Most Popular Movies 1980
This chart shows the 1980 movie releases that have attracted the most interest on The Numbers web site over the past 24 hours. A share of 100 corresponds to 1 percent of the total views for all 1980 releases.
See also: Domestic Release Schedule for 1980 - Top 1980 Worldwide
| ← 1979 | Most Popular Overall | 1981 → |
1
| Star Wars Ep. V: The Empire Strikes Back |
| Director: Irvin Kershner |
| Lead Roles: Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Hans Solo, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa |
| Initial Theatrical Release: May 20, 1980 (Wide) (United Kingdom) |
| Keywords: Visual Effects, Heroic Adventure, Fugitive / On the Run, Good vs. Evil, Rebellion, Mentor, Friendly Ghost |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Adventure, Live Action, Science Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $291,738,960 |
|
International BO: $257,262,126 |
2
| Dressed to Kill |
| Director: Brian De Palma |
| Initial Theatrical Release: January 1, 1980 (Wide) by Filmways Pictures |
| Keywords: Mental Illness, Faulty Memory, Cross-Dressing, Prostitution, Surprise Twist, Erotic Thriller, Nightmare, Unbelieving Police, Revenge, LGBTQ+, Therapists / Therapy, Young Child Dealing with the Death of a Parent |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Thriller/Suspense, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $31,899,000 |
3
| Smokey and the Bandit II |
| Director: Hal Needham |
| Initial Theatrical Release: August 15, 1980 (Wide) by Universal |
| Keywords: Action Comedy, Car Chase, Relationships Gone Wrong, Addiction, Political Campaign |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $66,132,626 |
4
| Tess |
| Director: Roman Polanski |
| Initial Theatrical Release: December 12, 1980 (Wide) by Columbia |
| Keywords: 1981 Oscars Best Picture Nominee |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Drama, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $20,093,330 |
5
| It's My Turn |
| Lead Roles: Michael Douglas as Ben Lewin |
| Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) by Columbia |
|
Domestic BO: $11,000,000 |
6
| Airplane! |
| Director: David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams |
| Lead Roles: Robert Hays as Ted Striker, Julie Hagerty as Elaine Dickinson |
| Initial Theatrical Release: July 4, 1980 (Wide) by Paramount Pictures |
| Keywords: Spoof, Travel Industry, Epilogue, Disaster, In a Plane, Religious, Terminal Illness, War, Relationships Gone Wrong, Food, Non-Chronological, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Addiction, Mental Illness, Invented Language, Directing Yourself, Voiceover/Narration, Flight Attendant |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $83,453,539 |
|
International BO: $768 |
7
-(1979)-Thumbnail.jpg)
| Cristo si è fermato a Eboli |
| Director: Francesco Rosi |
| Lead Roles: Gian Maria Volontè as Carlo Levi |
| Initial Theatrical Release: March 23, 1980 (Limited) by Franklin Media, released as Christ Stopped at Eboli |
| Keywords: Set in Italy, 1930s, Doctors, Poverty, Political, Fascism, Exile, Artists, Life in a Small Town |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Drama, Live Action, Historical Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $82,126 |
Synopsis
Carlo Levi, a painter, writer, doctor, and intellectual, is exiled to Grassano, an impoverished town with only one car and one toilet, in southern Italy. Levi learns to find the humanity in this seemingly backward hamlet.
8
| The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark |
| Initial Theatrical Release: June 25, 1980 (Wide) by Walt Disney, released as The Last Flight of Noah's Ark |
|
Domestic BO: $11,000,000 |
9
| Nine to Five |
| Director: Colin Higgins |
| Lead Roles: Jane Fonda as Judy Bernly, Lily Tomlin as Senior Supervisor Mrs. Violet Newstead, Dolly Parton as Doralee Rhodes, Hart's Secretary, Dabney Coleman as Franklin M. Hart Jr. (Chairman of the Board) |
| Initial Theatrical Release: December 19, 1980 (Wide) by 20th Century Fox |
| Keywords: Sexism, Bigotry, 1980s |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $103,290,500 |
|
International BO: $10,159 |
10
-Thumbnail.jpg)
| Stalker |
| Director: Andrei Tarkovsky |
| Initial Theatrical Release: April 17, 1980 (Wide) (Netherlands) |
| Keywords: Wish Granters, Development Hell, Explorer, Unnamed Character, Mutants, Novel or Other Work Adapted by Author, Writing and Writers, College Professor, Writer's Block, Scientific Expedition, Psychics, Breaking the Fourth Wall |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Drama, Live Action, Science Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $268,101 |
|
International BO: $45,873 |
11
| American Gigolo |
| Director: Paul Schrader |
| Lead Roles: Richard Gere as Julian Kaye |
| Initial Theatrical Release: February 1, 1980 (Wide) by Paramount Pictures |
| Keywords: LGBTQ+, Prostitution, Film Noir, Framed, Murder Mystery, Infidelity, Erotic Thriller |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Thriller/Suspense, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $22,743,674 |
|
International BO: $30,000,000 |
12
| The Last Married Couple in America |
| Director: Gilbert Cates |
| Initial Theatrical Release: February 8, 1980 (Wide) by Universal |
| Keywords: Satirical Comedy, Satire, Relationships Gone Wrong |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $12,835,544 |
13
-Thumbnail.jpg)
| The Fog |
| Director: John Carpenter |
| Lead Roles: Adrienne Barbeau as Stevie Wayne |
| Initial Theatrical Release: February 1, 1980 (Wide) by Avco Embassy |
| Keywords: Zombies, Revenge, Life in a Small Town, Surprise Twist, Hitchhiker, Supernatural Horror, Supernatural, Cult Movie, On a Boat, Extreme Weather |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Horror, Live Action, Science Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $21,445,318 |
|
International BO: $550 |
Synopsis
A strange, glowing fog rolls over a small coastal town one hundred years after a mysterious shipwreck and when vengeful ghosts go on a killing spree, residents look for answers even as they try to survive.
