There’s always been one thing that marks the summer season for me, and thankfully for everyone who is a heat-hater and a (crazy) winter-lover, it’s a sure-fire way to beat the heat. If you can’t get yourself to the beach or a pool, what better way to keep the summer sweat off than heading to the movies? Before you start raising your brows at me, if you’re struggling with the endless string of humidity and… more humidity, sitting yourself down in a dark and way too air-conditioned room for approximately two hours and change does sound nice, no? Plus, there are snacks, and who can’t be convinced by the siren call of snacks?

That’s not the only reason summer brings the theatre to mind, though. With summer comes blockbuster movie season! Sometimes you might get a whole three months of flops, or you could get a marathon of slam dunks like 2024’s release schedule of Deadpool & Wolverine and Alien: Romulus. With the new Fantastic 4 (which if anything, I will solely be seeing for Pedro Pascal) and Superman already hitting the big screen, and movies like Weapons, Freakier Friday, and Nobody 2 soon to release, I have a feeling we might be in for another summer blockbuster season that will ensure no one gives you funny looks for avoiding the sun. But until then, I thought we could look at the blockbusters of years past, so if you’re keen on setting up your haven from the great outdoors, hang onto your popcorn buckets! I’ve polled our staff at VPL for their favorite blockbusters of all time to bring them to you in a head-to-head bracket battle in a search for the Ultimate Summer Blockbuster (subjectively, as I will be sole judge and jury, and box office numbers don’t count). If you’ve got your snacks, let’s dive right in!