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1990 in film

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The year 1990 in film involved many significant events as shown below. Universal Pictures celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1990, despite its actual 75th anniversary taking place in 1987.

Highest-grossing films

The top 10 films released in 1990 by worldwide gross are as follows:

RankTitleDistributorWorldwide gross12345678910
*Ghost*Paramount$505,702,588
*Home Alone*[20th Century Fox](20th-century-fox)$476,684,675
*Pretty Woman*Buena Vista$463,406,268
*Dances with Wolves*Orion$424,208,848
*Total Recall*TriStar / Carolco$261,317,921
*Back to the Future Part III*Universal$244,527,583
*Die Hard 2*[20th Century Fox](20th-century-studios)$240,031,094
*Presumed Innocent*Warner Bros.$221,303,188
*Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*New Line$202,084,756
*Kindergarten Cop*Universal$201,957,688

Events

  • March 2 - The Hunt for Red October is released. It is the first film in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan franchise and is met with critical and blockbuster commercial success.
  • March 23 – Pretty Woman is released and grosses $463 million, making Julia Roberts a worldwide star.
  • March 30 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is released to massive box office success. At the time, it is the highest-grossing independent film in history.
  • May 25 – Universal Pictures unveils a new opening logo with music composed by James Horner, which debuts on Back to the Future Part III. It is the first change to the Universal opening logo in 27 years.
  • June 1 – CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall.
  • June 15 – Following a massive media and marketing blitz, Dick Tracy is released. Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg expressed disappointment in a studio memo that noted that the film had cost about $100 million in total to produce, market and promote and with its disappointing performance claimed "We made demands on our time, talent and treasury that, upon reflection, may not have been worth it".
  • June 22 – The use of real-time computer graphics or "digital puppetry" to create a character in a motion picture is performed, in RoboCop 2.
  • July 4 – The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.
  • July 13 - Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, is released and grosses $506 million, making it the third highest-grossing movie at the time.
  • November 9 – Kevin Costner's directorial debut, Dances with Wolves, is released. It later earns twelve Academy Award nominations and wins seven, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner.
  • November 16
    • Home Alone is released. It spends twelve consecutive weeks at number one on the United States box office, becoming both the highest-grossing film of the year and the highest-grossing comedy of all-time.
    • The Rescuers Down Under is considered as the first fully digital film ever made.
  • December 24 – Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman marry.
  • Buchwald v. Paramount decided, a leading case on the financial rewards due to writers of film treatments.

Awards

Category/Organization[48th Golden Globe Awards](48th-golden-globe-awards)
January 19, 1991[44th BAFTA Awards](44th-british-academy-film-awards)
March 17, 1991[63rd Academy Awards](63rd-academy-awards)
March 25, 1991DramaMusical or Comedy
Best Film*Dances with Wolves**Green Card**Goodfellas**Dances with Wolves*
Best DirectorKevin Costner
*Dances with Wolves*Martin Scorsese
*Goodfellas*Kevin Costner
*Dances with Wolves*
Best ActorJeremy Irons
*Reversal of Fortune*Gérard Depardieu
*Green Card*Philippe Noiret
*Cinema Paradiso*Jeremy Irons
*Reversal of Fortune*
Best ActressKathy Bates
*Misery*Julia Roberts
*Pretty Woman*Jessica Tandy
*Driving Miss Daisy*Kathy Bates
*Misery*
Best Supporting ActorBruce Davison
*Longtime Companion*Salvatore Cascio
*Cinema Paradiso*Joe Pesci
*Goodfellas*
Best Supporting ActressWhoopi Goldberg
*Ghost*
Best Screenplay, AdaptedMichael Blake
*Dances with Wolves*Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi
*Goodfellas*Michael Blake
*Dances with Wolves*
Best Screenplay, OriginalGiuseppe Tornatore
*Cinema Paradiso*Bruce Joel Rubin
*Ghost*
Best Original Score*The Sheltering Sky*
Ryuichi Sakamoto and Richard Horowitz*Cinema Paradiso*
Ennio Morricone and Andrea Morricone*Dances with Wolves*
John Barry
Best Original Song"Blaze of Glory"
*Young Guns II***N/A**"Sooner or Later"
*Dick Tracy*
Best Foreign Language Film*Cyrano de Bergerac**Journey of Hope*

