When the 1980’s hit we’d start to see the rise in filmmaking. More studios were popping up. More theater chains were starting to open in larger cities, and home entertainment was beginning to clench its grip on consumers. The spectacle of cinema would also begin its rise as the 80s would progress and the abilities of digital effects would come in to pair with practical effects and stunt work.
Later in the decade even more cinema chains were starting to hit suburban markets as shopping malls blanketed America. Star power would rise, the dollar was strong, and like Jaws would do in the summer of ‘75, the 80s would see a string of summer iconic blockbusters. So, let’s break them down.
1980 – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Now 1980 was a slower year compared to the rest of the decade, yet it would provide a handful of films that’d go on to be considered classics. Burt Reynolds would return to the comedic antics in Smokey and the Bandit II. Jack Nicholson would deliver a legendary performance in The Shining. A group of comedic legends would hit the links for hijinks in Caddyshack. Belushi and Aykroyd would get the band back together in The Blues Brothers. And a group of teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake would meet their demise in Friday the 13th. But none were able to surpass one of the most anticipated films of all time.
After the success of Star Wars in 1977 anticipation was sky high after a three year wait and when the sequel, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes back would not disappoint when it was released on May 21st. The Empire Strikes Back would command theaters not only during the summer of 1980, but for the rest of the year this film would gobble up the box-office sales reading a total of $538.4M worldwide on a reported $30.5M budget.
The Empire Strikes Back would open on just 126 screens before expanding to over a thousand in July. The film would open #1 with a $4.9M weekend and it would remain a #1 film at the domestic box office for 11 of its first 13 weeks in release. Domestically The Empire Strikes Back would prove word of mouth was strong for this sequel as it compiled $292.8M which was 54% of its global totals and there is no denying that the summer of ‘80 was Star Wars crazy!
1981 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981 would sort of be another flat year in terms of blockbuster strength at the cinema despite landing a few hits. The summer of 81 would see Murray and Ramis joining the service in the hilarious comedy Stripes. Roger Moore would take his martini shaken not stirred for the 5th time in For Your Eyes Only. Alan Alda and Carol Burnett would lead a group of couples on vacation in The Four Seasons. Burt Reynolds and Roger Moore would lead a group of wild personalities in a cross-country race in The Cannonball Run. And Christopher Reeves would return as the ‘Man of Steel’ in Superman II, a sequel that would actually win the summer season at the domestic box office with a $108.1M take home.
This sparse summer at the box office would see Superman II dominate the season but when Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark would hit theaters on June 12th the film would prove is often a marathon and not a sprint when compiling ticket sales and in the long run Raiders of the Lost Ark would surpass the “Man of Steel” with a $389.9M worldwide total on $20M budget.
Harrison Ford would go from Han Solo in the summer of ‘80 to a completely new awesome and iconic character in the summer of ‘81 when Raiders of the Lost Ark would open on over 1000 screens and would take the #1 spot with an $8.3M opening weekend. Competition was tough with Superman II which would take the summer box office but as more eyes took in Indiana Jones, word of mouth spread and the film would hold in the top-3 for 2 weeks, the top-5 for 4 of its first six weeks in release and Raiders of the Lost Ark would be a top-10 film for 12 weeks to rake in $248.2M at the domestic box office. This was 64% of its global totals and just like that a new franchise was born.
1982 – E.T. the Extra Terrestrial
The summer of ‘82 would see Stallone fighting the match of his life in Rocky III. Arnold was wielding his sword in Conan the Barbarian. Harrison Ford was unknowingly stepping into another iconic character with the gritty sci-fi epic Blade Runner. Spiritual forces would take over a small family in the creepy classic Poltergeist. And Captain Kirk and his team would face the ultimate enemy in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. But an oddly adorable alien would surpass them all.
80s pop culture would never be the same again after E.T. the Extra Terrestrial would be released on June 11th and would go on to capture the hearts and imaginations of movie goers across the globe, pulling in a whopping $792.9M at the global box office on a mere $10.5M budget.
E.T. was certainly a landmark film and one that toppled the summer box office in the summer of ‘82. It would open on over 1100 screens, and take the #1 spot with an $11.8M opening weekend. It would have plenty of legs at the cinema as well. It would pull in $437.3M domestically, 55% of its gross earning and it would be a #1 film in theaters for 14 of its first 18 weeks in release. It would be a top-3 film for a staggering 18 weeks, a top-5 films for 26 weeks and ET, the little Reese’s Pieces eating aliens would remain in the box office top-10 for a mind boggling 33 weeks to cement itself as one of the most iconic flicks from the 80s and one that will have a timeless appeal.