14
| Carny |
| Lead Roles: Jodie Foster as Donna |
| Initial Theatrical Release: May 23, 1980 (Wide) by United Artists |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Drama, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $1,817,720 |
15
| Gilda Live |
| Director: Mike Nichols |
| Initial Theatrical Release: March 28, 1980 (Wide) by Warner Bros. |
| Classification: Based on Real Life Events, Concert/Performance, Live Action, Factual |
|
Domestic BO: $2,261,507 |
16
| Flash Gordon |
| Director: Mike Hodges |
| Lead Roles: Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon |
| Initial Theatrical Release: December 5, 1980 (Wide) by Universal |
| Keywords: Action Adventure, Space Opera |
| Classification: Based on Comic/Graphic Novel, Action, Live Action, Science Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $27,107,960 |
|
International BO: $68,865 |
17
| The Gong Show Movie |
| Director: Chuck Barris |
| Initial Theatrical Release: May 23, 1980 (Wide) by Universal |
| Keywords: Farcical / Slapstick Comedy, Fictionalized Version of Yourself, Famously Bad, TV Industry, Directing Yourself, Screenplay Written By the Star |
| Classification: Based on TV, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $6,621,520 |
18
| Raise the Titanic |
| Director: Jerry Jameson |
| Initial Theatrical Release: August 1, 1980 (Wide) by Associated Film Distributors |
| Keywords: Cold War, Underwater, Disaster, C.I.A., Chase Adventure, Studio Sinkers |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Adventure, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $7,000,000 |
19
| The Shining |
| Director: Stanley Kubrick |
| Lead Roles: Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance |
| Initial Theatrical Release: May 23, 1980 (Wide) by Warner Bros. |
| Keywords: Writing and Writers, Writer's Block, Haunting, Domestic Abuse, Addiction, Dysfunctional Family, Psychological Horror |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Horror, Live Action, Fantasy |
|
Domestic BO: $45,052,898 |
|
International BO: $1,159,751 |
20
| How to Beat the High Co$t of Living |
| Initial Theatrical Release: January 1, 1980 (Wide) by Filmways Pictures |
|
Domestic BO: $7,500,000 |
21
| Urban Cowboy |
| Director: James Bridges |
| Lead Roles: John Travolta as Buford "Bud" Van Davis |
| Initial Theatrical Release: June 6, 1980 (Wide) by Paramount Pictures |
| Keywords: Contemporary Western, Cowboys in Modern Times, Texas, Domestic Abuse, Romance, Relationships Gone Wrong |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Western, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $46,918,287 |
22
| Stardust Memories |
| Director: Woody Allen |
| Lead Roles: Woody Allen as Sandy Bates |
| Initial Theatrical Release: September 26, 1980 (Wide) by United Artists |
| Keywords: Comedy Drama, Movie Business, Movie Director, Non-Chronological, Romance, Relationships Gone Wrong, Mental Illness, Retro Black and White, Hallucinations |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $10,389,003 |
23
| The Blues Brothers |
| Director: John Landis |
| Lead Roles: John Belushi as Joliet Jake , Dan Aykroyd as Elwood |
| Initial Theatrical Release: June 20, 1980 (Wide) by Universal |
| Keywords: Life on the Outside, Car Chase, Neo Nazis, Saturday Night Live, Action Comedy, Fugitive / On the Run, Musicians, Monks and Nuns |
| Classification: Based on TV, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $57,229,890 |
|
International BO: $15,389 |
24
| Hangar 18 |
| Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) by Sunn Classics Pictures |
|
Domestic BO: $11,000,000 |
25
| La ragazza del vagone letto |
| Director: Ferdinando Baldi |
| Initial Theatrical Release: January 10, 1980 (Limited) (Italy) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Thriller/Suspense, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |