieve the actors and crew.

2. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) - $1.3 billion

After an alien becomes stranded on Earth, the being is discovered and befriended by a boy named Elliott (Henry Thomas). Elliott introduces E.T., the alien, to his brother, his little sister and Gertie (Drew Barrymore), and they decide to keep E.T. a secret. However, E.T. falls ill, so the government intervenes, causing a dire situation for both Elliott and E.T.

Fun Fact- E.T.'s face was modeled after poet Carl Sandburg, Albert Einstein and a pug dog.

1. "Star Wars: A New Hope" (1977) - $1.6 billion

The Imperial Forces hold Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) hostage, in their efforts to quell the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) work together with the droid duo R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) to rescue the princess, help the Rebel Alliance and restore freedom to the Galaxy.

Fun Fact- Kenny Baker was a 3-ft-8-inch actor who plays R2D2. He has admitted that there were times where the cast and crew broke for lunch and forgot that he was in there.

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