The Panda's 100 Most Important Blockbusters (From 1975 to Now)

[chasmmi]

People giving ratings, are you rating how good you think the film was or how important?

 

Because I don't think Panda is claiming this to be a list of the greatest blockbusters of all time

[The Panda]

People giving ratings, are you rating how good you think the film was or how important?

 

Because I don't think Panda is claiming this to be a list of the greatest blockbusters of all time

 

If I were doing that Snyder and Bay would have no place near this list.

 

83

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

This movie managed a surprise win in its summer, but honestly despite its impressive box office that is not the reason I am putting it on this list.  The reason really has to do with the fact that Disney worked together with many other studios in a way to make this movie featuring characters from everyone's favorite saturday cartoons possible.  It featured a combination of live action and animation, something that was not often done in movies nevertheless to this full scale (the only other movie I recall is Mary Poppins).  The film also depicted lots of controversial scenes yet still managed to become a runaway success, it is a very remarkable success story for all involved.

[luna]

People giving ratings, are you rating how good you think the film was or how important?

 

Because I don't think Panda is claiming this to be a list of the greatest blockbusters of all time

obviously, how much i like them. i know panda isn't doing that.

 

so yes, i'd put either jaws or star wars as #1 for the purposes of this thread. guess how much i like those.

[Jessie]

IMO, I don't see how it's not.

 

Yeah, Jaws started the term 'Blockbuster'. It has to be number 1.

[Lazer]

Don't forget about Independence Day, with that great trailer, as a possible #1

 

 

It should be up there, but it's not going to be #1.

 

 

Well #1 in 1996, and having an incredible box of 300+ USA and 800+ Worldwide, on a production budget of 75 Million.

 

Also remember this title is Most important blockbusters! And I think that Independence Day lead the way for alot of other films.

 

Anyway, I am not sure if it should be #1, but I think Top 5 At Least.

[Lazer]

NeverMind, Double Post.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Lazer Deadshot

[Lazer]

IMO, I am wondering if you are saying that 1975 year, as you will say that Jaws in 1975 started the trend, but hate to tell everyone The Exorcist was as big and 2 years earlier...and both had the same scary the shit out of the audience! With crowds lined up around the block, aka a blockbuster.

 

PS. I wish you would change it to 1970, to get in some worthy films like The Exorcist, The Sting and The Godfather, even if you have to change it to the 105 best blockbusters. IMO.

 

 

On Jaws, is 260 an actual number, as 260 is so rounded off? WHY?

 

Domestic:  $260,000,000  55.2% + 

 

Foreign:  $210,653,000  44.8% = 

 

Worldwide:  $470,653,000

 

 

The Exorcist, 1973

 

Domestic: $232,906,145  52.8%+ 

Foreign: $208,400,000  47.2%

= Worldwide: $441,306,145

 

 

Also FYI, ET, 1982, is another that should be a Top 10 member

 

Domestic: $232,906,145  52.8%+ 

Foreign: $208,400,000  47.2%

= Worldwide: $441,306,145

 

 

I am making this thread in which I compile the 100 blockbusters from 1975 to now that I find most important (blockbuster being anything that adjusts to over 200m) for whatever reason.  This isn't my ranking of quality, otherwise there would definitely be some on here that would be nowhere near this list.  Why am I starting at 1975?  Well, that'll be explained a bit later.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2014 by Lazer Deadshot

[baumer]

If I were doing that Snyder and Bay would have no place near this list.

 

83

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

This movie managed a surprise win in its summer, but honestly despite its impressive box office that is not the reason I am putting it on this list.  The reason really has to do with the fact that Disney worked together with many other studios in a way to make this movie featuring characters from everyone's favorite saturday cartoons possible.  It featured a combination of live action and animation, something that was not often done in movies nevertheless to this full scale (the only other movie I recall is Mary Poppins).  The film also depicted lots of controversial scenes yet still managed to become a runaway success, it is a very remarkable success story for all involved.

 

I knew you'd include this on here and well it should be.  Premiere Magazine wrote a story about this when it came out and the caption was, "The three S's are what best describes this film.  Spielberg, success and special effects"

 

A film way ahead of its time, no doubt.

[baumer]

ET will be on here, I'm sure of it.  

 

And since this is Panda's list, lewt's not question why he started in 1975.  

