Top Movies of the 1980s

This page offers lists of the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by two different metrics. The first list is based on box office and the second is based on critics’ picks.

Box Office: Top 25 of the 1980s These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by adjusted worldwide box office gross. The first number indicates dollars made in millions. See sources for box office figures here.

1) 3095.40: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 2) 2274.00: Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 3) 1723.70: Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) 4) 1639.60: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 5) 1400.40: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 6) 1258.10: Back to the Future (1985) 7) 1213.60: Batman (1989) 8) 1164.90: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) 9) 1120.60: Top Gun (1986) 10) 1102.80: Back to the Future II (1989) 11) 1078.70: Beverly Hills Cop (1984) 12) 1075.70: Rocky III (1982) 13) 1051.90: Superman II (1980) 14) 1028.70: Rain Man (1988) 15) 994.50: Rocky IV (1985) 16) 994.30: Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) 17) 956.10: Fatal Attraction (1987) 18) 942.90: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) 19) 780.20: Ghostbusters (1984) 20) 617.94: Look Who’s Talking (1989) 21) 576.08: Crocodile Dundee (1986) 22) 526.84: Out of Africa (1985) 23) 520.58: Tootsie (1982) 24) 505.83: Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) 25) 505.56: Crocodile Dundee II (1988)

Critics’ Picks: Top 25 of the 1980s These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by a combination of the movies’ ratings points and awards points.

1) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 2) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 3) Amadeus (1984) 4) Raging Bull (1980) 5) Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 6) Do the Right Thing (1989) 7) Back to the Future (1985) 8) Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) 9) Platoon (1986) 10) Terms of Endearment (1983) 11) Rain Man (1988) 12) Ordinary People (1980) 13) The Right Stuff (1983) 14) blade runner () 15) Gandhi (1982) 16) The Princess Bride (1987) 17) Driving Miss Daisy (1989) 18) The Last Emperor (1987) 19) When Harry Met Sally (1989) 20) This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 21) The Shining (1980) 22) Tootsie (1982) 23) Dead Poets Society (1989) 24) Brazil (1985) 25) Blue Velvet (1986)

Resources: Dave’s Movie Database: Eras Dave’s Movie Database: Movies of the Year Dave’s Movie Database: Box Office Dave’s Movie Database: Awards Page Dave’s Movie Database: Ratings Page Originally posted 3/8/2025.

 

Do the Right Thing released

Do the Right Thing Released: May 19, 1989 Studio: Universal Genre: comedy/drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 27.55 Worldwide: -- Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: 63.50

Directing: Spike Lee Screenwriting: Spike Lee Starring: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson Review: “This was the third (and breakout) feature film for African-American writer/director Spike Lee…whose resume already included She’s Gotta Have It (1986), and School Daze (1988).” FS “Lee writes, directs and stars as a delivery boy for a white-owned Brooklyn pizza joint.” RS “The veneer of racial harmony cracks on the hottest day of the year.” PM “The tension begins to escalate…because of a complaint by a militant patron named Buggin’ Out (Esposito) that there are no pictures of ‘brothers’ on the ‘Wall of Fame.’” FS “Sal’s Famous Pizzeria becomes a lightning rod for racial tensions” A07 and rioting when Lee’s character “tosses a garbage can through the window to protest the murder of a brother.” RS This is “an even-handed, complex and disturbing work about racism, intolerance and violence.” FS “The multi-ethnic cast of the film provides three-dimensional characters and features the early career work of Samuel L. Jackson (as DJ Mister Senor Love Daddy) and Rosie Perez.” FS “This incendiary film – still Lee’s best – ended the Eighties on a high note of revolutionary film fervor.” RS “The much discussed close to the film presents different views on the conflict with quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X.” A07 Sources: A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” PM Premiere Magazine (Oct. 1998). “100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made” RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: (2 – Best Supporting Actor – Danny Aiello, Best Original Screenplay – Spike Lee) Lists: Experts’ Picks: First posted 2/25/2025.