Ranked: Every Summer Movie Season Since 1980 – Part 1 of 3 (UPDATED)

What is the best summer movie season ever? Which one was the worst? Join us as we compare every summer movie season since 1980! (Part 1 of 3)

On January 20th, 1975, Steven Spielberg and Universal Studios released Jaws. The movie landscape would be forever changed from that date. Jaws is widely credited as being the first blockbuster film because it was the first movie to make over $100 million (non-adjusted). The fact that the film had a meager $8 million budget meant that it was a huge cash cow for the studio and rocketed Spielberg to the the forefront of a new generation of filmmakers for a new era of movie mass-consumption.

George Lucas followed up in 1977 with Star Wars, which became a sensational and very profitable hit. It helped to convince production studios that audiences wanted movies that allowed them to escape into new worlds and be entertained like never before. Jaws and Star Wars convinced studios that by investing more money to increase production values and scope, audiences would reward them with their money.

While technically a blockbuster can happen any time of the year, it is the summer months when studios have traditionally decided to load up on the releases of their biggest films. The logic behind this business decision is solid. During the summer months kids, teens, and college students don’t have school. They are the ones who studios target with their big-budget spectacles, and during the summer months they have the freedom to visit the movie theater more often. Furthermore, many people take vacations in summer, and therefore less people are at work in general. What better way to enjoy your time away from the stresses of work than to get lost in a movie?

Back in 2014 I created an algorithm to compare summer movie seasons. The purpose of this algorithm is to determine which summer movie seasons were the best, and which have been the worse. But a lot has changed in the movie landscape since 2014. While studios saw increased business and interest in their big-budget summer movies during the end of the 2010 decade, the impact of the pandemic and explosion of streaming options have had a negative impact on what had been traditionally the most exciting part of the year for those of us who watch films. I was interested to see just how significant the decline had been over the last three years, and to do so I decided to input those years into my summer movie algorithm.

Over the next week or so I will release my ranking of every summer movie season from 1980 to today (that’s 43 years of movies!). Hollywood had to do its fair share of experimenting over the years to determine what types of films would be most successful, and audience taste has certainly changed quicker than studios could catch up. As a result, some summer movie seasons have been better than others. We’ve reviewed them all for you and ranked them from worst to best. Check back later for Part 2 and 3!

Part 1 = #43 to #28

Part 2 = #27 to #11

Part 3 = #10-1

To rank the summer movie seasons, I created an algorithm that utilizes several criteria. The algorithm looked at 4 criteria to determine how to rank the summer movie seasons:

1. Average Quality of the Movies Released
2. Quantity of Movies Released
3. Variety of Movies Released (Genres)
4. Popularity of Movies Released (Box Office Data)

Here is a diagram that explains all of the data that is listed below:

(Note – Starting in 2015, I began using total worldwide gross to define movie earnings, rather than just domestic box office gross. This is because most movies now make more money overseas than they do domestically. Likewise, the signifier for a “Stud” has been increased to $250 million to compensate.)

Now that we have all this data, let’s put it to good use! Here’s our ranking of summer movie seasons, from worst to best:

#43 – 2020

This one should be no surprise. With the pandemic raging and lock downs in effect, many studios delayed the release of their 2020 summer films. The only traditional big-budget release was Tenet. Films that did choose to release were ones which the studios didn’t really have high hopes for, or were also released to streaming services, hurting their bottom line. 2020 was an unprecedented year for many reasons, and so it is no surprise that it ranks as the worst summer movie season ever.

#42 – 2003

Summer 2003 has 3 memorable films: X2, Finding Nemo, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Besides those films, it’s extremely forgettable. In fact, almost all of the other films released are downright terrible. Only Finding Nemo and Spy Kids 3-D have good ratings. 2003 has one of the worst ratios of hits vs. misses, and has fewer films released than those years around it, a low variety among hit films, and has the lowest quality of any year. For these reasons, it ranks second-worst of all time.

