Box Office: The 10 Biggest Memorial Day Blockbusters That Aren’t ‘Star Wars’ Or ‘Indiana Jones’ Movies

Six of the ten biggest Memorial Day weekend blockbusters are Star Wars or Indiana Jones movies. But what else makes up the biggest movies to open on this holiday weekend?

For the first time since at least 1977, there will be no big Memorial Day weekend opener this summer. For obvious reasons, Universal
UVV
’s F9 has been delayed from May 22, 2020 to April 2, 2021 while Paramount
PGRE
’s SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is now slated for August 7, 2020. There was a time, 25-30 years ago, when the summer season would officially start on Memorial Day weekend. So, since there won’t be any new Memorial Day weekend releases to dissect, I went back to tallied up the biggest domestic earners, adjusted for inflation, that opened on this weekend going back to 1977.

However, six of the top ten such earners are Star Wars movies and Indiana Jones sequels, which would have made this list a big redundant. Well, that and the first two Star Wars movies didn’t open in wide release on this weekend. So, with an acknowledgement that this family-friendly holiday was once ruled by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, I wanted to see what the biggest such releases were outside of those two definitive fantasy franchises. Here are the ten biggest Memorial Day weekend releases that don’t involve Harrison Ford punching and shooting in a George Lucas-produced adventure, ranked in adjusted-domestic earnings.

Aladdin (Walt Disney
DIS
)

$355 million in 2019/$370 million adjusted

Walt Disney’s much-discussed live-action remake of their 1992 animated blockbuster overcame bad buzz, fabricated controversies and online mockery to score big with general audiences and families. The Guy Ritchie-directed musical romance got by on the production value and sheer movie star charisma of its four heroic leads (Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Will Smith and Nesim Pedrad), and it played just fine for audiences wanting to see a live-action Aladdin, a comparatively inclusive period-piece fantasy and/or an old-school Will Smith movie star turn. Sans inflation, it is the biggest-grossing domestic earner ever released on Memorial Day weekend and the holiday’s only $1 billion global grosser.

Mission: Impossible II (Paramount)

$215 million in 2000/$3374 million adjusted

Released 20 years ago this summer, John Woo’s ridiculously over-the-top romantic melodrama (“Notorious meets Hard Boiled”) almost qualifies as self-satire, both from the director and his top-billed star as Ethan Hunt is turned into (conventionally speaking) the coolest (and hottest) action hero ever. The film marked the end of an era where star-driven, non-fantasy action movies were expected to rule the box office. It also began the transformation of Tom Cruise from “biggest movie star on Earth who occasionally does action movies” to “American Jackie Chan who mostly makes action movies.” In a time when Hollywood was starting to embrace “gritty” realism even in its blockbusters, Mission: Impossible II was gloriously surreal.

Mission: Impossible (Paramount)

$181 million in 1996/$383 million adjusted

Brian DePalma’s low-key, adult-skewing thriller, one which emphasized espionage over action, is still one of the best films in the franchise. It grossed a then-record $75 million over its Wed-Mon Memorial Day weekend. The film would be rather frontloaded, partially due to folks being appalled at having to (gasp) pay attention in order to follow the tricky plot. That Mission: Impossible II was both more streamlined and had scenes where characters stopped the movie to explain what had happened up to that point makes this franchise a rare example of filmmakers “listening to the Internet.” Oh, and turning the TV show’s hero into the villain didn’t fly any better in 1996 than it would in 2020.

Beverly Hills Cop II (Paramount)

$155 million in 1987/$388 million adjusted

Audiences thrilled to Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop in 1984, pushing the movie to a $234 million domestic gross (an R-rated record that stood until Matrix Reloaded in 2003) and turning Eddie Murphy into an icon. Three years later, audiences kinda-sorta thrilled to Beverly Hills Cop II, which featured more conventional action and violence but otherwise was essentially the same damn “Axel Foley goes to Beverly Hills and shows them how it’s done” movie. This was, of course, an era where sequels were as likely to be carbon copy remakes of their predecessors as whole new adventures. The film’s $26 million Fri-Sun debut was a record back in 1987.

Rocky III (MGM)

$85 million in 1982/$396 million adjusted

This third Rocky Balboa movie is when the franchise started to lean into fantasy. Even as a kid, I was put off by the whole “valiant white boxer has to get his title back from the scary black guy” plot, even if I was too young to recognize the tropes. Nonetheless, the film has its charms, and turning Apollo Creed into Rocky’s friend was an inspired touch. It out-grossed Rocky II ($79 million in 1979) and paved the way for Rocky IV to crush Thanksgiving 1985. While Stallone was struggling with non-Rocky hits, his next iconic 80’s franchise would launch a month later with First Blood. Speaking of which…

Rambo: First Blood part II (Columbia)

$150 million in 1985/$397 million adjusted

By 1985, Star Wars was done, Indiana Jones was on a break and the 007 movies were essentially jogging in place. By default, Stallone’s Rocky sequels and Rambo movies were the biggest tentpole/blockbuster franchises around. Rambo: First Blood Part II was the first modern breakout sequel, taking a modestly successful action drama and turning it into an A++ franchise (at least for one installment). Co-written by James Cameron, the film is as definitive an 80’s action movie as you can imagine. The film, which is still a ripping action movie was (like American Sniper 30 years later) more complicated than its political reception.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Disney)

$309 million in 2007/$420 million adjusted

Gore Verbinski’s third and final installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series was the most expensive movie ever made at the time, and you can absolutely see where the money went. All three films are over-plotted and narratively redundant, but there’s just so much go-for-broke “movie” in each and every one, including Dead Man’s Chest (which was the third movie to top $1 billion worldwide) and At World’s End (which was the year’s biggest global grosser with $964 million). This threequel still holds the record for the biggest Memorial Day weekend opening, with $113 million over the Fri-Sun portion of its $156 million Fri-Mon holiday debut.

