When some of us were kids, there was no Internet. You actually had to buy the paper or go to your local movie theater and see what they were playing and what show you were planning to attend. Reserved seats? Think again. Going to see your favorite film was a mix of stale popcorn, warm Coke, and large crowds trying to fit in a small room where digital projections were a dream far, far away. The summer was the same, only multiplied by vacationing crowds who sometimes only had the film theater to rest from the scorching heat.
There will never be a movie summer like 1982. It's in the books. Several blockbusters that followed up on previous entries, Spielberg dominating the industry, and horror showing why it was so huge during the '80s. You think this could be compared to the current trend of multiplexes where there's always an MCU movie being shown or a Disney animated production, but we guarantee you it's not. There was no streaming, and VHS technology isn't even comparable. You had to go to the theater, and if you were not going to school, watching your next favorite film on the big screen seemed like a great idea.
We could timeline this thing, but we'd rather pull a twist and give you an idea of how the movie summer of 1982 went by according to genres.
The Epic (and two long-awaited sequels)
In the '80s, Rocky Balboa was a staple of pop culture. He had become America's boxer and the frontman for sports movies. The first two films were huge successes and the third one Rocky III was no exception. This one brought Sylvester Stallone's Balboa against Mr. T's Clubber, and Survivor's Eye of the Tiger played in the background. Talk about an effective recipe. Released on May 28, it's no wonder it became the second highest-grossing film of 1982 in the entire world.
But a few days before, America had met Arnold Schwarzenegger through Conan the Barbarian. Released on May 14, the film presented an epic fantasy film with enough violence to leave everyone hungry for more sword-wielding heroes. Curiously, producers thought of Charles Bronson at first for the main role, as well as Stallone. His casting would have made this his summer.
Star Trek also returned to theaters that year and made a great statement in the form of a sequel that's still heralded as one of the best in film history. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released on June 4, and was a huge box-office hit. It cost much less than the first one and gave a dramatic backbone to a franchise that didn't have that much presence in film. Of course, the producers were very happy with the result. That and audiences that felt hypnotized by fantastic special effects and a great hairdo by Ricardo Montalbán.
The Horror
Panicking screams were also heard in theaters during the summer of 1982. But it was all good. You were alongside your family for the release of Poltergeist on June 4. Spielberg and Hooper fought for that PG rating that allowed it to blow kiddie's minds all over the world. This was the highest-grossing horror film of 1982, and it confirmed Spielberg's touch as important and effective. It was so, so successful, it was actually released during Halloween of that year again. And what did people do? They attended to see the Freelings face unimaginable beings from other realms.
But not everything was great in 1982 in regard to the box office. John Carpenter's The Thing was released on June 25 and it may be an excellent feature, but back in that summer, it wasn't successful audience-wise. This one actually made Carpenter lose the gig for directing Firestarter. However, can you imagine watching The Thing in 1982? It's one of those experiences a few of us dream about. The texture, the special effects, the cold, and the blood sampling scene. What a great horror film!
Then on August 13, all bets were off and Jason Voorhees slashed the box-office expectations. Friday the 13th Part III was in 3D, it promised to end the trilogy (hah! We were suckers), and it was the most violent of the bunch. This one actually took Poltergeist off the first spot and became the second-highest-grossing horror film of 1982. A double feature with those two could have easily been a 13-year-old dream.
The Sci-Fi
In 1982, we were able to see other worlds as well. Science fiction promised to be huge with the progress of special effects. A certain friendly alien paved the way for dreams to become true, even if they implied saying goodbye to your best friend.
E.T. The Extraterrestrial was released on June 11, and it changed cinema. It stomped on the success of Star Wars and quickly the highest-grossing film of all time. Spielberg had proven again aliens were not that bad, and The Thing didn't even make us flinch at that idea. This one had it all. Cool kids, BMXs, great use for the Speak & Spell, and Reese's bites. We can only imagine seeing E.T. and Elliott fly by the moon, with John Williams' score in the background for the first time. We don't know if people cheered, or if they stared in awe as the blockbuster concept was redone again by Spielberg.
Blade Runner was released on June 25 and the reason is simple. Producer Alan Ladd Jr. thought the 25 was a lucky number that gave him previous hits in the form of Star Wars. However, Ridley Scott's fantastic sci-fi film didn't do as good as its summer partners. It was a much more complex film, and not as family-friendly as its peers. For those of you fortunate enough to see it back in the day, we can only guess which version you saw. Yes, in its theatrical run Blade Runner was already suffering from edits and cuts that make the franchise confusing in regards to version. In any case, imagine a double-feature show with this one and The Thing.
Then on July 9, minds were broken when Steven Lisberger's Tron was released. No one understood computers completely, and Disney's most important live-action film got characters inside a mainframe computer. In any case, the great special effects were responsible to make people go to theaters and enjoy the adventures of a very intelligent man inside a world only he understands. To this day, we haven't forgotten the sound of a light cycle crashing into oblivion.