Is 2017 the Best Year For Blockbusters On Record?

2017’s been a pretty incredible year in terms of blockbuster movies already, but could it be the best ever year for big cinema releases?

We’re only just over half way through the year and already we’ve been privy to a high standard of blockbuster offerings. The year kicked off with Logan, which set the bar incredibly high, and since then we’ve seen The LEGO Batman Movie, Fast & Furious 8 (which I thoroughly enjoyed), Kong: Skull Island, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (which I loved), Wonder Woman (which was ‘wonder’ful, sorry), War for the Planet of the Apes, Edgar Wright’s sublime Baby Driver and most recently Christopher Nolan’s eye and ear popping Dunkirk.

Now that lineup alone would merit a best blockbuster year ever award in my book, yet we’ve still got movies like Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League (I’m reserving judgment on it until I’ve seen it for myself), Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Blade Runner 2049, and last, but certainly not least, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Logan started off 2017 with a bang!

That said, 2017 has also given us some real turkeys. Transformers: The Last Knight (thankfully Michael Bay’s last Transformers movie), The Mummy, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (cor blimey guv’nor, now that t’was a load of rubbish!), Fifty Shades Darker, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Baywatch, Ghost in the Shell, The Great Wall and Rings (absolutely pointless). I haven’t seen The Emoji Movie yet, but that film looks pretty poor, and if the reviews are to be believed, it is.

There were also some rather disappointing movies such as Alien: Covenant and Assassin’s Creed, which I wouldn’t call ‘bad’, but should have been much better given their pedigree. We’ve also got The Dark Tower coming out, which on paper should be great, considering its cast and the wonderful source material, but if early reviews are to be believed, Sony Pictures have a real dud on their hands.

Gal Gadot kicked ass as Wonder Woman this year!

Yet, even with that rather long list of bad films, you cannot deny how strong this year has been. Not only have we seen some of really captivating blockbusters, we’ve also been delighted by films such as Get Out, My Life as a Courgette, The Red Turtle, the Oscar winning Moonlight, John Wick: Chapter 2 (I thought it was a great action movie!), T2 Trainspotting (Danny Boyle delivered a great sequel to his cult classic when everybody thought he would fail), Okja and It Comes At Night. I’m pretty sure I’m missing out some good ones, but those were the films that sprung to mind.

When you look back to the highest grossing movies since 1975, which is arguably when blockbusters started to really become a thing thanks to Spielberg’s Jaws, then it becomes clear how impressive 2017 has been. 2016 was arguably one of the worst years on record with films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Zoolander 2, Independence Day: Resurgence, Warcraft, London Has Fallen, the incomprehensibly terrible Gods of Egypt and Dirty Grandpa all soiling our cinema screens. Thank God that year is well and truly done with. What an awful year 2016 was! At least we had Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange and Rogue One to make things slightly better.

These apes mean business!

However, looking back to previous years, the two other contenders for the Best Blockbuster Year Ever Award would have to be 2010, 2012 and 2014. 2014 was a particularily strong year with the likes of The LEGO Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Big Hero 6, Dawn for the Planet of the Apes, Godzilla, 22 Jump Street, Gone Girl and Interstellar all hitting our cinema screens. That said, it still doesn’t compare to 2017, and we’re only half way through the year!

In all honesty, I’ve been blown away by the high standard we’ve been seeing from this year’s movies, blockbuster or otherwise. Never have I enjoyed going to the cinema as much as I have over the past few months, and long may this fine form continue. As far as I’m concerned, 2017 is already the best year for blockbusters on record, and with films like Wonder Woman, Moonlight, Get Out and Girls Night gaining critical and commercial success, it’s also proving to be the most diverse. There’s still a long way to go on that front, but we’re going in the right direction.