Bruce Almighty (Universal)

$243 million in 2003/$423 million adjusted

This Tom Shadyac-directed high-concept comedy opened with $85 million over four days and legged out to $243 million domestic, making it the Jim Carrey comedy the second-biggest pure star vehicle in raw domestic earnings behind Will Smith’s (adapted from a book) I Am Legend. The hook, that God (Morgan Freeman) decides to gift a disgruntled mortal with all of his powers, played to fans and to the faithful. It also works best as a metaphor for Carrey coming to terms with not being taken seriously as a dramatic actor and realizing the value of making popular comedies. Yes, Bruce Almighty is Jim Carrey’s personal Sullivan’s Travels.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Universal)

$229 million in 1997/$467 million adjusted

It’s hard to be a “breakout sequel” when your predecessor becomes the first $900 million-plus grossing global earner of all time, but Steven Spielberg’s The Lost World gave it a go. Despite mixed reviews for its darker tone and brutal violence, it also shattered the opening weekend record with $74 million over the Fri-Sun portion of its $92 million Fri-Mon holiday frame. That was a 39% jump from Batman Forever’s $53 million debut in 1995 and 48% larger than Jurassic Park’s $50 million launch in 1993. The Jeff Goldblum-starring sequel flamed out, earning “just” $229 million and ending up behind Men in Black ($250 million), although its $613 million global cume was behind only Titanic that year.

Smokey and the Bandit (Universal)

$126 million in 1977/$533 million adjusted

What’s the biggest Memorial Day weekend grosser of all time that isn’t a Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie? Well, here’s a hint: It opened on Memorial Day weekend 1977. Yes, while Star Wars was beginning its 32-screen platform debut, Burt Reynolds’ Smokey and the Bandit was the court-appointed “event movie” of Memorial Day 1977. I’m pretty sure that’s the only time where the two biggest earners of a given year opened on the same day. Directed by acclaimed stunt Hal Needham, this was the Fast and Furious of its day, bringing in the crowds on raw star power (Reynolds as the outlaw hero, Jackie Gleeson as the pursuing sheriff) and vehicular action.

Okay, but what about Star Wars and Indiana Jones?

The original Star Wars trilogy make up the top three Memorial Day weekend releases when adjusted for inflation, while Star Wars movies and the three Indiana Jones sequels all make up six of the top ten such offerings. Star Wars famously opened in just 32 theaters on May 25, 1977, while even The Empire Strikes Back opened in just 126 theaters 40 years ago this Thursday before expanding to 823 theaters in its fifth (!) weekend. Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars movie to open wide, followed the next Memorial Day by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Return of the Jedi would break the opening weekend record with $23 million over the Fri-Sun portion of its whopping $41 million Wed-Mon debut. Temple of Doom would be the first film to top $25 million in its Fri-Sun portion of its $42.6 million Wed-Mon launch, while also being the first movie to try that “midnight preview” gimmick. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade would break the opening weekend record in 1989, earning $29 million in the Fri-Sun portion of its $47 million Wed-Mon holiday launch. It would place second domestically that year to Batman ($251 million) but would best the bat worldwide ($474 million versus $411 million).

Since George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels would all open the weekend before Memorial Day in 1999, 2002 and 2005 (happy 15th and 21st birthday to Revenge of the Sith and The Phantom Menace), the next such offering didn’t happen until 2008. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opened 19 years after its predecessor, earning $25 million on a Thursday opening day for an eventual $100 million Fri-Sun/$150 million Thurs-Mon five-day debut. While Iron Man would steal its thunder domestically (and gross $318 million), Henry Jones Jr. crushed Tony Stark worldwide, $790 million versus $585 million.

Yes, not to pick on old wounds, but Walt Disney’s Solo: A Star Wars Story did open on Memorial Day weekend in 2018, where the Ron Howard-directed Han Solo prequel flick under-performed domestically ($213 million) and was absolutely ignored overseas ($394 million), making it the first Star Wars movie to outright bomb. Considering how well four out of the last five Star Wars films have performed as Christmas releases, I’m not sure we’ll ever see another Star Wars film opening on or around Memorial Day ever again. Considering that Star Wars is/was the defining summer blockbuster franchise, that’s either tragic or a sign that year-round scheduling has changed the game.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (Walt Disney)

$214 million in 2018/$214 million adjusted

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount)

$317 million in 2008/$413 million adjusted

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Paramount)

$197 million in 1989/$465 million adjusted

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Paramount)

$179 million in 1984/$502 million adjusted

The Empire Strikes Back (Fox
FOXA
)

$209 million in 1980/$752 million adjusted

Return of the Jedi (Fox)

$252 million in 1983/$752 million adjusted

Star Wars (Fox)

$307 million in 1977/$1.291 billion adjusted