1979 in film

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

Highest-grossing films (international)

Major events

• March 2 – Buena Vista release their first film since the advent of U.S. movie ratings to not be G-rated, Take Down.
• March 5 – Production begins on The Empire Strikes Back.
• March – Frank Price becomes president of Columbia Pictures.
• May 25 – Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released.
• May 31 – The Muppet Movie, Jim Henson's Muppets' first foray into the world of feature-length motion pictures, is released in United Kingdom.
• June 11 – John Wayne, a famous Western movie actor, dies at the age of 72 from stomach cancer.
• June 29 – Moonraker, the 11th film in the James Bond franchise, is released in the United States and goes on to become the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide.
• August 15 – Apocalypse Now is released to worldwide critical acclaim and box office success. Heralded as one of the greatest films ever made to this day.
• September 19 – Don Bluth and a group of fellow animators resign from The Walt Disney Company's animation department to set up a rival studio, Don Bluth Productions.
• November 1 – Production begins on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• December 7 – debuts in the United States to mixed reviews but strong box office, launching a film franchise that leads to 9 sequels and 3 reboots over the next 37 years. It also leads to the creation of five spin-off television series based upon Gene Roddenberry's creation.
• Allied Artists files for bankruptcy.

  Awards

Notable films released in 1979

#

• 10, directed by Blake Edwards, starring Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Bo Derek, Robert Webber, Brian Dennehy
• 1941, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Nancy Allen, Toshiro Mifune, Treat Williams, Warren Oates, Robert Stack

  A

• The Actress, the Dollars and the Transylvanians –
• L'adolescente, directed by Jeanne Moreau, starring Simone Signoret –
• The Adventure of Sudsakorn, the first and only cel-animated feature film from Thailand
• Adventures of Sinbad
• Agatha, directed by Michael Apted, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman –
• Ah! Nomugi Toge –
• Air Crew –
• Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto –
• All Quiet on the Western Front, a TV film directed by Delbert Mann, starring Richard Thomas and Ernest Borgnine
• All That Jazz, directed by Bob Fosse, starring Roy Scheider, Ann Reinking, Ben Vereen, John Lithgow, Jessica Lange
• An Almost Perfect Affair, starring Keith Carradine and Monica Vitti
• Americathon, starring John Ritter and Harvey Korman
• The Amityville Horror, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger
• ...And Justice for All, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Al Pacino, John Forsythe, Jack Warden, Christine Lahti, Craig T. Nelson, Jeffrey Tambor
• Anti-Clock, directed by Jane Arden –
• Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Frederic Forrest
• The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway
• Arabian Adventure, starring Christopher Lee and Emma Samms –
• Ashanti, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Michael Caine and Peter Ustinov
• Autumn Marathon –

  B

• Baby Snakes, directed by Frank Zappa
• Ball Lightning –
• Ballad of Tara –
• Bear Island, starring Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Barbara Parkins
• Being There, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden
• The Bell Jar, starring Marilyn Hassett, Julie Harris, Anne Jackson
• Best Boy, award-winning documentary
• Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, directed by Irwin Allen, starring Michael Caine, Telly Savalas, Sally Field, Karl Malden, Shirley Jones
• Birth of the Beatles, directed by Richard Marquand
• The Bitch, starring Joan Collins –
• The Black Hole, directed by Gary Nelson, starring Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Yvette Mimieux
• The Black Stallion, directed by Carroll Ballard, starring Mickey Rooney, Hoyt Axton, Teri Garr, Kelly Reno
• Bloodline, directed by Terence Young, starring Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Gert Fröbe, Beatrice Straight
• Bloody Kids, directed by Stephen Frears –
• Boardwalk, starring Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg, Janet Leigh
• Boulevard Nights, directed by Michael Pressman
• Breaking Away, directed by Peter Yates, starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Paul Dooley
• Breakthrough, starring Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Rod Steiger, Curd Jürgens
• Les Bronzés font du ski, directed by Patrice Leconte –
• The Brood, directed by David Cronenberg, starring Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar –
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, starring Gil Gerard and Erin Gray
• Buffet froid, directed by Bertrand Blier, starring Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, Jean Carmet –
• The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
• , starring Tom Berenger and William Katt
• The Butterfly Murders, directed by Tsui Hark –
• Bye Bye Brazil –

  C

• C.H.O.M.P.S., directed by Don Chaffey, starring Wesley Eure, Valerie Bertinelli, Conrad Bain, Red Buttons
• California Dreaming, starring Glynnis O'Connor, Dennis Christopher, Tanya Roberts
• Caligula, directed by Tinto Brass, written by Gore Vidal, starring Malcolm McDowell, Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole –
• Camera Buff. directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski –
• The Castle of Cagliostro, an anime film by Hayao Miyazaki –
• The Cat and the Canary, starring Honor Blackman, Carol Lynley, Olivia Hussey –
• The Champ, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden, Arthur Hill
• Chapter Two, starring James Caan, Marsha Mason, Joseph Bologna, Valerie Harper
• The China Syndrome, directed by James Bridges, starring Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas
• Christ Stopped at Eboli, directed by Francesco Rosi, starring Gian Maria Volonté –
• City on Fire, starring Susan Clark and Ava Gardner
• The Concorde... Airport '79, starring Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, Robert Wagner, George Kennedy
• Cuba, directed by Richard Lester, starring Sean Connery, Brooke Adams, Chris Sarandon

  D

• David – – Golden Bear winner
• Derek and Clive Get the Horn, starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore –
• Dirty Ho, starring Gordon Liu –
• Don Giovanni, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Ruggero Raimondi, John Macurdy, Kiri Te Kanawa –
• Dracula, directed by John Badham, starring Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Trevor Eve –
• Dreamer, starring Tim Matheson

  E

• Eagle's Wing, starring Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston –
• The Electric Horseman, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Valerie Perrine, John Saxon, Willie Nelson
• Escape from Alcatraz, directed by Don Siegel, starring Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Fred Ward
• Escape to Athena, starring Roger Moore, David Niven, Elliott Gould, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Telly Savalas –
• The Europeans, directed by James Ivory, starring Lee Remick, Lisa Eichhorn, Kristin Griffith –

  F

• Fast Break, starring Gabe Kaplan and Bernard King
• Felicity, starring Glory Annen –
• Ffolkes, aka North Sea Hijack, starring Roger Moore, James Mason, Anthony Perkins, Michael Parks –
• The Fifth Musketeer, starring Sylvia Kristel, Ursula Andress, Beau Bridges, Ian McShane, Rex Harrison –
• Firepower, starring Sophia Loren, James Coburn, O. J. Simpson –
• First Case, Second Case, directed by Abbas Kiarostami –
• The First Great Train Robbery, starring Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Donald Sutherland –
• A Force of One, starring Chuck Norris and Jennifer O'Neill
• The Frisco Kid, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford
• French Postcards, starring Miles Chapin, David Marshall Grant, Debra Winger

  G

• Gal Young Un, directed by Victor Nuñez
• The Genealogy –
• Going in Style, directed by Martin Brest, starring George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg
• The Glove, starring John Saxon and Roosevelt Grier
• Gol Maal –
• Goldengirl, starring Susan Anton, James Coburn, Leslie Caron
• Grass Labyrinth –
• The Great Santini, starring Robert Duvall, Michael O'Keefe, Blythe Danner, Lisa Jane Persky, Stan Shaw
• The Great Riviera Bank Robbery, starring Ian McShane –

  H

• Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, starring John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo
• Hanover Street, directed by Peter Hyams, starring Harrison Ford, Lesley-Anne Down, Christopher Plummer –
• Hardcore, directed by Paul Schrader, starring George C. Scott and Peter Boyle
• Heart of the Forest –
• Heartland, directed by Richard Pearce, starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell – Golden Bear winner, Sundance Grand Jury Prize
• Hot Stuff, directed by and starring Dom DeLuise, with Suzanne Pleshette, Ossie Davis, Jerry Reed
• The Human Factor, starring Richard Attenborough, John Gielgud, Derek Jacobi –
• Hurricane, starring Mia Farrow, Jason Robards, Max von Sydow, Trevor Howard
• The Hussy –
• The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting, directed by Raúl Ruiz –

  I

• I as in Icarus, starring Yves Montand –
• The In-Laws, directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk

  J

• J-Men Forever, directed by Richard Patterson, starring Peter Bergman, M. G. Kelly, Philip Proctor
• Jack Frost, directed by Rankin/Bass, starring Robert Morse
• Jaguar –
• The Jerk, directed by Carl Reiner, starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters
• Jesus, directed by Peter Sykes and John Krisch, starring Brian Deacon –
• Just You and Me, Kid, starring George Burns and Brooke Shields

  K

• Kaala Patthar, starring Shashi Kapoor –
• Kassbach – Ein Porträt –
• The Kids Are Alright, a rockumentary featuring The Who –
• Knockabout, directed by and starring Sammo Hung –
• Kramer vs. Kramer, directed by Robert Benton, starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, Justin Henry, JoBeth Williams, Jane Alexander

  L

• Lady Oscar, starring Catriona MacColl and Patsy Kensit –
• Le Pétomane, starring Leonard Rossiter and Graham Stark
• The Lady Vanishes, starring Elliott Gould, Cybill Shepherd, Angela Lansbury
• Last Embrace, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Roy Scheider and Janet Margolin
• The Last of the Knucklemen –
• A Little Romance, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Laurence Olivier, Diane Lane, Sally Kellerman –
• Little Tragedies –
• Love and Bullets, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Rod Steiger
• Love at First Bite, starring George Hamilton and Susan Saint James
• Love on the Run, directed by François Truffaut –
• Lovers and Liars, starring Goldie Hawn and Giancarlo Giannini –
• La Luna, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Jill Clayburgh –

  M

• Mad Max, directed by George Miller, starring Mel Gibson –
• The Magician of Lublin, starring Alan Arkin, Louise Fletcher, Valerie Perrine
• Magnificent Butcher, starring Sammo Hung –
• The Main Event, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal
• Mamá cumple cien años, directed by Carlos Saura, starring Geraldine Chaplin –
• Manhattan, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway
• A Man, a Woman, and a Bank, starring Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams
• The Marriage of Maria Braun, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla –
• Maula Jatt –
• Meatballs, directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray –
• The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed –
• Meetings with Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff biography directed by Peter Brook –
• Meteor, directed by Ronald Neame, starring Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Henry Fonda, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard
• Monty Python's Life of Brian, directed by Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin –
• Moonraker, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Roger Moore, with Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel –
• More American Graffiti, starring Candy Clark, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams
• Mr. Mike's Mondo Video, starring Michael O'Donoghue, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray
• The Muppet Movie, made by Jim Henson, with Charles Durning and Dom DeLuise
• Murder by Decree, starring Christopher Plummer and James Mason –
• My Brilliant Career, directed by Gillian Armstrong, starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill –

  N

• Nightwing, directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Nick Mancuso and Kathryn Harrold
• Noorie, directed by Manmohan Krishna –
• Norma Rae, directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sally Field, Ron Leibman, Beau Bridges
• The North Avenue Irregulars, starring Karen Valentine, Barbara Harris, Susan Clark
• North Dallas Forty, starring Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, G. D. Spradlin, Dayle Haddon, Bo Svenson, John Matuszak
• Nosferatu the Vampyre, directed by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz –

  O

• The Odd Angry Shot, starring Bryan Brown –
• The Odd Couple, starring Sammo Hung –
• The Onion Field, directed by Harold Becker, starring James Woods, John Savage, Franklyn Seales, Ted Danson
• Operación Ogro, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, starring Gian Maria Volonté –
• Over the Edge, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, starring Matt Dillon

