It’s the middle of August, the sun is out, the kids are off school and the beer gardens are full. The arrival of summer use to mean many things to us Brits, the sound of ice cream vans, squeezing into our ‘holiday clothes’ to enjoy a BBQ or two and once upon a time attending the cinema to see the annual summer blockbuster. But like our weather the summer blockbuster has become in recent years less punctual, no longer are there queues around the block to see the annual extravaganza of budget busting special effects, high action and big names. Has the summer blockbuster gone the same way as the well-known video hire store or have we simply become desensitized to it?
The summer blockbuster is a recent phenomenon, while there has always been films released that have pushed the boundaries of cinematic expectations the arrival of the annual ‘must-see’ summer film began in the 1970s. Many see Steven Spielberg’s Jaws released in the summer of 1975 as the first of this genre. To be classified as a summer blockbuster usually the film in question must be a big budget affair, with the latest special effects, plenty of action, feature the biggest names in Hollywood of the time and appeal to a wide audience.
It could be argued that Jaws, if released at a different time of year, may not have become the iconic film that it is today. Nor could it have become as successful as it did – after all timing is everything. But was it the ingenious planning behind the release date of the film that was responsible for its record-breaking success? Jaws was the first film to ever reach the golden 100-million-dollar number at the American box office within 60 days of its release on 20th June 1975. Of course this was in America, here in the UK it arrived much later in the traditionally more profitable time for cinemas in December 1975.
The decision to release Jaws in the summer months was a bold one that went against the trend for big film releases. Until this point the most profitable time of the year for cinemas was around Christmas when audiences flocked to the cinema either to get out of the cold or to mark a special time of the year. The summer months were seen by studios as a difficult period in which they avoided releasing films fearing poor audience numbers at a time when audiences would be spending their time and money on holidays. Alternatively - prior to the birth of the summer blockbuster - films aimed at teenagers and children would take president on the cinema listings.
Following the success of Jaws in the mid1970s the summer blockbuster became an expectation of audiences and films such as Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979), Indiana Jones (1981), Back to the Future (1985), Batman (1989), Jurassic Park (1993), and Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) followed.
Like cinema’s themselves the business of filmmaking - particularly the distribution of films - has changed dramatically since the mid 1970s. Back in a time when TV was threatening the success of cinema releases, today streaming services are a greater threat to audience attendance numbers than a giant shark to a small boat. The number of cinemas operating in the UK has been falling for some time, the closure of a number of Odeon sites in recent weeks is evidence of this shift in audience attitudes. Why attend a cinema to view the latest releases when online streaming services offer us the latest films to watch from the comfort of our own sofas? Has the summer blockbuster lost its edge? Has it lost its ability to ‘wow’ us without the assistance of the acoustics of a purpose-built cinema screen to enhance every sound and intensify the experience of a high action finale?
It could be argued that the cinema experience has evolved greatly in an attempt to lure us back into a purpose-built environment designed to enhance a film’s mise-en-scene. IMAX screens are now more widespread and the introduction of sofas and less restrictive seating options is increasing. The recent restoration of Sutton Coldfield’s the Royal Cinema is a great example of this new style of cinema seating on offer.
Just like cinemas themselves the summer blockbuster has evolved in recent years as audience tastes have become more sophisticated. While there may still be a market for the traditional high action, big name films with grand finales such as the Marvel films, the summer blockbuster now seems to be a more intelligent affair. In 2023 the two films batting it out at the box office divided audiences into two camps - almost girls Vs boys you may say. The Barbie film staring Margot Robbie took us on a journey of self-discovery while Oppenheimer staring Cillian Murphy was a biographical thriller focusing on the development of nuclear weapons in World War 2 – pretty heavy stuff as Marty McFly would say.
The latest offerings for 2024 seem more light-hearted and action focused with a welcome return to the screen for Deadpool and Wolverine and a bit of a retro throwback, Alien: Romulus – very apt for a nostalgic audience. Perhaps the summer blockbuster isn’t dead after all its simply a chameleon continuously adapting to society’s whimsical needs in order to survive.
