After a whole summer’s worth of spicy movies, school is about to start back up and the season of blockbusters is coming to an end. So what better way to decide which film was the winner of summer than a tournament? We have decided to pit the summer’s top eight movies against one another and see who took home the crown for the summer’s best movie. The challengers, as ranked by box office sales (from BoxOfficeMojo.com), are:
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Incredibles 2
- Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
- Deadpool 2
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Ant-Man and The Wasp
- Oceans 8
- Mission Impossible: Fallout
The tournament will follow standard tournament rules, with the seeding as follows: 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, 5v4. The winner will be decided on three factors: box office numbers, Rotten Tomatoes score and overall opinion. The winner will advance and face the winner of the next matchup until a final winner is crowned. Without further adieu, the tournament begins!
“Avengers: Infinity War” (1) vs “Mission Impossible: Fallout” (8)
This one was much tougher than you would think. While “Avengers” just might be the best superhero movie ever made, it is going up against one of the best true action films of the last decade, and it is still going strong. “Avengers” gained an obscene amount of money, and any movie, let alone “Mission Impossible,” would be hard pressed to pass that. However, Mission Impossible is better ranked by critics according to Rotten Tomatoes at 97 percent versus 83 percent. In the end, a fantastic critic score is just not enough to surpass the mighty “Avengers.” Audiences the world around flocked to the nearest theaters just to see all of their favorite superheroes on screen, and the word of mouth made it one of the highest grossing movies of all time. This round goes to “Avengers: Infinity War.”
“Incredibles 2” (2) vs “Oceans 8” (7)
In this battle of the sequels, we have the much beloved animated superhero romp up against the all-female heist adventure. It is not much of a battle however, as Incredibles 2 wins on all fronts: it earned more money, was reviewed better and was just the overall better film. This is no disrespect to the ladies of crime in “Oceans 8,” but this was the sequel that no one saw coming, whereas we have been waiting for “Incredibles 2” for a decade now, and we were not disappointed. Who doesn't love a good Pixar film anyway? “Incredibles 2” moves on.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (3) vs “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (6)
Dinosaurs versus bugs, who knew? The dino franchise had a monster of a release in the middle of June, and they were quickly catapulted into one of the highest grossing films of the summer. In the other corner, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” was the very well reviewed superhero film that bookended the summer of supers, and it was much better than many viewers thought it would be. While the dinos made more money, many people thought it just really was not a good movie. And thus, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” moves on, and we have our first upset.
“Deadpool 2” (4) vs “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (5)
This matchup is an interesting one. These two middleweights made a lot of noise in the summer, but which one was better? While it may seem close, “Deadpool 2” is the winner on all fronts. It made over $100 million more at the box office, was rated better on Rotten Tomatoes, and was the darling of May, as opposed to the much less discussed “Solo.” The self-aware hero moves on, “Deadpool 2” is the clear winner here.
ROUND 2
“Avengers: Infinity War” (1) vs “Deadpool 2” (4)
The superhero films continue to duke it out with this matchup. However, this one is not as close as it was the first time around for the Avengers. While “Deadpool 2” just might be the comedy of the summer, the Avengers had a better score on Rotten Tomatoes as well as a better word of mouth, and the higher box office numbers go without saying. The Avengers advance to the finals, can they win it all?
“Incredibles 2” (2) vs “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (6)
The world really must love superhero films for the summer to have this many blockbusters. This match is most likely the fiercest of the tournament. Should it be the animated family film that caught the hearts of millions? Or the underdog Marvel movie that truly wowed many fans? As it turns out, “Incredibles 2” recently became the highest grossing animated film of all time in America, and it is well on its way to becoming one of the highest grossing films in America, period. If that is not enough to warrant a summer finals appearance, remember: it also has a higher ranking on rotten tomatoes. “Incredibles 2” moves on.
FINALS
“Avengers: Infinity War” (1) vs “Incredibles 2” (2)
And then there were two. Summer blockbusters bring out the best in movies, and these two heavyweights are no exception. One of Pixar’s best goes up against the superhero team-up that was 10 years in the making. In the end, there can only be one. After a monstrous box office haul and the fact that the movie is STILL playing in theaters, over three months since it released, there is one obvious winner: “Avengers, Infinity War.” Would it really end any other way? While it was a hard fought battle, and also much closer at times than you may have thought, “Avengers” felt bound to be the winner all along.
And there you have it! The summers eight best films put to the test against one another, and only one fantastic film prevailed. It goes without saying that if you have not seen any of these films already, do so as soon as possible; each and every one are wonderful movies, and audiences are still talking about them all. With the season over and the blockbusters finished, the tournament is now at a close. Who do you think will win it all next year?
