10 Most Promising Summer Blockbusters

'Jaws' takes top honors, but some surprises make the list

(NEWSER) - Summer is all about the beach and blockbusters, and Time Out New York set out on a big mission: To rank the 30 best. It set a few restrictions—films had to hit theaters between May and August, had to gross more than $100 million globally, and couldn't be surprise hits, a la The Blair Witch Project. Highlights:

1. Jaws, 1975: This wasn't just a nail-biter, it was a trailblazer, the first flick to use a "wide-release" strategy, which no doubt helped make it the first film to rake in more than $100 million.

4. Ghostbusters, 1984: An action-sci-fi hybrid dosed with SNL-style humor, it proved that something-for-everyone mash-ups can make a smash at the box office.

(NEWSER) - Long live John Hughes, writes Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times. The director died "ridiculously young" today at 59, but he leaves an "unparalleled" legacy. "It was hard not to see a piece of ourselves in his films, especially his great '80s teen comedies, which seemed to have a direct pipeline into the depths of the angst-ridden teenage soul." Goldstein hunts up an old article of his in which he found similar sentiments among some of today's top filmmakers: More»

(NEWSER) - Funny People laughed its way to the top of the box office this weekend with $23.4 million, USA Today reports. But that’s less than analysts predicted, and not enough to beef up this summer’s mediocre ticket sales. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came second with $17.7 million, while G-Force ($17 million), The Ugly Truth ($13 million), and family newcomer Aliens in the Attic ($7.8 million) rounded out the top five. More»

Box office performance for latest flick a mystery

(NEWSER) - Though it’s called Funny People, Adam Sandler’s latest film is a bit more serious than his fans are used to—and its opening-weekend performance is a mystery, Variety reports. Forecasts range from just over $20 million to more like $35 million, Audiences loved director Judd Apatow’s prior efforts—which were more upbeat than the R-rated, 2½-hour Funny People. More»

(NEWSER) - Judd Apatow doesn't dispense entirely with his raunchy humor in Funny People, but his venture into more serious themes meets mixed success with critics. Most, however, love Adam Sandler as a gravely ill comedian confronting the emptiness of his life.

• Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: "Apatow scores by crafting the film equivalent of a stand-up routine that encompasses the joy, pain, anger, loneliness and aching doubt that go into making an audience laugh."
• Manohla Dargis, New York Times: "There’s something irritatingly self-satisfied about (it), which explains why, though it glances on the perils of fame, it mostly affirms its pleasures."