Summer is just around the corner, and the box office is heating up with a wave of highly anticipated and returning films. Franchises like “Jurassic World,” “Lilo & Stitch” and “Now You See Me” have the potential to shake up the movie industry. Major studios are rolling out their biggest franchises and most compelling storylines in hopes of claiming the title of this year’s top summer movie. With major releases like “Superman,” “Jurassic World: Rebirth” and “Fantastic Four: First Steps” scheduled to hit theaters around the same time, the competition is expected to be fierce.
According to polls and reviews on Fandango, “Jurassic World: Rebirth” is currently leading as the most anticipated film of the summer. The movie is a sequel to “Jurassic Park: Dominion,” and many people have it atop their lists because of its esteemed cast, including Scarlett Johansson (Zora Bennett). The movie also has a highly respected director, Gareth Edwards, who has directed critically acclaimed movies like “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” in 2016.
The upcoming Jurassic World movie takes place on an experimental island meant to test dinosaurs where the Jurassic Park attraction was held. The experiments failed, and now the characters are tasked with extracting DNA from the five largest dinosaurs on the island.
“I really am excited for the Jurassic World movie as well because I love the franchise, and I enjoyed the past movies in the series. I’m a big fan of it, and I want to see what they will do with the movie – if it’s going to evolve or if we’ll see new characters and cooler dinosaurs,” said Mauro Tejada ’28.
Many Loyola students completed a survey via an Instagram poll to predict which film would be the biggest hit this summer. Similar to the Fandango results, students gave “Jurassic World: Rebirth” the top spot with 25% of the vote. “Fantastic Four: First Steps” came in second, followed by the upcoming “Superman” film in third. Other notable summer releases include a live-action “Lilo & Stitch”, “Now You See Me 3” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”
“I think ‘Lilo & Stitch’ will be the best movie of the summer because I like live-action, and I think it gets hated on too much,” said Lucas Bland ‘25. “The nostalgia will get people to go, and I definitely will be watching and rooting for it.”
Disney’s track record in the industry means “Lilo & Stitch” could also be a contender for the season’s biggest film. Their live-action movies have always made a humongous impact on the box office, like previous Disney live-action movies such as “Aladdin” or “The Lion King.”
While “Jurassic World: Rebirth” appears to be the front-runner, only time will tell which movie will succeed at the box office. With so many iconic franchises returning, this summer could easily be a historic one for the movie industry. Until then, students and moviegoers alike are left eagerly awaiting what promises to be an exciting summer of cinema.
