Summer’s Coming! A List of the Best Summer Blockbuster that Overtook the Box Office, Ranked

Often times, summer is usually the season when high budget movies roll out and explode in popularity. Some intereting facts to point out is that on this list, 4 movies were originated from Marvel (see #5,6,11,15); 6 movies featured animal protagonists (see #3,7,13,14, 16, 17); and 7 movies were animation. Another fun fact is that all the movies here are either action or adventure movies, and so far no drama movie has been able to top this list. With that said, what are you looking forward to this summer? And what do you expect will become the new summer blokbuster? Let us know!

1

The Dark Knight

Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger
Christopher Nolan
2008

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.

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9 IMDB
2

Toy Story 3

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
Lee Unkrich
2010

Woody, Buzz, and the rest of Andy's toys haven't been played with in years. With Andy about to go to college, the gang find themselves accidentally left at a nefarious day care center. The toys must band together to escape and return home to Andy.

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8.3 IMDB
3

Finding Nemo

Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould
Andrew Stanton
2003

Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken from his Great Barrier Reef home to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to his worrisome father Marlin and a friendly but forgetful fish Dory to bring Nemo home -- meeting vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls, and more along the way.

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8.1 IMDB
4

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
David Yates
2011

Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their quest to vanquish the evil Voldemort once and for all. Just as things begin to look hopeless for the young wizards, Harry discovers a trio of magical objects that endow him with powers to rival Voldemort's formidable skills.

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8.1 IMDB
5

The Avengers

Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo
Joss Whedon
2012

When an unexpected enemy emerges and threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins!

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8 IMDB
6

Guardians of the Galaxy

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista
James Gunn
2014

Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.

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8 IMDB
7

Shrek

Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
2001

It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.

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7.8 IMDB
8

Incredibles 2

Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell
Brad Bird
2018

Elastigirl springs into action to save the day, while Mr. Incredible faces his greatest challenge yet – taking care of the problems of his three children.

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7.6 IMDB
9

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman
George Lucas
2005

The evil Darth Sidious enacts his final plan for unlimited power -- and the heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker must choose a side.

7.5 IMDB
10

Wonder Woman

Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen
Patty Jenkins
2017

An Amazon princess comes to the world of Man in the grips of the First World War to confront the forces of evil and bring an end to human conflict.

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7.4 IMDB
11

Spider-Man

Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst
Sam Raimi
2002

After being bitten by a genetically altered spider, nerdy high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the Amazing superhero known as Spider-Man.

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7.3 IMDB
12

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Gore Verbinski
2006

Captain Jack Sparrow works his way out of a blood debt with the ghostly Davey Jones, he also attempts to avoid eternal damnation.

7.3 IMDB
13

Finding Dory

Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence
Andrew Stanton
2016

Dory is reunited with her friends Nemo and Marlin in the search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale?

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7.3 IMDB
14

Shrek 2

Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
2004

Shrek, Fiona and Donkey set off to Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's mother and father. But not everyone is happy. Shrek and the King find it hard to get along, and there's tension in the marriage. The fairy godmother discovers that Shrek has married Fiona instead of her Son Prince Charming and sets about destroying their marriage.

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7.2 IMDB
15

Iron Man 3

Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle
Shane Black
2013

When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

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7.2 IMDB
16

Jurassic World

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan
Colin Trevorrow
2015

Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond.

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7 IMDB
17

The Lion King

Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, James Earl Jones
Jon Favreau
2019

Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

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6.9 IMDB
18

Spider-Man 3

Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco
Sam Raimi
2007

The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.

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6.2 IMDB
19

Mission: Impossible II

Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton, Dougray Scott
John Woo
2000

With computer genius Luther Stickell at his side and a beautiful thief on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.

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6.1 IMDB
20

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel
Michael Bay
2009

Sam Witwicky leaves the Autobots behind for a normal life. But when his mind is filled with cryptic symbols, the Decepticons target him and he is dragged back into the Transformers' war.

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6 IMDB