1983 – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Overall, 1983 would be another relatively strong year for cinema with a decent summer offering. Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd would team up for the hilarious comedy Trading Places. Reeves would return for a third time as the iconic caped hero in Superman III, this time paired with Richard Pryor. Chevy Chase would make the ultimate cross-country trip in National Lampoon’s Vacation. Roger Moore would make another summer outing as James Bond in Octopussy. And the king of summer blockbusters, Jaws would make a return in Jaws 3-D, but there was another legendary franchise delivering a sequel this same summer.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi would complete the George Lucas cinematic trilogy when released on May 25th and nothing was able to consume the market like this film. Return of the Jedi would amass a global total of $475.1M at the box office on a budget reported to be somewhere between $32-$42M.
Excitement was high for Return of the Jedi, and it would spend over a year in theaters. It would open on just over a 1000 screen and would bring in an impressive $28M opening weekend box office total to take the #1 spot where it would stay for 6 of its first 7 weeks in release. Return of the Jedi would kill it at the domestic box office pulling in $316.6M. It was a top-3 film for 11 weeks, a top-5 movie for 12 weeks and in the top-10 at the box office for an impressive 18 weeks in a row to topple its competition in the summer of ‘83.
1984 – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Cinema was riding high in 1984 and the summer would see a ton of competition. A young kid would find a mentor in The Karate Kid. Kirk and the team would look for a lost friend in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Douglas would give us his riff on Indiana Jones in Romancing the Stone. A ton of little creatures would wreak havoc on a small town in Gremlins. And Murray, Hudson, Aykroyd, and Ramis would fight the spirits in Ghostbusters. This movie would actually win the domestic summer with $188.1M in ticket sales. But one film would outlast it at the box office.
1984 would see another battle at the summer box office and despite the comedic classic Ghostbusters pulling in a ton of cash for the season. However, Indiana Jones would once again have the legs to win the battle of the box office when Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom would release on May 23rd and would go on to rake in a worldwide total of $333.1M on a reported $29M budget.
Temple of Doom would open in the #1 spot on over 1600 screens with a $25.3M haul and it would spend a profitable 31 weeks in theaters. The domestic take home for Temple of Doom would be $179.9M equating to 54% of its total earnings. And Ghostbusters may have won the summer season, but Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom would have the legs to be the bigger blockbuster of ‘84. Spending 5 weeks in the top-3, 6 weeks in the top-5, and a strong 12 straight weeks in the top-10.
1985 – Back to the Future
Cinema was in full swing at the midway point of the 80s and 1985 would deliver a ton of classics during its summer season. Mel Gibson would return for a third time as drifter Mad Max in Beyond Thunderdome. Chevy Chase would play a journalist and master of disguise in Fletch. A group of seniors would find the fountain of youth in a swimming pool in Cocoon. A ragtag group of kids from the Goondock’s would search for treasure in The Goonies. And Stallone would return bigger and badder than ever in Rambo: First Blood Part II. This movie would pull in $145.3M during the summer to actually win the box office but one film had the legs to win the marathon.
Back to the Future would command the summer box office and would go on to be an all-time iconic piece of cinema. Rambo II would win the summer season, but this film would drop into theaters on July 3rd and deliver a marathon run pulling in $384.6M on a $19M budget.
Back to the Future would deliver a marathon outing in cinemas. It would open in just over 1400 theaters and take home a strong $11.2M in its opening weekend to claim the #1 spot at the box office where it would remain for 11 of its first 12 weeks. It would stay in the top-3 for 13 weeks, the top-5 for 19 of its first 20 weeks and Back to the Future would be a top-10 film for 24 weeks pulling in $214.1M at the domestic box office which would equate to 56% of its earnings. And to this day Back to the Future is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made.
1986 – Top Gun
Now 1986 would see a busy summer at the cinema with a collection of iconic movies. Macchio and Morita would return as Mr. Miyagi and LaRusso and would travel to Okinawa in The Karate Kid Part II. Stallone would battle the Night Slasher in the grindhouse action romp Cobra. Sigourney Weaver would return to battle in spectacle-filled blockbuster Aliens. Legendary comedian Rodney Dangerfield would return to class and hit the books in Back to School. While Matthew Broderick would take an iconic sick day from school in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. But one film would rise above them all.
Everyone wanted to enter the danger zone in the summer of ‘86 when Tom Cruise would hit the skies in Top Gun on May 16th. This movie would have a strong theatrical run and would amass an impressive $357.3M at the global box office on a measly $15M budget.
