1980 in film

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1980 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Worldwide gross revenue

The following table lists known worldwide gross revenue figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1980. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1980.

Events

• April 29 – Sir Alfred Hitchcock, known as "The Master of Suspense", dies at his home in Bel Air, California, at the age of 80.
• May 21 – The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the highest-grossing film of the year (just as its predecessor, Star Wars, was three years prior).
• June 9 – Richard Pryor sets himself on fire while free-basing cocaine and drinking 151-proof rum. Pryor ran down his street in Northridge, California, until subdued by police.
• June 20 – The Blues Brothers is released, and in addition to becoming one of the top-grossing films of the year, it also became the first feature film to be based on characters created on Saturday Night Live.
• November 4 – Former Screen Actors Guild president and film actor Ronald Reagan wins the 1980 United States presidential election in a landslide victory.
• November 7- Legendary actor Steve McQueen dies at the age of 50 after surgery to remove tumours in his neck after previously been diagnosed with lung cancer.
• November 19 – Heaven's Gate becomes one of the biggest box office bombs of all-time and its colossal failure bankrupts United Artists.
• Allied Artists is sold to Lorimar Productions.

Context

Industry professionals predicted comedy films and upbeat entertainment to dominate theaters in 1980. This was a response to poor morale in a nation suffering through economic recession, which generally increased theatrical visits as audiences sought escapism and ignored romantic films and depictions of blue-collar life. The financial success and low cost of production cost of comedies such as Blazing Saddles (1974) and Animal House (1978), had further driven demand for comedies; Airplane!, The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, and The Jerk, were all scheduled for release that year. The average cost of making films had risen to $6million which had reduced the number of films being made for niche audiences. Some studios continued to release a wide variety of films, hoping that few significant successes would compensate for other failures.

A surge of interest in science-fiction following Star Wars release had led to many low-budget entries in the genre attempting to profit by association, and big budget entries such as Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Black Hole, both of which were released in late 1979, just months before The Empire Strikes Back.

Awards

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): :All That Jazz, directed by Bob Fosse, United States :Kagemusha, 影武者 (Shadow Warrior), directed by Akira Kurosawa, Japan

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): :Atlantic City, directed by Louis Malle, US / Canada / France :Gloria, directed by John Cassavetes, United States

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): :Heartland, directed by Richard Pearce, United States :Palermo or Wolfsburg (Palermo oder Wolfsburg), directed by Werner Schroeter, West Germany

People's Choice Award (Toronto International Film Festival): :Bad Timing, directed by Nicolas Roeg, United Kingdom

