Everybody loves the summertime. Days are long and lazy, lives are full of adventure, kids are being kids, teens are being teens, and the lines at the cineplex is the size of the Las Vegas strip. Yes, it's that time again - SUMMER!!!

SUMMER MOVIES:

Summer has it's own rules. In the Summer, it's not a race against all movies to make the most money; it's a race against the other movies in your group. There are 4 types of groups ---->

The Blockbuster - A hugely hyped movie, that everybody flocks to see. An "Event" movie! If a blockbuster doesn't make at least $100 million dollars it is considered a dismal failure.

There is always one or two blockbusters -
Jurassic Park ('93)
Forrest Gump ('94)
Batman Forever ('95)
ID4 ('96)
Men In Black ('97)

The Sleeper - A sleeper is a film that has potential to become a hit but is not really publicized as one. A sleeper can become a hit if it captures the interest of the public and generated good Word-of-mouth.

A few Sleeper hits -
Sleepless In Seattle ('93)
Speed ('94)
Dangerous Minds ('95)
A Time To Kill ('96)
My Best Friends Wedding ('97)

The Kiddie Flick - Children get out of school in the summer, so to occupy themselves they see alot of movies. Usually they see the blockbusters, but sometimes a mild mannered children's movie can become a huge success.

Kiddie Hits -
Free Willy ('93)
The Flintstones ('94)
Casper ('95)
The Nutty Professor ('96)
George Of The Jungle ('97)

Low Budget Hits - The most lucrative category; movies that cost nothing that make a lot. Sometimes it's an independent film, sometimes it's a cheap studio offering. All these film at least made 7 times ( sometimes even 20 times ) their cost.

Some Low Budget hits -
Clueless ('95) Cost 7 million, made 50 million
Emma ('96) Cost 2 million, made 22 million
The Full Monty ('97) Cost under 1 mill, made 35 mill
Air Bud ('97) Cost 1.5 million, made 26 million

Flops - Then, there are the flops.

Blockbusters that don't make it:

Last Action Hero ('93)
Speed 2 ('97)
Batman and Robin ('97)

Sleepers that don't make it:

Striptease ('96)
The Frighteners ('96)
Event Horizon ('97)

Kiddie Flicks that no one cares about:

Leave it to Beaver ('97)
Alaska ('96)
Matilda ('96)

Even some Low Budget movies don't make money:

Joe's Apartment ('96)
The Pallbearer ('96)
Ulee's Gold ('97)

Usually there are more flops than hits, unfortunately. The average summer film costs around 40 million dollars to make. The average summer gross is around 40 million as well. That should say something.

PAST SUMMERS:

Here is a look back on some of the past summers. Each summer is ranked out of 5 in 3 different subjects.

• Quality - Were the movies any good?
• Money Making - Did they rake in the dough
• Popcorn - Were they fun, summertime flicks?

Summer 1993:
Jurassic Park, Baby! Until Titanic this was the biggest movie ever! But what else did the Summer have to offer? Mostly serious action-dramas like The Fugitive, The Firm and In The Line Of Fire. Not much of a popcorn summer, besides the dinos. Most of the films were good, but they felt like Fall films (more serious).

Quality 3/5 - Some films are now considered classics but others were just "OK"

Money Making 3/5 - Jurassic was the only HUGE hit, but it produced a few other $100+ million dollars.

Popcorn 1/5 - This summer only had one real popcorn flick.

Overall 2.5/5 - A pretty boring Summer at the movies, but a good Fall.

Summer '94:
Now here is a great summer. The Popcorn quotient is high with movies like The Lion King, Speed, True Lies, The Mask, The Flintstones and Maverick.. The Quality is great with Forrest Gump and some of the films previously mentioned. Two movies grossed over $300 million dollars and more grossed over $100. Sure there were a few missteps (Color of Night, Super Mario Bros.) but the average film was a great one.

Quality 4/5 - Some great blockbusters came outta this Summer
Money Making 4/5 - 2 films broke the top 5 and many broke the top 100.

Popcorn 5/5 - These flicks were pure entertainment.

Overall 4.5/5 - One Helluva great summer at the movies.

Summer '95:
A dismal summer in terms of quality, though many film were definitely Summer movies. No film made over $200 million dollars and only a handful of films were any good. Some horrible movies like Waterworld, Under Siege 2, and Congo dominated the marketplace. However, 3 films ( Apollo 13, Babe, and the winner Braveheart) were nominated for Oscars.

Quality 2/5 - Some movies were great but the average got a thumbs down

Money Making 1.5/5 - Only 5 movies broke $100 and none broke $200

Popcorn 3/5 - These were some big dumb movies! Don't mean they were any good!

Overall 2/5 - A lousy summer!

Summer '96:
An okay summer. Some great movies (The Rock) and also some awful ones (Mission: Impossible)! Lots of disappointing B.O. tallies, though. A strange summer. ID4 and Twister were tops and led 9 films to beat $100 million. Some great films (The Frighteners, Fly Away Home) unfortunately tanked at the Box Office.

Quality 3/5 - Pretty Ho Hum. The summer ran Hot and Cold, .

Money Making 4/5 - Many movies did very well, some did not.

Popcorn 4/5 - Some very Summery films came out during these months

Overall 3.5/5 - A good Summer; definitely improved on '95!

Summer '97:
The best Summer of the decade! Films were perfectly popcorn and movies has great runs at the Box. A handful of films were bad or did poorly but most of these movies were above average entertainment. 10 films made over $100 million and 23 made over $30 million. Only real certifiable bombs were Speed 2, Steel, and Fathers Day. Many small movies made big profits (Full Monty, Austin Powers, Good Burger, Air Bud ) and a bunch had small write-offs (Fifth Element, Event Horizon, Batman and Robin.) A really good summer!

Quality 4/5 - Many excellent movies but then again... Batman and Robin!

Money Making 4.5/5 - Only few films were flops and many were hits!

Popcorn 5/5 - The Popcorniness since '94.

Overall 4.5/5

Closing Note:
Now, you are ready for this Summer. Join me next week for part two of this three part series about Summer '98: Early summer - Lizards to Asteroids.