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Biggest Summer Movie Stars Since 1980

Biggest Summer Movie Stars Since 1980

Summer is known for its blockbuster movie releases. Hollywood studios sink millions of dollars into producing, marketing, and distributing some of the year’s biggest movies, hoping to strike gold at the box office.

Of course certain films will perform better than others, and one of the most important keys to success is casting. Many of the biggest summer blockbusters each year feature top movie stars, who help draw moviegoers to the theaters. The most captivating actors manage to deliver box-office smash hits again and again.

24/7 Tempo has identified the biggest summer movie stars since 1980 based on total domestic box-office gross of the movies they starred in. To determine the rank, only the top-10 grossing films released during each summer since 1980, according to Box Office Mojo, were considered.

Actors with major roles in popular franchises often see the greatest returns at the box office. Landing a leading part in a movie series such as the Dark Knight Trilogy or in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can result in recurring casting in movies that are all but guaranteed to be box-office successes.

Franchise films are not the only movies to do well during the summer, however. Mel Gibson’s biggest summer blockbuster was M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs.” Tom Hanks’ was “Forrest Gump.” While both of these actors have starred in franchises — Lethal Weapon and Toy Story, respectively — their top-grossing summer movies were one-off roles.

 

To determine the biggest summer movie stars since 1980, 24/7 Tempo looked at the top-10 grossing movies based on domestic box office gross each year since 1980, derived from data from Box Office Mojo. Domestic box office gross, adjusted to reflect 2019 movie ticket prices, was then combined for each actor listed as a top actor in more than one film.

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20. Mel Gibson
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.26 billion
> Biggest film: Signs (2002)
> Runner-up: Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Adjusted for inflation, the three Lethal Weapon movies that were released during the summer — all but the original — grossed about $900 million at the domestic box office. The 2002 alien film “Signs,” which stars Gibson, grossed $353 million in 2019 dollars.

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19. Jeff Goldblum
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.26 billion
> Biggest film: Jurassic Park (1993)
> Runner-up: Independence Day (1996)

The career of Jeff Goldblum has benefited greatly from his involvement in the Jurassic Park franchise. The top-grossing film of his career is “Jurassic Park” (1993), with “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997) and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (2018) not far behind. Goldblum also helped entertain scores of summer moviegoers in 1996 with his part in “Independence Day.”

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18. Steve Carell
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.27 billion
> Biggest film: Despicable Me 2 (2013)
> Runner-up: Minions (2015)

“Bruce Almighty” (2003) — in which Steve Carell starred alongside Jim Carrey — grossed more than $362 million, when adjusted for inflation. However the actor’s greatest successes at the summer box office have been with animated films — specifically “Despicable Me 2” (2013) and “Minions” (2015), which combined grossed nearly $800 million, adjusted for inflation. “Despicable Me” (2010) and “Despicable Me 3” (2017) were also released during the summer months and featured Carell voicing the character Gru.

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17. Tommy Lee Jones
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.34 billion
> Biggest film: Men in Black (1997)
> Runner-up: The Fugitive (1993)

One of Tommy Lee Jones’ earliest starring roles came in 1980 with the Loretta Lynn biopic “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” However, that movie was released in March, and the actor wouldn’t star in a major summer blockbuster until “The Fugitive” in 1993. Other summer hits include “Men in Black” (1997) and “Batman Forever” (1995), in which he played Harvey Dent.

Source: Photo by David Redfern / Redferns / Getty ImagesPhoto by David Redfern / Redferns / Getty Images

16. Michael Caine
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.36 billion
> Biggest film: The Dark Knight (2008)
> Runner-up: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Michael Caine’s total summer box office gross has been bolstered greatly by his work in the Dark Knight Trilogy, which consists of three blockbusters all released in the summer. Caine also played the role of Miles in Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” (2010) and Nigel Powers in the comedy “Austin Powers in Goldmember” (2002).

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15. Willem Dafoe
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.38 billion
> Biggest film: Spider-Man (2002)
> Runner-up: Spider-Man 2 (2004)

When adjusted for inflation, “Spider-Man” (2002), in which Willem Dafoe played Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, is the actor’s top-grossing summer flick. Dafoe scored another hit with last year’s superhero movie “Aquaman.”

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14. Mike Myers
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.46 billion
> Biggest film: Shrek 2 (2004)
> Runner-up: Shrek (2001)

Comedic actor Mike Myers has had great success starring in two franchises with general summer releases: Shrek and Austin Powers. He also appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” which was released in August 2009.

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13. Stellan Skarsgård
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.55 billion
> Biggest film: Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
> Runner-up: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård has landed prominent roles in the Avengers and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, both of which often have had films released during the summer. While it did not gross as much as the films in those series, the ABBA-based musical “Mamma Mia!” from 2008 also featured Skarsgård.