Births

• January 2 - David Gyasi, British actor
• January 4
  • June Diane Raphael, American actress and comedian
  • D'Arcy Carden, American actress and comedian
  • Greg Cipes, voice actor
• January 7
  • Hele Kõrve, Estonian actress and singer
  • Simon Woods, English actor and writer
• January 8
  • Sam Riley, English actor and singer
• January 10
  • Katie Dippold, American actress, writer and screenwriter
  • Sarah Shahi, American actress and former model
• January 16 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, American singer-songwriter and actor
• January 17 – Zooey Deschanel, American singer-songwriter and actress
• January 18
  • Estelle, British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress
  • Jason Segel, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, author and producer
• January 19 – Luke Macfarlane, American actor
• January 21
  • Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer and voice actress
  • Kim Sharma, Indian actress
• January 22 - Christopher Masterson, American actor
• January 29 - Jason James Richter, American actor and musician
• January 30 – Wilmer Valderrama, American actor
• February 2 – Zhang Jingchu, Chinese actress
• February 3 - Ben Turner, British-Iranian actor
• February 6 - Ben Lawson, Australian actor
• February 8
  • William Jackson Harper, American actor
  • Sinead Matthews, English actress
• February 9 - Margarita Levieva, Russian-American actress
• February 11 – Matthew Lawrence, American actor
• February 12
  • Christina Ricci, American actress
  • Enver Gjokaj, American actor
  • Sarah Lancaster, American actress
• February 14 – Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress and producer
• February 17 - Jason Ritter, American actor, voice actor and producer
• February 21
  • Justin Roiland, American voice actor, animator, writer, and producer
  • Brendan Sexton III, American actor
• February 25
  • Chris Knowings, American actor
  • Christy Knowings, American actress and comedian
  • Rashaan Nall, American writer, director, screenwriter and actor
• February 26 - Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Icelandic actor
• February 27 - Stephen Wight, English actor
• February 28
  • Denise Gough, Irish actress
  • Charles Halford, American actor
• February 29
  • Steven Cree, Scottish actor
  • Peter Scanavino, American actor
• March 2 - Rebel Wilson, Australian actress, comedian, writer and producer
• March 3
  • Meiling Melançon, American actress and screenwriter
  • Katherine Waterston, American actress
• March 5 - Jessica Boehrs, German actress and singer
• March 7
  • Laura Prepon, American actress
  • Mart Toome, Estonian actor
• March 9 – Matthew Gray Gubler, American actor
• March 13 - Nathan Phillips, Australian actor
• March 17 - Katie Morgan, American pornographic actress
• March 18 - Sophia Myles, English actress
• March 20 - Mikey Day, American actor and comedian
• March 23 - Itay Tiran, Israeli actor and director
• March 25 - Tinsel Korey, Canadian actress and singer-songwriter
• March 30 - Fiona Gubelmann, American actress
• March 31
  • Christine Barger, American actress
  • Kate Micucci, American actress
  • Maaya Sakamoto, Japanese singer and voice actress
• April 4 - Collette Wolfe, American actress
• April 8
  • Carrie Savage, American voice actress
  • Katee Sackhoff, American actress
• April 10 – Charlie Hunnam, British actor and screenwriter
• April 11 - Julia Chantrey, Canadian actress
• April 13
  • Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress
  • Kelli Giddish, American actress
• April 14
  • Tom Franco, American actor
  • Claire Coffee, American actress
• April 15 - Arian Moayed, Iranian-born American actor, writer and director
• April 17
  • Nicholas D'Agosto, American actor
  • Samantha Soule, American actress
• April 21 - Hadley Fraser, English actor and singer
• April 22 - Rodrigo Hilbert, Brazilian television presenter, actor, and former model