[Lazer]

ET will be on here, I'm sure of it.  

 

And since this is Panda's list, lewt's not question why he started in 1975.  

 

That's fine if he wants to keep it that way, but I never feel it is bad to make a polite suggestion that can be disregarded without insult. IMO, at least. Especially since I am curious where the Exorcist would end up on his list.

 

But whatever he decides,1975 or earlier is fine.

[Jessie]

IMO, I am wondering if you are saying that 1975 year, as you will say that Jaws in 1975 started the trend, but hate to tell everyone The Exorcist was as big and 2 years earlier...and both had the same scary the shit out of the audience! With crowds lined up around the block, aka a blockbuster. PS. I wish you would change it to 1970, to get in some worthy films like The Exorcist, The Sting and The Godfather, even if you have to change it to the 105 best blockbusters. IMO. On Jaws, is 260 an actual number, as 260 is so rounded off? WHY? Domestic:  $260,000,000  55.2% + Foreign:  $210,653,000  44.8% = Worldwide:  $470,653,000 The Exorcist, 1973 Domestic: $232,906,145  52.8%+ Foreign: $208,400,000  47.2%= Worldwide: $441,306,145 Also FYI, ET, 1982, is another that should be a Top 10 member Domestic: $232,906,145  52.8%+ Foreign: $208,400,000  47.2%= Worldwide: $441,306,145

I see where you're coming from but Jaws literally started the trend for how movies are being made today. It was a simple concept movie that appealed to the masses, since then movie budgets went up, marketing started to amp up and more simple concept movies were made that were basically designed to be fast paced entertaining movies everyone could enjoy. Films are still made like that today and since jaws, studios were fighting for the summer spots, it literally started the trend of having tentpole movies released in the summer. So yeah The Exorcist may have sold a similar amount of tickets but it was a horror that shocked the world, it deserves a mention but Jaws created a larger impact because films are still made like it today, it basically created it's own semi genre and has effected how films are distributed to this day.

[baumer]

Before 1975, find a film that is listed as a top grosser and see when it was released.  Summer was a waste land and it wasn't until JAWS that the concept changed.

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

Evidence for Star Wars being #1: Exhibit A: Guardians of the Galaxy. That was literally Marvel's Star Wars. 

[baumer]

Evidence for Star Wars being #1: Exhibit A: Guardians of the Galaxy. That was literally Marvel's Star Wars. 

 

SW should be number 2.  It's blockbuster influence is second to JAWS.

[Webslinger]

Very interesting idea for a list. Here's some commentary on what you've chosen so far:

 

