Summer films of 2002: A box office tournament

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Back with another film tournament, this time hopping into the time machine to journey back to the top films from the summer box office of 2002.

Going on close to 50 years now, the summer blockbuster (or two) has been a cornerstone and basis for a movie studio's yearly success. A stellar return at the box office solidifies a studio's status in the game, while a bust could sink a studio for years and years.

June and July were often the focus months of the summer blockbuster, with the occasional May movie slipped in. The summer season soon expanded from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with earlier and earlier release dates in May for the summer movie popping up. This even extended back to the month of April as the films of Marvel grew their stranglehold at the box office.

For the first time since the pre-Pandemic times of 2019, the battle of the summer box office in 2022 could be a true heater. A Jurassic World, the next Thor, and Elvis are all films expected to make box office noise this summer. Action has already begun with the Dr. Strange sequel and kicked into high gear over Memorial Day weekend with the release of Top Gun: Maverick.


Twenty years ago, the summer of 2002 was gearing up to belong to one film. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones was the much-anticipated sequel to The Phantom Menace. The rise of Anakin Skywalker was taking its next step and, despite the release being in May, many thought by the end of the summer this film would rule the box office.

It was, however, another May release that took home the top spot of the summer.

Superhero movies had slowly begun to make a comeback, thanks to the X-Men. Tobey Maguire and Spider-Man took the throne to another level, and was the first film in the trilogy starring Maguire.

In fact, it was the first of three different origin stories surrounding Peter Parker, spanning eight films (plus at least four more where Spider-Man makes an appearance) in the last 20 years.

Spider-Man won the summer box office in 2002 but was it the best film?

It's that time again to let the Twitter experts decide as we embark on another film tournament. Started with the 1998 summer box office back in 2018, and a tournament has been done the summers since (except in 2020. Late spring of that year had the Best of the Box Office in the past 40 years tournament).

In the tournament for the summer box office of 2002, the top-16 domestic grossing films in each month for May thru August were ranked. Due to a lack of enough movies released in a couple of these months, some films were moved around, with a handful taken from Labor Day weekend of 2002.

Check out the matchups below. 

May region

The two highest grossing films of 2002 land in this region. Spider-Man and Attack of the Clones are two of the five films in this tournament that were top-10 at the box office for the year. (*Note: When the 1st-round voting for this region was nearly complete, it was kindly brought to my attention that both "Die Another Day" (11/22/2002) and "Catch Me If You Can" (12/25/2002) were holiday releases that year. That was my initial inclination as well, but for some reason I was convinced otherwise and included them in this bracket. They have now been removed.) 

Two real questions remain in this region. One, does About a Boy have enough recognition to make a run in this tournament? And two, will either Undercover Brother or The New Guy find a way to pull off a first-round upset?

  • 1) Spider-Man
  • 16) Ultimate X: The Movie
  • 8) Unfaithful
  • 9) About a Boy
  • 5) The Sum of All Fears
  • 12) The New Guy
  • 4) 
  • 13) Importance of Being Earnest
  • 6) Spirit: Stallion of  the Cimarron
  • 11) Undercover Brother
  • 3) 
  • 14) Deuces Wild
  • 7) Insomnia
  • 10) Enough
  • 2) Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
  • 15) Hollywood Ending

June region

In 2002, the bromance of Freddie Prinze Jr., and Matthew Lillard was close to a coming to an end. Their star-power was waning but definitely above a flicker, as evidenced by Scooby Doo being the top grossing summer film from the month.

Also at the top of their game was Adam Sandler, though he had a hiccup with his previous star vehicle in the year 2000 with Little Nicky. And while Mr. Deeds was a better film than the aforementioned, it was still not considered by many to be up to the usual Sandler fare.

This region is a bit wide-open, with animated films, spy movies, and Tom Cruise all vying to move on in this tournament.

  • 1) Scooby Doo
  • 16) 8 Women
  • 8) Bad Company
  • 9) Hey Arnold! The Movie
  • 5) The Bourne Identity
  • 12) Sunshine State
  • 4) Mr. Deeds
  • 13) Rivers & Tides
  • 6) Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
  • 11) Lovely & Amazing
  • 3) Minority Report
  • 14) 13 Conversations About One Thing
  • 7) Windtalkers
  • 10) Juwanna Mann
  • 2) Lilo & Stitch
  • 15) City by the Sea

July region

The top-ranked film in this region belongs to the final entry of the Austin Powers trilogy. Mike Myers is one of many stars in this region, standing alongside the likes of Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Hanks, to name a few. 

July was also a busy month for films geared towards the children/teens crowd. This includes Disney's foray into building a movie out of a theme ride and/or adventure. Long before The Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Haunted Mansion, there was The Country Bears. And this film is...well, it's something to that can only be seen to be believed.

  • 1) Austin Powers In Goldmember
  • 16) Swimfan
  • 8) Halloween: Resurrection
  • 9) Crocodile Hunter: Collison Course
  • 5) Like Mike
  • 12) The Powerpuff Girls Movie
  • 4) Stuart Little 2
  • 13) Tadpole
  • 6) Reign of Fire
  • 11) The Country Bears
  • 3) Road to Perdition
  • 14) Devdas
  • 7) K-19: The Widowmaker
  • 10) Eight-Legged Freaks
  • 2) Men in Black II
  • 15) Full Frontal

August region

"Swing away."

At the time, it was a swing and two hits for M. Night Shyamalan with August releases. The Sixth Sense took care of business in 1999 and, in 2002, it was Signs that did box office damage and took home the top seed in August. (Shyamalan's 2nd film, Unbreakable, was a November release but was still a major hit.)

This region also includes some of the first dramatic recognition for Jennifer Aniston with her performance in The Good Girl. And there is also a strong representation from comedians, including in dramatic roles. Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, Martin Lawrence, and Eddie Murphy are among those who were up on the big screen in August.

  • 1) Signs
  • 16) Mostly Martha
  • 8) Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat
  • 9) Serving Sara
  • 5) The Master of Disguise
  • 12) Undisputed
  • 4) Blue Crush
  • 13) Possession
  • 6) One Hour Photo
  • 11) Feardotcom
  • 3) Spy Kids 2
  • 14) S1mOne
  • 7) Blood Work
  • 10) The Good Girl
  • 2) XXX
  • 15) The Adventures of Pluto Nash

Voting takes place on Twitter (@jasonrh_78) and will continue on until a winner is crowned. Have fun and thanks for playing along! 

photo: Wikimedia Commons

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