• April 24 - Reagan Gomez-Preston, American actress
• April 25
  • Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor and television presenter
  • Céline Sallette, French actress
• April 26
  • Jordana Brewster, American actress
  • Anna Mucha, Polish actress
  • Marnette Patterson, American actress
  • Channing Tatum, American actor
  • Damien Dante Wayans, American actor, screenwriter, producer and director
• April 30 - Sam Heughan, Scottish actor
• May 2 - Ellie Kemper, American actress and comedian
• May 5 - Zach McGowan, American actor
• May 8
  • Jasen Fisher, American former child actor
  • Kimberlee Peterson, American actress
• May 14 - Sérgio Guizé, Brazilian actor
• May 18 - Matt Long, American actor
• May 19 - Chris Jarvis, English actor
• May 20 - Cauã Reymond, Brazilian actor
• May 22
  • Nazanin Boniadi, British actress
  • Lucy Gordon, English actress and model (died 2009)
  • Evelin Võigemast, Estonian actress
• May 23
  • D. J. Cotrona, American actor
  • Chris Gethard, American actor, comedian and writer
• May 25 - Will Janowitz, American actor
• May 27 - Ben Feldman, American actor and producer
• May 28 - Kelly Fremon Craig, American screenwriter, producer and director
• May 29 - Adam Brown, English actor and comedian
• June 1 - Oliver James, English musician and former actor
• June 3 - Billy Slaughter, American actor
• June 10 - Jessica DiCicco, American film, television and voice actress
• June 15 - Candace Brown, American actress and comedian
• June 16 – Sibel Kekilli, German actress
• June 18 - David Giuntoli, American actor
• June 19
  • Neil Brown Jr., American actor
  • Lauren Lee Smith, Canadian actress
• June 20 - Tika Sumpter, American actress, singer, producer, television host and model
• June 21 - Preeya Kalidas, British singer and actress
• June 22 - Javone Prince, British comedian and actor
• June 23
  • Heath Freeman, American actor (died 2021)
  • Melissa Rauch, American actress and comedian
• June 24 – Minka Kelly, American actress
• June 26 - Jason Schwartzman, American actor, producer and musician
• July 1 - Fortune Feimster, American comedian
• July 3 – Olivia Munn, American actress
• July 4 - Max Elliott Slade, American former child actor
• July 6 – Eva Green, French actress
• July 7 - Marika Domińczyk, Polish-American actress
• July 10
  • James Rolfe, American filmmaker, actor, YouTuber and online personality
  • Jessica Simpson, American singer and actress
  • Thomas Ian Nicholas, American actor
  • Aaron Staton, American actor
• July 12
  • Kristen Connolly, American actress
  • Mylène Jampanoï, French actress
  • Tom Price, Welsh actor and comedian
• July 15 – Jasper Pääkkönen, Finnish actor and film producer
• July 17 – Brett Goldstein, British actor and comedian
• July 18 – Kristen Bell, American actress
• July 19
  • Mark Webber, American actor, screenwriter and director
  • Chris Sullivan, American actor
• July 27 - Ewen Leslie, Australian actor
• July 29 - Rachel Miner, American actress
• July 30 - April Bowlby, American actress
• August 3
  • Hannah Simone, Canadian actress
  • Teuku Rifnu Wikana, Indonesian actor
• August 5 - Sophie Winkleman, English actress
• August 6
  • Monique Ganderton, Canadian stunt performer and actress
  • Rory Scovel, American actor and comedian
• August 8 – Marisa Quintanilla, American actress
• August 9 - Stephen Schneider, American actor
• August 10
  • Pua Magasiva, New Zealand actor (died 2019)
• August 11 - Merritt Wever, American actress
• August 12 - Dominique Swain, American actress and producer
• August 13 - Álex González, Spanish actor
• August 14 - Adrienne C. Moore, American actress
• August 15 - Natalie Press, English actress
• August 18 – Preeti Jhangiani, Indian actress
• August 19
  • Adam Campbell, English actor
  • Aaron Horvath, American animator, screenwriter, producer and director
• August 20 - Corey Carrier, American former child actor