Studs:

• X2 – May 2003 – $214m (87%)
• The Matrix Reloaded – May 2003 – $281m (73%)
• Bruce Almighty – May 2003 – $242m (48%)
• Finding Nemo – May 2003 – $242m (99%)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – June 2003 – $305m (79%)

Duds:

• Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd – June 2003 – $26m ($30m) (10%)
• Hollywood Homicide – June 2003 – $30m ($75m) (30%)
• Hulk – June 2003 – $132m ($137m) (62%)
• Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle – June 2003 – $100m ($120m) (44%)
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines – July 2003 – $150m ($170m) (70%)
• Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas – July 2003 – $26m ($60m) (46%)
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – July 2003 – $66m ($78m) (17%)
• Johnny English – July 2003 – $28m ($45m) (33%)
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life – July 2003 – $65m ($90m) (24%)
• Gigli – August 2003 – $6m ($54m) (6%)
• The Medallion – August 2003 – $22m ($41m) (18%)

Notables:

Daddy Day Care (28%), The Italian Job (73%), 2 Fast 2 Furious (36%), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde (38%), Bad Boys II (23%), Seabiscuit (77%), Spy Kids 3-D (93%), American Wedding (55%), Freaky Friday (88%), Freddy vs. Jason (41%), Open Range (79%)

#41 – 1992

Unforgiven is really the only stand-out movie to come out in the summer of 1992. There’s not much more to say.  

Studs:

• Lethal Weapon 3 – May 1992 – $144m (56%)
• Sister Act – May 1992 – $139m (71%)
• Batman Returns – June 1992 – $162m (81%)
• A League of Their Own – July 1992 – $107m (76%)
• Unforgiven – August 1992 – $101m (95%)

Duds:

• Alien 3 – May 1992 – $54m ($55m) (43%)
• Far and Away – May 1992 – $58m ($60m) (50%)
• Cool World – July 1992 – $14m ($30m) (4%)
• Death Becomes Her – July 1992 – $58m ($55m) (43%)

Notables:

Encino Man (16%), Patriot Games (76%), Unlawful Entry (75%), Universal Soldier (18%), Honey I Blew Up The Kid (41%), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (33%)

#40 – 1990 

1990 doesn’t have that many flops, but it doesn’t have many hits either. In fact, it doesn’t have a whole lot of anything. Without much quantity, there isn’t much variety. For this reason, Ghost ended up being the highest grossing film of the year besides Home Alone. I guess you can’t blame audiences too much.

Studs:

• Total Recall – June 1990 – $112m (84%)
• Dick Tracy – June 1990 – $103m (64%)
• Die Hard 2 – July 1990 – $117m (66%)
• Ghost – July 1990 – $217m (74%)

Duds:

• Gremlins 2: The New Batch – June 1990 – $41m ($50m) (69%)
• Navy Seals – July 1990 – $24m ($21m) (19%)
• Air America – August 1990 – $31m ($35m) (13%)

Notables:

Back to the Future Part III (73%), Bird on a Wire (32%), Robocop 2 (32%), Days of Thunder (39%), Arachnophobia (91%), Flatliners (48%), Darkman (82%)

#39 – 1993

Jurassic Park may have spawned the modern era of blockbuster films where the focus is on amazing visuals, but 1993 didn’t do anything else to inspire audiences to go to the movie theater. Besides The Fugitive, 1993 is lacking any sort of excitement.

Studs:

• Jurassic Park – June 1993 – $395m (93%)
• The Firm – June 1993 – $158m (75%)
• Sleepless in Seattle – June 1993 – $126m (72%)
• In The Line of Fire – July 1993 – $102m (95%)
• The Fugitive – August 1993 – $183m (96%)

Duds:

• Excessive Force – May 1993 – $1.5m ($13m) (35%)
• Super Mario Brothers – May 1993 – $20m ($42m) (16%)
• Last Action Hero – June 1993 – $50m ($85m) (38%)
• Another Stakeout – July 1993 – $20m ($30m) (14%)
• So I Married an Axe Murderer – July 1993 – $11m ($20m) (52%)
• The Meteor Man – July 1993 – $8m ($30m) (29%)

Notables:

Dave (94%), Menace II Society (85%), Cliffhanger (69%), Free Willy (57%), Hocus Pocus (33%) , Coneheads (34%)

#38 – 1991

Terminator 2 may be the perfect summer movie, but everything else from 1991 is rather lackluster at best. Hudson Hawk and The Rocketeer are two excellent examples of how Hollywood’s experimentation to create the ultimate summer film sometimes backfired.

