Summer 2016 is upon us; let the season of popcorn movies begin! Take refuge from sun-parched reality with two hours of darkened, air-conditioned escapism. And prepare for the season by learning these factoids, covering the entire history of summer blockbusters, from Steven Spielberg's first big splash four decades ago to this year's most anticipated spectacles.

1. Summer 2016 will see at least 16 sequels, prequels, reboots, spin-offs, and adaptations of TV shows and video games. Oh, and there'll be some original movies, too.

2. The summer blockbuster was invented with the nationwide release of "Jaws" more than 40 years ago. Steven Spielberg made his reputation with the 1975 film, which chomped $123 million, a record at the time.

3. "Shrek 2" is the top-grossing animated feature of all time. Mike Myers's ogre scared up $441 million in the summer of 2004.

4. They used to call Will Smith "Mr. July." From 1996 ("Independence Day") to 2008 ("Hancock"), he battled aliens, robots, and other villains in half a dozen July smashes.

5. The three "Hangover" movies grossed a total of $1.5 billion worldwide -- and forced us all to learn how to spell "Galifianakis."

6. Former "Office" co-workers Mindy Kaling and Phyllis Smith are reuniting inside the main character's head in Pixar's June release "Inside Out," as the emotions Disgust and Sadness, respectively.

7. I pity the fool who doesn't know that "Rocky III" is the biggest boxing blockbuster ever released in the summer. The bout between Sylvester Stallone and Mr. T grossed $125 million back in 1982.

8. Elizabeth Banks is making bank this summer. Not only is she in "Magic Mike XXL" and "Pitch Perfect 2" (reprising the role of Gail), but she's also making her directing debut on the latter.

9. O Captain, my captain! Even though school was out, "Dead Poets Society" became the top-earning inspirational-teacher movie ever in the summer of 1989, rhyming its way to a $96 million gross.

10. July's "Pixels" marks the 11th movie that Adam Sandler and Kevin James have made together. Fall's "Hotel Transylvania 2" will be the 12th.

11. Hollywood's biggest summer ever? That would be 2013, when the industry sold $4.9 billion worth of tickets in North America, accounting for 44 percent of the year's total grosses.

12. June's "Jurassic World" is just director Colin Trevorrow's second movie. His first? "Safety Not Guaranteed." Which would have made a good title for "Jurassic World," too.

13. May's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is the third collaboration between Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) and James Spader (Ultron). Three decades ago, they co-starred in "Tuff Turf" and "Less Than Zero."

14. Fifty-four years after D-Day, "Saving Private Ryan" became the most lucrative World War II movie ever made. It grossed $217 million in 1998, giving new meaning to the phrase "Earn this."

15. Robot Ultron is Tony Stark's creation in "Avengers: Age of Ultron," but in the comics, he's the brainchild of Hank Pym, Michael Douglas' character in July's "Ant-Man."

16. "Terminator: Genisys" star Arnold Schwarzenegger, 67, has played the cyborg once in each decade since the 1980s, starting when he was 37. Maybe Richard Linklater should have cast him in "Boyhood."

17. Paul Rudd's not just the star of "Ant-Man," he also co-wrote the screenplay. It's the second time he's written himself a lead role in a movie; the first was 2008's "Role Models."

18. It's a comedy summer for master thespian Morgan Freeman. He's in "Ted 2," and he stars in "5 Flights Up," where he and Diane Keaton are a couple trying to move out of hipster-infested Brooklyn.

19. "Poltergeist" and "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial," Steven Spielberg's twin tales of supernatural intruders in the suburbs, opened a week apart in June 1982.

20. Before playing the invisible Sue Storm in August's "Fantastic Four" reboot, Kate Mara played the character on an episode of Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken."

21. Riding the career boost he got from "Ted," Sam Jones says there's finally going to be a sequel to 1980's "Flash Gordon." Meanwhile, he's playing himself again in "Ted 2."

22. John Hughes' first two movie scripts, "Mr. Mom" and "National Lampoon's Vacation," hit the big screen just one week apart in July 1983.

23. According to a spoof story in Variety, "Entourage" fans who felt the HBO show had jumped the shark raised $3 million via Kickstarter to prevent the making of the big-screen version, due in June.

24. Where's Sandra Bullock been since "Gravity"? Or Jon Hamm since "Mad Men" wrapped? Well, they both have voice roles in "Despicable Me" spinoff "Minions," out in July.

