The following is an overview of events in 1980 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.
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 â Sir Alfred Hitchcock, known as "The Master of Suspense", dies at his home in Bel Air, California, at the age of 80.
- May 21 â 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 â 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 â 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.
- June 23 â Filming begins on Stephen Spielberg's first Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- November 4 â 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 â 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 ' 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, å½±æÂ¦èÂÂ
(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 â Lin-Manuel Miranda, American singer-songwriter and actor
- January 17 â 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 â 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 â Wilmer Valderrama, American actor
- February 2 â 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 â Matthew Lawrence, American actor
- February 12
- Christina Ricci, American actress
- Enver Gjokaj, American actor
- Sarah Lancaster, American actress
- February 14 â 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 â 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 â 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 â 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
- Wanuri Kahiu, Kenyan film director, producer, and author
- June 22 - Javone Prince, British comedian and actor
- June 23
- Heath Freeman, American actor (died 2021)
- Melissa Rauch, American actress and comedian
- June 24 â Minka Kelly, American actress
- June 26 - Jason Schwartzman, American actor, producer and musician
- July 1 - Fortune Feimster, American comedian
- July 3 â Olivia Munn, American actress
- July 4 - Max Elliott Slade, American former child actor
- July 6 â Eva Green, French actress
- July 7 - Marika DomiÃ
Âczyk, 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 â Jasper Pääkkönen, Finnish actor and film producer
- July 17 â Brett Goldstein, British actor and comedian
- July 18 â 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 â 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 - ÃÂlex González, Spanish actor
- August 14 - Adrienne C. Moore, American actress
- August 15 - Natalie Press, English actress
- August 18 â 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 â 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 â Michelle Williams, American actress
- September 12 - Hiroyuki Sawano, Japanese music composer
- September 13 â Ben Savage, American actor
- September 13 â 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 â Ben Whishaw, English actor
- October 18
- Erin Dean, American former actress
- Natasha Rothwell, American writer, actress and comedian
- October 19 â 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 â 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 SkarsgÃÂ¥rd, 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 â 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 â Eliza Dushku, American actress
- December 31 â Rosanne Mulholland, Brazilian actress
Deaths
Film debuts
See also
By country/region
By genre/medium
Notes
References
External links