The 1980s at the Box Office: Ten Standout Films from Every Year

10/21/20266 min read

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These years brought science-fiction spectacles, action adventures, comedies, and family animation to the forefront. The rankings below use nominal worldwide grosses where estimates are available; figures are approximate, may vary by source, and include later re-releases when noted. They are not domestic-gross rankings.

1980

1. The Empire Strikes Back—Irvin Kershner; Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher; about $538 million worldwide, including re-releases. 2. Airplane!—Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker; Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen; about $171 million. 3. Superman II—Richard Lester; Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman; about $108 million. 4. Stir Crazy—Sidney Poitier; Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor; about $101 million. 5. Nine to Five—Colin Higgins; Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton; about $103 million. 6. Any Which Way You Can—Buddy Van Horn; Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke; about $70 million. 7. Private Benjamin—Howard Zieff; Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan; about $69 million. 8. Coal Miner’s Daughter—Michael Apted; Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones; about $67 million. 9. Popeye—Robert Altman; Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall; about $60 million. 10. The Blue Lagoon—Randal Kleiser; Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins; about $59 million. Totals and ordering are approximate.

1981

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark—Steven Spielberg; Harrison Ford, Karen Allen; about $390 million, including re-releases. 2. For Your Eyes Only—John Glen; Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet; about $195 million. 3. On Golden Pond—Mark Rydell; Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda; about $119 million. 4. Arthur—Steve Gordon; Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli; about $95 million. 5. Stripes—Ivan Reitman; Bill Murray, Harold Ramis; about $85 million. 6. The Cannonball Run—Hal Needham; Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise; about $72 million. 7. The Fox and the Hound—Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Art Stevens; Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell; about $63 million. 8. Chariots of Fire—Hugh Hudson; Ben Cross, Ian Charleson; about $59 million. 9. The Great Muppet Caper—Jim Henson; Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Charles Grodin; about $31 million. 10. Escape from New York—John Carpenter; Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef; about $25 million. Worldwide totals are historical estimates.

1982

1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial—Steven Spielberg; Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace; about $793 million, including re-releases. 2. Tootsie—Sydney Pollack; Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange; about $177 million. 3. An Officer and a Gentleman—Taylor Hackford; Richard Gere, Debra Winger; about $130 million. 4. Gandhi—Richard Attenborough; Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen; about $128 million. 5. Rocky III—Sylvester Stallone; Stallone, Carl Weathers; about $125 million. 6. First Blood—Ted Kotcheff; Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna; about $125 million. 7. Poltergeist—Tobe Hooper; JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson; about $122 million. 8. Porky’s—Bob Clark; Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier; about $105 million. 9. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan—Nicholas Meyer; William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy; about $97 million. 10. 48 Hrs.—Walter Hill; Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy; about $78 million. Figures are approximate worldwide grosses, not inflation-adjusted.

Sequels, family entertainment, action adventures, and ambitious productions drove commercial success across these years. Figures below are nominal reported worldwide theatrical grosses in U.S. dollars, not inflation-adjusted; totals can vary by source and may include re-releases.

1983: 1. Return of the Jedi — Richard Marquand; Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher; $475.1m (includes re-releases). 2. Tootsie — Sydney Pollack; Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr; $241.1m. 3. Flashdance — Adrian Lyne; Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri; $201.5m. 4. Octopussy — John Glen; Roger Moore, Maud Adams; $187.5m. 5. Never Say Never Again — Irvin Kershner; Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer; about $160m. 6. Staying Alive — Sylvester Stallone; John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes; $127.9m. 7. Trading Places — John Landis; Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy; $120.6m. 8. Terms of Endearment — James L. Brooks; Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger; $108.4m. 9. Superman III — Richard Lester; Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor; $80.2m. 10. WarGames — John Badham; Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy; $79.6m.

1984: 1. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — Steven Spielberg; Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw; $333.1m. 2. Beverly Hills Cop — Martin Brest; Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold; $316.3m. 3. Ghostbusters — Ivan Reitman; Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd; $296.6m. 4. Gremlins — Joe Dante; Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates; $212.9m. 5. Police Academy — Hugh Wilson; Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall; $146m. 6. The Karate Kid — John G. Avildsen; Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita; $130.8m. 7. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — Leonard Nimoy; William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy; $87m. 8. Romancing the Stone — Robert Zemeckis; Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner; $86.6m. 9. Footloose — Herbert Ross; Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer; about $80m. 10. The Terminator — James Cameron; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton; $78.3m.

