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
| 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 |
3
| 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 |
4
| 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 |
5
| Private Benjamin |
| Director: Howard Zieff |
| Lead Roles: Goldie Hawn as Private Judy Benjamin |
| Initial Theatrical Release: October 10, 1980 (Wide) by Warner Bros. |
| Keywords: Military Life, Farcical / Slapstick Comedy, Boot Camp, Woman in a Male Dominated Profession, F-Rated |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $69,847,348 |
6
| Hopscotch |
| Director: Ronald Neame |
| Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) by Avco Embassy |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $13,000,000 |
7
| 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
| Coal Miner’s Daughter |
| Director: Michael Apted |
| Initial Theatrical Release: March 7, 1980 (Wide) by Universal, released as Coal Miner's Daughter |
| Keywords: Biography, Performing Arts, Musicians, Biographical Drama, 1981 Oscars Best Picture Nominee |
| Classification: Based on Real Life Events, Drama, Live Action, Dramatization |
|
Domestic BO: $67,182,787 |
9
| Used Cars |
| Director: Robert Zemeckis |
| Lead Roles: Deborah Harmon as Barbara Fuchs |
| Initial Theatrical Release: July 18, 1980 (Wide) by Columbia |
| Keywords: Satirical Comedy, Satire, Twins, Same Actor, Multiple Roles, Death of a Sibling, Death of a Twin, Sibling Rivalry, Dysfunctional Family, Adult Child Dealing with the Death of a Parent, Cover Up, Faked Accidental Death |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $11,715,321 |
10
| Ying xiong wu lei |
| Director: John Woo |
| Initial Theatrical Release: July 24, 1980 (Wide) (Hong Kong) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Action, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
11
| Demented |
| Director: Arthur Jeffreys |
| Initial Theatrical Release: June 1, 1980 (Limited) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Horror, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
12
| The Nude Bomb |
| Director: Clive Donner |
| Lead Roles: Don Adams as Maxwell Smart/Agent 86 |
| Initial Theatrical Release: May 9, 1980 (Wide) by Universal |
| Keywords: Secret Agent, Farcical / Slapstick Comedy, Cult Movie, Out of Retirement, Fashion |
| Classification: Based on TV, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $14,662,035 |
13
| 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 |
14
| The Tempest |
| Director: Derek Jarman |
| Initial Theatrical Release: September 22, 1980 (Limited) by World Northal |
| Classification: Based on Play, Drama, Live Action, Fantasy |
15
| Cruising |
| Director: William Friedkin |
| Lead Roles: Al Pacino as Steve Burns |
| Initial Theatrical Release: January 1, 1980 (Wide) by United Artists |
| Keywords: Film Noir, Serial Killer, Set in New York, Set in New York City, NYPD, Police Detective, Undercover, Sexual Fetishism, LGBTQ+, Police Brutality, Erotic Thriller |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Thriller/Suspense, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $19,784,223 |
16
| Incubo sulla citta contaminata |
| Director: Umberto Lenzi |
| Initial Theatrical Release: December 11, 1980 (Wide) (Italy) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Horror, Live Action, Science Fiction |
Synopsis
Nightmare City follows a reporter caught in a living, breathing zombie hell. When an airplane comes into contact with radiation from a nuclear disaster it causes the passengers to mutate into scabby-faced humanoids with a compulsion to kill and drink the blood of their victims. As the zombies move into the city and beyond, will anyone or anything be able to stop the wave of bloody death and disease that threatens to decimate mankind?
17
| 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 |
18
| 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 |
19
| 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.
20
| Seems Like Old Times |
| Director: Jay Sandrich |
| Lead Roles: Chevy Chase as Nicholas "Nick" J. Gardenia, Goldie Hawn as Glenda Gardenia Parks, Charles Grodin as District Attorney Ira J. Parks |
| Initial Theatrical Release: December 19, 1980 (Wide) by Columbia |
| Keywords: Romance |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Romantic Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $23,200,000 |
21
| The Black Marble |
| Director: Harold Becker |
| Initial Theatrical Release: January 1, 1980 (Wide) by Avco Embassy |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Romantic Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $2,500,000 |
22
| Caligula |
| Director: Tinto Brass, Giancarlo Lui, Bob Guccione |
| Initial Theatrical Release: February, 1980 (Wide) by Analysis |
| Keywords: Historical Drama, Dysfunctional Family, Ancient Rome, Incest, Government Corruption, Political Assassination, Death of a Sibling, Development Hell, Famously Bad |
| Classification: Based on Real Life Events, Drama, Live Action, Historical Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $23,400,000 |
|
International BO: $15,271 |
23
| Foxes |
| Director: Adrian Lyne |
| Lead Roles: Jodie Foster as Jeanie |
| Initial Theatrical Release: February 29, 1980 (Wide) by United Artists |
| Keywords: Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age Drama, 1970s, Set in California, Runaway, Child Abuse, Beat Cops, Death of a Best Friend, Car Accident |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Drama, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $7,470,348 |
Synopsis
Foxes takes you on a teenage rock 'n' roll filled trip through the fast lane in the San Fernando Valley. Jeanie has a lot to cope with... her mom is divorced and desperate; her friends abuse drugs, her friend Annie wants to run away from her abusive father and the only ones she can lean on is her three best friends.
24
| Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del monton |
| Director: Pedro Almodovar |
| Initial Theatrical Release: October 27, 1980 (Limited) (Spain) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
International BO: $417 |
25
| Terror Train |
| Director: Roger Spottiswoode |
| Initial Theatrical Release: 1980 (Wide) |
| Keywords: Slasher Horror, Trains, Prologue, New Year's Day, Prank Gone Wrong, Mental Illness, Mental Hospital, False Identity, Revenge, Cross-Dressing |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Horror, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $8,000,000 |