OLIVIA MORLEY | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Throughout the summer of 2017, movie theaters were packed with people of all ages to see the latest blockbusters. With so many reboots, remakes, sequels, prequels and original movies, there wasn’t a weekend that the theatre was empty.
According to Box Office Mojo, “Wonder Woman” was the top-grossing movie of the summer, making $404.4 million at the domestic box office. This was a refreshing change in the industry, as every other female led superhero movie in the past decade has been a financial flop. It’s also noteworthy to see a DC movie do so well at the box office, as Marvel usually takes the lead. The female-led and female-directed superhero movie was empowering to girls of all ages, as it enforced the fact that women can be just as powerful and strong as men. “Wonder Woman” has given a lot of hope to future female superhero movies and to the upcoming “Justice League” movie.
Just behind “Wonder Woman” in the box office was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” which grossed $389.3 million in the US. Compared to the first “Guardians” movie, this sequel was much darker, as it dealt child murder, slavery, and kidnapping. Thankfully, we had Baby Groot to warm our hearts throughout the film. Despite its bittersweet ending, it was a fun movie to watch and definitely worth a second watch.
Another superhero flick that hit the big screens this summer was Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the third Spider-Man reboot and the sixth Spider-Man film within 15 years. Many were skeptical of yet another film following the same hero’s story, but Marvel managed to keep the story refreshing and vibrant. Tom Holland plays the youngest Peter Parker that we’ve ever seen in theaters, and his youthful wonder, wit and clumsiness reveals a side to the webslinger that had only been seen in comics before. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” grossed $318.8 million domestically.
“Alien: Covenant” was another great movie that was released this summer. The film traveled back to the original sci-fi horror roots of the Alien franchise, with Ridley Scott, the film’s director, back at the helm of it all. This movie addressed many questions that went unanswered in “Prometheus,” while creating even more to eat away at its fans. This movie was truly suspenseful to watch, with some of the biggest plot twists the Alien franchise has ever seen. However, this movie didn’t do as well as the superhero trio, receiving mixed reviews and grossing $74.2 million in the United States.
So far, 2017 has been a great year for movies. The year isn’t over yet though, and there are more great films to come. The new “It” movie comes out on September 8, when we’ll finally see if Bill Skarsgård is able to live up to Tim Curry’s legacy as the terrifying clown. We also have even more comic book movies, like DC’s “Justice League” and Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok.” In addition to all of these highly anticipated movies is the eighth installment of the Star Wars franchise, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which comes out this December. With more brilliant movies to come, reviews from The Roar will follow.