1990 films

By country/region

  • List of American films of 1990
  • List of Argentine films of 1990
  • List of Australian films of 1990
  • List of Bangladeshi films of 1990
  • List of British films of 1990
  • List of Canadian films of 1990
  • List of French films of 1990
  • List of Hong Kong films of 1990
  • List of Indian films of 1990
    • List of Hindi films of 1990
    • List of Kannada films of 1990
    • List of Malayalam films of 1990
    • List of Marathi films of 1990
    • List of Tamil films of 1990
    • List of Telugu films of 1990
  • List of Japanese films of 1990
  • List of Mexican films of 1990
  • List of Pakistani films of 1990
  • List of Soviet films of 1990
  • List of South Korean films of 1990
  • List of Spanish films of 1990

By genre/medium

  • List of action films of 1990
  • List of animated feature films of 1990
  • List of avant-garde films of 1990
  • List of crime films of 1990
  • List of comedy films of 1990
  • List of drama films of 1990
  • List of horror films of 1990
  • List of science fiction films of 1990
  • List of thriller films of 1990
  • List of western films of 1990

Births

  • January 1 - Tom Ackerley, British producer and former assistant director
  • January 7 – Liam Aiken, American actor
  • January 13 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
  • January 14 - Grant Gustin, American actor and singer
  • January 15
    • Sidney Franklin, American actor
    • Chris Warren, American actor
  • January 18 - Zeeko Zaki, Egyptian-born American actor
  • January 19 - Shaunette Renée Wilson, Guyanese-born American actress
  • January 21
    • Kelly Rohrbach, American actress
    • Jacob Smith, American actor
  • January 22 - Phil Wang, British-Malaysian stand-up comedian, writer and actor
  • January 23 - Joel Basman, Swiss actor
  • January 25 - Dustin Ingram, American actor and musician
  • January 26 – Christopher Massey, American actor, comedian and rapper
  • January 29 – François Civil, French actor
  • January 30
    • Eiza González, Mexican actress and singer
    • Jake Thomas, American actor and voice actor
  • January 31 - Siobhán Cullen, Irish actress
  • February 1 - Toby Onwumere, Nigerian-American actor
  • February 2 - Julia Fox, Italian-American actress
  • February 4 - Will Denton, American actor
  • February 5
    • Charlbi Dean, South African actress and model (died 2022)
    • Anthony Ingruber, Dutch-Australian actor and impressionist
  • February 8
    • Christian Madsen, American actor
    • Ben Schnetzer, American actor
  • February 9 - Tyson Houseman, Canadian actor
  • February 10 - Trevante Rhodes, American actor
  • February 11 - Q'orianka Kilcher, American actress
  • February 15
    • Isabella Giovinazzo, Australian actress
    • Callum Turner, British actor and model
  • February 16 - The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • February 20 - Sean Sagar, British actor
  • February 21 – Flavio Aquilone, Italian voice actor
  • February 28 - Georgina Leonidas, British actress
  • March 1 – Harry Eden, British actor
  • March 2 - Tiger Shroff, Indian actor
  • March 11 - Reiley McClendon, American actor
  • March 12 – Jörgen Liik, Estonian actor
  • March 13 - Sasha Clements, Canadian actress
  • March 20 - Stacy Martin, French actress
  • March 24 – Keisha Castle-Hughes, Australian-New Zealand actress
  • March 25 - Kiowa Gordon, American actor of Hualapai descent
  • March 26 - Choi Woo-shik, Korean-Canadian actor
  • March 28 – Laura Harrier, American actress
  • March 29 - Josh Blaylock, American actor
  • March 30 - Chelsea Harris, American actress
  • April 5 - Haruma Miura, Japanese actor (died 2020)
  • April 9 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
  • April 10 – Alex Pettyfer, English actor and model
  • April 12
    • Jamie Muscato, English actor and singer
    • Eline Powell, Belgian actress
  • April 15 – Emma Watson, English actress
  • April 16 – Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
  • April 17 – Gia Mantegna, American actress
  • April 18 - Britt Robertson, American actress
  • April 23 – Dev Patel, British actor
  • April 25 - Meghann Fahy, American actress
  • May 1 - Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress and singer
  • May 2 - Kay Panabaker, American retired actress
  • May 3 - Harvey Guillén, American actor
  • May 6 - Moses Storm, American writer, actor and comedian
  • May 14
    • Rea Lest-Liik, Estonia actress
    • Sasha Spielberg, American actress, daughter of producer/director Steven Spielberg and actress Kate Capshaw
  • May 15 - Sophie Cookson, English actress
  • May 16
    • Deniz Akdeniz, Australian actor
    • Thomas Brodie-Sangster, British actor
    • Marc John Jefferies, American actor
  • May 17
