The 10 Biggest Summer Blockbusters Of The Last Decade

Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws premiered on June 20, 1975, and became a huge hit with American audiences, essentially creating the idea of the “summer blockbuster.” The scary movie about a shark earned $450 million around the world, and its release date played a part in its success.

Movie ticket sales typically increase during the summer months. This is because families want to keep their children entertained while school is out, and many people are simply looking for fun evening activities. This busy season for theaters generally lasts from the first Friday in May until Labor Day.

Let’s be honest, the old magic of summer blockbusters isn’t quite what it used to be, especially after everything that happened with the pandemic. But don’t count it out just yet! Summer movies still bring in a huge chunk of the yearly box office – around 40%, according to the Los Angeles Times. Last year, 2025, the summer movie season raked in over $3.6 billion domestically, proving people still head to the theaters when the weather heats up.

Studios often save their biggest and most popular movies for release during the summer, when more people go to the cinema. This creates a competitive period with many blockbuster films vying for attention. While family-friendly movies, superhero films, and sequels usually perform the best, there have been occasional surprises where different films have become major hits.

It’s only been a few days since the summer movie season began, but people are already debating which of the big releases will be the biggest hit of 2026. Looking at the most successful summer movies from the past ten years (according to Box Office Mojo) might give us some clues.

Finding Dory (2016)

After a thirteen-year wait, the Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory, absolutely dominated the box office when it arrived in 2016. Released on June 17th, it quickly raked in $482.8 million by Labor Day. This heartwarming family film ultimately became the year’s biggest hit, earning a massive $486.2 million domestically and exceeding $1 billion worldwide. It was a huge success!

Everyone expected Finding Dory to be a huge success, especially heading into the summer movie season. It was made by the trusted studios at Disney-Pixar, built on the popularity of the original film, and starred a well-known cast. The team behind the 2003 hit, Finding Nemo – including director Andrew Stanton and stars Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks – all returned for this long-awaited sequel.

Wonder Woman (2017)

Superhero films consistently dominate the summer box office, and 2017 was no different. Warner Bros. released the first Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot on June 2nd. By Labor Day, it had earned over $409.5 million in the United States and Canada.

Although Wonder Woman was the biggest hit of the summer, Star Wars: The Last Jedi ultimately earned more overall for the year. However, Wonder Woman‘s success during the summer months was still remarkable.

In a surprising turn of events, the DC Universe film Wonder Woman outperformed Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Homecoming, earning over $78 million more. What’s even more remarkable is that Wonder Woman achieved this success with a smaller budget – $149 million compared to the $175 million spent on Spider-Man.

Incredibles 2 (2018)

Fourteen years after the first Incredibles movie ended, the sequel, Incredibles 2, finally came out. The film marked director Brad Bird’s return to the series after a long wait.

The new Disney-Pixar movie captured the heart and excitement of the original, now with even better animation. Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter returned to voice their iconic characters, and director Brad Bird once again brought his popular character, Edna Mode, to life.

When The Incredibles 2 came out on June 15th, it was a huge hit! By Labor Day, it had earned $602.5 million in the U.S. and ultimately made $608.5 million domestically and over $1 billion around the world. While The Incredibles 2 was the top movie of the summer, Black Panther ended up being the highest-grossing film of the entire year.

The Lion King (2019)

As a Disney fan, I’ve noticed they consistently make money with their live-action remakes, and The Lion King was no exception! It continued the trend of turning our favorite animated movies into big box office hits.

The movie became well-known for its incredible computer-generated imagery, which closely mirrored the original animated film. It also boasted a famous cast, including Beyoncé as Nala, Donald Glover as Simba, and James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa.

On July 19, 2019, Disney debuted its live-action version of The Lion King. The film, directed by Jon Favreau, quickly became a huge success, earning $523.5 million in the U.S. by Labor Day. Worldwide, it ultimately grossed an impressive $1.6 billion.

Although The Lion King earned a lot of money, Avengers: Endgame actually made more that year. However, with over a billion dollars in earnings, The Lion King was Disney’s most successful live-action remake to date.

