Steven Spielberg’s Biggest Movie Just Hit HBO Max
Jaws wasn’t Steven Spielberg’s first movie. However, that 1975 classic did mark the start of his run as the go-to blockbuster filmmaker. Over the years, Spielberg would helm a variety of hits across just about every genre. But despite its status as a cultural phenomenon, Jaws wasn’t even the director’s most popular movie at the box office. Rather, that honor goes to another Spielberg film, one which is currently available on HBO Max.
Steven Spielberg’s career is filled with beloved movies
In the decade following Jaws, Spielberg was nearly unstoppable. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and The Color Purple all hit theaters by 1985. And in that bunch, Spielberg solidified his A-list status as the rare filmmaker as beloved by critics as audiences. Of course, he’s built on that reputation a ton since then.
In the 1990s and beyond, Spielberg earned two Best Director Academy Awards for Schindler’s List — which also won Best Picture — and Saving Private Ryan. And amid his award-nominated dramas, the director released escapist thrill rides such as Minority Report, War of the Worlds, and Ready Player One. However, none of these movies made quite the impact of Spielberg’s biggest hit.
His biggest hit movie is now streaming on HBO Max
Of all the movies Spielberg has directed, the most successful is easily 1993’s Jurassic Park. The film — based on the Michael Crichton novel — is the filmmaker’s only $1 billion grosser, according to The-Numbers.com. And with those numbers unadjusted for inflation, Spielberg’s signature hit would likely end up with far more impressive numbers. Speaking of which, the director himself earned more than $250 million from the movie.
Jurassic Park — along with its first two sequels — is currently available to stream on HBO Max. The streaming service is currently promoting the films as the “Jurassic Park trilogy.” Although the franchise went on, it did so as the rebooted Jurassic World franchise. Spielberg only directed 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park. But he remained an executive producer on 2001’s Jurassic Park III and all subsequent installments of the franchise.
‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ hits theaters in 2022
Naturally, audiences rarely turn down the chance to tap into nostalgia. So Spielberg’s Jurassic Park series is still thriving nearly 30 years later. 2015’s Jurassic World is technically the filmmaker’s highest-grossing movie, although he didn’t direct it. And its success soon led to a sequel of its own, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
That 2018 movie set up the intriguing prospect of a world in which dinosaurs freely roam the Earth. Can humanity learn to coexist with these prehistoric beasts? That’s the question behind the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion. The movie — directed by Colin Trevorrow — hits theaters on June 10, 2022.
