"Jaws" turns 50 this week, and its legacy of the summer movie blockbuster remains strong.
The titles that have packed the most summer moviegoers into theaters since 1975 represent some of the best known films of the last half century, including five "Star Wars" movies, Pixar favorites like "Toy Story 3" and "Finding Nemo," superheroes galore and both "Top Gun" films. They also include some surprises, and movies both less bombastic and less enduring.
Combined, the top-earning summer films between 1975 and 2004 have more than $15 billion through the summer months, a figure not adjusted for inflation, according to the tracking firm Comscore.
It's also worth noting that box-office tracking before 1981 was not as robust as it is today — and there was essentially no summer movie season in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered theaters across the country.