• August 21 - John Brotherton, American actor
• August 23 - Joanne Froggatt, English actress
• August 25 – Jackie Tohn, American actress and singer
• August 26
  • Macaulay Culkin, American actor
  • Chris Pine, American actor
• August 31 - Leo Bill, English actor
• September 1 - Lara Pulver, English actress
• September 7
  • J. D. Pardo, American actor
  • Alex Hassell, English actor
• September 9 – Michelle Williams, American actress
• September 12 - Hiroyuki Sawano, Japanese music composer
• September 13 – Ben Savage, American actor
• September 13 – Cristiana Capotondi, Italian actress
• September 18 - Charity Wakefield, English actress
• September 19 - Benjamin Davies, Scottish actor
• September 21
  • Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
  • Autumn Reeser, American actress
• September 25
  • T.I., American actor and rapper
  • Chris Owen, American actor
• September 29
  • Zachary Levi, American actor and singer
  • Chrissy Metz, American actress
• September 30 - Toni Trucks, American actress
• October 1 - Sarah Drew, American actress
• October 3 - Daniel DeSanto, Canadian actor and voice actor
• October 4
  • Nick Mohammed, English actor, comedian and writer
  • Morgan Spector, American actor
• October 6
  • David Alpay, Canadian actor, musician and producer
  • Jenny Wade, American actress
• October 8
  • Nick Cannon, American comedian, rapper and television host
  • Nathan Head, British actor
• October 14 – Ben Whishaw, English actor
• October 18
  • Erin Dean, American former actress
  • Natasha Rothwell, American writer, actress and comedian
• October 19 – Benjamin Salisbury, American actor
• October 21
  • Kim Kardashian, American media personality, model and actress
  • Lino Musella, Italian actor
• October 23 - Robert Belushi, American actor
• October 24
  • Casey Wilson, American actress and comedian
  • Monica, American singer-songwriter, producer and actress
• October 25 - Mehcad Brooks, American actor
• October 28 - Wes Ball, American film director and artist
• October 29 – Ben Foster, American actor
• October 30 - Sarah Carter, Canadian actress
• October 31
  • Samaire Armstrong, American actress
  • Eddie Kaye Thomas, American actor
• November 1 - Dani Rovira, Spanish comedian and actor
• November 2 - Kim So-yeon, South Korean actress
• November 5 - Luke Hemsworth, Australian actor
• November 8 - Brooke Lyons, American actress
• November 9 - Vanessa Lachey, American actress, fashion model and television host
• November 10 - Alberta Mayne, Canadian actress
• November 12
  • Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
  • Gustaf Skarsgård, Swedish actor
• November 13 - Monique Coleman, American actress
• November 17 - Stuart Stone, Canadian actor
• November 18 - Mathew Baynton, English actor, writer, comedian, singer and musician
• November 23 - Tannishtha Chatterjee, Indian actress and director
• November 29 - Jason Griffith, American actor and voice actor
• December 3
  • Anna Chlumsky, American actress
  • Jenna Dewan, American actress and dancer
• December 5 - Jessica Paré, Canadian actress
• December 8 - Juliette Danielle, American actress
• December 9 – Simon Helberg, American actor and comedian
• December 13 - Satoshi Tsumabuki, Japanese actor
• December 15 - Yuri Kolokolnikov, Russian actor
• December 16 - Michael Jibson, English actor, director, writer and voice over artist
• December 18
  • Christina Aguilera, American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality
  • Neil Fingleton, English actor (died 2017)
  • Kirsty Strain, Scottish actress
• December 19
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor
  • Marla Sokoloff, American actress
• December 22 - Chris Carmack, American actor
• December 26 - Jared Van Snellenberg, American former actor
• December 27 - Elizabeth Rodriguez, American actress
• December 30 – Eliza Dushku, American actress
• December 31 – Rosanne Mulholland, Brazilian actress

