Top-grossing summer blockbusters

Top-grossing summer blockbusters

Top-grossing summer blockbusters. As theater previews trade "Oscar-worthy" speeches for swelled budgets and special effects, it can only mean one thing: Summer blockbuster season is here! A hammer-wielding Norse god kicked off the summer movie season, and in celebration we review some of the top-grossing summer blockbusters.

Star Wars: A New Hope
Year: 1977

Director: George Lucas

Cast: Mark Hamill; Carrie Fisher; Harrison Ford

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Year: 2004

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Cast: Emma Watson; Daniel Radcliffe; Rupert Grint; Alan Rickman

E.T.
Year: 1982

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Drew Barrymore; Henry Thomas; Peter Coyote; Dee Wallace

Jaws
Year: 1975

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Robert Shaw; Richard Dreyfuss; Roy Scheider

The Dark Knight
Year: 2009

Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale; Morgan Freeman; Maggie Gyllenhaal; Heath Ledger

Aliens
Year: 1986

Director: James Cameron
Cast: Paul Reiser; Sigourney Weaver; Lance Henriksen

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Year: 1981

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Harrison Ford; Karen Allen

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Year: 1980

Director: George Lucas
Cast: Mark Hamill; Billy Dee Williams; David Prowse

Jurassic Park
Year: 1993

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Richard Attenborough; Laura Dern; Jeff Goldblum

The Sixth Sense
Year: 1999

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Bruce Willis (his next role is Wes Anderson's sheriff); Haley Joel Osment

Back to the Future
Year: 1985

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Michael J. Fox; Christopher Lloyd; Lea Thompson

Dead Man's Chest
Year: 2006

Director: Gore Verbinski
Cast: Johnny Depp; Keira Knightley; Orlando Bloom

Spider-Man
Year: 2002

Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Tobey Maguire; Kirsten Dunst; James Franco; Willem Dafoe

Independence Day
Year: 1996

Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Will Smith; Bill Pullman

American Graffiti
Year: 1973

Director: George Lucas
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss; Ron Howard

Shrek 2
Year: 2004

Director: Andrew Adamson
Cast: Antonio Banderas; Mike Myers; Cameron Diaz; Eddie Murphy

Forrest Gump
Year: 1994

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Tom Hanks; Sally Field; Robin Wright

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Year: 1999

Director: George Lucas
Cast: Ewan McGregor; Natalie Portman; Liam Neeson

Mary Poppins
Year: 1964

Director: Robert Stevenson
Cast: Julie Andrews; Dick Van Dyke

Grease
Year: 1978

Director: Randal Kleiser
Cast: Olivia Newton-John; John Travolta

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Year: 2009

Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Shia LaBeouf; Megan Fox

Ghostbusters
Year: 1984

Director: Ivan Reitman
Cast: Bill Murray; Sigourney Weaver; Dan Aykroyd; Rick Moranis

The Lion King
Year: 1994

Director: Roger AllersandRob Minkoff
Cast: James Earl Jones; Jeremy Irons; Matthew Broderick

Twister'
Year: 1996

Director: Jan de Bont
Cast: Helen Hunt; Bill Paxton

Source: Special