1985: 1. Back to the Future — Robert Zemeckis; Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd; $381.1m (includes re-releases). 2. Rocky IV — Sylvester Stallone; Stallone, Dolph Lundgren; $300.5m. 3. Rambo: First Blood Part II — George P. Cosmatos; Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna; $300.4m. 4. Out of Africa — Sydney Pollack; Meryl Streep, Robert Redford; $227.5m. 5. The Color Purple — Steven Spielberg; Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey; about $142m. 6. Police Academy 2 — Jerry Paris; Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith; $115.1m. 7. Cocoon — Ron Howard; Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley; $85.3m. 8. Witness — Peter Weir; Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis; $68.7m. 9. The Goonies — Richard Donner; Sean Astin, Josh Brolin; $61.5m. 10. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome — George Miller and George Ogilvie; Mel Gibson, Tina Turner; about $36m.

1986

Worldwide grosses are approximate, unadjusted dollars; rankings reflect reported theatrical totals. Top Gun — Tony Scott; Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis — $357m. Crocodile Dundee — Peter Faiman; Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski — $328m. Aliens — James Cameron; Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn — $131m. Platoon — Oliver Stone; Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe — $138m. The Karate Kid Part II — John G. Avildsen; Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita — $115m. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — Leonard Nimoy; William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy — $110m. The Color Purple — Steven Spielberg; Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey — $98m. Back to School — Alan Metter; Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman — $91m. An American Tail — Don Bluth; voices of Phillip Glasser and Christopher Plummer — $85m. The Golden Child — Michael Ritchie; Eddie Murphy, Charlotte Lewis — $79m.

1987

Fatal Attraction — Adrian Lyne; Michael Douglas, Glenn Close — $320m. Beverly Hills Cop II — Tony Scott; Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold — $300m. Dirty Dancing — Emile Ardolino; Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey — $215m. Three Men and a Baby — Leonard Nimoy; Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg — $168m. Good Morning, Vietnam — Barry Levinson; Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker — $124m. Lethal Weapon — Richard Donner; Mel Gibson, Danny Glover — $120m. The Untouchables — Brian De Palma; Kevin Costner, Sean Connery — $106m. Predator — John McTiernan; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers — $98m. The Witches of Eastwick — George Miller; Jack Nicholson, Cher — $63m. Empire of the Sun — Steven Spielberg; Christian Bale, John Malkovich — $22m.

1988

Rain Man — Barry Levinson; Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise — $355m. Who Framed Roger Rabbit — Robert Zemeckis; Bob Hoskins, voices of Charles Fleischer and Kathleen Turner — $330m. Coming to America — John Landis; Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall — $289m. Crocodile Dundee II — John Cornell; Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski — $240m. Twins — Ivan Reitman; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito — $217m. Rambo III — Peter MacDonald; Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna — $189m. Cocktail — Roger Donaldson; Tom Cruise, Elisabeth Shue — $171m. Big — Penny Marshall; Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins — $152m. Die Hard — John McTiernan; Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman — $141m. A Fish Called Wanda — Charles Crichton; John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis — about $63m. Early worldwide totals vary by source and may include later re-releases; animation and overseas audiences joined action films as major commercial forces.

The 1989 box office was led by familiar franchises and high-concept entertainment, while romantic comedy and animation also found large audiences. The rankings below use films’ original release years and reported worldwide theatrical grosses in nominal dollars. Figures are rounded and may include later theatrical re-releases where totals are reported cumulatively; they should be treated as estimates rather than precise, directly comparable accounts.

1. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — Directed by Steven Spielberg; starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, and Alison Doody. Reported worldwide gross: approximately $474 million.

2. Batman — Directed by Tim Burton; starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger. Reported worldwide lifetime gross: approximately $412 million, including re-releases.

3. Back to the Future Part II — Directed by Robert Zemeckis; starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson. Reported worldwide gross: approximately $333 million.

4. Look Who’s Talking — Directed by Amy Heckerling; starring John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, and Olympia Dukakis. Reported worldwide gross: approximately $297 million.

5. Dead Poets Society — Directed by Peter Weir; starring Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, and Robert Sean Leonard. Reported worldwide gross: approximately $236 million.

6. Lethal Weapon 2 — Directed by Richard Donner; starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, and Joe Pesci. Reported worldwide gross: approximately $228 million.

7. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids — Directed by Joe Johnston; starring Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, and Marcia Strassman. Reported worldwide gross: approximately $223 million.

8. Ghostbusters II — Directed by Ivan Reitman; starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Sigourney Weaver. Reported worldwide gross: approximately $215 million.

9. The Little Mermaid — Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker; featuring the voices of Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, and Pat Carroll. Reported worldwide lifetime gross: approximately $211 million, including re-releases.

10. Licence to Kill — Directed by John Glen; starring Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, and Robert Davi. Reported worldwide gross: approximately $156 million.

Together, these successes capped the decade with a blend of blockbuster sequels, star-driven comedies, and enduring family films—an early sign of the increasingly franchise-focused cinema that would shape the 1990s.

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