80s Sensational Cinema
The 1980s saw the continued rise of the blockbuster, an increased amount of nudity in film and the increasing emphasis in the American industry on film franchises, especially in the science fiction, horror, and action genres. Much of the reliance on these effect-driven blockbusters was due in part to the Star Wars films at the advent of this decade and the new cinematic effects it helped to pioneer.
The teen comedy sub-genre saw its popularity rise during this decade.
In the US, the PG-13 rating was introduced in 1984, to accommodate films that straddled the line between PG and R.
Top grossing films
The following are the 10 top-grossing films of the decade:[1]
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), $435 million
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), $309 million
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), $290 million
- Batman (1989), $251 million
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), $245 million
- Ghostbusters (1984), $238 million
- Beverly Hills Cop (1984), $234 million
- Back to the Future (1985), $210 million
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), $197 million
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), $179 million
| Title | Video Link | iTunes | Amazon | Lifetime Gross Income | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Shining |  |
 |
 |
$44,360,123 | 1980 |
| Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back | |
N/A | |
$290,475,067 | 1980 |
| Airplane! | |
|
|
$83,453,539 | 1980 |
| The Elephant Man | |
|
|
$26,010,864 | 1980 |
| The Blue Lagoon | |
|
|
$58,853,106 | 1980 |
| The Karate Kid | |
|
|
$90,815,558 | 1980 |
| Caddyshack | |
|
|
$39,846,344 | 1980 |
| The Blues Brothers | |
|
|
$57,229,890 | 1980 |
| Indiana Jones - Raiders of The Lost Ark | |
|
|
$248,159,971 | 1981 |
| The Evil Dead | |
|
|
$2,400,000 | 1981 |
| Stripes | |
|
|
$85,297,000 | 1981 |
| Das Boot | |
|
|
$11,487,676 | 1981 |
| Blade Runner | |
|
|
$32,868,943 | 1982 |
| Fast Times At Ridgemont High | |
|
|
$27,092,880 | 1982 |
| E.T. | |
|
|
$435,110,554 | 1982 |
| Annie | |
|
|
$57,059,003 | 1982 |
| The Thing | |
|
|
$19,629,760 | 1982 |
| Poltergeist | |
|
|
$76,606,280 | 1982 |
| Rocky III | |
|
|
$125,049,125 | 1982 |
| Conan The Barbarian | |
|
|
$39,565,475 | 1982 |
| Gandhi | |
|
|
$52,767,889 | 1982 |
| Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan | |
|
|
$78,912,963 | 1982 |
| First Blood | |
|
|
$47,212,904 | 1982 |
| The Dark Crystal | |
|
|
$40,577,001 | 1982 |
| Scarface | |
|
|
$45,408,703 | 1983 |
| The Outsiders | |
|
|
$25,697,647 | 1983 |
| Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of The Jedi | |
N/A | |
$309,306,177 | 1983 |
| National Lampoon’s: Vacation | |
|
|
$61,399,552 | 1983 |
| Footloose | |
|
|
$80,035,402 | 1984 |
| The Terminator | |
|
|
$38,371,200 | 1984 |
| Ghostbusters | |
|
|
$238,632,124 | 1984 |
| Red Dawn | |
|
|
$38,376,497 | 1984 |
| A Nightmare On Elm Street | |
|
|
$25,504,513 | 1984 |
| The Never Ending Story | |
|
|
$20,158,808 | 1984 |
| Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom | |
