1984 in film

The following is an overview of events in 1984 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.

The year's highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada was Beverly Hills Cop. Ghostbusters overtook it, however, with a re-release the following year. It was the first time in five years that the top-grossing film did not involve George Lucas or Steven Spielberg although Spielberg directed and Lucas executive produced/co-wrote the third placed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; Spielberg also executive produced the fourth placed Gremlins.

U.S. box office grosses reached $4 billion for the first time and it was the first year that two films had returned over $100 million to their distributors with both Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom achieving this. Beverly Hills Cop made it three for films released in 1984 after its performance during 1985 took it to rentals of $108 million. Other popular films included The NeverEnding Story, which was the most expensive film produced in West Germany, The Karate Kid and Romancing the Stone. A high number of sci-fi/fantasy films were released in 1984.

Highest-grossing films

United States

The top ten 1984 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

International

Events

• February 15 - The Walt Disney Studios establishes Touchstone Pictures to release films with more mature subject matter than the traditional Walt Disney Pictures banner.
• March 30 - Romancing the Stone is released and propels Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito and director Robert Zemeckis to super-stardom. The film also gave Zemeckis his first box office hit, which gave Universal Pictures confidence to allow him to direct his next film, Back to the Future.
• April 6 - Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film, Where the Boys Are '84.
• May 4 - The first of the year's breakdancing musicals is released, Breakin'. It is soon followed by Beat Street and its sequel, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.
• July 1 - The Motion Picture Association of America institutes the PG-13 rating, as a response to violent horror films such as Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
• July 9 - Joe Wizan leaves as president of 20th Century Fox Productions. Lawrence Gordon replaces him the following day.
• July 27 - Prince's first film Purple Rain is released.
• August 25 - Ghostbusters becomes the biggest grossing comedy film of all time in the United States exceeding Tootsie's $177.2 million going on to gross $229.2 million in its initial run. It is overtaken by Beverly Hills Cop in summer 1985 but regains the record after its re-release in August 1985. It also became the biggest grossing film released by Columbia Pictures.
• September - Lawrence Gordon is promoted to president and chief operating officer of the Fox Entertainment Group
• September 22 - Michael Eisner leaves Paramount Pictures to become head of Walt Disney Productions, while Frank Wells became chief operating officer and Jeffrey Katzenberg was later named chairman.
• October 8 - Ned Tanen becomes president of Paramount Pictures motion picture group.
• December 5 - Beverly Hills Cop is released. It will go on to become the 6th highest-grossing film of all time in the U.S. at the time, the highest grossing comedy of all time at the time, as well as the highest grossing R-Rated film of all time, a record it would hold for 19 years.
• December 14 - Dune is released after over a year of hype and anticipation.
• Annie's Coming Out wins 3 Australian Film Institute Awards including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film.

Awards

Golden Raspberry Awards:

Worst Picture: Bolero

Worst Director: John Derek - Bolero

Worst Actor: Sylvester Stallone - Rhinestone

Worst Actress: Bo Derek - Bolero

Worst Supporting Actor: Brooke Shields (with a moustache) - Sahara

Worst Supporting Actress: Lynn-Holly Johnson - Where the Boys Are '84

Worst Screenplay: John Derek - Bolero

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

Paris, Texas, directed by Wim Wenders, France / West Germany

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

A Year of the Quiet Sun (Rok spokojnego slonca), directed by Krzysztof Zanussi, Poland

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Love Streams, directed by John Cassavetes, United States

1984 films

By country/region

• List of American films of 1984
• List of Argentine films of 1984
• List of Australian films of 1984
• List of Bangladeshi films of 1984
• List of British films of 1984
• List of Canadian films of 1984
• List of French films of 1984
• List of Hong Kong films of 1984
• List of Indian films of 1984
  • List of Hindi films of 1984
  • List of Kannada films of 1984
  • List of Malayalam films of 1984
  • List of Marathi films of 1984
  • List of Tamil films of 1984
  • List of Telugu films of 1984
• List of Japanese films of 1984
• List of Mexican films of 1984
• List of Pakistani films of 1984
• List of South Korean films of 1984
• List of Soviet films of 1984
• List of Spanish films of 1984

By genre/medium

• List of action films of 1984
• List of animated feature films of 1984
• List of avant-garde films of 1984
• List of comedy films of 1984
• List of drama films of 1984
• List of horror films of 1984
• List of science fiction films of 1984
• List of thriller films of 1984
• List of western films of 1984