    • Ross Butler, American actor
    • Leven Rambin, American actress
  • May 18 - Luke Kleintank, American actor
  • May 20 - Josh O'Connor, British actor
  • May 24 - Félix Moati, French actor, director and screenwriter
  • May 26 - Madeleine Mantock, British actress
  • May 27 - Chris Colfer, American actor and singer
  • May 30
    • Sai Bennett, English actress
    • Im Yoon-ah, South Korean actress
    • Mason Lee, Taiwanese-American actor
  • May 31 - Phillipa Soo, American actress and singer
  • June 2
    • Brittany Curran, American actress
    • Jack Lowden, Scottish actor
  • June 13 - Aaron Taylor-Johnson, British actor
  • June 15 - Denzel Whitaker, American actor
  • June 17 - Monica Barbaro, American actress
  • June 18 - Jeremy Irvine, English actor
  • June 20 - Jacob Wysocki, American actor and comedian
  • June 26 - Brandon Sklenar, American actor
  • July 2 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress
  • July 4
    • Melissa Barrera, Mexican actress and singer
    • David Kross, German actor
  • July 6 – Jeremy Suarez, American actor
  • July 11 - Connor Paolo, American actor
  • July 12 – Rachel Brosnahan, American-British actress
  • July 13 - Nomzamo Mbatha, South African actress and television personality
  • July 15
    • Olly Alexander, British musician, actor and screenwriter
    • Alexander Calvert, Canadian actor
  • July 16
    • Eddie Hassell, American actor (died 2020)
    • James Maslow, American actor
  • July 19 - Steven Anthony Lawrence, American actor
  • July 24 – Daveigh Chase, American actress
  • July 27 – Indiana Evans, Australian actress and singer-songwriter
  • July 29 – Matt Prokop, American actor
  • July 30 - Eliot Sumner, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • July 31 - Ruby Modine, American actress, model and singer
  • August 1 - Jack O'Connell, English actor
  • August 4 - Chet Hanks, American actor and musician
  • August 9
    • Bill Skarsgård, Swedish actor
    • Emily Tennant, Canadian actress
  • August 10 – Lucas Till, American actor
  • August 15 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress
  • August 17 – Rachel Hurd-Wood, British actress
  • August 20 - Win Morisaki, Burmese singer and actor
  • August 23 – Wesley Singerman, American record producer, songwriter and guitarist, and voice actor
  • August 24 – Elizabeth Debicki, Australian actress
  • August 29
    • Nicole Gale Anderson, American actress
    • Erika Harlacher, American voice actress
  • September 1 - Aisling Loftus, English actress
  • September 3 - Bianca Bin, Brazilian actress
  • September 9
    • Sarah Baker, American actress and comedian
    • Klaudia Tiitsmaa, Estonian actress
  • September 11 - Georgina Terry, British actress
  • September 15 – Matt Shively, American actor
  • September 20 – Saara Pius, Estonian actress
  • September 21
    • Christian Serratos, American actress
    • Allison Scagliotti, American actress and director
  • September 27 - Lola Kirke, American actress and singer
  • September 28 - Kirsten Prout, Canadian actress
  • September 30 - Caren Pistorius, New Zealand actress
  • October 2 - Samantha Barks, Manx actress and singer
  • October 5
    • Wesley Morgan, Canadian actor and model
    • Taylour Paige, American actress and dancer
  • October 6 - Scarlett Byrne, English actress and model
  • October 8 - Tom Rhys Harries, Welsh actor
  • October 13
    • Florian Munteanu, German-Romanian actor and model
    • Himesh Patel, British actor
  • October 18 - Carly Schroeder, American actress
  • October 22 – Jonathan Lipnicki, American actor
  • October 31 - Patti Harrison, Vietnamese-American comedian and actress
  • November 2 – Kendall Schmidt, American actor
  • November 4 – Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Canadian actor
  • November 6 - Bowen Yang, Australian-born American comedian, writer and actor
  • November 9 – Chris Di Staulo, Canadian filmmaker (died 2025)
  • November 14 - Jessica Jacobs, Australian actress and singer (died 2008)
  • November 16 - Milo Gibson, American actor
  • November 18 - Matt Milne, English actor and director
  • November 24 - Sarah Hyland, American actress
  • November 25 - Stephanie Hsu, American actress
  • November 26 - Rita Ora, British actress, singer and songwriter
  • November 28 - Carla Diaz, Brazilian actress
  • November 29 - Diego Boneta, Mexican actor, producer and singer
  • December 10 - Teyana Taylor, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • December 20
    • JoJo, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • Bugzy Malone, British rapper and actor
  • December 23
    • Moses J. Moseley, American actor, writer and model (died 2022)
    • Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress and singer

