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The decade of the 1980s in Western cinema saw the return of studio-driven pictures, coming from the filmmaker-driven New Hollywood era of the 1970s. [1] The period was when the "high concept" picture was created by producer Don Simpson, [2] where films were expected to be easily marketable and understandable. Therefore, they had short cinematic plots that could be summarized in one or two sentences. Since its implementation, this method has become the most popular formula for modern Hollywood blockbusters. At the same time in Eastern cinema, the Hong Kong film industry entered a boom period that significantly elevated its prominence in the international market.
The films of the 1980s covered many subgenres, with hybrids crossing between multiple genres. The trend strengthened towards creating ever-larger blockbuster films, which earned more in their opening weeks than most previous films, due in part to staging releases when there were less competition for audience interest.
The decade saw an increased amount of nudity in film, as well as 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 effects-driven blockbusters was due in part to the Star Wars films at the advent of this decade and the new cinematic visuals they helped to pioneer.
With the release of 1984's Red Dawn , the PG-13 rating was introduced in the U.S. to accommodate films that straddled the line between PG and R. Which was mainly due to the controversies surrounding the violence of the PG films Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins from earlier that same year. [5]
Some have considered the 1980s in retrospect as one of the weaker decades for American cinema in terms of the qualities of the films released. Quentin Tarantino (director of Pulp Fiction ) has voiced his own view that the 1980s was one of the worst eras for American films. [6] Film critic Kent Jones also shares this opinion. [7] However, film theorist David Bordwell countered this notion, saying that the "megapicture mentality" was already existent in the 1970s, which is evident in the ten highest-grossing films of that decade, as well as with how many of the filmmakers part of New Hollywood were still able to direct many great pictures in the 1980s (Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma, John Carpenter, etc.). [8]
Rank | Title | Studio(s) | Worldwide gross | Year | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | Universal Pictures | $792,942,069 | 1982 | |
2 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Paramount Pictures | $474,171,806 | 1989 | |
3 | Batman | Warner Bros. | $411,348,924 | 1989 | |
4 | Rain Man | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $354,825,435 | 1988 | |
5 | Back to the Future Part II | Universal Pictures | $331,950,002 | 1989 | |
6 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures | $329,803,958 | 1988 | |
7 | Look Who's Talking | TriStar | $296,999,813 | 1989 | |
8 | Coming to America | Paramount Pictures | $288,752,301 | 1988 | |
9 | Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi | 20th Century Fox | $252,583,617 | 1983 | |
10 | Crocodile Dundee II | Paramount Pictures | $239,606,210 | 1988 | |
11 | Dead Poets Society | Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures | $235,860,116 | 1989 | |
12 | Beverly Hills Cop | Paramount Pictures | $234,760,478 | 1984 | |
13 | Ghostbusters | Columbia Pictures | $229,242,989 | 1984 | |
14 | Lethal Weapon 2 | Warner Bros. | $227,853,986 | 1989 | |
15 | Honey, I Shrunk the Kids | Buena Vista/Disney | $222,724,172 | 1989 | |
16 | Twins | Universal Pictures | $216,614,388 | 1988 | |
17 | Ghostbusters II | Columbia Pictures | $215,394,738 | 1989 | |
18 | Dirty Dancing | Vestron Pictures | $214,600,000 | 1987 | |
19 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Paramount Pictures | $212,222,025 | 1981 | |
20 | Back to the Future | Universal Pictures | $210,609,762 | 1985 | |
21 | Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back | 20th Century Fox | $209,398,025 | 1980 | |
22 | The Gods Must Be Crazy | C.A.T. Films | $200,000,000 | 1980 | |
23 | Rambo III | Carolco | $189,015,611 | 1988 | |
24 | The Little Mermaid | Buena Vista/Disney | $184,155,863 | 1989 | |
25 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Paramount Pictures | $179,870,271 | 1984 | |
26 | A Fish Called Wanda | MGM | $177,889,000 | 1988 | |
27 | Tootsie | Columbia Pictures | $177,200,000 | 1982 | |
28 | Top Gun | Paramount Pictures | $176,781,728 | 1986 | |
29 | Crocodile Dundee | Paramount Pictures | $174,803,506 | 1986 | |
30 | Cocktail | Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures | $171,504,781 | 1988 | |
31 | Three Men and a Baby | Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures | $167,780,960 | 1987 | |
32 | Fatal Attraction | Paramount Pictures | $156,645,693 | 1987 | |
33 | Beverly Hills Cop II | Paramount Pictures | $153,665,036 | 1987 | |
34 | Gremlins | Warner Bros. | $153,083,102 | 1984 | |
35 | Born on the Fourth of July | Universal Pictures | $161,001,698 | 1989 | |
36 | Big | 20th Century Fox | $151,668,774 | 1988 | |
37 | Rambo: First Blood Part II | Carolco Pictures | $150,415,432 | 1985 | |
38 | Die Hard | 20th Century Fox | $140,767,956 | 1988 | |
39 | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | Paramount Pictures | $140,000,000 | 1988 | |
40 | Platoon | Orion Pictures | $138,530,565 | 1986 | |
41 | The Karate Kid | Columbia Pictures | $130,000,000 | 1984 | |
42 | The Karate Kid Part II | Columbia Pictures | $130,000,000 | 1986 | |
43 | An Officer and a Gentleman | Paramount Pictures | $129,795,554 | 1982 | |
44 | Rocky IV | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $127,873,716 | 1985 | |
45 | Gandhi | Goldcrest Films / NFDC India | $127,767,889 | 1982 | |
46 | Rocky III | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $124,146,897 | 1982 | |
47 | Good Morning, Vietnam | Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures | $123,922,370 | 1987 | |
48 | On Golden Pond | Universal Pictures | $119,285,432 | 1981 | |
49 | Shaolin Temple | Chung Yuen Motion Picture Company | $111,851,439 | 1982 | |
50 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | Paramount Pictures | $109,713,132 | 1986 |
In the list, where revenues are equal numbers, the newer films are listed lower, due to inflation making the dollar-amount lower compared to earlier years.
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In his pluralism, [Roger] Ebert proved a more authentic cinephile than many of his contemporaries. They tied their fortunes to the Film Brats and then suffered the inevitable disappointments of the 1980s return to studio-driven pictures.
Back in the '80s, when movies sucked—I saw more movies then than I'd ever seen in my life, and the Hollywood bottom-line product was the worst it had been since the '50s—that would have been a great time [for Superhero films].
This was the beginning of the 1980s, the worst decade ever for American movies...
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