Box Office Flashback: 1981

[claws]

DOMESTIC GROSSES #1–20

01. $209,562,121 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
02. $119,285,432 - On Golden Pond
03. $108,185,706 - Superman II
04. $095,461,682 - Arthur
05. $085,297,000 - Stripes
06. $072,179,579 - The Cannonball Run
07. $058,972,904 - Chariots of Fire
08. $054,812,802 - For Your Eyes Only
09. $050,427,646 - The Four Seasons
10. $042,365,581 - Time Bandits

11. $041,092,328 - Clash of the Titans
12. $040,716,963 - Absence of Malice
13. $040,382,659 - Reds
14. $039,900,000 - The Fox and the Hound
15. $036,565,280 - Tarzan, the Ape Man
16. $035,856,053 - Taps
17. $035,610,100 - Sharky's Machine
18. $034,967,437 - Excalibur
19. $031,672,907 - History of the World, Part I
20. $031,261,269 - Bustin' Loose

Never seen On Golden Pond, Chariots of Fire, The Four Seasons, Absence of Malice, Reds, Taps, Sharky's Machine and Bustin' Loose.

[Rev. Powell]

Some nice film there... RAIDERS deserved the #1 spot, and I'm surprised to see TIME BANDITS did so well at the box office.

I guess THE ROAD WARRIOR must have been counted for 1982? 

Notable 1981 films not in the top 20: MOMMIE DEAREST, THE EVIL DEAD, THE HOWLING, MS. 45, POSSESSION.

[Jack]

On my first date with a girl we saw Time Bandits   

Never saw Chariots of Fire, but I remember it being a big deal back in the day.  I think I caught 5 minutes of it when it was on TV one day.

[lester1/2jr]

whoah Sharkey's Machine was 81?

[JaseSF]

01. $209,562,121 - Raiders of the Lost Ark (Classic!)
02. $119,285,432 - On Golden Pond (Haven't seen)
03. $108,185,706 - Superman II (loved it! General Zod owns!)
04. $095,461,682 - Arthur (Haven't seen)
05. $085,297,000 - Stripes (Didn't like at all which surprised me considering the cast.)
06. $072,179,579 - The Cannonball Run (Honestly I loved this as a kid. Haven't seen it since though.)
07. $058,972,904 - Chariots of Fire (Why? Why? Why? was this so popular?)
08. $054,812,802 - For Your Eyes Only (Another one I loved as a little kid.)
09. $050,427,646 - The Four Seasons (Haven't seen it.)
10. $042,365,581 - Time Bandits (Great film!)

11. $041,092,328 - Clash of the Titans (Classic Harryhausen. Medusa rules!)
12. $040,716,963 - Absence of Malice (Haven't seen)
13. $040,382,659 - Reds (Haven't seen)
14. $039,900,000 - The Fox and the Hound (I've heard this is quite good. Have yet to see for myself.)
15. $036,565,280 - Tarzan, the Ape Man (fluff IMO)
16. $035,856,053 - Taps (Haven't seen)
17. $035,610,100 - Sharky's Machine (Haven't seen)
18. $034,967,437 - Excalibur (Love this! Fantasy Classic!)
19. $031,672,907 - History of the World, Part I (Only seen bits and pieces, looks a little disappointing.)
20. $031,261,269 - Bustin' Loose (Liked what I saw of it.)

[ChocolateChipCharlie]

Saw On Golden Blond Pond as a kid, it wasn't my thing but I understand it as a classic type of movie.

Saw Absence of Malice in high school journalism class.  All I remember about it was Paul Newman putting tin foil in the phone handset to disguise his voice from a pay phone....

Just saw Stripes for the first time the other day.  It's not nearly as good as some other Bill Murray movies, and I'm a big fan of his.  I actually thought Sgt Bilko was better...

[Flick James]

I can't believe I missed this thread. This is actually a really good year for mainstream films. I can't believe how many of these I love.

01. $209,562,121 - Raiders of the Lost Ark (Are you kidding? One of Spielberg's finest involvements)
02. $119,285,432 - On Golden Pond (Sappy and not my cup of tea, but not a bad film)
03. $108,185,706 - Superman II (Best of the franchise)
04. $095,461,682 - Arthur (Awesome movie, some of the best one-liners anywhere)
05. $085,297,000 - Stripes (Classic)
06. $072,179,579 - The Cannonball Run (Another classic)
07. $058,972,904 - Chariots of Fire (I've never seen it, looked entirely too boring)
08. $054,812,802 - For Your Eyes Only (myeh)
09. $050,427,646 - The Four Seasons (Myeh)
10. $042,365,581 - Time Bandits (I love this movie, saw it as a double-feature with Excalibur)

11. $041,092,328 - Clash of the Titans (YES!)
12. $040,716,963 - Absence of Malice (If I saw it I don't remember it)
13. $040,382,659 - Reds (Looked far too boring to give a chance)
14. $039,900,000 - The Fox and the Hound (classic)
15. $036,565,280 - Tarzan, the Ape Man (bizarro movie. Bo Derek has her nipple sucked by a chimp)
16. $035,856,053 - Taps (I think it's good, but then it has my distant cousin George C. Scott in it, so I'm biased)
17. $035,610,100 - Sharky's Machine (never saw it, but I feel like I should have)
18. $034,967,437 - Excalibur (great film)
19. $031,672,907 - History of the World, Part I (in my personal top 5 for Mel Brooks)
20. $031,261,269 - Bustin' Loose (what a ridiculous movie)

[akiratubo]

01. $209,562,121 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
A fun movie that holds together fairly well even if you don't turn off your brain.

02. $119,285,432 - On Golden Pond
Never seen.

