The summer movie season is already in full swing, with X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Star Trek racking up huge grosses. Still, the box office of those films pales in comparison to that of the biggest summer blockbusters of them all. But it's not all about the Benjamins, right? Some of the most financially successful films in history also happen to be some of Hollywood's most beloved.
We're going to spend the next few weeks separating the great movies that were also huge hits (Forrest Gump) from the huge hits that aren't particularly good movies (Armageddon). I selected 32 films that each finished at the top of the summer box office from the years 1975 to 2008, then ranked and seeded them into NCAA Tourney-style brackets. The films will face-off, one per day, right here on the Daily Loaf with your votes determining which blockbuster is the greatest of them all.
You can find the complete list of films slated for the tournament after the jump. If anyone has any complaints about the selected films, now is your chance to speak up. Let me know what flicks I left off the list and what I included that needs to be gone. I'm open to suggestions.
One other thing: Three of the 32 films on my list were NOT the highest grossing movie of their particular summer. First person to tell me which three I'm talking about and what three films did win those summers gets a free pass (good for two admissions) to a preview of one of this year's blockbusters. (I'm not saying which.) Put your answers in comments and be sure to include your e-mail address in the e-mail field (not in the body of your comment!) so I can contact you after you've won.
Voting will begin next week, and I'll be giving out more movie passes throughout the tournament. Check back to Daily Loaf or go straight to cltampa.com/blockbusters to make your voice heard. And may the best blockbuster win …
This article appears in May 20-26, 2009.