Big hair, synthesizer-heavy music, pastel clothes, Reaganomics, and the fall of the Iron Curtain…What a mashup the 1980s were. For a peek at how the styles and events of the era were reflected in popular culture, consider the biggest box office hits of that decade.
After the rise of independent filmmaking and the so-called New Hollywood in the 1960s and ‘70s, blockbusters were the big story of the ‘80s. Action flicks pulled in big bucks as major franchises grabbed hold of audiences and began to forge strong, emotional connections with the public. Science fiction proved to be lucrative for movie producers, as moviegoers were drawn to the escapism of the “Star Wars” films and other fantasies. (These are the 23 best sci-fi movies about time travel.)
To identify the biggest box office hits of the 1960’s, 24/7 Tempo reviewed box office data from The Numbers, an online movie database owned by consulting firm Nash Information Services, as updated in April 2021. Rankings for box office success were out of 4,230 movies for which data was available. The actors and directors for each movie come from IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon.
Some comedies did well in the era (“Coming to America,” “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”) as did some distinctly different views of the Vietnam War (“Platoon,” “Good Morning, Vietnam”). And as a harbinger of things to come, a couple of comic book characters began to make successful crossovers to the movies.
Interestingly, from an economic perspective, only the top three movies on this list earned receipts (not adjusted for inflation) that would have put them on a par with the biggest box office hits since 2000.
Nonetheless, these were the undisputed box office champions of their time.
43. Parenthood (1989)
> Domestic box office: $100.1 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #776 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards
> Director: Ron Howard
42. Stir Crazy (1980)
> Domestic box office: $101.3 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #747 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams
> Director: Sidney Poitier
41. 9 to 5 (1980)
> Domestic box office: $103.3 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #713 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman
> Director: Colin Higgins
40. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
> Domestic box office: $106.6 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #684 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone
> Director: Bruce Beresford
39. Superman II (1980)
> Domestic box office: $108.2 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #667 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty
> Directors: Richard Lester, Richard Donner
38. Terms of Endearment (1983)
> Domestic box office: $108.4 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #663 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito
> Director: James L. Brooks
37. Porky’s (1981)
> Domestic box office: $109.5 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #657 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson
> Director: Bob Clark
36. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
> Domestic box office: $109.7 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #656 out of all movies in database
> Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan
> Director: Leonard Nimoy
35. The Little Mermaid (1989)
> Domestic box office: $111.5 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #641 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes
> Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
34. Twins (1988)
> Domestic box office: $111.9 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #637 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb
> Director: Ivan Reitman
33. Ghostbusters II (1989)
> Domestic box office: $112.5 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #634 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
> Director: Ivan Reitman
32. Big (1988)
> Domestic box office: $115.0 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #616 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard
> Director: Penny Marshall
31. The Karate Kid II (1986)
> Domestic box office: $115.1 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #614 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Pat Morita, Ralph Macchio, Pat E. Johnson, Bruce Malmuth
> Director: John G. Avildsen
30. Back to the Future II (1989)
> Domestic box office: $118.5 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #587 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson
> Director: Robert Zemeckis
29. On Golden Pond (1981)
> Domestic box office: $119.3 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #580 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Doug McKeon
> Director: Mark Rydell
28. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
> Domestic box office: $123.9 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #552 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tom. T. Tran, Chintara Sukapatana
> Director: Barry Levinson
27. Rocky III (1982)
> Domestic box office: $125.1 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #542 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
> Director: Sylvester Stallone
26. Rocky IV (1985)
> Domestic box office: $127.9 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #514 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
> Director: Sylvester Stallone
25. Coming to America (1988)
> Domestic box office: $128.2 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #510 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Eddie Murphy, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais, Feather
> Director: John Landis
24. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
> Domestic box office: $129.8 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #502 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia
> Director: Taylor Hackford
23. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
> Domestic box office: $130.7 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #492 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, Kristine Sutherland
> Director: Joe Johnston
22. Platoon (1986)
> Domestic box office: $138.0 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #452 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David
> Director: Oliver Stone
21. Look Who’s Talking (1989)
> Domestic box office: $140.1 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #438 out of all movies in database
> Starring: John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Olympia Dukakis, George Segal
> Director: Amy Heckerling
20. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
> Domestic box office: $147.3 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #399 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Patsy Kensit
> Director: Richard Donner
19. Gremlins (1984)
> Domestic box office: $148.2 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #397 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, John Louie
> Director: Joe Dante
18. Rambo – First Blood Part 2 (1985)
> Domestic box office: $150.4 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #382 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff
> Director: George P. Cosmatos
17. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
> Domestic box office: $153.7 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #376 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Jürgen Prochnow, Ronny Cox
> Director: Tony Scott
16. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
> Domestic box office: $154.1 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #373 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer
> Director: Robert Zemeckis
15. Fatal Attraction (1987)
> Domestic box office: $156.6 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #363 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Latzen
> Director: Adrian Lyne
14. Three Men and a Baby (1987)
> Domestic box office: $167.8 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #321 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, Nancy Travis
> Director: Leonard Nimoy
13. Rain Man (1988)
> Domestic box office: $172.8 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #302 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen
> Director: Barry Levinson
12. Tootsie (1982)
> Domestic box office: $177.2 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #280 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman
> Director: Sydney Pollack
11. Top Gun (1986)
> Domestic box office: $179.8 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #274 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer
> Director: Tony Scott
10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
> Domestic box office: $179.9 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #273 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri
> Director: Steven Spielberg
9. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
> Domestic box office: $197.2 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #231 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott
> Director: Steven Spielberg
8. Back to the Future (1985)
> Domestic box office: $212.3 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #199 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
> Director: Robert Zemeckis
7. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
> Domestic box office: $225.7 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #171 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
> Director: Steven Spielberg
6. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
> Domestic box office: $234.8 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #153 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher
> Director: Martin Brest
5. Ghostbusters (1984)
> Domestic box office: $242.2 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #143 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
> Director: Ivan Reitman
4. Batman (1989)
> Domestic box office: $251.2 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #134 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
> Director: Tim Burton
3. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
> Domestic box office: $291.7 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #101 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
> Director: Irvin Kershner
2. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
> Domestic box office: $309.2 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #89 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
> Director: Richard Marquand
1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
> Domestic box office: $435.1 million
> Box office rank out of all movies: #28 out of all movies in database
> Starring: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Dee Wallace
> Director: Steven Spielberg