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12. Cameron Diaz
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.61 billion
> Biggest film: Shrek 2 (2004)
> Runner-up: Shrek (2001)

Cameron Diaz is the only woman to rank among the biggest summer movie stars since 1980. In addition to her work in the popular Shrek series, voicing Princess Fiona, Diaz appeared in the 1998 summer comedy “There’s Something About Mary,” which grossed $337 million when adjusted for inflation. She also starred in 1994’s “The Mask,” which grossed $258 million.

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11. Jon Favreau
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.67 billion
> Biggest film: Iron Man 3 (2013)
> Runner-up: Iron Man (2008)

John Favreau has played the role of Happy Hogan in the Iron Man films and also appeared in the summertime releases “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017) and “Spider-Man: Far from Home” (2019). Favreau also voiced Rio Durant in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” last year.

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10. Morgan Freeman
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.68 billion
> Biggest film: The Dark Knight (2008)
> Runner-up: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Morgan Freeman’s work as Lucius Fox in the Dark Knight Trilogy is among his most successful at the box office. However, Freeman was also entertaining audiences during the summer going back to “Bruce Almighty” (2003) and “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991).

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9. Michael Keaton
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $2.77 billion
> Biggest film: Batman (1989)
> Runner-up: Toy Story 3 (2010)

When adjusted for inflation, Michael Keaton’s top-grossing movie is still the Tim Burton-directed “Batman” from 1989. He’s appeared in numerous other summer blockbusters, including “Toy Story 3” (2010), “Minions” (2015), and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017).

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8. Will Smith
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $3.19 billion
> Biggest film: Independence Day (1996)
> Runner-up: Men in Black (1997)

Will Smith dominated theaters two summers in a row with sci-fi blockbusters “Independence Day” (1996) and “Men in Black” (1997). Smith also had a major role in 2016’s “Suicide Squad” and is in this summer’s successful remake of “Aladdin,” in which he plays the Genie.

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7. Gary Oldman
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $3.23 billion
> Biggest film: The Dark Knight (2008)
> Runner-up: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Gary Oldman is another actor who has entertained movie fans with his work in the Dark Knight Trilogy. Oldman also played Sirius Black in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (2007) and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2004), each of which grossed more than $350 million when adjusted for inflation.

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6. Robert Downey, Jr.
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $3.52 billion
> Biggest film: Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
> Runner-up: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Robert Downey Jr. has been hugely successful in the role of Tony Stark (Iron Man) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While not all of these movies have been released in the summer — some have come out in the spring — the majority, including 2012’s “The Avengers,” have.

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5. Tom Cruise
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $3.65 billion
> Biggest film: Top Gun (1986)
> Runner-up: Mission: Impossible (1996)

Fifty-seven year old Tom Cruise has been starring in summer blockbusters since the 1980s. When adjusted for inflation, his two top-grossing films are “Top Gun” (1986) and “Rain Man” (1988). Cruise has also starred in six Mission: Impossible movies, all but one of which were released in the summer season.

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4. Tom Hanks
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $3.66 billion
> Biggest film: Forrest Gump (1994)
> Runner-up: Toy Story 3 (2010)

Tom Hanks is one of America’s most beloved actors, as reflected by the success of his movies at the domestic box office. “Forrest Gump,” released in July 1994, was the top-grossing movie of that year. Hanks’ “Saving Private Ryan,” also released during the month of July, was similarly the top-grossing film of 1998.

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3. Eddie Murphy
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $4.14 billion
> Biggest film: Shrek 2 (2004)
> Runner-up: Shrek (2001)

The comedian turned actor was among the biggest stars of the 1980s, appearing in summer blockbuster films “Beverly Hills Cop II” (1987) and “Coming to America” (1988). Murphy had success in the 1990s with two cinematic reboots: “The Nutty Professor” (1996) and “Dr. Dolittle” (1998).

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2. Harrison Ford
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $5.24 billion
> Biggest film: Return of the Jedi (1983)
> Runner-up: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Although released prior to 1980, Harrison Ford’s first blockbuster role was Han Solo in 1977’s “Star Wars.” He would resurrect this part three years later for “The Empire Strikes Back.” Ford was also hugely successful playing Indiana Jones in the franchise’s four films, all of which were summer releases.

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1. Samuel L. Jackson
> Total summer box office gross since 1980: $7.14 billion
> Biggest film: Jurassic Park (1993)
> Runner-up: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

Samuel L. Jackson is an extremely prolific actor, with 186 acting credits listed on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). He’s appeared in a big-budget film nearly every year since the late 1980s, in such franchises as Jurassic Park, Die Hard, and Star Wars.

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