  P

• The Passage, starring Anthony Quinn, James Mason, Malcolm McDowell, Patricia Neal, Kay Lenz
• A Perfect Couple, directed by Robert Altman, starring Paul Dooley and Marta Heflin
• Peruvazhiyambalam, directed by Padmarajan –
• Les petites fugues –
• Phantasm, directed by Don Coscarelli
• A Pleasure Doing Business, directed by Steven Vagnino, starring Conrad Bain, John Byner, Alan Oppenheimer and Misty Rowe
• The Plank, directed by and starring Eric Sykes, with Arthur Lowe –
• The Plumber, directed by Peter Weir, starring Judy Morris –
• Prince Nezha's Triumph Against Dragon King, an animated film –
• The Prisoner of Zenda, starring Peter Sellers, Lynne Frederick and Lionel Jeffries
• The Prize Fighter, starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway
• Prophecy, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Talia Shire, Robert Foxworth, Richard Dysart, Armand Assante

  Q

• Quadrophenia, directed by Franc Roddam, starring Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Ray Winstone, with music by The Who –

  R

• Real Life, directed by and starring Albert Brooks, with Charles Grodin
• Rich Kids, starring Trini Alvarado and John Lithgow
• Rock 'n' Roll High School, produced by Roger Corman, featuring The Ramones
• Rocky II, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, with Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young
• Roller Boogie, directed by Mark L. Lester, starring Linda Blair, Jim Bray, Albert Insinnia, Jimmy Van Patten, Kimberly Beck, Stoney Jackson, Beverly Garland, Mark Goddard
• The Rose, directed by Mark Rydell, starring Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest
• Running, starring Michael Douglas

  S

• Saint Jack, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Ben Gazzara
• Scavenger Hunt, starring Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Vincent Price, Tony Randall
• Scum, starring Ray Winstone –
• A Scream from Silence –
• The Seduction of Joe Tynan, starring Alan Alda, Meryl Streep, Melvyn Douglas, Barbara Harris, Rip Torn
• A Sense of Freedom, directed by John Mackenzie –
• Série noire, directed by Alain Corneau –
• Siberiade, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky –
• Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness, directed by Margarethe von Trotta –
• Skatetown, U.S.A., starring Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormick, Patrick Swayze
• Something Out of Nothing, directed by Nikola Rudarov, starring Asen Kisimov, Stefan Danailov, Aneta Sotirova –
• Stalker, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky –
• , directed by Robert Wise, starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins
• Starting Over, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, Candice Bergen, Charles Durning
• Suhaag, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha –
• The Survivors –

  T

• Take Down, starring Lorenzo Lamas and Maureen McCormick
• Tale of Tales, an animated film –
• Tarka the Otter, narrated by Peter Ustinov –
• The Tempest, directed by Derek Jarman, starring Toyah Willcox –
• Tess, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Nastassja Kinski –
• That Summer!, starring Ray Winstone –
• The Theme, directed by Gleb Panfilov, starring Mikhail Ulyanov, Inna Churikova, Stanislav Lyubshin, and Yevgeni Vesnik. Winner of 1987 Golden Bear –
• The Third Generation, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla –
• Those Wonderful Movie Cranks, directed by Jiří Menzel –
• La Tía Alejandra –
• Tim, starring Mel Gibson and Piper Laurie –
• Time After Time, directed by Nicholas Meyer, starring Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen
• The Tin Drum, directed by Volker Schlöndorff, starring David Bennent – – Palme d'Or winner
• To Forget Venice, directed by Franco Brusati, starring Mariangela Melato and Erland Josephson –
• Tourist Trap, starring Chuck Connors and Tanya Roberts

  U

• Ultraman –
• –
• Uncle Marin, the Billionaire –

  V

• Vengeance Is Mine, directed by Shohei Imamura, starring Ken Ogata –
• The Villain, directed by Hal Needham, starring Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret, Arnold Schwarzenegger
• The Visitor, starring John Huston, Glenn Ford, Shelley Winters

  W

• Wanda Nevada, directed by and starring Peter Fonda, with Brooke Shields
• The Wanderers, starring Ken Wahl and Karen Allen
• The Warriors, directed by Walter Hill, starring Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Deborah Van Valkenburgh
• When a Stranger Calls, starring Charles Durning and Carol Kane
• Winter Kills, starring Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins
• Wise Blood, directed by and starring John Huston, with Brad Dourif –
• Woman Between Wolf and Dog –
• Woyzeck, directed by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski and Eva Mattes –
• The Wretches Are Still Singing, directed by Nikos Nikolaidis –

