Major Blockbusters/ films by year

[Lord]

So, each year we have more and more blockbusters being released, the budgets are rising too, so is there any place with a complete list of each year's blockbuster?

The best i can find are top 10 of each year, in least there's never a full list. In other word, big budgeted films whose studios expect to be major successes.

 

[Rocketman]

I love lists. I'm in.

BoxOfficeMojo is probably a good place to start.

I suspect we'll find that they exponentially grew in numbers each year, starting with Jaws as the major benchmark.

Independence Day was probably the next one that everyone tried to emulate.

 

[flickchick85]

Yeah, I think 1975 is the year to start with, since Jaws is generally considered the first.

 

[Rocketman]

It probably starts with Jaws.
Then Star Wars.
Then Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Then maybe E.T.?
Close Encounters.
Batman.
T2: Judgment Day.
Jurassic Park.
Independence Day.

It's crazy how Spielberg and Lucas were basically the founding fathers of the American summer blockbuster.

 

[Warhammer]

^Those are some groundbreaking films in terms of box office gross. It's crazy since blockbusters are now run of the mill.

 

[Rocketman]

^Those are some groundbreaking films in terms of box office gross. It's crazy since blockbusters are now run of the mill.

It's weird... these films probably wouldn't do well today. Jurassic Park may be the exception.

The yearly schedule is just too jam-packed now. Trying to squeeze E.T. in the same summer as a Transformers/Pirates/Harry Potter/Avengers would probably make it a forgettable bomb.

Actually, that basically happened with Super 8.

 

[Warhammer]

Spielberg wasn't too far from the truth when he was talking about Hollywood potentially imploding. Films cannibalize each other.

 

[MrMaooz]

It's weird... these films probably wouldn't do well today. Jurassic Park may be the exception.

The yearly schedule is just too jam-packed now. Trying to squeeze E.T. in the same summer as a Transformers/Pirates/Harry Potter/Avengers would probably make it a forgettable bomb.

Actually, that basically happened with Super 8.

Super 8 didn't bomb though. 260 mil made of a 50 mil. budget is pretty good. It was a commercial success.

 

[warhorse78]

It's weird... these films probably wouldn't do well today. Jurassic Park may be the exception.

The yearly schedule is just too jam-packed now. Trying to squeeze E.T. in the same summer as a Transformers/Pirates/Harry Potter/Avengers would probably make it a forgettable bomb.

Actually, that basically happened with Super 8.

Not to mention, there were probably less screens/theaters, and the movies pretty much stayed in the theaters for a long time. I don't think home video didn't start getting big until the mid 80's, right?

 

[Lord]

I wasn't there but wasn't Superman: The Movie a major event at the time too? So, i made a list of the Blockbusters of 2013, tell me if i'm missing something:

-Gangster Squad
-Oblivion
-Jack the Giant Slayer
-The Great Gatsby
-Oz: The Great and Powerful
-Star Trek Into Darkness
-Iron Man 3
-Fast and Furious 6
-The Hangover 3
-After Earth
-A Good Day to Die Hard
-The Man of Steel
-World War Z
-The Lone Ranger
-Grown Ups 2
-Pacific Rim
-Elysium
-Monsters University
-The Wolverine
-Ender's Game
-The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
-Thor: The Dark World
-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug


The Copycats of 2013: The White House Trilogy:
-Olympus has Fallen
-G.I. Joe: Retaliation
-White House Down

Well, it's a bigger list than i expected, i'm counting with films that were not released in the summer too. If i forgot any film or added one that i shouldn't have then tell me, if it's complete then i'll try to do the 2012 list next.

Super 8 didn't bomb though. 260 mil made of a 50 mil. budget is pretty good. It was a commercial success.

I wish they made more films like that, there is District 9 for example, there was also that one with aliens that people expected to be the next district 9 but failed critically.

If Star Wars was first released now it would probably fail very easily, a film like The Lone Ranger and last year's John Carter would be big things if released years before, when more people went to see Disney movies due to the brand alone.

 

[:eek:]

I wasn't there but wasn't Superman: The Movie a major event at the time too? So, i made a list of the Blockbusters of 2013, tell me if i'm missing something:

-Gangster Squad
-Oblivion
-Jack the Giant Slayer
-The Great Gatsby
-Oz: The Great and Powerful
-Star Trek Into Darkness
-Iron Man 3
-Fast and Furious 6
-The Hangover 3
-After Earth
-A Good Day to Die Hard
-The Man of Steel
-World War Z
-The Lone Ranger
-Pacific Rim
-Elysium
-Monsters University
-The Wolverine
-Ender's Game
-The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
-Thor: The Dark World
-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug


The Copycats of 2013: The White House Trilogy:
-Olympus has Fallen
-G.I. Joe: Retaliation
-White House Down

Well, it's a bigger list than i expected, i'm counting with films that were not released in the summer too. If i forgot any film or added one that i shouldn't have then tell me, if it's complete then i'll try to do the 2012 list next.


