JAWS named as best summer blockbuster of all time
Steven Spielberg’s shark classic JAWS may be getting a little bit long in the tooth when it comes to its age, but the 1975 film – often regarded as the first ever summer blockbuster - has been named as not just a great summer blockbuster, but THE greatest summer blockbuster.
That’s according to new research commissioned by WatchTVAbroad.com which looked back at the last six decades of films released between May and August. It compared the box office takings of these movies as a percentage of their budgets, alongside their popularity with audiences.
Weighting those factors equally, those proportions were correct in showing it was JAWS which was the clear winner, almost five decades after it was originally released.
With a modest budget of roughly $7 million, JAWS made a staggering (unadjusted for inflation) $253 million worldwide, equivalent to a profit of 3,514%. The classic shark horror also has a 97% rating (clearly, not high enough) among filmgoers on revie website Rotten Tomatoes.
Rounding out the top five are another Spielberg classic, E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Star Wars (1977), the Spielberg Executive Produced Back To The Future (1985) and The Lion King (1994).
Jeff Richey, TV analyst at WatchTVAbroad.com, said: “Nearly half a century after its release, JAWS is still as sharp as its famous teeth and has cemented itself as the ultimate summer blockbuster.
“The enduring popularity of this shark tale, made on a relative shoestring, proves that huge budgets and picture-perfect CGI are not what determines classic silver screen status.”
And the research shows that despite a summer season filled with big-budget movies, which includes the likes of Fast X, The Meg 2: The Trench, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Mission: Impossible 7, less than a fifth of UK viewers say they are excited to see any of the new summer releases.
We all know JAWS was what Americans were spending their summer dollars on when it was released that June, but in the UK it was more of a Christmas release as it didn’t hit cinema screens until Boxing Day, 1975, more than six months since its US debut.
Whether you agree with the new research or not, since JAWS first swam onto big screens and into our consciousness on June 20, 1975, it has changed both going to the beach and cinema forever. And as the re-release of JAWS in 3D and IMAX last year showed, the great white shark swimming off the shore of Amity Island with Brody, Quint and Hooper aboard the Orca in hot pursuit will always be at home on a bigger screen.
Words by Dean Newman
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