Studs:

• City Slickers – June 1991 – $124m (90%)
• Robin Hood: Price of Thieves – June 1991 – $165m (50%)
• Terminator 2: Judgement Day – July 1991 – $204m (92%)

       Duds:

• Stone Cold – May 1991 – $9m ($25m) (29%)
• Hudson Hawk – May 1991 – $17m ($65m) (24%)
• The Rocketeer – June 1991 – $46m ($42m) (61%)
• Barton Fink – August 1991 – $5m ($9m) (91%)
• Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man – August 1991 – $7m ($23m) (24%)

       Notables:

Backdraft (71%), Thelma & Louise (83%), Point Break (68%), Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (57%), Hot Shots! (83%)

#37 -2010

2010 has the second most flops of any year. It features 3 films that lost over $100 million, and has the third lowest average movie score. It also features a $150 million movie that has a rating of less than 10%, and Marmaduke in case your forgot that it existed.

         Studs:

• Iron Man 2 – May 2010 – $312m (73%)
• Shrek Forever After – May 2010 – $238m (58%)
• Toy Story 3 – June 2010 – $415m (99%)
• The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – June 2010 – $300m (49%)
• Despicable Me – July 2010 – $251m (81%)
• Inception – July 2010 – $292m (86%)

         Duds:

• Robin Hood – May 2010 – $105m ($210m) (33%)
• Sex and the City 2 – May 2010 – $95m ($95m) (15%)
• Prince of Persia: Sands of Time – May 2010 – $90m ($200m) (36%)
• Killers – June 2010 – $47m ($75m) (11%)
• Marmaduke – June 2010 – $33m ($50m) (9%)
• Splice – June 2010 – $17m ($30m) (74%)
• The A-Team – June 2010 – $77m ($110m) (47%)
• Jonah Hex – June 2010 – $10m ($45m) (12%)
• Knight and Day – June 2010 – $76m ($117m) (53%)
• The Last Airbender – July 2010 – $131m ($150m) (6%)
• The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – July 2010 – $63m ($160m) (41%)
• Salt – July 2010 – $118m ($130m) (62%)
• Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore – July 2010 – $45m ($85m) (14%)
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – August 2010 – $31m ($85m) (82%)
• Nanny McPhee Returns – $29m ($35m) (76%)

         Notables:

Get Him to the Greek (73%), The Karate Kid (66%), Grown Ups (10%), Predators (64%), Dinner for Schmucks (42%), The Other Guys (79%), Eat Pray Love (36%), The Expendables (31%), The Last Exorcism (72%)

#36 – 1985

Unlike almost every other year in the 80’s, 1985 is mostly devoid of films that would later become classics. Sure, there’s Back to the Future and The Goonies, but everything else is forgettable or wasn’t popular enough at the time of its release to make a difference in these rankings. A View to A Kill might be one of the lowlights of the James Bond franchise, The Wizard of Oz didn’t need a sequel 46 years later, and The Black Cauldron represented everything that was wrong with Disney in the 1980’s.

Studs:

• Rambo: First Blood – Part II – May 1985 – $150m (29%)
• A View To A Kill – May 1985 – $50m (36%)
• The Goonies – June 1985 – $61m (67%)
• Cocoon – July 1985 – $76m (80%)
• Back to the Future – July 1985 – $210m (96%)

Duds:

• Lifeforce – June 1985 – $11m ($25m) (67%)
• Return to Oz – June 1985 – $10m ($27m) (55%)
• The Black Cauldron – July 1985 – $21m ($44m) (55%)
• Explorers – July 1985 – $9m ($25m estimated) (77%)
• American Flyers -August 1985 – $1.5m ($8.5m) (63%)

Notables:

Brewster’s Millions (38%), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (81%), European Vacation (38%), Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (92%), Better Off Dead… (82%)

#35 – 2004

2004 featured a Spielberg movie that flopped (Terminal), a comic book film with a rating less than 10%, a Will Smith action flick that didn’t make a lot of money, and all of the hits except one were sequels. Those things are rare occurrences on their own, but together they make for one unfortunate summer movie season.

