Top Movies Released 4th of July Weekend

Many movies have made their debut during, or just before, the 4th of July weekend. A handful of these movies, though, have left a lasting impact on the viewing audience. Being a "Top Movie" is relative to the person that is speaking. For that reason, I have included three categories on my "Top Movie" list. These movies are the most successful, most classic and most quoted movies that were released during the 4th of July weekends of the past.

Most Successful

Opening on July 3, 2002, "Men in Black II" raked in almost $53 million on opening weekend. "Superman Returns" brought in just over $52 million back in 2006. "War of the Worlds" is number 3 on this list for pulling in almost $65 million after opening on June 29, 2005. "Transformers" debuted on July 3, 2007 to the tune of $70.5 million. The top dog (or spider) for a 4th of July opening weekend was "Spider-Man 2" when it brought in over $88 million during the first weekend of July in 2004.

Modern Classic Movies

I once heard it said that a movie becomes a classic when ton of movies come out that were influenced by it. Some movies that came out during the 4th of July weekend that would fall into this category would include "Shaft," "The Blue Lagoon," "Back to the Future," "Independence Day," "Terminator 2," "Die Hard," "Die Hard 2," "Day of the Dead" and "Airplane!" These movies still hold their weight as being popular years after they came out, and have influenced hundreds of movies.

Most Quoted Movies

Every now and then, a movie comes out that becomes a cultural touchstone for movie fanatics. These are the movies that people rattle off lines from left and right. Some of these movies came out during the 4th of July weekend.

"Terminator 2" was another movie that gave us hundreds of lines to quote over the years. This movie made Arnold the King of One Liners when he proved that he could deliver timeless lines in a monotone voice. Try to think of how many lines you can come up with this movie is less than two minutes. I am sure that there are many.

"Airplane!" gave us so many cultural touchstone quotes that it would be impossible to list them all. The movie forced people named Roger and Shirley to carry around a chip on their shoulder. It made it so that people could not say the word "Jive" without referencing the movie. It also gave us dozens of offensive lines that cannot be repeated here.

There is one movie, though, that stands above both of these movies combined when it comes to quote-ability. Can anyone talk about a Delorian without mentioning a line from "Back to the Future?" I know a number of people, and you probably do as well, that could sit down and write the lines from "Back to the Future" from beginning to end.