I wish they made more films like that, there is District 9 for example, there was also that one with aliens that people expected to be the next district 9 but failed critically.

If Star Wars was first released now it would probably fail very easily, a film like The Lone Ranger and last year's John Carter would be big things if released years before, when more people went to see Disney movies due to the brand alone.

Really, a lot of those movies shouldn't be considered a blockbuster because they didn't make much money. For me a real blockbuster today is something that makes at least $400 million domestically or a billion worldwide. Some of these movies hasn't even been released yet. Sure, Hunger Games and Hobbit will most likely make a lot of money, but I'm not sure about Ender's Game.

 

[Lord]

I'm counting the most expensive films that studios expect to be blockbusters and were filmed to be blockbusters, from the trailer The Lone Ranger was obviously supposed to be major, therefore i count it on the list. It's also to analyse the increasing number of "blockbusters" being released every year.

The internet crowd is very excitable for such things as Marvel movies, well written cartoons and anime, Joss Whedon, etc. but they're also very harsh on other things, take for example the fast and the furious franchise, every time a new one is announced the internet says "why" while the general public gets excited. When another Transformers film comes out the internet hates it, the general public loves it.

 

[Lord]

So, let me proceed to the 2012 list of blockbusters, or you know, the movies that were intented to be major, something that seems to be very comon latelly, i think it's safe to consider a film that costs more than $ 50 million on its budget.

Starting in chronological order:

-Red Tails
-Underworld Awakening
-Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
-Safe House
-Ghost Rider: Spirit of Revenge
-This Means War
-The Lorax
-John Carter
-The Hunger Games
-Mirror Mirror (the copycats of 2012: snow white duo)
-Wrath of the Titans
-American Reunion
-The Avengers
-The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists!
-Dark Shadows
-The Dictator
-Battleship
-Men in Black 3
-Snow White and the Huntsman (Part of the Snow White Duo)
-Madagascar 3
-Prometheus
-Rock of Ages
-That's my Boy
-Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Lincoln Duo)
-Brave
-Ted
-The Amazing Spider-Man
-Ice Age
-The Dark Knight Rises
-The Watch
-Total Recall
-The Bourne Legacy
-The Expendables 2
-ParaNorman (Horror for Children Trilogy)
-Resident Evil: Retribution
-Hotel Transylvania (Horror for Children Trilogy, Franweenie is the 3rd but isn't on the list)
-Cloud Atlas
-Skyfall
-Wreck it Ralph
-Lincoln (Lincoln duo)
-The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
-Life of Pi
-Red Dawn
-Rise of the Guardians
-The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
-Jack Reacher
-Django Unchained
-Les Miserables


Now these were the intented Blockbusters, i'll soon point out which ones could be considered actual crossover due to the money they made.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I wasn't there but wasn't Superman: The Movie a major event at the time?

Superman was essentially the first modern blockbuster. Jaws and Star Wars may have started the movement, but they were both smaller films, expected to do nothing, and then exploded. They were huge grossers, but weren't really blockbusters like we think of them now. Jaws in particular, is more of a character film that isn't really out of place in the New Hollywood Era.

Superman was the first to really be designed as a tent pole blockbuster like they are these days. Although if you want to go way back, Thunderball was very much conceived and marketed like one. The concept just didn't stick until the late 70s.

 

[Evil Twin]

Superman was essentially the first modern blockbuster. Jaws and Star Wars may have started the movement, but they were both smaller films, expected to do nothing, and then exploded. They were huge grossers, but weren't really blockbusters like we think of them now. Jaws in particular, is more of a character film that isn't really out of place in the New Hollywood Era.

Superman was the first to really be designed as a tent pole blockbuster like they are these days. Although if you want to go way back, Thunderball was very much conceived and marketed like one. The concept just didn't stick until the late 70s.

Jaws, like The Godfather, was based on a best selling novel. It was snatched up to make money and had a major marketing campaign attached to it. You had a preexisting property, established actors, a good sized budget, and a major marketing campaign. That's quite a bit off the blockbuster checklist.

Jaws is, of course, quite different than the modern blockbuster in form. It functions on tension and character, not money shots. And it's all the better for it. But, it was always intended as a commercial enterprise first that just happened to be exceptionally well made.

You can probably make an argument for The Godfather, Part 2, also being part of the early blockbuster movement.

 

[:eek:]

There were a lot of movies before Jaws that you could say was "designed" to be blockbusters. The James Bond-movies in the 60's were rather expensive for its time (except maybe the first one). James Bond has always felt like the first modern blockbuster franchise for me.