Deaths

MonthDateNameAgeCountryProfessionNotable films
**January***2*Alan Hale Jr.68USActor
*5*Arthur Kennedy75USActor
*6*Ian Charleson40UKActor
*6*Peter Cookson76USActor
*8*Terry-Thomas78UKActor
*10*Lyle R. Wheeler84USArt Director
*14*John Witty74UKActor
*15*Gordon Jackson66UKActor
*20*John Maxim64UKActor
*20*Barbara Stanwyck82USActress
*25*Ava Gardner67USActress
*26*Dodo Abashidze66GeorgiaDirector
*27*Helen Jerome Eddy92USActress
**February***2*Hans Schumm93GermanyActor
*6*John Merivale72CanadaActor
*6*Jimmy Van Heusen77USSongwriter
*8*Frank Ross85USProducer
*13*Ken Lynch79USActor
*14*Jean Wallace66USActress
*15*Henry Brandon77GermanyActor
*15*Michel Drach59FranceDirector, Screenwriter, Producer
*16*Joshua Shelley70USActor
*17*Allen Rivkin86USScreenwriter
*19*Gabriel Katzka59USProducer
*19*Michael Powell84UKDirector
*28*Fabia Drake86UKActress
**March***5*Gary Merrill74USActor
*17*Capucine62SwitzerlandActress
*18*Robin Harris36USActor, Comedian
*20*Maurice Cloche82FranceDirector
*28*Helene Reynolds75USActress
**April***2*Aldo Fabrizi84ItalyActor
*3*Clair Huffaker63USScreenwriter
*8*Ernest Steward79UKCinematographer
*11*Vanda Godsell67UKActress
*15*Greta Garbo84SwedenActress
*17*Joseph McMillan Johnson77USArt Director, Production Designer, Visual Effects Artist
*18*Robert D. Webb87USDirector
*20*Alex McCrindle78UKActor
*22*Albert Salmi62USActor
*23*Paulette Goddard79USActress
*25*Dexter Gordon67USMusician, Actor
*27*Bella Spewack91USScreenwriter
**May***1*Sunset Carson69USActor
*2*David Rappaport38USActor
*6*Charles Farrell89USActor
*10*Susan Oliver58USActress
*12*Anthony Masters70UKProduction Designer
*12*Nate Monaster78USScreenwriter
*14*Franklyn Seales37West IndiesActor
*16*Sammy Davis Jr.64USActor, Singer
*16*Jim Henson53USPuppeteer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer
*18*Jill Ireland54UKActress
*22*Max Wall82UKActor
*25*Vic Tayback60USActor
**June***1*Eric Barker78UKActor
*2*Rex Harrison82UKActor
*3*Tom Brown70USActor
*4*Jack Gilford81USActor
*6*Marcel Grignon75FranceCinematographer
*7*Barbara Baxley67USActress
*15*Leonard Sachs80UKActor
*20*Ina Balin52USActress
*23*Frank Gatliff62UKActor
*25*Sydney Boehm82USScreenwriter
**July***8*Howard Duff76USActor
*13*Lois Moran81USActress
*14*Philip Leacock74UKDirector
*15*Margaret Lockwood73UKActress
*15*Bud Thackery87USCinematographer
*19*Eddie Quillan83USActor
*20*Sergei Parajanov66GeorgiaDirector
*21*Stanley Shapiro65USScreenwriter
*23*Georges Flamant86FranceActor
*27*Elizabeth Allan80UKActress
*27*Ernest Archer80UKArt Director
*28*Jill Esmond82UKActress
**August***2*Edwin Richfield68UKActor, Screenwriter
*3*Betty Amann85GermanyActress
*12*Dorothy Mackaill87USActress
*12*Sara Seegar76USActress
*17*Pearl Bailey72USActress, Singer
*23*Dorothea Kent74USActress
*27*Raymond St. Jacques60USActor
*28*Edmund H. North79USScreenwriter
**September***4*Irene Dunne91USActress
*5*Jack Hildyard82UKCinematographer
*19*Werner Janssen91USComposer
*19*Hermes Pan80USChoreographer
*20*Jackie Moran67USActor
**October***4*Jill Bennett58UKActress
*4*Roy Charman60UKSound Engineer
*14*Leonard Bernstein72USComposer
*15*Delphine Seyrig58FranceActress, Director
*20*Joel McCrea84USActor
*27*Jacques Demy59FranceDirector, Screenwriter, Composer
*27*Ugo Tognazzi68ItalyActor
**November***2*William Travilla70USCostume Designer
*3*Valerie French62UKActress
*3*Mary Martin76USActress, Singer
*3*Walter H. Tyler81USArt Director
*4*Carol Sobieski51USScreenwriter
*10*Maura McGiveney51USActress
*11*Alexis Minotis90GreeceActor
*12*Eve Arden82USActress
*13*Don Chaffey73New ZealandDirector
*13*Maurice Richlin70USScreenwriter
*23*Roald Dahl74UKScreenwriter
*27*David White74USActor
**December***1*Sergio Corbucci63ItalyDirector, Screenwriter
*1*Carla Lehmann73CanadaActress
*2*Robert Cummings80USActor
*4*Edward Binns79USActor
*7*Joan Bennett80USActress
*8*Martin Ritt76USDirector, Actor, Producer
*9*Mike Mazurki82USActor
*18*Anne Revere87USActress
*18*Connie Russell67USSinger, Actress
*26*Gene Callahan67USProduction Designer
*28*Warren Skaaren44USScreenwriter