25. "Goosebumps" author R.L. Stine is himself a character in the August adaptation of his kiddie-horror stories. He's played by Jack Black.

26. Parental complaints about extreme violence in summer 1984's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Gremlins" led to the creation of the PG-13 rating, first applied that August to "Red Dawn."

27. Bill Murray didn't want to make another "Ghostbusters," but he's in June's similarly premised "B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations," alongside "St. Vincent" co-star Melissa McCarthy.

28. Notorious for ignoring requests to appear in movies, Murray will also show up in May in Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy "Aloha" with "Zombieland" castmate Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper.

29. "Hot Pursuit," the cop-and-witness-on-the-lam comedy coming in May and starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, originally had a much less generic title: "Don't Mess With Texas."

30. George Miller wanted to direct May's "Mad Max: Fury Road" back in 2002, with original star Mel Gibson, but he postponed the film because of security fears about shooting in Africa after 9/11.

31. August's "Sinister," a follow-up to the 2012 Ethan Hawke horror hit, features a new family in the haunted house. James Ransone's detective is the only character returning from the original film.

32. "Tomorrowland" nearly reunited George Clooney with "Descendants" co-star Shailene Woodley, but she turned down the part. Instead, the May release stars Britt Robertson.

33. Jason Statham is not in June's "Transporter" reboot, but he is in the May espionage spoof "Spy" with Melissa McCarthy.

34. In August 2010, Julia Roberts had a summer hit with "Eat Pray Love." Her brother Eric was in the action smash "The Expendables," released the same day.

35. May's earthquake thriller "San Andreas," starring Dwayne Johnson, sounds a lot like Universal Studios Florida's "Mutha Nature," a ride simulating a mock disaster movie starring Johnson.

36. Paul Giamatti is in two big movies this summer. He's in May's "San Andreas" alongside The Rock, and he's music manager Jerry Heller in August's N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton."

37. Was 2001 the worst movie summer ever? "The Mummy Returns," "Pearl Harbor," "Planet of the Apes," "Dr. Dolittle 2," "America's Sweethearts," "Cats & Dogs," "Swordfish" -- and those were the hits.

38. Paul Walker was up for the title role in video game franchise reboot "Hitman: Agent 47," but after his death in 2013, the role went to "Homeland" co-star Rupert Friend.

39. Hugh Jackman wanted a cameo in the new "Avengers" so that Wolverine could fight Iron Man. We'll have to settle for him as the pirate Blackbeard in July's Peter Pan prequel "Pan."

40. Does Cameron Crowe's "Aloha" sound familiar? Businessman messes up a big deal and falls in love with a young flier -- wasn't that the plot of Crowe's "Elizabethtown"?

41. "Insidious" writer/co-star Leigh "Specs" Whannell made his directing debut with June prequel "Insidious: Chapter 3," since fellow ghoul James Wan was too busy directing "Furious 7."

42. Jared Harris will have two movies at the multiplex at once: July's horror reboot "Poltergeist" and August's TV series adaptation "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."

43. Who says summer blockbusters don't win Oscars? Hot-weather hits "Unforgiven" (1992), "Forrest Gump" (1994), "Braveheart" (1995), "Gladiator" (2000), and "Crash" (2005) all won Best Picture.

44. It's a busy summer for the Mara sisters. Kate is starring in August's "Fantastic Four," and Rooney plays Tiger Lily in July's "Pan."

45. LeBron James is making his feature film acting debut in Amy Schumer's romantic comedy "Trainwreck" (July). It shouldn't be too big a stretch for the hoops icon; he's playing himself.

46. The four "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies have grossed $3.7 billion worldwide. That's a lot of booty.

47. Before Ice Cube was the cuddly star of "Are We There Yet," he was part of pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A. His son O'Shea Jackson Jr. plays him in N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton."

48. Fans of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." may enjoy retro spy thriller "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." It's an adaptation of the 1964-68 TV series that was Stan Lee's inspiration for S.H.I.E.L.D.

49. What does Tom Cruise have to do to impress you? For July's "Mission: Impossible 5," the 52-year-old strapped himself to the outside of a plane flying at 5,000 feet. No stunt double.

50. Is Samuel L. Jackson the king of summer? He's been in 21 warm-weather hits that have grossed an average of $197 million domestically, for a total of $4.1 billion.