The Telescope

Issue Date: 8/25/08

Summer blockbusters

By Monique Garcia

Heath Ledger stars as Joker in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' action drama "The Dark Knight," distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The movie also stars Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman.

Robert Downey, Jr. stars as billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) in "Iron Man." The movie grossed $33.4 million at the box office opening day.

Edward Norton stars in the latest Hulk film.

Famed HBO series "Sex and the City" about Carrie Bradshaw and her three friends finally made its debut in theaters.

Harrison Ford, left, and Shia LaBeouf co-star in Paramount Pictures'' thrill-adventure "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Angelina Jolie thrills audiences in the action movie "Wanted."

Summer blockbuster veteran Will Smith stars in the superhero flick "Hancock."

This summer's box office was a success. Perhaps the poor economy combined with over inflated gas prices had everyone searching for a retreat not too far from home, or maybe this summer's movies were just that good. Whatever the reason, summer box office revenues have exceeded last year's, making history with record highs, according to Variety.

With summer of 2007 filled with big franchises like "Spider-Man," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Shrek" there was much speculation as to how well this summer's box office would play out compared to last year's best summer ever. Variety said, with this season coming to an end, the summer revenues are surpassing summer 2007 by 4 percent, giving a boost to an overall decline that has cursed the box office for most of this year.

So just what movies helped make Hollywood history? Here are some of this summer's top Hollywood hits:


Dark Knight

Despite the fact that many of this summer's movies enjoyed better than expected numbers, it is Warner Bros. "Dark Knight" that steals the credit for boosting box office revenues for the highest summer in history. "Dark Knight" is the sixth Batman film to hit the theaters, but with people rushing to catch a glimpse of Bruce Wayne's next adventure there is no doubt everyone still loves the Batman franchise. "Dark Knight" has now set the record for the most money grossed for midnight shows with $18.5 million as well as the best three-day opening ever, moving ahead of Spider-Man 3, which grossed $151 million in 2007. Christopher Nolan's sequel to "Batman Begins" truly takes the Batman franchise to a new level. Christian Bale, who stars as Bruce Wayne, is among the best actors to portray Batman yet, but it is Heath Ledger's Joker who steals the show. The movie to date has grossed $441.6 million. Nolan hints that there is another sequel to follow, which everyone will be eagerly anticipating.


Iron Man

This Paramount and Marvel Studios' film launched this summer season on May 2nd with big numbers, a monstrous $33.4 million at the domestic box office opening day. According to Variety, "Iron Man" acquired the title for the second-best Friday in history of a non-sequel and also captured the title for one of the highest all-time openers ever. This new "Iron Man" franchise grossed a total of $201 million worldwide in its first five days. Director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr. apparently satisfied audiences with this Marvel superhero flick. Favreau's film primarily focuses on the evolution of Tony Stark and Iron Man, which leaves much of the story untold. After raking in a total of $316.5 million to date, there just might be another "Iron Man" movie to follow.


Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This fourth emergence of Indiana Jones had many skeptics. Since the beginning there was talk of Harrison Ford being too old to play an action hero. But box office revenues speak for themselves. Director Steven Spielberg's newest action-adventure classic generated $314.7 million, which is a tremendous feat considering the last Indiana Jones adventure, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," was released 19 years ago. Although this latest venture just doesn't quite have the same zest as the three previous, who doesn't love Indiana Jones? "Crystal Skull" actually now holds the title for the second-best Memorial Day release ever, falling short of last year's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." Ford proves that he is and always will be the Indiana Jones, but also provides another classic film that kids and adults can all enjoy.


Hancock

It's no surprise that Sony's Hancock scored big at the box office. Due to Will Smith's blockbuster reputation with summer hits like "Independence Day," the "Men in Black" series, and "I, Robot," Smith was able to open up his latest film right before the Fourth of July to an estimated $103.9 million. "Hancock," a mixture of comedy and action-adventure, snagged the title for the third-biggest Fourth of July opener of all time after "Transformers" and "Spider-Man 2." Smith, who stars with Charlize Theron, shows us yet another adventure, but this time as a drunken superhero. Is there anything Will Smith can't do? "Hancock" provides a nice twist to the typical superhero story keeping the movie downright entertaining. Sony's film grossed to date a total of $221.7 million.


Sex and the City: The Movie

The much anticipated "Sex and the City" movie satisfied women everywhere who simply needed to know what happened to Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big. In the past, Hollywood has struggled with TV shows moving to the big screen. But New Line's newest follow-up to the hit HBO series grossed a total of $151.8 million, making it one of the blockbuster hits of the summer. Now this isn't to say that "Sex and the City" translated perfectly to the big screen. In fact, there were plenty of slow moments in the film that would indicate that writer-director Michael Patrick King had difficulty expanding a thirty-minute TV series to a full two hours and twenty-five minutes. However, if you loved the series it's easy to look past the flaws and focus and what you really care about: Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha.


Incredible Hulk

The most recent release is the second film starring Marvel's popular green monster. After Ang Lee's 2003 film failed miserably at the box office there were plenty of doubts about whether or not Marvel's latest feature would do any better. While Lee's movie focused primarily on Bruce Banner's childhood and the beginning of Hulk, the Marvel's latest release, "Incredible Hulk," explores the rest of the story unleashing tons of fast action and excitement throughout the entire film. Edward Norton, who stars as Banner, and co-star Liv Tyler were able to bring in gargantuan numbers, producing the best Father's Day weekend opening ever, beating last year's "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," which grossed $58 million. To date, "Incredible Hulk" has grossed a colossal $133.8 million total since its debut back in June.


Wanted

Another Angelina Jolie film draws in huge audiences. This film about a team of super-assassins actually exceeded expectations, grossing an estimated $51.1 million opening weekend. It is clear that there is a demand for Jolie in violent action flicks. "Wanted" not only turned out "the best opening ever for an R-rated film released in June" but also "the sixth best of all time for any R-rated" film, according to Variety. This fast paced aggressive film was loaded with death and destruction, making it nothing but entertaining to watch from the very opening scene. There is no wonder why "Wanted" has grossed a total of $132.6 million from the time of its release.

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