|
|
$179,870,271 | 1984 |
| Police Academy | |
|
|
$81,198,894 | 1984 |
| Raging Bull | |
|
|
$23,383,987 | 1984 |
| Amadeus | |
|
|
$51,973,029 | 1984 |
| Sixteen Candles | |
|
|
$23,686,027 | 1984 |
| Once Upon A Time In America | |
|
|
$5,321,508 | 1984 |
| Dune | |
|
|
$30,925,690 | 1984 |
| Beverly Hills Cop | |
|
|
$234,760,478 | 1984 |
| The Gremlins | |
N/A | |
$153,083,102 | 1984 |
| Purple Rain | |
|
|
$68,392,977 | 1984 |
| The Goonies | |
|
|
$61,503,218 | 1985 |
| The Breakfast Club | |
|
|
$45,875,171 | 1985 |
| Back To The Future | |
|
|
$210,609,762 | 1985 |
| Legend | |
|
|
$15,502,112 | 1985 |
| Rocky IV | |
|
|
$127,873,716 | 1985 |
| Clue | |
|
|
$14,643,997 | 1985 |
| Weird Science | |
|
|
$23,834,048 | 1985 |
| Just One of The Guys | |
|
|
$11,528,900 | 1985 |
| Mask | |
N/A | |
$48,230,162 | 1985 |
| Brazil | |
|
|
$9,929,135 | 1985 |
| The Color Purple | |
N/A | |
$98,467,863 | 1985 |
| Ferris Bueller’s Day Off | |
|
|
$70,136,369 | 1986 |
| Stand By Me | |
|
|
$52,287,414 | 1986 |
| Top Gun | |
|
|
$179,800,601 | 1986 |
| Aliens | |
|
|
$85,160,248 | 1986 |
| Platoon | |
|
|
$138,530,565 | 1986 |
| Labyrinth | |
|
|
$12,729,917 | 1986 |
| Pretty In Pink | |
|
|
$40,471,663 | 1986 |
| Blue Velvet | |
|
|
$8,551,228 | 1986 |
| Big Trouble In Little China | |
|
|
$11,100,000 | 1986 |
| The Princess Bride | |
|
|
$30,857,814 | 1987 |
| Full Metal Jacket | |
|
|
$46,357,676 | 1987 |
| Dirty Dancing | |
|
|
$63,954,274 | 1987 |
| Predator | |
|
|
$59,735,548 | 1987 |
| Robocop | |
|
|
$53,424,681 | 1987 |
| Spaceballs | |
|
|
$38,119,483 | 1987 |
| Empire of The Sun | |
|
|
$22,238,696 | 1987 |
| The Lost Boys | |
|
|
$32,222,567 | 1987 |
| Some Kind of Wonderful | |
N/A | |
$18,553,948 | 1987 |
| Mannequin | |
N/A | |
$42,721,196 | 1987 |
| Wall Street | |
|
|
$43,848,069 | 1987 |
| Less Than Zero | |
N/A | |
$12,396,383 | 1987 |
| The Untouchables | |
|
|
$76,270,454 | 1987 |
| Die Hard | |
|
|
$83,008,852 | 1988 |
| Rain Man | |
|
|
$172,825,435 | 1988 |
| Big | |
|
|
$114,968,774 | 1988 |
| Beetlejuice | |
|
|
$73,707,461 | 1988 |
| Who Framed Roger Rabbit | |
|
|
$156,452,370 | 1988 |
| Willow | |
N/A | |
$57,269,863 | 1988 |
| Heathers | |
|
|
$1,108,462 | 1988 |
| My Neighbor Totoro | |
N/A | |
No Income Available | 1988 |
| Coming To America | |
|
|
$128,152,301 | 1988 |
| Mystic Pizza | |
|
|
$12,793,213 | 1988 |
| Grave of The Fireflies | |
|
|
No Income Available | 1988 |
| Roadhouse | |
|
|
$30,050,028 | 1989 |
| Dead Poets Society | |
|
|
$95,860,116 | 1989 |
| The Little Mermaid | |
|
|
$111,543,479 | 1989 |
| Batman | |
|
|
$251,188,924 | 1989 |
| Steel Magnolias | |
|
|
$83,759,091 | 1989 |
| Uncle Buck | |
|
|
$66,758,538 | 1989 |
| Ghostbusters II | |
|
|
$112,494,738 | 1989 |
| Back To The Future Part II | |
|
|
$118,450,002 | 1989 |
| Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade | |
|
|
$197,171,806 | 1989 |
| Say Anything | |
N/A | |
$20,781,385 | 1989 |
| Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure | |
|
|
$40,485,039 | 1989 |
| When Harry Met Sally… | |
|
|
$92,823,546 | 1989 |