Film debuts

  • Tadanobu Asano – Bataashi Kingyo
  • Hank Azaria – Pretty Woman
  • Patricia Belcher – Flatliners
  • Abraham Benrubi – Diving In
  • Julie Benz – Two Evil Eyes
  • Brenda Blethyn – The Witches
  • Andrew Bryniarski – Dragonfight
  • Mark Camacho – Whispers
  • Bill Camp – Reversal of Fortune
  • Robert Carlyle – Silent Scream
  • Chiara Caselli – The Secret
  • Kyle Chandler – The Color of Evening
  • Nick Chinlund – The Ambulance
  • Scott Cohen – Jacob's Ladder
  • Russell Crowe – Blood Oath
  • James Badge Dale – Lord of the Flies
  • Hope Davis – Flatliners
  • Andy Dick – The Grifters
  • Vin Diesel – Awakenings
  • Ann Dowd – Green Card
  • Denise Dowse – Coldfire
  • Chris Ellis – Days of Thunder
  • Kerry Fox – An Angel at My Table
  • Brad Garrett – Jetsons: The Movie
  • Balthazar Getty – Lord of the Flies
  • Brendan Gleeson – The Field
  • John Hannah – Harbour Beat
  • Damon Herriman – The Big Steal
  • Djimon Hounsou – Without You I'm Nothing
  • Anthony Johnson – House Party
  • Ashley Johnson – Lionheart
  • Jacek Koman – Hunting
  • Valérie Lemercier – May Fools
  • Nia Long – Buried Alive
  • George Lopez – Ski Patrol
  • Aasif Mandvi – No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers
  • Margo Martindale – Days of Thunder
  • Debi Mazar – Goodfellas
  • John McConnell – Miller's Crossing
  • Neal McDonough – Darkman
  • Rose McGowan – Class of 1999
  • Don McManus – The Bonfire of the Vanities
  • Rachel Miner – Alice
  • Kristin Minter – Home Alone
  • Julianne Moore – Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
  • Peter Mullan – The Big Man
  • Lochlyn Munro – Sylvan Lake Summer
  • Guy Pearce – Heaven Tonight
  • Wayne Péré – An American Summer
  • Luke Perry – Terminal Bliss
  • Christina Ricci – Mermaids
  • Rob Schneider – Martians Go Home
  • Nick Searcy – Days of Thunder
  • June Squibb – Alice
  • Joe Viterelli – State of Grace
  • Isiah Whitlock Jr. – Gremlins 2: The New Batch
  • Jeffrey Wright – Presumed Innocent
  • Catherine Zeta-Jones – Les 1001 Nuits

References

References

  1. "1990 Worldwide Box Office". [[IMDb]].
  2. "Sidney Franklin - In Biographical Summaries of Notable People".
  3. Mauduech, Bénédicte. (18 February 2019). "François Civil, jeunesse se place".
  4. "Emma Watson {{!}} Biography, Movie, Harry Potter, & Facts {{!}} Britannica".
  5. "Margot Robbie {{!}} Biography, Movies, Wolf of Wall Street, & Facts {{!}} Britannica".
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