Births

• January 1 - Kollam Sudhi, Indian actor and comedian (d. 2023)
• January 6
  • Priit Loog, Estonian actor
  • Kate McKinnon, American actress, comedian and writer
• January 7 - Max Riemelt, German actor
• January 8 - Steven Kanumba, Tanzanian actor and director (d. 2012)
• January 12
  • Taraneh Alidoosti, Iranian actress
  • Sam Richardson, American actor, comedian, writer and producer
• January 21
  • Luke Grimes, American actor and musician
  • Richard Gutierrez, Filipino actor and model
• January 25 - Kaiji Tang, voice actor
• January 31 – Michael Aloni, Israeli actor
• February 1
  • Abbi Jacobson, American comedian, writer, actress and illustrator
  • Lee Thompson Young, American actor (d. 2013)
• February 8 - Cecily Strong, American actress and comedian
• February 12 - Alexandra Dahlström, Swedish actress
• February 13 - Brina Palencia, voice actress
• February 18 - Genelle Williams, Canadian actress
• February 19 - Josh Trank, American director, screenwriter and editor
• February 20 - Trevor Noah, South African comedian, writer, producer, actor and television host
• February 21 - Karina, Japanese model and actress
• February 24 - Nicholas Saputra, Indonesian actor
• February 28 - Melanie Chandra, American actress
• March 2
  • Blake Anderson, American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter
  • John Bernecker, American stunt performer (d. 2017)
  • Ian Sinclair, voice actor
• March 7 - Brandon T. Jackson, American stand-up comedian, rapper, actor, and writer
• March 8 - Nora-Jane Noone, Irish actress
• March 10 - Olivia Wilde, American actress
• March 12 - Jaimie Alexander, American actress
• March 13
  • Rachael Bella, retired American actress
  • Noel Fisher, Canadian actor
• March 14 - Liesel Pritzker Simmons, American former actress
• March 20 - Christy Carlson Romano, American stage and film actress and singer
• March 25 - Katharine McPhee, American singer and actress
• March 27
  • Emily Ann Lloyd, American actress
  • Jon Paul Steuer, American actor and musician (d. 2018)
• April 2
  • Ashley Peldon, American actress
  • Shawn Roberts, Canadian actor
  • Deep Sidhu, Indian actor (d. 2022)
• April 3 - Chrissie Fit, American actress and singer
• April 4 - Carolina Gaitán, Colombian actress and singer
• April 8
  • Taran Noah Smith, American actor
  • Kirsten Storms, American actress
• April 10
  • Cara DeLizia, American actress
  • Mandy Moore, American singer-songwriter and actress
• April 11 - Kelli Garner, American actress
• April 16 - Claire Foy, British actress
• April 18 - America Ferrera, American actress
• April 25 - Jillian Bell, American comedian, actress and screenwriter
• April 26 - Ryan O'Donohue, American actor
• April 28 - Ana Cruz Kayne, American actress
• April 29 - Firass Dirani, Australian actor
• May 1 - Kerry Bishe, American actress
• May 7 - Mark O'Brien, Canadian actor and director
• May 11 - Stephanie Honoré, American actress
• May 12 - Emily Beecham, British actress
• May 13 - Hannah New, English actress
• May 14 - Olly Murs, English singer-songwriter, presenter, voice actor and director
• May 17
  • Alejandro Edda, Mexican-American actor
  • Lena Waithe, American actress, producer and screenwriter
• May 21 - Marnie Schulenburg, American actress (d. 2022)
• May 23 - Adam Wylie, American actor
• May 29 - Kaycee Stroh, American actress and singer
• May 30 - DeWanda Wise, American actress
• June 1 - Taylor Handley, American actor
• June 5 - Joel Smallbone, Australian-American singer and actor
• June 10 - Betsy Sodaro, American actress
• June 13 - Phillip Van Dyke, American actor
• June 15 - Ray Santiago, American actor
• June 19 - Paul Dano, American actor
• June 21 - Shiv Panditt, Indian actor and television host
• June 24 - Lucien Dodge, voice actor
• June 25 - Killian Donnelly, Irish singer and actor
• June 26
  • Aubrey Plaza, American actress, comedian and producer
  • Wen Zhang, Chinese actor
• June 29 - Carla Medina, Mexican singer, actress and television host
• June 30 - Fantasia Barrino, American singer and actress
• July 1
  • Jared Keeso, Canadian actor
  • Cyron Melville, Danish actor and musician
• July 2 - Vanessa Lee Chester, American actress
• July 7 - Ross Malinger, American actor
• July 9 - Hanna R. Hall, American actress
• July 10 - Aviva Baumann, American actress
• July 11
  • Serinda Swan, Canadian actress
  • Rachael Taylor, Australian actress
• July 12 - Mikaela Hoover, American actress
• July 14 - Britta Soll, Estonian actress
• July 17 - Mary Nighy, English actress and filmmaker
• July 19
  • Kaitlin Doubleday, American actress
  • Alessandra De Rossi, Filipina actress
  • Andrea Libman, Canadian actress, voice actress, pianist, and singer
• July 20 - Jacky Heung, Hong Kong actor
• July 25 - Zawe Ashton, English actress, playwright, director and narrator
• July 27
  • Taylor Schilling, American actress
  • Kenny Wormald, American actor
• July 28 - John David Washington, American actor and producer
• July 29 - J. Madison Wright Morris, American actress (d. 2006)
• July 30
  • Gina Rodriguez, American actress and director
