Beginning in the late 1970s, Hollywood studio executives began to realize that summer movies -- usually of the action variety -- had the ability to absolutely clean up at the box office. Since then, some of the highest-grossing movies ever have been released between Memorial Day and Labor Day. For investors in companies like Disney (DIS -0.41%), the success of such summer hits plays a huge role in their investment thesis.

While Jurassic World is cleaning up this summer -- with over $500 million in U.S. ticket sales as of June 30 -- that still isn't enough to break into the top 10 of all time -- adjusted for inflation. You might be surprised to know that one series alone has captured four of the top 10 spots, and Disney now owns the rights to the lucrative franchise. To find out which movies I'm talking about, and to see who the other six are, check out the slideshow below.