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
Ordinary People |
Director: Robert Redford |
Initial Theatrical Release: September 19, 1980 (Wide) by Paramount Pictures |
Keywords: Dysfunctional Family, Oscars Best Picture Winner, Life Drama, 1981 Oscars Best Picture Nominee |
Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Drama, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
Domestic BO: $52,302,978 |
2
![Popeye](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Popeye-(1980)-Thumbnail.jpg)
Popeye |
Director: Robert Altman |
Lead Roles: Robin Williams as Popeye, Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl |
Initial Theatrical Release: December 12, 1980 (Wide) by Paramount Pictures |
Keywords: Live Action Cartoon, Dysfunctional Family, Money Troubles, Arranged Marriage, Romance, Relationships Gone Wrong, Kidnap, Unexpected Families, Comedy Musical |
Classification: Based on Comic/Graphic Novel, Musical, Live Action, Kids Fiction |
Domestic BO: $49,823,037 |
3
Lion of the Desert |
Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) by United Film Distribution Co. |
Classification: Based on Real Life Events, Drama, Live Action, Dramatization |
Domestic BO: $1,500,000 |
International BO: $2,136 |
4
Can't Stop the Music |
Director: Nancy Walker |
Initial Theatrical Release: June 20, 1980 (Wide) by Associated Film Distributors |
Keywords: Famously Bad |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Musical, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
Domestic BO: $2,000,000 |
5
6
![The Fog](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Fog-The-(1980)-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.
7
Heaven's Gate |
Director: Michael Cimino |
Initial Theatrical Release: November 19, 1980 (Wide) by United Artists |
Keywords: Western Drama, 1870s, 1890s, 1900s, Set in Wyoming, Immigration, Sheriff, Class Warfare |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Western, Live Action, Historical Fiction |
Domestic BO: $3,484,331 |
International BO: $192 |
8
![The Shining](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Shining-The-Thumbnail.jpg)
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: $1,170,539 |
9
![The Island](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Island-The-Thumbnail.jpg)
The Island |
Director: Michael Ritchie |
Lead Roles: Michael Caine as Blair Maynard, David Warner as John David Nau |
Initial Theatrical Release: June 13, 1980 (Wide) by Universal |
Keywords: Survival Adventure, Family Vacations, Tourists In Trouble, On a Boat, Marooned, Pirates, Escape, Novel or Other Work Adapted by Author |
Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Adventure, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
Domestic BO: $15,716,828 |
10
![Caddyshack](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Caddyshack-Thumbnail.jpg)
Caddyshack |
Director: Harold Ramis |
Lead Roles: Chevy Chase as Ty Webb |
Initial Theatrical Release: July 25, 1980 (Wide) by Warner Bros. |
Keywords: Golf, Slobs vs. Snobs, Class Warfare, Farcical / Slapstick Comedy, Inspired by a True Story, Autobiographical, Ensemble |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
Domestic BO: $39,846,344 |
International BO: $3,420 |
11
The Ninth Configuration |
Director: William Peter Blatty |
Initial Theatrical Release: February 29, 1980 (Limited) by United Film Distribution Co. |
Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
12
The Mountain Men |
Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) by Columbia |
Domestic BO: $6,000,000 |
13
Up the Academy |
Director: Robert Downey, Sr. |
Initial Theatrical Release: June 6, 1980 (Wide) by Warner Bros. |
Keywords: Farcical / Slapstick Comedy, Military Life, Boarding School, Famously Bad, Cult Movie |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
Domestic BO: $10,000,000 |
14
![The Elephant Man](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Elephant-Man-The-Thumbnail.jpg)
The Elephant Man |
Director: David Lynch |
Lead Roles: John Hurt as John Merrick |
Initial Theatrical Release: October 3, 1980 (Wide) by Paramount Pictures |
Keywords: 1880s, Biographical Drama, 1981 Oscars Best Picture Nominee |
Classification: Based on Factual Book/Article, Drama, Live Action, Dramatization |
Domestic BO: $26,010,864 |
International BO: $14,022 |
15
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 |
16
Tom Horn |
Lead Roles: Steve McQueen as Tom Horn |
Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) |
Domestic BO: $9,000,000 |
17
![Stir Crazy](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Stir-Crazy-Thumbnail.jpg)
Stir Crazy |
Director: Sidney Poitier |
Lead Roles: Gene Wilder as Skip Donahue, Richard Pryor as Harry Monroe |
Initial Theatrical Release: December 12, 1980 (Wide) by Columbia |
Keywords: Prison, African Americans |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
Domestic BO: $101,300,000 |
19
Alligator |
Director: Lewis Teague |
Lead Roles: Robert Forster as Detective David Madison |
Initial Theatrical Release: November 14, 1980 (Limited) by Group 1 |
Keywords: Animal Lead, Animals Gone Bad |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Horror, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
20
![The Blue Lagoon](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Blue-Lagoon-The-(1980)-Thumbnail.jpg)
The Blue Lagoon |
Director: Randal Kleiser |
Initial Theatrical Release: June 20, 1980 (Wide) by Universal |
Keywords: Survival Drama, Romance, Coming of Age, Marooned |
Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Drama, Live Action, Historical Fiction |
Domestic BO: $47,923,795 |
21
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 |
22
Demented |
Director: Arthur Jeffreys |
Initial Theatrical Release: June 1, 1980 (Limited) |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Horror, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
23
![Maniac](https://www.the-numbers.com/images/movies/opusdata/Maniac-Thumbnail.jpg)
Maniac |
Director: William Lustig |
Lead Roles: Joe Spinell as Frank Zito, Caroline Munro as Anna |
Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) by Analysis |
Keywords: Slasher Horror, Child Abuse, Serial Killer, Hallucinations, Prostitution, Romance, Relationships Gone Wrong, Dysfunctional Family, Cult Movie |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Horror, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
Domestic BO: $10,000,000 |
24
Örökség |
Director: Márta Mészáros |
Initial Theatrical Release: June 11, 1980 (Limited), released as Les héritières (France) |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Drama, Live Action, Historical Fiction |
25
The Octagon |
Director: Eric Karson |
Lead Roles: Chuck Norris as Scott James |
Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) by American Cinema Releasing |
Keywords: Terrorism, Martial Arts, Action Thriller, Ninja, Assassination, Revenge |
Classification: Original Screenplay, Action, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
Domestic BO: $19,000,000 |