Tenet (2020)

In the summer of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, movie theaters closed down. Film studios delayed releasing their movies, hoping to release them when theaters reopened and would be more profitable. Despite this, Christopher Nolan’s film, Tenet, offered a glimmer of hope for the future of movie theaters.

Originally planned for release on July 17th, Warner Bros. delayed the premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet to September 3rd, as reported by Variety. The film earned $19 million domestically during its first five days in theaters over the summer. Following Labor Day, Tenet ultimately grossed $58.5 million in the U.S. and $365.3 million around the world.

While Tenet performed reasonably well during the pandemic, it became more popular after being made available on demand. Despite a return to theaters in 2022, this didn’t significantly boost its total earnings.

Black Widow (2021)

As a movie fan, it was really tough seeing how empty theaters were during the summer of 2021. Even though studios started releasing films again, it didn’t really make a big difference in getting people back to the cinema. It felt like they were hesitant, and honestly, it showed. We all wanted things to go back to normal, but it just wasn’t happening yet.

Disney delayed the release of Black Widow in theaters from early May to July 9th and also made it available to stream on Disney+ for an extra cost (according to Reuters). This decision to release the film both in theaters and on streaming at the same time caused disagreement, especially among movie theater owners. Despite this, Black Widow still performed well in theaters, given the unusual circumstances.

The Marvel movie earned $182.6 million in the U.S. by Labor Day. When it finished playing in theaters, Black Widow had made a total of $183.6 million domestically and $379.7 million around the world.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Movie theaters saw a huge jump in ticket sales, reaching levels not seen since before the pandemic, thanks to the incredibly successful release of Top Gun: Maverick. The long-awaited sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun premiered on May 27, 2022.

The Tom Cruise film Maverick made over $700 million in the U.S. during its theatrical run, eventually earning $718.7 million domestically. Globally, the movie earned almost $1.5 billion, and has now reached a total of $3.3 billion in combined earnings.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the film was a huge hit, staying in the top ten at the box office for twenty weeks straight. It became the highest-earning movie of 2022 in the US. According to Box Office Mojo, it’s now one of the top five highest-grossing PG-13 movies ever released in the United States.

Barbie (2023)

In summer 2023, the internet dropped a genius marketing ploy into distributors’ laps.

On July 21, 2023, two very different movies – the bright and playful Barbie and the serious historical drama Oppenheimer – were released in theaters on the same day. This led to a popular online trend called “Barbenheimer,” where people watched both films back-to-back.

Both films were huge successes, but Barbie earned slightly more. Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, Barbie grossed $612.3 million in the U.S. before Labor Day, and $636.2 million overall. Worldwide, the film earned an impressive $1.4 billion, with combined earnings reaching $4 billion—surpassing some box office numbers from before the pandemic.

Inside Out 2 (2024)

Inside Out 2 was a much bigger hit in theaters than the first movie, thanks to its already popular fanbase. The new film continued Riley Andersen’s story, exploring how she grows emotionally and introducing feelings like nostalgia and anxiety.

Disney’s Inside Out 2 came out on June 14th, right in the middle of the summer movie season. By Labor Day, the Pixar film had earned over $650.8 million in the U.S. and a total of $652.9 million within the country, with a global total of $1.6 billion.

The second Inside Out movie earned over $296 million more in the U.S. and $839 million globally than the first film. It was the biggest box office hit of 2024, surpassing even the highly anticipated Wicked.

Lilo & Stitch (2025)

The live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch was a major summer hit, becoming the second Disney remake in the last ten years to reach the top of the box office. Although it didn’t quite perform as well as the 2019 remake of The Lion King, it still dominated theaters in 2025. The film successfully reimagined the beloved 2002 animated classic, costing around $100 million to produce.

Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch came out on May 23, 2025, right at the start of the summer blockbuster season. By Labor Day, the movie had already earned $423.3 million in the United States. Ultimately, Lilo & Stitch made $423.7 million domestically and over $1 billion around the world.

The hit movie was the second-highest-earning film of 2025, only surpassed by A Minecraft Movie. With the recent success of the live-action Lilo & Stitch, the upcoming Moana movie, scheduled for release in July 2026, looks promising.

2026-05-09 18:44