  • Gabrielle Christian, American actress and singer
• August 3
  • Jon Foster, American actor and musician
  • Kyle Schmid, Canadian actor
• August 7 – Hsu Wei-ning, Taiwanese actress and model
• August 10 – Mariel Rodriguez, Filipina actress and model
• August 12 – Marian Rivera, Filipino actress
• August 15 - Quinton Aaron, American actor
• August 19 - Simon Bird, English actor, director and comedian
• August 24 - Cameron Goodman, American actress
• August 28
  • Richard Cabral, American actor, producer and writer
  • Him Law, Hong Kong actor
• September 3
  • Garrett Hedlund, American actor
  • Paz de la Huerta, American actress and model
• September 4 - Kyle Mooney, American actor, comedian and writer
• September 5 - Annabelle Wallis, English actress
• September 10 - Luke Treadaway, British actor and singer
• September 14
  • Adam Lamberg, American actor
  • Ayushmann Khurrana, Indian actor
• September 17 - Mark Shandii Bacolod, Filipino director and producer (d. 2022)
• September 18
  • Nina Arianda, American actress
  • Babs Olusanmokun, Nigerian-American actor
• September 19
  • Lydia Hearst, American actress and model
  • Kevin Zegers, Canadian actor and model
• September 21 - Ahna O'Reilly, American actress
• September 22 - Laura Vandervoort, Canadian actress
• September 22 - Jordan Vogt-Roberts, American film director
• September 23 - Anneliese van der Pol, Dutch-American actress and singer
• September 25 - Zach Woods, American actor and comedian
• September 27 - Avril Lavigne, Canadian singer-songwriter
• October 1
  • Beck Bennett, American actor, comedian and writer
  • Josh Brener, American actor
• October 2 - John Morris, American actor
• October 3
  • Chris Marquette, American actor
  • Ashlee Simpson, American actress and singer
• October 4
  • James Landry Hébert, American actor
  • Rachel McDowall, English actress
  • Will Theakston, former English actor
• October 5
  • Tiana Benjamin, English actress
  • Nathalie Kelley, Peruvian actress
  • Yelena Velikanova, Russian actress
• October 7 - Andy Bean, American actor
• October 10 - Chiaki Kuriyama, Japanese actress and singer
• October 11 - Martha MacIsaac, Canadian actress
• October 14 - Jason Davis, American actor (d. 2020)
• October 17 - Chris Lowell, American actor
• October 18
  • Tod Fennell, Canadian actor
  • Freida Pinto, Indian actress
  • Jennifer Ulrich, German actress
• October 25 - Katy Perry, American singer-songwriter and actress
• October 27
  • Kelly Osbourne, English actress and singer
  • Emilie Ullerup, Danish actress
• October 28 - Finn Wittrock, American actor and screenwriter
• November 1 - Natalia Tena, English actress and musician
• November 6 - Patina Miller, American actress and singer
• November 10
  • Britt Irvin, Canadian actress and voice artist
  • Naoki Kobayashi, Japanese actor and singer
• November 13
  • Sarah Rose Karr, American former child actress
  • Slavko Sobin, Crotian actor
• November 15 - Asia Kate Dillon, American actor
• November 16 - Kimberly J. Brown, American actress
• November 17 - Lauren Maltby, American actress
• November 18 - Nayanthara, Indian actress
• November 21
  • Lindsey Haun, American actress and singer
  • Jena Malone, American actress
• November 22 - Scarlett Johansson, American actress
• November 23 - Lucas Grabeel, American actor and singer
• November 24 - Max Bennett, English actor
• November 25 - Gaspard Ulliel, French actor (d. 2022)
• November 28
  • Mary Elizabeth Winstead, American actress
  • Trey Songz, American singer and actor
• November 30
  • Carole Weyers, Belgian actress
  • Lydia Wilson, English-American actress
• December 5
  • Ryan Binse, American film producer
  • Lauren London, American actress
• December 11
  • Sandra Echeverría, Mexican actress and singer
  • Xosha Roquemore, American actress
• December 14 - Jackson Rathbone, American actor, singer and musician
• December 16 - Theo James, English actor and producer
• December 17 - Tennessee Thomas, British drummer and actress
• December 19 - Ankita Lokhande, Indian actress
• December 23 - Alison Sudol, American actress, singer and songwriter
• December 24 - Austin Stowell, American actor
• December 25
  • Mike Rianda, American cartoonist, director, screenwriter and voice actor
  • Georgia Tennant, English actress
• December 29
  • Chris Pang, Australian actor and producer
  • Sean Stone, American actor and filmmaker

Deaths

Film debuts

Notes

References

External links

• "Was 1984 the greatest year in movies ever?" Archived 2009-07-28 at the Wayback Machine by Chris Nashawaty - Entertainment Weekly online
• 1984 Domestic Grosses at Box Office Mojo
• Top 1984 Movies at the Domestic Box Office at The Numbers
• Top 1984 Movies at the International Box Office at The Numbers
• Top 1984 Movies at the Worldwide Box Office at The Numbers
• Top-US-Grossing Titles Released 1984-01-01 to 1984-12-31 at IMDb
• Most Popular Feature Films Released 1984-01-01 to 1984-12-31 at IMDb
• List of 1984 films at IMDb
• List of 1984 deaths at IMDb
• List of 1984 births at IMDb