Studs:

• Shrek 2 – May 2004 – $441m (89%)
• The Day After Tomorrow – May 2004 – $186m (45%)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – June 2004 – $249m (84%)
• Spider-Man 2 – June 2004 – $373m (94%)
• The Bourne Supremacy – July 2004 – $176m (81%)

Duds:

• New York Minute – May 2004 – $14m ($40m) (11%)
• Van Helsing – May 2004 – $120m ($170m) (23%)
• Troy – May 2004 – $133m ($150m) (54%)
• Raising Helen – May 2004 – $37m ($50m) (23%)
• The Chronicles of Riddick – June 2004 – $57m ($120m) (29%)
• The Stepford Wives – June 2004 – $59m ($100m) (26%)
• Around the World in 80 Days – June 2004 – $24m ($110m) (31%)
• The Terminal – June 2004 – $77m ($75m) (61%)
• Two Brothers – June 2004 – $19m ($72m) (78%)
• King Arthur – July 2004 – $51m ($90m) (32%)
• Catwoman – July 2004 – $40m ($100m) (9%)
• The Manchurian Candidate – July 2004 – $65m ($80m) (81%)
• Thunderbirds – July 2004 – $6m ($55m) (19%)
• Exorcist: The Beginning – August 2004 – $41m ($78m) (11%)

Notables:

Napoleon Dynamite (71%), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (70%), Fahrenheit 9/11 (83%), White Chicks (15%), The Notebook (52%), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (66%), I, Robot (58%), Collateral (86%), The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (25%), AVP: Alien vs. Predator (21%)

#34 – 1997

1997 is the year of two Nicholas Cage movies released in a month, the Batman nipple suit, and Vince Vaughn playing a major role in an adventure film. If those things aren’t enough to make you cringe, then consider that 1997 features one of the biggest flops of all time (Speed 2), the fewest number of films released during the summer season since until 2020, and the second lowest average movie score overall.

Studs:

• The Lost World: Jurassic Park – May 1997 – $229m (52%)
• Con Air – June 1997 – $101m (55%)
• Face/Off – June 1997 – $112m (91%)
• My Best Friend’s Wedding – $146m (71%)
• Men in Black – July 1997 – $250m (92%)
• Contact – July 1997 – $100m (63%)
• George of the Jungle – July 1997 – $105m (56%)
• Air Force One – July 1997 – $172m (79%)

Duds:

• Warriors of Virtue – May 1997 – $6m ($35m) (18%)
• Father’s Day – May 1997 – $28m ($85m) (25%)
• The Fifth Element – June 1997 – $63m ($95m) (71%)
• Speed II: Cruise Control – June 1997 – $48m ($125m) (3%)
• Batman & Robin – June 1997 – $107m ($125m) (11%)
• Conspiracy Theory – August 1997 – $76m ($80m) (52%)
• Event Horizon – August 1997 – $26m ($60m) (24%)
• G.I. Jane – August 1997 – $48m ($50m) (55%)

Notables:

Austin Powers (70%), Spawn (19%), Money Talks (16%)

#33 – 2005

2005 gave birth to a number of different long-living franchises, and ended the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to push it further up this list. It has the second most number of flops, and the second-lowest average score. It features no films above a 90% rating.

Studs:

• Star Wars Episode III – May 2005 – $380m (80%)
• The Longest Yard – May 2005 – $158m (31%)
• Madagascar – May 2005 – $193m (55%)
• Mr. and Mrs. Smith – June 2005 – $186m (59%)
• Batman Begins – June 2005 – $205m (85%)
• War of the Worlds – June 2005 – $234m (74%)
• Fantastic Four – July 2005 – $154m (27%)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – July 2005 – $206m (82%)
• The Wedding Crashers – July 2005 – $209m (75%)

Duds:

• Kingdom of Heaven – May 2005 – $94m ($110m) (39%)
• Danny the Dog/Unleashed – May 2005 – $24m ($43m) (65%)
• Mindhunters – May 2005 – $4m ($27m) (25%)
• Cinderella Man – June 2005 – $61m ($88m) (80%)
• The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D – June 2005 – $39m ($50m) (20%)
• Bewitched – June 2005 – $63m ($80m) (25%)
• Rebound – July 2005 – $16m ($45m) (13%)
• Dark Water – July 2005 – $25m ($60m) (46%)
• The Island – July 2005 – $35m ($120m) (40%)
• Stealth – July 2005 – $32m ($138m) (13%)
• The Great Raid – August 2005 – $10m ($60m) (37%)
• Valiant – August 2005 – $19m ($35m) (31%)
• The Brothers Grimm – August 2005 – $37m ($80m) (38%)
• The Cave – August 2005 – $15m ($30m) (11%)

