10 Most Important And Influential Summer Blockbusters Of All-Time
1. Jaws
Jaws is such an important landmark in cinema, that the very idea of the summer blockbuster didn't exist until Steven Spielberg's famously-troubled breakout movie, which served as the catalyst for the wide release model that the business is still incredibly reliant on to drive business to this day.
One of the several entries on this list to have assumed the title of highest-grossing movie ever made, the marketing blitz that accompanied Jaws completely changed the game, as the slow roll-out method was swiftly abandoned in favor of an all-out nationwide release designed to capitalize on the buzz being at it's hottest, allowing the studios to sit back and wait for the cash to start rolling in.
Blockbuster cinema will always be split into two categories of pre-Jaws and post-Jaws, with the summer season never the same again as Hollywood focused on the sunniest time of year to bombard audiences with their biggest and best movies, and almost half a century later the strategy remains as solid and reliable as ever.