100. Alice in Wonderland was crazy. My jaw was on the floor when the Friday estimate came in over $40 million. Even with the 3D craze and the advertising that had been in swing since July, no one saw a breakout that huge. Disney and others have definitely tried to replicate its success, but the fact that even Maleficent couldn't get that high with a summer release date just goes to show what an anomaly it was. But what an astounding anomaly from a box office perspective.99. No one was really that surprised that Ratatouille became a blockbuster; in fact, it was definitely expected to go higher than it did. Its legs were impressive, but general expectations still had it hitting at least $225 million. Besides, Pixar had more than proven itself by the time that Ratatouille was released, and they were also coming off of an enormous brand-establishing success with Cars at the time.98. Solid choice. Ahnuld was massive in his heyday, no pun intended.97. Yup, it's hard to argue with Beauty and the Beast. It was Disney's biggest hit in decades, and it set the table for eye-popping numbers from their next two films (which I imagine are both higher up on the list).96. Meh. Even though it won the summer (because Saving Private Ryan made more money off of an awards season re-release), Armageddon's success doesn't really stand out one way or the other. Bruce Willis was already a very well-established star, the movie was positioned to make an Independence Day-esque run (and it only grossed two-thirds of what that film did two years earlier), and it didn't really set Bay up as a huge draw considering that his next movie fell well short of inflated expectations.95. Wrath of Khan is a great movie, but what is its importance for blockbuster filmmaking? Yes, it was a darker second chapter that took some very ballsy risks, but you could argue that it was following in the footsteps of The Empire Strikes Back in that regard. I would argue that from a business and impact perspective, Trek '09 was a bigger deal. It was the most successful film in a long-dormant franchise, and it served as an affirmation to studios on the earning potential of risky reboots.94. Meh. Man of Steel's opening was impressive, but its legs were horrible. It did succeed in making Superman important to the masses again, but the divided reaction is a troublesome sign for the future potential of this version of the character.93. Another solid choice. It's still weird to look at the 1986 yearly chart and see that the top two movies of the year are so politically different in how they approach the military.92. Yup. I'm not sure what was weirder with the Twilight phenomenon: watching the first movie build up its hype to remarkable levels, or then watching each of the sequels open to twice as much. It's a given that the movies probably won't stand the test of time, but it will be an interesting (read: strange, bizarre) moment of pop culture to look back on.91. Shrek should be much higher. It wasn't that far removed from the days when Disney had a stranglehold over the animated marketplace, and it more than doubled the previous all-time high for a non-Disney animated film (and tripled the gross of Disney's film from that summer). It also heralded in the run of snarky, self-aware, pop culture-centric humor in animated movies, and officially broke unwritten rule that a studio had little to no hope for success if its animated film was rated PG. (The movie itself is pretty damn good, too.) In terms of influence on the industry, I'd say it has to be in the conversation for one of the ten most important blockbuster spots of the 2000s, if not one of the top five.90. Sure, but I'd say that I Am Legend was a bigger show of Will Smith's drawing power. He got a middle-of-summer-level opening in the middle of December.89. I still think it's hard to really, truly assess The Dark Knight Rises's performance in light of Aurora. Even though it probably didn't make an enormous impact on its box office, it probably still cost the film tens of millions.88. 300 was insane. I remember how within a three-month span it had gone from being a cool-looking movie that was probably going to post V for Vendetta numbers to a massive event that every male had to see. The sky was the limit going into that opening weekend, but even $70 million was surprisingly large. I'm still kind of surprised that hardcore, heavily-stylized violence didn't take off in its wake; I guess the studios are still just that afraid of the R-rating.87. Hard to argue with this one in terms of solidifying Stallone's drawing power at the time.86. This had to be the best showing of Robin Williams's drawing power once upon a time. The interesting thing about its success is that even with the PG-13, it still played very well to family audiences. Baumer's right about Chris Columbus: the man had one hell of a run before he left Harry Potter. He may not take many chances behind the camera, but he still connected with audiences in a huge way with Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire.85. Dances with Wolves is a case-in-point of just how remarkably well a movie could do with awards buzz behind it back in the '90s. There's a brilliant bit of coincidence in the fact that the movie that brought his appeal down once and for all was another three-hour epic that he directed and starred in (The Postman).84. Spider-Man 2 is great and all, but if any movie proved the "franchisability" of the comic book movie subgenre, X2 beat it to the punch. Even though the bar to clear was much lower, it improved upon its predecessor's total while Spider-Man 2 dropped. Spider-Man 2 was coming off of such a huge and beloved predecessor that its success was guaranteed; X2, on the other hand, had to deliver the goods to prove that X-Men's success wasn't a one-shot deal, and it did.83. Well, never underestimate the power of a movie that appeals to adults and children at the same time.

[baumer]

Your lists are great, but you take way too fucking long to do them.

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

SW should be number 2.  It's blockbuster influence is second to JAWS.

We've had this debate before. My post was actually intended as a joke on how GOTG blatantly was taking pages out of Star Wars' book. 

[AniNate]

 

 

I assume most of Pixar's films are on here somewhere. As far as importance goes, Ratatouille definitely falls on the lower end, but I think it still deserves a place on here because it was one of the shining examples of their power to take a relatively unappealing premise and make a box office hit out of it. 

Edited August 7, 2014 by tribefan695

[The Panda]

Your lists are great, but you take way too fucking long to do them.

 

I'm busy, I realize I am fairly slow at my lists, I only add onto my lists when I am home it's hard to do it mobile.

 

82

Signs

It's hard to imagine now that M. Night Shyamalan was an actual box office draw to the point where he was able to open an original thriller to an adjusted 80 million during the first weekend of August, it was a true testament to his drawing power.  While Signs isn't his most important movie, it was his last big hit before he took a steep slide down hill in quality and draw.  What I find most curious is the very same man who is now box office poison to any of the movies he releases was able to open a movie to this one's heights on his name alone.  Shyamalan helps to show no studio, actor, or director has true security in Hollywood.

[baumer]

Yes, well, screw real life, Panda....get your list done.