Notables:

Monster-In-Law (16%), The Dukes of Hazzard (17%), The Skeleton Key (38%), The 40-Year Old Virgin (85%), Red Eye (79%), The Constant Gardener (80%)

#32 – 1996

1996 gave audiences a lot of variety (and explosions), but not much quality. This year has the lowest average movie rating. The only film to have a rating above 80% is Courage Under Fire. This year’s hit with the highest rating is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Yep.

         Studs:

• Twister – May 1996 – $241m (58%)
• Mission: Impossible – May 1996 – $180m (61%)
• The Rock – June 1996 – $134m (66%)
• Eraser – June 1996 – $101m (36%)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame – June 1996 – $100m (73%)
• The Nutty Professor – June 1996 – $128m (65%)
• Independence Day – July 1996 – $306m (60%)
• Phenomenon – July 1996 – $104m (50%)
• A Time to Kill – July 1996 – $108m (67%)

Duds:

• Flipper – May 1996 – $20m ($25m) (32%)
• Dragonheart – May 1996 – $51m ($57m) (50%)
• The Phantom – June 1996 – $17m ($45m) (42%)
• Striptease – June 1996 – $33m ($50m) (12%)
• Multiplicity – July 1996 – $20m ($45m) (44%)
• Fled – July 1996 – $17m ($30m) (14%)
• The Adventures of Pinnochio – July 1996 – $15m ($25m) (27%)
• Kingpin – July 1996 – $25m ($25m) (50%)
• Chain Reaction – August 1996 – $21m ($55m) (16%)
• Escape from L.A. – August 1996 – $25m ($50m) (53%)
• The Fan – August 1996 – $18m ($55m) (38%)
• The Island of Dr. Moreau – August 1996 – $27m ($40m) (23%)

Notables:

Spy Hard (8%), The Cable Guy (54%), Courage Under Fire (85%)

#31 – 2006

2006 was the year of sequel missteps. The X-Men trilogy ended unconvincingly, the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel left more to be desired, Mission Impossible III failed to get people into theaters, and Bryan Singer’s attempt to continue the Superman franchise ended up being an expensive experiment only. Poseidon was one of the biggest flops of the last decade, and M. Night Shyamalan’s freefall from significance began.

Studs:

• The Da Vinchi Code – May 2006 – $217m (25%)
• Over the Hedge – May 2006 – $155m (75%)
• X-Men: The Last Stand – May 2006 – $234m (58%)
• Cars – June 2006 – $244m (74%)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – July 2006 – $432m (54%)

Duds:

• Mission: Impossible III – May 2006 – $133m ($150m) (70%)
• Poseidon – May 2006 – $60m ($160m) (33%)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift – June 2006 – $62m ($85m) (36%)
• Superman Returns – June 2006 – $200m ($232m) (76%)
• A Scanner Darkly – July 2006 – $5m ($20m) (69%)
• Little Man – July 2006 – $56m ($64m) (12%)
• Lady in the Water – July 2006 – $42m ($75m) (24%)
• Monster House – July 2006 – $73m ($75m) (74%)
• The Any Bully – July 2006 – $28m ($45m) (63%)
• Miami Vice – July 2006 – $63m ($135m) (47%)

Notables: 

The Break Up (33%), The Omen (27%), Nacho Libre (32%), Click (40%), The Devil Wears Prada (79%), You, Me, and Dupree (21%), Little Miss Sunshine (91%), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (72%), Step Up (19%), Snakes on a Plane (68%), The Illusionist (74%)

#30 – 1995

Waterworld is one of the biggest flops of all time. The movie that made the most money was Batman Forever. Disney’s hit was Pocahontas. These aren’t very impressive facts about 1995. It would have ended up much lower on this list, but it does have a large quantity of films, so at least moviegoers in the summer of 1995 had something to watch.   

