Summer's Here And The Time Is Right

Summer has become, for better or worse, the season of the movie blockbuster. Kids are out of school and TV is in reruns.

So far the grosses are running ahead of last year, but the odd thing is there hasn't been a true critics' hit yet. Just because a film is big doesn't mean it has to be dumb (exactly). So films open huge and then don't get much word of mouth and collapse.

Pixar's Cars just opened to decent but not great reviews. Most of them imply the film is a bit too long and slow. In any case, it opened well with a $60 million weekend, but Pixar's last two, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo opened with over $70 million.

Before that, there was The Break-Up, The Omen, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Da Vinci Code, Over The Hedge, Poseidon and Mission: Impossible 3. None got great reviews--in fact, most were slammed. While several are racking up decent numbers, none will reach the super-blockbuster level of $300 million.

So is there any hope? Well, the buzz on the Superman Returns is good. (It better be considering the budget.) Perhaps the Pirates Of the Caribbean sequel will score. Let's not rule out Snakes On A Plane. Or maybe something else will surprise, like the latest M. Night Shyamalan.

To see some earlier predictions, check out this post from our blogger friend Gaucho.