- Steven Spielberg and "Star Wars" ruled the summer box office for decades.
- We looked back at the highest-grossing summer movies at the US box office of all time, from "Jaws" to "Jurassic World."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The modern summer blockbuster began in June 1975, when Steven Spielberg made us scared to go into the water thanks to "Jaws."
Since then, Spielberg has dominated summer movie seasons with blockbusters like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Jurassic Park."
With this year's summer movie season at theaters canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, we looked back at the highest-grossing summer movies of all time in the US. We ranked the list based on domestic box office (from IMDb Pro) adjusted for inflation and counted movies released in May, June, July, and August.
It's not just Spielberg who has ruled the summer box office. Until "The Force Awakens" in 2015, which was released in December, the "Star Wars" movies had been summer spectacles.
Below are the 10 highest-grossing summer movies at the domestic box office of all time:
SEE ALSO: The best summer movies of every year since 2000
10. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) — $700 million
Release date: June 12, 1981
Original domestic gross: $248 million
Original worldwide gross: $390 million
9. "Jurassic World" (2015) — $705 million
Release date: June 12, 2015
Original domestic gross: $652.2 million
Original worldwide gross: $1.67 billion
8. "Jurassic Park" (1993) — $715 million
Release date: June 11, 1993
Original domestic gross: $402.8 million
Original worldwide gross: $1.03 billion
7. "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" (1999) — $730 million
Release date: May 19, 1999
Original domestic gross: $474.5 million
Original worldwide gross: $1.03 billion
6. "The Lion King" (1994) — $731 million
Release date: June 24, 1994
Original domestic gross: $422.8 million
Original worldwide gross: $968.5 million
5. "Return of the Jedi" (1983) — $796 million
Release date: May 25, 1983
Original domestic gross: $309.3 million
Original worldwide gross: $475 million
4. "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) — $903 million
Release date: June 20, 1980
Original domestic gross: $290.2 million
Original worldwide gross: $548 million
3. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) — $1.16 billion
Release date: June 11, 1982
Original domestic gross: $435.1 million
Original worldwide gross: $793.5 million
2. "Jaws" (1975) — $1.24 billion
Release date: June 20, 1975
Original domestic gross: $260 million
Original worldwide gross: $471.2 million
1. "Star Wars" (1977) - $1.95 billion
Release date: May 25, 1977
Original domestic gross: $461 million
Original worldwide gross: $775.5 million