Studs:

• Die Hard: With a Vengeance – May 1995 – $100m (51%)
• Casper – May 1995 – $100m (44%)
• Pocahontas – June 1995 – $141m (56%)
• Batman Forever – June 1995 – $184m (41%)
• Apollo 13 – June 1995 – $172m (95%)

Duds:

• The Perez Family – May 1995 – $2.7m ($11m) (63%)
• Braveheart – May 1995 – $75m ($72m) (78%)
• Johnny Mnemonic – May 1995 – $19m ($26m) (14%)
• Judge Dredd – June 1995 – $34m ($85m) (18%)
• First Knight – July 1995 – $37m ($75m) (47%)
• The Indian in the Cupboard – July 1995 – $35m ($45m) (70%)
• Under Siege 2: Dark Territory – July 1995 – $50m ($60m) (34%)
• Waterworld – July 1995 – $88m ($175m) (43%)
• Virtuosity – August 1995 – $24m ($30m) (33%)

Notables:

Crimson Tide (87%), Congo (20%), Clueless (81%), Species (35%), Babe (97%), The Usual Suspects (88%), Mortal Kombat (33%)

#29 – 2000

Gladiator was the breakout hit of 2000, making lots of money as well as earning critical praise. The X-Men franchise got its beginnings here, as did the Scary Movie franchise. But those films didn’t exactly blow us away. What allows the year 2000 to rank so low on this list (in addition to Battlefield Earth) is that it has a terrible average rating and a good amount of flops. However, I do like to point out how few sequels this year had.

Studs:

• Gladiator – May 2000 – $187m (76%)
• Mission: Impossible 2 – May 2000 – $215m (57%)
• The Perfect Storm – June 2000 – $182m (47%)
• Scary Movie – July 2000 – $157m (54%)
• X-Men – July 2000 – $157m (82%)
• What Lies Beneath – July 2000 – $155m (46%)

Duds:

• Battlefield Earth – May 2000 – $21m ($80m) (3%)
• Gone in 60 Seconds – June 2000 – $101m ($103m) (24%)
• Titan A.E. – June 2000 – $22m ($75m) (52%)
• The Patriot – June 2000 – $113m ($110m) (62%)
• The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle – $26m ($76m) (43%)
• The Kid – July 2000 – $69m ($65m) (49%)
• Hollow Man – August 2000 – $73m ($90m) (27%)
• The Replacements – August 2000 – $44m (50m) (40%)
• The Art of War – August 2000 – $30m ($40m) (16%)

Notables:

Dinosaur (65%), Shanghai Noon (79%), Big Momma’s House (30%), Shaft (68%), Chicken Run (97%), Me, Myself, & Irene (48%), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (26%), Coyote Ugly (22%), Space Cowboys (78%), The Cell (45%)

#28 – 2021

The year after the pandemic had its largest impact, theaters were still hurting. Many of the films that had been delayed from 2020 ended up getting delayed to winter 2021 or 2022. As a result, the films that did hit theaters in summer 2021 were pretty lackluster. There was not really a big hit, just a lot of films that flopped because audiences weren’t quite ready to get back to theaters (or they were able to watch those movies at home via streaming platforms).

Studs

• F9: The Fast Saga – May 2021 – $726m (59%)
• A Quiet Place Part 2 – May 2021 – $297m (91%)
• Black Widow – June 2021- $379m (79%)
• Free Guy – August 2021 – $331m (80%)

Duds

• Those Who Wish Me Dead – May 2021 – $23m ($20m) (62%)
• In the Heights – June 2021 – $45m ($55m) (94%)
• The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard – June 2021 – $70m ($70m) (26%)
• The Tomorrow War – July 2021 – $19m ($200m) (52%)
• Space Jam: A New Legacy – July 2021 – $163m ($150m) (26%)
• Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins – July 2021 – $40m ($110m) (35%)
• Jungle Cruise – July 2021 – $220m ($200m) (62%)
• The Suicide Squad – July 2021 – $168m ($185m) (90%)
• Respect – August 2021 – $33m ($55m) (68%)
• Reminiscence – August 2021 – $16m ($68m) (36%)
• The Protege – August 2021 – $8m (?) (62%)

Notables:

Spiral (37%), Cruella (74%), Luca (91%), The Boss Baby: Family Business (46%), Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (51%), The Forever Purge (49%), Old (50%), Stillwater (73%), Candyman (84%), Paw Patrol: The Movie (80%)

Click here for Part 2 of this list!