"Jaws" is, by most accounts, the first summer blockbuster. It was released in 1975.

That's the oldest movie that came to my mind, too. Thanks.

The thing is, however, did that trend continue yearly? Like, what was the big summer blockbuster of 1976?

I don't know 1976, but you can probably guess what the one from 1977 was.

Before Jaws, Hollywood didn't realize they could make BIG PILES OF MONEY by releasing big event movies during the summer. They really didn't have anything in the pipeline for 1976.

From filmsite.org:

Hollywood's economic crises in the 1950s and 1960s, especially during the war against the lure of television, were somewhat eased with the emergence in the 70s of summer "blockbuster" movies or "event films" marketed to mass audiences, especially following the awesome success of two influential films:

• 27 year-old Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975)
• 33 year-old George Lucas' Star Wars (1977)

Interesting.

I don't know 1976, but you can probably guess what the one from 1977 was.

Heh, see, that's the thing. I don't know how many of the big, popular movies were summer movies, you know? And some of the summer blockbusters of yore may not have been actual good movies and so aren't talked about as much.

I hope the Die Hard sequel is good, though I don't expect that much. Regardless, that Chron review is a disaster. This sentence of synonymous adjectives is my favorite:

He has a caustic, unsentimental understanding of the character and presents us with a McClane who's a cynical difficult man, one whom the years have only made smarter, tougher and more calloused.

ETA: I guess if you think action movies started in the 1990s, tough action heroes must seem like a novelty. No one tell him about Han Solo!

And some of the summer blockbusters of yore may not have been actual good movies and so aren't talked about as much.

Finally saw Night Watch last night. Whew! After Hostel part II I don't think anything is going to seem terrbly violent anymore. And yes parts of it were rather cliche and there was just a teensy bit of ham-fistedness but wow! Visually stunning. Also it's wonderful for me to be able to watch a film where I am familiar with none of the actors. Even the wild fantasy elements seemed realistic to me when I was lost in the characterizations. Beautifully realized, beautifully acted. And it was fun to see someone watching Buffy in Russki.

I can't stop.

"Live Free or Die Hard" plays off of two fears that pervade our present culture: 1) terrorism; and 2) the possible existence of elite bands of computer geniuses, who might seem like poorly nourished and poorly groomed young people, but who, in fact, know all about stuff like "mutating algorithmic security codes" and are currently reading your e-mail.

I mean, wow.