10 Essential Summer Blockbusters That Aren't Part Of A Franchise

Late April/early May usually means spring, but in Hollywood it heralds the arrival of the summer. With Avengers: Age Of Ultron open on both sides of the Atlantic, blockbuster season is now well and truly underway, and between now and mid-September studios are set to release a host of the biggest movies they have to offer. The 2015 edition has been particularly hyped, and with good reason: Age Of Ultron aside, there€™s also Mad Max: Fury Road, Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys, Minions, Fantastic Four, Ant-Man and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation to name but a few. What all of those have in common, aside from big budgets and an even bigger sense of excitement, is that they€™re all tied to a franchise in some way or another. This is a continuation of the trend seen over the years, where the majority of blockbusters tend to be a sequel or a prequel, a reboot or a remake, or just part of a larger movie universe. It€™s an understandable approach - franchises are a guaranteed money-maker - but one that can leave original films struggling, as evidenced by the situation with last year€™s excellent Edge Of Tomorrow. The film didn€™t perform well at the box office - although part of that may have been the confusing marketing of the film, which has continued with its DVD/Blu-Ray release (can they decide on what this movies actually called already?!) - and prompted Warner Bros. then moved their other big, non-franchise hope - Jupiter Ascending - to a March death-slot. But the good news is that there are still films determined to have a go at breaking through the franchise monopoly, and showing that€™s there€™s still room for original content during the summer months. Here are ten 2015 summer releases that are delightfully franchise free.