note Mark Kermode’s infamous 10 minute rant<\/b><\/a>). With all three movies in the top 20 all time summer hits, it’s fair to say the Pirates movies were somewhat review proof. Dead Man’s Chest took $423m to sit third in the list.<\/p>","url":"2008/6/25/summer-hits-pirates-of-the-caribbean-2-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Gallery Images"},{"captionHeading":"Spider-Man","caption":"With the top three consisting of sequels, Spider-Man is the first original flick in the all time list. If you can call a movie based on a comic book character created in the 1960s original, that is. Both critically and commercially successful ($403m is testament to its success), it’s somewhat ironic that of all the movies in the all-time list, Spider-Man is one of the few to have produced a superior sequel.<\/p>","url":"2008/6/25/summer-hits-spider-man-6.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Spider-man "},{"captionHeading":"Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith","caption":"
Audiences took some persuading to return to Lucas’ sci-fi cash cow, but the lure of Darth Vader finally donning the suit proved too much, and the best of the Star Wars prequels (best in the sense that a broken arm is better than a broken leg or neck) made it into 5th place with $380m in the bank.<\/p>","url":"2008/6/25/summer-hits-star-wars-III-the-revenge-of-the-sith-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Gallery Images"},{"captionHeading":"Spider-Man 2","caption":"
With superior effects than the original, and a tighter story than the subsequent sequel, Spider-Man 2 is the most critically acclaimed of all the popcorn movies that make up the summer collection. $373m in worldwide ticket sales puts Sam Raimi’s blockbuster into 6th place.<\/p>","url":"2008/6/25/summer-hits-spider-man-2-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Gallery Images"},{"captionHeading":"E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial","caption":"
Finally, a movie based on an original script that has no connection to novel, TV show, computer game or comic book. E.T.’s kinda cheating in that the total gross now includes re-releases, but officially, Spielberg’s big headed alien has now attracted $359m in ticket sales.<\/p>","url":"2008/6/25/summer-hits-et-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Gallery Images"},{"captionHeading":"Jurassic Park","caption":"
Few marketing campaigns were as successful as the super-hyped Jurassic Park. The first teaser arrived a full year before anyone even knew what Spielberg was up to while the June 93 release eventually saw Jurassic Park leap to $357m in ticket sales. Not quite as original as E.T. (it’s based on a Michael Crichton book, who incidentally directed his own JP-style adventure with the 70s classic, Westworld), but way ahead of its sequels (neither of which made the top 25 list).<\/p>","url":"2008/6/25/jurassic-park-3.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Jurassic Park"},{"captionHeading":"Finding Nemo","caption":"
Pixar have an unprecedented run of hits behind them. From Toy Story to Wall-E, anything the Pixar animation hands touch turns to CGI cartoon gold. Finding Nemo, released in May 03, is currently their biggest summer hit, with a $339m to its name. With Shrek 2 nearly $100m ahead, perhaps Disney need to start working on the marketing side a little harder…<\/p>","url":"2008/6/25/summer-hits-finding-nemo-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Gallery Images"},{"captionHeading":"Spider-Man 3","caption":"
Eagerly anticipated, and widely disappointing, 2007’s Spider-Man 3 would surely have taken the top spot if the word of mouth had been stronger after the opening weekend. $336m is a heck of a take for any movie, but Sam Raimi and Sony can only imagine what would have been had at least 2 of the bad guys been edited out of the laborious 2 and a half hour running time.<\/p>","url":"2008/6/25/summer-hits-spider-man-3-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Spider-Man 3"}];