When talking about box office longevity Top Gun with its staggering 33 week run in theaters should always be an example. Top Gun may not have blown the doors of the theaters in the summer but the word of mouth and repeat viewing of Top Gun would be immensely profitable. Top Gun would open in just over 1000 theaters and take the #1 spot with an $8.2M opening weekend. It would only hold the #1 spot for a week. But it would remain in the top-3 for 5 weeks, the top-5 for 6 weeks, and it would be a top-10 film in the states for 25 weeks amassing a domestic total of $180.3M which was roughly half the film’s earnings.
1987 – Beverly Hills Cop II
Certainly not as blockbuster-y as the other films on this list. In 1987 a sequel would take the box-office over some films that’d go on to be considered classics. The summer of ‘87 would deliver Arnold and his team hunting an alien in Predator. Paul Verhoeven would bless theaters with his ultra-violent Robocop. Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro would battle it out in The Untouchables. 007 would see a new agent with Timothy Dalton taking the Bond moniker in The Living Daylights. And comical madness would result when Jack Nicholson would drop in on Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer in The Witches of Eastwick.
Eddie Murphy was a box-office king in the late 80s and into the early 90s and Beverly Hills Cop II would take his iconic character to new action heights in this sequel that would drop into theaters on May 20th and pull in a worldwide total of $299.9M on a $27M budget.
With the success of the first film and the momentum Eddie Murphy had at the time, everyone was excited for this sequel in the summer of ‘87. It would open over 2,300 theaters and pull in an opening weekend gross of $26.3M to take the #1 spot where it would stay for a full month. Domestically Beverly Hills Cop II would pull in $153.7M which equated to 51% of the film’s total earnings. Reviews were mild but audiences loved this amplified sequel. It would stay in the top-3 for 6 weeks, remain in the top-5 for 8 weeks and it was a top-10 film at the box office for 10 weeks and with Tony Scott’s direction this is still regarded as a great sequel.
1988 – Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Moving along to the summer of 1988 theaters would see an original film that would command the big-league competition the year would deliver. The summer of ‘88 would see Bruce Willis heading to a Christmas party in the action classic Die Hard. Eddie Murphy would make a legendary trip to the states in Coming to America. Tom Hanks would make a life altering wish in the comedy Big. Stallone would strap the headband on tighter than ever in Rambo III. And Paul Hogan would return with his knife and his charm in Crocodile Dundee II.
But a little animated rabbit trying to clear his name would take the world by storm with Who Framed Roger Rabbit would be released on June 24th and would topple the summer box office pulling in a global tally of $329.8M on an estimated budget of $50.6M.
This movie would open with a respectable $11.2M opening weekend on a little over a thousand screens. Who Framed Roger Rabbit would open #1 and remain there for 3 weeks. Word of mouth would spread, and the reviews were strong, so this animated adventure certainly had legs with a theatrical run of 28 weeks. Roger Rabbit would pull in $156.5M domestically, 47% of its earnings. And the jovial flick would remain in the top-3 for 4 weeks. Stay in the top-5 for 8 weeks and it would hold as a top-10 film at the box office for an impressive 17 weeks and to this day Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a cinematic achievement and still one of the decade’s most iconic films.
1989 – Batman
Closing out the decade with 1989 would certainly be one of the most iconic, and most heavily merchandised films from the 80s. This summer would see the return of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade. Danny Glover and Mel Gibson would make their return as Riggs and Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon 2. Robin Williams would help a group of students come of age in Dead Poets Society. Kevin Costner would build a baseball park in a Field of Dreams. And Rick Moranis would have to fix a big mistake in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids but they were no match for one film.
Batman fever spread to global levels in the summer of ‘89 when Warner Bros. would release Batman on June 23rd introducing the world to Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. The film would spend much of the rest of the year in theaters and would compile a worldwide box office take home of $411.6M on a $48M budget.
The marketing of this movie was relentless. It would open in just under 2,200 theaters. Batman would take the #1 spot at the box office with a $40.5M opening weekend. And Batman would live in cinemas for around seven months. Reviews were strong, word of mouth spread, and Batman would remain in the #1 spot for 3 weeks. It would last in the top-3 for 7 weeks. The top-5 for 8 weeks, and Batman would remain a top-10 box office film for a strong 14 weeks. Domestically this one would pull in $251.4M – 61% of its earnings. Making it one of the most iconic summer films of the 80s.
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2024 SilverScreen Analysis & Movies Never Say Die!