03. $108,185,706 - Superman II
Didn't much like it when I was kid and I like it even less now.  Honestly, it's barely any better than (barf) Superman III.

04. $095,461,682 - Arthur
Never seen.

05. $085,297,000 - Stripes
Never seen.  Caught bits and pieces over the years.

06. $072,179,579 - The Cannonball Run
Never seen, though I've seen Cannonball Run 2 about 1000 times on TV.

07. $058,972,904 - Chariots of Fire
I have attempted to watch this three times and just could not make it.

08. $054,812,802 - For Your Eyes Only
Quite possibly my least favorite Bond movie.

09. $050,427,646 - The Four Seasons
???

10. $042,365,581 - Time Bandits
An uneven movie but I do quite like it.

11. $041,092,328 - Clash of the Titans
Kinda boring, and I hate the damn owl.  The scorpions are the best part of the movie.

12. $040,716,963 - Absence of Malice
???

13. $040,382,659 - Reds
???

14. $039,900,000 - The Fox and the Hound
Haven't seen it since I was little.

15. $036,565,280 - Tarzan, the Ape Man
Bo Derek is not very attractive to me, so this movie has absolutely nothing to offer.

16. $035,856,053 - Taps
???

17. $035,610,100 - Sharky's Machine
One of my mother's favorite movies.

18. $034,967,437 - Excalibur
SUCKS.

19. $031,672,907 - History of the World, Part I
Tried to watch it once, it was extremely unfunny.

20. $031,261,269 - Bustin' Loose
???

[Flick James]

Some nice film there... RAIDERS deserved the #1 spot, and I'm surprised to see TIME BANDITS did so well at the box office.

I guess THE ROAD WARRIOR must have been counted for 1982? 

Notable 1981 films not in the top 20: MOMMIE DEAREST, THE EVIL DEAD, THE HOWLING, MS. 45, POSSESSION.

Surprised Mommie Dearest didn't do better. I remember a lot of people talking about that movie back then. That movie is strange, there's so much both right and wrong about it from a quality standpoint. Another movie from that year that everybody seems to hate and has such a bad legacy, but that I kind of like was Neighbors with John Belushi and Dan Akroyd.

[Jim H]

01. $209,562,121 - Raiders of the Lost Ark - Great.
02. $119,285,432 - On Golden Pond - Not seen.
03. $108,185,706 - Superman II - Really fun.
04. $095,461,682 - Arthur - Pretty funny.
05. $085,297,000 - Stripes - Entertaining.
06. $072,179,579 - The Cannonball Run - Funny.
07. $058,972,904 - Chariots of Fire - Not seen.
08. $054,812,802 - For Your Eyes Only - Kind of mediocre as far as Bond films go.
09. $050,427,646 - The Four Seasons - Not seen.
10. $042,365,581 - Time Bandits - Greatly overrated...  I think a lot of is pretty boring.

11. $041,092,328 - Clash of the Titans - Silly, but fun.
12. $040,716,963 - Absence of Malice - Not seen.
13. $040,382,659 - Reds - Not seen
14. $039,900,000 - The Fox and the Hound - Depressing, but a good film.
15. $036,565,280 - Tarzan, the Ape Man - Not seen.
16. $035,856,053 - Taps - OK.
17. $035,610,100 - Sharky's Machine - Haven't seen.
18. $034,967,437 - Excalibur - Visually interesting, with some good scenes, but as a whole I don't think it is great.
19. $031,672,907 - History of the World, Part I - A few really funny scenes in between some kind of blah ones.  Not my fave Mel Brooks film.
20. $031,261,269 - Bustin' Loose - Not seen.

Road Warrior was released in 1982 in the USA (it was a late December release even in Australia), so yeah, over here it counts for '82 at the Box Office.

Other ones that didn't make the list I quite enjoyed include the Howling and An American Werewolf in London.  Oh, and Heavy Metal.

[Raffine]

Some nice film there... RAIDERS deserved the #1 spot, and I'm surprised to see TIME BANDITS did so well at the box office.

I guess THE ROAD WARRIOR must have been counted for 1982? 

Notable 1981 films not in the top 20: MOMMIE DEAREST, THE EVIL DEAD, THE HOWLING, MS. 45, POSSESSION.

Surprised Mommie Dearest didn't do better. I remember a lot of people talking about that movie back then. That movie is strange, there's so much both right and wrong about it from a quality standpoint. Another movie from that year that everybody seems to hate and has such a bad legacy, but that I kind of like was Neighbors with John Belushi and Dan Akroyd.

MOMMIE DEAREST was  actually a huge flop when it was released as a serious dramatic film. It did so badly Paramount had it withdrawn and rereleased as a 'camp' film with the tagline "Meet the Biggest MOTHER of Them All!" and a little wire hanger dangling from the title. Much to Faye Dunaway's anger, I'll add.

[bob]

DOMESTIC GROSSES #1–20

01. $209,562,121 - Raiders of the Lost Ark -  I haven't seen this since I was a kid, but I remember liking it
05. $085,297,000 - Stripes - I really really anjoy this
08. $054,812,802 - For Your Eyes Only - this is alright, haven't seen it in years

[Psycho Circus]

Notable 1981 films not in the top 20: THE EVIL DEAD, POSSESSION.

The best two films along with Clash Of The Titans from 1981 for me. 

[Leah]

Some nice film there... RAIDERS deserved the #1 spot, and I'm surprised to see TIME BANDITS did so well at the box office.

I guess THE ROAD WARRIOR must have been counted for 1982? 

Notable 1981 films not in the top 20: MOMMIE DEAREST, THE EVIL DEAD, THE HOWLING, MS. 45, POSSESSION.

The Road Warrior grossed only $23,667,907