 

[Evil Twin]

There were a lot of movies before Jaws that you could say was "designed" to be blockbusters. The James Bond-movies in the 60's were rather expensive for its time (except maybe the first one). James Bond has always felt like the first modern blockbuster franchise for me.

That's fair.

And, of course, Hollywood had big spectacles dating back to the silents and Cecil B. Demille. Gone With the Wind fits all the profiles of a blockbuster.

 

[Lord]

There have allways been films like this, Hollywood even became famous for that reason too, you could say films like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Cleópatra were intented to be big hits, as years passed they just evolved.

 

[Evil Twin]

What I would suggest is that there's been a decoupling, starting in the 1970s, of the blockbuster from the prestige picture. Prior to that, when a studio spent a lot of money on a film they expected it to make a lot of money and compete for Oscars. After that, making a lot of money was sufficient.

If you wanted to say that earlier a studio's output was a reflection of the tastes of the studio head, but with the rise of corporations and "money men", taste was no longer a consideration.

 

[Lord]

Now moving on to the majors of 2011, or in least the intented majors for some cases:

-The Dilemma
-The Green Hornet
-Just Go with It
-I Am Number Four
-Drive Angry
-The Adjustment Bureau
-Rango
-Battle: Los Angeles
-Mars Needs Mom
-Sucker Punch
-Hop
-Your Highness
-Rio
-Thor
-Fast Five
-Priest
-Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
-Hangover Part II
-Kung Fu Panda 2
-X-Men: First Class
-Super 8
-Green Lantern
-Mr. Popper's Penguins
-Cars 2
-Transformers: Dark of the Moon
-Zookeeper
-Harry Potter & the Deadly Hollows Part 2
-Captain America: The First Avenger
-Crazy, Stupid, Love
-The Smurfs
-The Change-Up
-Rise of the Planet of the Apes
-Conan the Barbarian
-Contagion
-Moneyball
-Dream House
-Real Steel
-The Three Musqueteers
-Puss in Boots
-The Rum Diaries
-Immortals
-Jack & Jill
-Happy Feet Two
-The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
-Arthur Christmas
-Hugo
-New Year's Eve
-Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
-Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
-Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
-The Adventures of Tintin
-We Bought a Zoo
-War Horse

 

[Lord]

2011 was bigger than 2012, let's move on to 2010:

-The Book of Eli
-Edge of Darkness
-From Paris with Love
-Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lighting Thief
-Valentine's Day
-The Wolfman
-Shutter Island
-Alice in Wonderland
-Green Zone
-The Bounty Hunter
-How to Train your Dragon
-Clash of the Titans
-Date Night
-Iron Man 2
-Robin Hood
-Shrek Forever After
-Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
-Agora
-Killers
-Marmaduke
-The A-Team
-Toy Story 3
-Knight and Day
-Grown Ups
-The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
-The Last Airbender
-Despicable Me
-The Sorcerer's Aprentice
-Inception
-Salt
-Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore
-Dinner for Schmucks
-The Other Guys
-Eat Pray Love
-The Expendables
-Scott Pilgrim vs the World
-Resident Evil: Afterlife
-Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole
-Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
-RED
-Hereafter
-Due Date
-Megamind
-Unstopable
-Harry Potter & the Deadly Hallowss Part 1
-Burlesque
-Tangled
-The Nutcracker in 3D
-The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
-The Tourist
-How Do You Know
-Tron: Legacy
-Yogi Bear
-Little Fockers
-Gulliver's Travels

 

[:eek:]

I still don't understand why some movies are on these lists. I mean, Melancholia? It's a low budget Lars von Trier movie, for christ sake. It's just laughable to call it a blockbuster or even a blockbuster-wannabe. Lars von Trier might be famous, but not for making blockbuster movies.

 

[Lord]

Yeah, i accidentally put it in there, sorry, and thanks for the warning.

I put on the list every film that has a budget of in least 50 million dollars, i accidentally put melancholia in there when it's only budgeted with 9 million dollars.

 

[Erzengel]

Back in the 80s, blockbusters were defined as any moving topping $100 million, I think it's $200 somewhere in the 90s and now it probably should be $300 million. And I'm talking domestically.

 

[:eek:]

Back in the 80s, blockbusters were defined as any moving topping $100 million, I think it's $200 somewhere in the 90s and now it probably should be $300 million. And I'm talking domestically.

To be a real blockbuster today, in terms of ticket sales, I think a movie today should make at least $450 million domestically. Back to the Future made around $210 million in 1985. Adjusted for inflation that's around $480 million. And considering a lot of movies can get a boost from more expensive 3D and IMAX-tickets today, then maybe a movie today should make at least $500 million domestically to be considered a true blockbuster in America, if a $200 million gross in the 80's was considered a blockbuster success