Deaths

Film debuts

• Jay Acovone – Cruising
• Christopher Atkins – The Blue Lagoon
• James Avery – The Stunt Man
• Michael Badalucco – Raging Bull
• Adam Baldwin – My Bodyguard
• Adrienne Barbeau – The Fog
• Drew Barrymore – Altered States
• Jennifer Beals – My Bodyguard
• Fabrizio Bentivoglio – The Blue-Eyed Bandit
• Pierce Brosnan – The Long Good Friday
• Leo Burmester – Cruising
• Julie Carmen – Night of the Juggler
• Jim Carter – Flash Gordon
• Rosalind Chao – The Big Brawl
• François Cluzet – Cocktail Molotov
• Robbie Coltrane – Death Watch
• Barry Corbin – Urban Cowboy
• Tony Cox – Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype
• Peter Coyote – Die Laughing
• Joan Cusack – Cutting Loose
• Willem Dafoe – Heaven's Gate
• John Diehl – Falling in Love Again
• Billy Drago – Windwalker
• Michael Dudikoff – The Black Marble
• Paul Eiding – Foolin' Around
• Frankie Faison – Permanent Vacation
• Miriam Flynn – First Family
• Michael J. Fox – Midnight Madness
• Peter Gallagher – The Idolmaker
• Richard Gant – Night of the Juggler
• Serena Grandi – I'm Photogenic
• Michael Gross – Just Tell Me What You Want
• Julie Hagerty – Airplane!
• Tom Hanks – He Knows You're Alone
• Robert Hays – Airplane!
• Linda Hunt – Popeye
• William Hurt – Altered States
• Jeremy Irons – Nijinsky
• Bill Irwin – Popeye
• Gregory Itzin – Airplane!
• O-Lan Jones – Die Laughing
• Robert Joy – Atlantic City
• Don Lake – Don't Answer the Phone!
• Adam LeFevre – Return of the Secaucus 7
• Juliette Lewis – Bronco Billy
• Ernie Lively – It's My Turn
• William H. Macy – Somewhere in Time
• Ann Magnuson – The Long Island Four
• Michael Maloney – Richard's Things
• Sophie Marceau – La Boum
• Francis Xavier McCarthy – Altered States
• Christopher McDonald – The Hearse
• Elizabeth McGovern – Ordinary People
• Micole Mercurio – Alligator
• Cathy Moriarty – Raging Bull
• David Morse – Inside Moves
• Marshall Napier – Beyond Reasonable Doubt
• Taylor Negron – The Gong Show Movie
• Cynthia Nixon – Little Darlings
• Tom Noonan – Willie & Phil
• Richard Norton – The Octagon
• Catherine O'Hara – Nothing Personal
• Ed O'Neill – Cruising
• Terry O'Quinn – Heaven's Gate
• Michelle Pfeiffer – The Hollywood Knights
• Cindy Pickett – Night Games
• Richard Portnow – Roadie
• Harold Ramis – Caddyshack (director)
• Judge Reinhold – Running Scared
• Marco Rodríguez – The Baltimore Bullet
• Robert Romanus – Foxes
• John Rothman – Stardust Memories
• Saul Rubinek – Death Ship
• David Schofield – The Dogs of War
• Armin Shimerman – Stardust Memories
• Jean Smart – Hoodlums
• Kurtwood Smith – Roadie
• Catherine Mary Stewart – Powder Heads
• Sharon Stone – Stardust Memories
• David Strathairn – Return of the Secaucus 7
• David Suchet – Schiele in Prison
• John Turturro – Raging Bull
• Gedde Watanabe – The Long Island Four
• Hugo Weaving – ...Maybe This Time
• Dianne Wiest – It's My Turn
• Bruce Willis – The First Deadly Sin
• Jeff Wincott – Happy Birthday, Gemini
• Mare Winningham – One-Trick Pony
• John Witherspoon – The Jazz Singer
• Nicholas Woodeson – Heaven's Gate
• Sean Young – Jane Austen in Manhattan
• Lenore Zann – Hounds of Notre Dame

Notes

References

References

1. "1980 Domestic Grosses". [[Box Office Mojo]].
2. "The Empire Strikes Back (1980)". [[Box Office Mojo]].
3. Gorelik, Boris. (12 July 2014). "Jamie se treffer: Met Uys, ja – die wêreld in". [[Media24]].
4. {{AFI film. 53895
5. "The Blues Brothers". [[Internet Movie Database]].
6. Harmetz, Aljean. (January 19, 1981). "What Were 1980's Most Popular Movie?".
7. Harmetz, Aljean. (August 5, 1979). "Hollywood Is Taking Aim At The Funny Bone".
8. Lewin, David. (December 2, 1979). "Can the Makers of 'Star Wars' Do It Again?".
9. "Lin-Manuel Biography (1980–)". [[Biography.com]].
10. ((Editors of Chase's)). (30 September 2018). "Chase's Calendar of Events 2019: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months". Rowman & Littlefield.
11. (1999). "The Teacher's Calendar, 1999-2000: The Day-by-day Directory to Holidays, Historic Events, Birthdays and Special Days, Weeks and Months". Contemporary Books.
12. (September 2002). "Chase's Calendar of Events 2003". McGraw-Hill.
13. "The birth of Jason Ritter".
14. (20 May 2015). "Rebel Wilson's birth date revealed in ASIC documents". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
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16. (2013). "Monitor".
17. "Ellie Kemper". [[TV Guide.
18. "Pua Magasiva's life in the spotlight and the 'demons' behind it". [[Stuff (website).
19. Paul T. Hellmann. (14 February 2006). "Historical Gazetteer of the United States". Routledge.
20. ((Editors of Chase's)). (30 September 2018). "Chase's Calendar of Events 2019: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months". Rowman & Littlefield.