The History and Evolution of the Summer Blockbuster

The Summer Season Today

With each passing year, the “summer” movie season gets a little bit longer and a little bit bigger. In 1975, people balked at Jaws’ huge budget of $9 million. In 2017, no one batted an eye when Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 wound up costing $200 million. Today’s summer films may have swelled in terms of budget, but the marketplace has become somewhat egalitarian place. The MCU has picked up the reigns from Spielberg and Lucas, creating nuanced films that are also filled with spectacle. Michael Bay and Snyder have cornered the market on loud films with little plot, and Pixar has long since begun to own the summer movie cartoon space. There’s even still some room for smaller budgets and experimentation (take, for example, James DeMonaco’s Purge series). The summer season has become home to a huge variety of stories that all draw from the rich history established and developed over the last four decades.