The Top 100 Biggest Movies of the '80s - Part 4

The Top 100 Biggest Movies of the ’80s – Part 4

24 – An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

TICKETS SOLD:

38,063,756

SYNOPSIS:

Zack Mayo is an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he arrives at training camp for his 13-week officer’s course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill Sergeant Emil Foley. Mayo is an excellent cadet, but a little cold around the heart, so Foley rides him mercilessly, sensing that the young man would be prime officer material if he weren’t so self-involved. Zack’s affair with a working girl is likewise compromised by his unwillingness to give of himself.

23 – Superman II (1981)

TICKETS SOLD:

38,915,721

SYNOPSIS:

Three escaped criminals from the planet Krypton test the Man of Steel’s mettle. Led by General Zod, the Kryptonians take control of the White House and partner with Lex Luthor to destroy Superman and rule the world. But Superman, who attempts to make himself human in order to get closer to Lois, realizes he has a responsibility to save the planet.

22 – Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

TICKETS SOLD:

39,300,520

SYNOPSIS:

Axel heads for the land of sunshine and palm trees to find out who shot police Captain Andrew Bogomil. Thanks to a couple of old friends, Axel’s investigation uncovers a series of robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.

21 – Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

TICKETS SOLD:

39,695,863

SYNOPSIS:

Ted Kramer is a career man for whom his work comes before his family. His wife Joanna cannot take this anymore, so she decides to leave him. Ted is now faced with the tasks of housekeeping and taking care of himself and their young son Billy.

20 – Fatal Attraction (1987)

TICKETS SOLD:

39,825,190

SYNOPSIS:

Dan Gallagher is a successful, happily married Manhattan lawyer whose work leads him to meet Alexandra “Alex” Forrest, an editor for a Publishing. While his wife, Beth, and daughter, Ellen, are out of town for the weekend, Dan has an affair with Alex. Though it was initially understood by both as just a fling, Alex starts clinging to him.

19 – On Golden Pond (1981)

TICKETS SOLD:

40,600,565

SYNOPSIS:

For Norman and Ethel Thayer, this summer on golden pond is filled with conflict and resolution. When their daughter Chelsea arrives, the family is forced to renew the bonds of love and overcome the generational friction that has existed for years.

18 – Three Men and a Baby (1987)

TICKETS SOLD:

40,600,565

SYNOPSIS:

Three bachelors find themselves forced to take care of a baby left by one of the guys’ girlfriends.

17 – Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

TICKETS SOLD:

42,370,544

SYNOPSIS:

John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he’d want to return – the jungles of Vietnam.

16 – Rocky III (1982)

TICKETS SOLD:

42,533,715

SYNOPSIS:

Now the world champion, Rocky Balboa is living in luxury and only fighting opponents who pose no threat to him in the ring, until Clubber Lang challenges him to a bout. After taking a pounding from Lang, the humbled champ turns to former bitter rival Apollo Creed for a rematch with Lang.

15 – Rain Man (1988)

TICKETS SOLD:

42,969,432

SYNOPSIS:

Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt’s father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country.

14 – Gremlins (1984)

TICKETS SOLD:

45,081,011

SYNOPSIS:

When Billy Peltzer is given a strange but adorable pet named Gizmo for Christmas, he inadvertently breaks the three important rules of caring for a Mogwai, and unleashes a horde of mischievous gremlins on a small town.

13 – Crocodile Dundee (1986)

TICKETS SOLD:

46,493,463

SYNOPSIS:

When a New York reporter plucks crocodile hunter Dundee from the Australian Outback for a visit to the Big Apple, it’s a clash of cultures and a recipe for good-natured comedy as naïve Dundee negotiates the concrete jungle. Dundee proves that his instincts are quite useful in the city and adeptly handles everything from wily muggers to high-society snoots without breaking a sweat.

12 – Top Gun (1986)

TICKETS SOLD:

47,022,515

SYNOPSIS:

For Lieutenant Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete’s dreams of becoming an ace pilot.

11 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

TICKETS SOLD:

49,416,492

SYNOPSIS:

When Dr. Henry Jones Sr. suddenly goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, eminent archaeologist Indiana must team up with Marcus Brody, Sallah and Elsa Schneider to follow in his father’s footsteps and stop the Nazis from recovering the power of eternal life.

10 – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

TICKETS SOLD:

53,535,794

SYNOPSIS:

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees – and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

9 – Back to the Future (1985)

TICKETS SOLD:

56,290,483

SYNOPSIS:

Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents’ first meeting and attracting his mother’s romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents’ romance and – with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown – return to 1985.

8 – Tootsie (1982)

TICKETS SOLD:

57,181,354

SYNOPSIS:

When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego – Dorothy Michaels – in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.

7 – Batman (1989)

TICKETS SOLD:

62,954,617

SYNOPSIS:

The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker, who has seized control of Gotham’s underworld.

6 – Ghostbusters (1984)

TICKETS SOLD:

66,117,684

SYNOPSIS:

After losing their academic posts at a prestigious university, a team of parapsychologists goes into business as proton-pack-toting “ghostbusters” who exterminate ghouls, hobgoblins and supernatural pests of all stripes. An ad campaign pays off when a knockout cellist hires the squad to purge her swanky digs of demons that appear to be living in her refrigerator.

5 – Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

TICKETS SOLD:

67,784,299

SYNOPSIS:

Tough-talking Detroit cop Axel Foley heads to the rarified world of Beverly Hills in his beat-up Chevy Nova to investigate a friend’s murder, but soon realizes he’s stumbled onto something much more complicated. Bungling rookie detective, Billy Rosewood joins the fish-out-of-water Axel and shows him the West Los Angeles ropes.

4 – Star Wars – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

TICKETS SOLD:

74,831,625

SYNOPSIS:

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

3 – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

TICKETS SOLD:

78,997,962

SYNOPSIS:

When Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.

2 – Star Wars – Return of the Jedi (1983)

TICKETS SOLD:

80,105,500

SYNOPSIS:

Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, while the Emperor seeks to destroy the Rebellion once and for all with a second dreaded Death Star.

1 – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

TICKETS SOLD:

121,328,735

SYNOPSIS:

After a gentle alien becomes stranded on Earth, the being is discovered and befriended by a young boy named Elliott. Bringing the extraterrestrial into his suburban California house, Elliott introduces E.T., as the alien is dubbed, to his brother and his little sister, Gertie, and the children decide to keep its existence a secret. Soon, however, E.T. falls ill, resulting in government intervention and a dire situation for both Elliott and the alien.

Breakdown by genre:

Keeping the genres simple to the following main categories:

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Horror, Musical, Romantic Comedy, Thriller/Suspense, Western.