With the kids back in school and Electric Picnic taking place this weekend, summer is officially over. While blockbuster season has become a year round affair, the bulk of big films still come out during the summer months to capitalise on school holidays.
Before awards season ramps up and we start thinking about Oscars contenders, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on this year's big summer films. There were a few blockbusters at the start of the year (Logan, Kong: Skull Island, Fast and Furious 8) but we decided to start our list with April 28th's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 and finish with Detroit released last Friday, August 25th.
We decided to leave children's films off the list, but Despicable Me 3 has earned $971m worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of the summer.
| Film | Release Date | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|
| Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 | 28th April | $863m |
| Alien: Covenant | 12th May | $232m |
| King Arthur: Legend of the Sword | 19th May | $146m |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge | 26th May | $790m |
| Baywatch | 2nd June | $177m |
| Wonder Woman | 2nd June | $806m |
| The Mummy | 9th June | $408m |
| Transformers: The Last Knight | 23rd June | $604m |
| Baby Driver | 30th June | $194m |
| Spider-man: Homecoming | 07th July | $737m |
| War For The Planet Of The Apes | 14th July | $360m |
| Dunkirk | 21st July | $412m |
| Girls Trip | 28th July | $108m |
| Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | 04th August | $133m |
| Atomic Blonde | 11th August | $81m |
| The Hitman's Bodyguard | 18th August | $40m |
| The Dark Tower | 18th August | $89m |
| Detroit | 18th August | N/A |
Figures taken from boxofficemojo.com
In terms of box office, Marvel was once again the big winners. Both GOTG and Spider-Man: Homecoming grossed over $700m worldwide, with Guardians becoming the fourth highest grossing film of the year. The DCEU bounced back with the critically and commercially successful Wonder Woman, which earned 5th spot in the list of highest grossing films of the year with $806m. This sets them up nicely ahead of Justice League, due for release in November.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge was also a big box officer winner, taking in $790m. It success was largely due to its performance outside the US, earning 78% of its gross in international markets.
Dunkirk and War For The Planet of the Apes received the best reviews for our film critics, each getting 4.5 stars. Do you agree?
Box office success doesn't always mean that audiences enjoyed a film, so we want to know what your favourite blockbuster of the summer was. Vote below:
