The modern summer blockbuster began in June 1975, when a young director named Steven Spielberg made us scared to go back into the water thanks to the thriller "Jaws."
Since then, audiences have happily braved the dog days of summer for decades to stand in huge lines for movie spectacles like "Star Wars,""Raiders of the Lost Ark,""Jurassic Park," all its sequels, and more recently, all those Marvel movies.
By feeding people's hunger for franchises and action, this is the time of year when the movie business gets a good portion of its annual revenue. But only a handful of the blockbusters have stood the test of time as Hollywood's biggest summer earners ever.
Below are the highest-grossing summer movies at the domestic box office of all time:
Note: All figures are from Box Office Mojo and adjusted for inflation.
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10. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) - $798 million
Unadjusted gross: $248 million
9. “The Lion King” (1994) - $803 million
Unadjusted gross: $422 million
8. “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” (1999) - $814 million
Unadjusted gross: $474 million
7. “Jurassic Park” (1993) - $826 million
Unadjusted gross: $402 million
6. “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” (1983) - $847 million
Unadjusted gross: $309 million
5. "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) - $858 million
Unadjusted gross: $858 million
4. “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) - $884 million
Unadjusted gross: $290 million
3. “Jaws” (1975) - $1.1 billion
Unadjusted gross: $260 million
2. “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) - $1.3 billion
Unadjusted gross: $435 million
1. “Star Wars: A New Hope” (1977) - $1.6 billion
Unadjusted gross: $460 million