The 2022 Summer blockbuster season is here with Top Gun: Maverick kicking things off to a flying start critically and hopefully, financially at the box office. The film is currently fresh at 97% at Rotten Tomatoes but this begs the question, will it be the highest rated film over the summer period? In this article I will be going through the major blockbuster films during the June-August summer period and predicting the Rotten Tomatoes score for the films, so this is me predicting the Rotten Tomatoes Score for the 2022 Summer Blockbuster.
The first film of the summer season is Jurassic World: Dominion which stomps into theaters on June 8. Now the Jurassic Park franchise has always been a hit or miss when it comes to quality of its films and the Tomatometer, the first Jurassic Park film is universally praised and has a healthy 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Jurassic World released 22 years after the original and while it didn’t quite reach the heights of Jurassic Park it was still an enjoyable film leaving it with a score of 71%. Not much can be said for its sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the film was a mess and introduced certain elements to the franchise that didn’t quite work which is why it has a rotten score of 47%. Jurassic World: Dominion however looks to be an improvement to its predecessor, for the first time ever dinosaurs are roaming the earth and will be part of the everyday lives of humans, let not also forget that the original cast of Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum are all set to return. I hope I don’t eat my words in saying that Jurassic World: Dominion is going to be one of the better films when it comes to franchise ending films.
Rotten Tomatoes Prediction: 75%
Pretty much a movie no one asked for yet we are getting it, Lightyear is due to grace our scene on the 16th of June. The original Toy Story films are often regarded as the best animated films ever and they all have a very good success rate when it comes to Rotten Tomatoes with its scores ranging from 97%-100%, However we will look at the other Pixar films that were given the prequel treatment. First up is Monsters University which has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%, it didn’t quite reach the potential it could have but it did offer a great insight into Mike & Sully’s relationship. The other film is Finding Dory which has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%, this film had to follow on the heights of Finding Nemo as we follow Dory’s journey in search of her parents. Lightyear isn’t a sequel or prequel so to speak but more rather a spinoff to the Toy Story franchise. Tim Allen will not be reprising his role as Buzz but Chris Evans will step in to fill those enormous shoes. While the trailers have been quite mediocre so far there is no doubt that the Pixar and Toy Story juggernaut will help carry this film.
Rotten Tomatoes Prediction: 78%
This is the franchise that won’t just end and why would it, with the release of Minions: Rise of Gru set to release at the end of June. The Minions character was an absolute hit with children and it also provided the older generation with Minion inspired memes/inspirational quotes. The first Minions movie didn’t fare well critically as it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 55%. This isn’t quite surprising as the story through that film was driven by anything significant like the first two Despicable Me films. However this film is supposed to be about the Minions meeting their beloved Gru for the first time and building their relationship that we have seen in the Despicable Me films. Judging by the trailers and the gags they have lined up for this film, it seems as if this film will be a hit for the kids but an absolute nightmare for the older audience.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%
Thundering into cinemas on July 7th, Thor: Love and Thunder looks set to reach the popular heights of its previous film Thor: Ragnarok which earned 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and the highest rated Thor film in its franchise to date. Taika Waititi is hoping lighting strikes twice for this film, he will introduce Mighty Thor performed by the returning Natalie Portman and Christian Bale will be playing the chilling role of Gorr the God Butcher, add in the Guardians of this Galaxy and this film is set to receive a warm welcome from fans and critics alike.
Rotten Tomatoes Prediction: 84%
Bullet Train is a film that is seemingly flying under the radar this year, the film stars Brad Pitt whose character is looking to escape the life of an assassin but is given one last task on a Tokyo bullet train. After watching the trailer this film feels quite similar to the John Wick franchise and Nobody albeit more lighthearted. The John Wick franchise is a great hit with the general audience and critics alike with the first film reaching 86% and John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum both reaching 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nobody is a film quite similar to John Wick which reached 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. David Leitch the director for Bullet Train has plenty of experience when coming to these films as he directed the first John Wick film, Nobody and Atomic Blonde.
Rotten Tomatoes Prediction: 87%
Nope
Jordan Peele is set to release his third film titled Nope which is a sci-fi horror film starring Daniel Kaluuyal, Steven Yeun and Keike Palmer. Jordan Peele’s previous two films were an absolute hit with Get Out exceeding all expectations with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 98% and putting Peele on the map as a director to keep an eye on in the future. His follow up film Us may not have reached the heights of Get Out but still earned an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nope seems to be diving well into the sci-fi genre and judging by the trailers we may see quite a few twists here and there as the film unfolds.
Rotten Tomatoes Prediction: 90%
So that’s every major blockbuster film releasing in theaters over the summer period of June – August. There are a lot of films to be excited for and hopefully they all reach our expectations. The predictions are most certainly wild but we will have to wait to see how accurate they are.
