What movie are you anticipating this summer?

Or is it already out and declared a hit? We“re looking at you “Avengers: Endgame”“ with your $2.6 billion, so far.

Summer is the time of year when people seek the cool, dark environs of a movie theater for a moment of escape from the heat, work or your kids who are not interested in that summer reading list.

Many of SBR“s sportsbooks encourage you to get in on the action by offering wagers on who will win the weekend and seasonal box office totals.

Back in the day, summer was the dead season for movies as families were on vacation — soaking up sun on a beach or the cross-country road trip visiting Reptile World or Old Faithful. Consider yourself lucky if you had two or three decent releases in the summer.

That all changed in 1975 when “Jaws,”“ a movie that turned those idyllic vacations into terror trips as a killer great white shark feasted on tourists in the waters off fictional New England resort of Amity Island.

With that single movie, the film industry saw dollar signs and a movie dead zone became a plush, money-making venture.

Now the summer season is like a hardworking theater popcorn machine ”“ noisy, hot, and full of action, action, and more action.

And if you haven“t figured it out, the “summer”“ season starts earlier it seems every year. It used to be the Memorial Day weekend, but as the movie calendar fills with new titles, the studios have chosen to premiere movies earlier in May, or as in “Avengers: Endgame,”“ the end of April.

And considering the list of summer movies, “Endgame”“ may have gone out as the pace car, but it will surely win the summer ”“ not to say that there won“t be some really successful runner-ups.

Here are our predictions in order of the also-rans who would love to threaten The Avengers but will come woefully short:

“The Lion King”“ (July 19 premiere; IMDB projected total box office: $720 million) ”“ We admit we“re looking very forward to this photorealistic CGI remake of this Disney classic. The original“s lifetime gross was $422 million and this film with its realistic look, star power (including James Earl Jones back as Mufasa, Beyonce as Nala and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar) and heartfelt story appeals to children and parents alike.
“Toy Story 4”“ (June 21; $600 million) ”“ Honestly, we might be overestimating where this might fall. The buzz (pun intended) about the further adventures of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the toy box isn“t as strong because, frankly, the previews are kinda meh. We were happy with the series ending at three, but we“ll still go see it but Spidey may give it a run for its money.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home”“ (July 2, $415 million) ”“ The success of “Endgame”“ could make this movie BIG or folks may have superhero fatigue. But then again, it“s Tom Holland in the suit and facing a new villain, Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal.
“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw”“ (August 2, $295 million) ”“ Yeah, we“re ranking this fairly high after seeing the trailer. It looks so over the top, such as Dwayne Johnson lassoing a helicopter and Jason Statham being, well, Jason Statham. It made us laugh, and by August we“ll be so tired of the heat we“ll need some cheering up.
“Pokemon Detective Pikachu”“ (released May 10, $94 million so far) ”“ We think Pikachu will out earn “Aladdin.”“ Yep, we said it.

What“s left: “Men in Black International”“ (June 14, $210 million) “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”“ (May 30, $200 million); “Rocketman”“ (May 30, $175 million); “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”“ (July 26, $145 million); “John Wick: Chapter 3 ”“ Parabellum”“ (opened May 17, $57 million so far)

*Jaws image from IMDB
**Featured image from GQ India

Author Profile

Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!