Ever since 1975, when Steven Spielberg’s Jaws gobbled up every box-office record in sight, Hollywood has treated the warmer weeks of the year like a launching ground for its most expensive, extravagant productions—a whole season of would-be blockbusters, vying for our moviegoing attention from the beginning of May until the end of August. There will, of course, will be very few, if any, blockbusters coming to a theater near you this summer. On a brand new episode of Film Club, critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife offer a history lesson of this suddenly halted tradition, before debating which year, in the 45 since Jaws, gave us the greatest summer blockbuster season.
Because The A.V. Club office is closed for the time being, and everyone on staff is social distancing, this episode was recorded remotely. Listen to the podcast above, subscribe on iTunes, and give us a five-star rating to help other listeners find us.