  XYZ

• Yanks, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Richard Gere, Lisa Eichhorn, Vanessa Redgrave –
• Yesterday's Hero, directed by Neil Leifer, starring Ian McShane, Suzanne Somers, Adam Faith and Paul Nicholas –
• Zombi 2, directed by Lucio Fulci, starring Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson –
• Zulu Dawn, starring Peter O'Toole, Burt Lancaster, Simon Ward –

  1979 film releases

January–March

• January 1979
• *January 1
• **Take Down
• *January 26
• **
• February 1979
• *February 2
• **The First Great Train Robbery
• *February 9
• **Agatha
• **Murder by Decree
• **The North Avenue Irregulars
• **The Warriors
• *February 23
• **Fast Break
• March 1979
• *March 2
• **Norma Rae
• **Real Life
• *March 7
• **Starcrash
• *March 9
• **The Passage
• *March 14
• **Hair
• **Tourist Trap
• **Voices
• *March 16
• **California Dreaming
• **The China Syndrome
• *March 17
• **The Story of Heidi
• *March 21
• **The Bell Jar
• *March 28
• **Phantasm

  April–June

• April 1979
• *April 4
• **The Champ
• *April 6
• **A Perfect Couple
• *April 13
• **Love at First Bite
• *April 25
• **Manhattan
• *April 27
• **Dreamer
• **Saint Jack
• May 1979
• *May 3
• **Winds of Change
• *May 4
• **Last Embrace
• *May 7
• **The Ballad of the Daltons
• *May 15
• **Zulu Dawn
• *May 17
• **Winter Kills
• *May 18
• **Over the Edge
• *May 25
• **Alien
• **Beyond the Poseidon Adventure
• **The Prisoner of Zenda
• **Wanda Nevada
• June 1979
• *June 1
• **Phantasm
• *June 6
• **Escape to Athena
• *June 15
• **
• **The In-Laws
• **Prophecy
• **Rocky II
• **The Water Babies
• *June 22
• **Escape from Alcatraz
• **The Main Event
• **The Muppet Movie
• **Nightwing
• *June 27
• **The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
• **The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
• *June 29
• **Bloodline
• **Meatballs
• **Moonraker
• **Up from the Depths

  July–September

• July 1979
• *J-Men Forever
• *July 6
• **Nutcracker Fantasy
• *July 13
• **Breaking Away
• **Dracula
• **The Frisco Kid
• **The Wanderers
• *July 26
• **Unidentified Flying Oddball
• *July 27
• **The Amityville Horror
• **The Villain
• August 1979
• *August 1
• **North Dallas Forty
• *August 3
• **The Concorde... Airport '79
• **More American Graffiti
• *August 5
• **Meetings with Remarkable Men
• *August 10
• **Hot Stuff
• *August 15
• **Apocalypse Now
• **Star Wars
• *August 17
• **Monty Python's Life of Brian
• **The Prisoner of Zenda
• **Rich Kids
• **The Seduction of Joe Tynan
• *August 24
• **Rock 'n' Roll High School
• *August 31
• **City on Fire
• September 1979
• *September 7
• **Patrick
• *September 14
• **Love and Bullets
• **
• *September 19
• **The Onion Field
• **Yanks
• *September 21
• **Mr. Mike's Mondo Video
• *September 28
• **The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
• **A Man, a Woman, and a Bank
• **Time After Time
• **Wise Blood

  October–December

• October 1979
• *The Magician of Lubin
• *Siberiade
• *Skatetown, U.S.A.
• *October 5
• **10
• **Starting Over
• *October 17
• **The Black Stallion
• *October 19
• **Jesus
• **Meteor
• *October 26
• **When a Stranger Calls
• November 1979
• *A Pleasure Doing Business
• *The Prize Fighter
• *November 2
• **Quadrophenia
• **Running
• *November 6
• **Don Giovanni
• *November 7
• **The Rose
• *November 21
• **Mountain Family Robinson
• *November 23
• **Birth of the Beatles
• December 1979
• *December 7
• **
• *December 14
• **1941
• **Chapter Two
• **The Jerk
• *December 19
• **Being There
• **Kramer vs. Kramer
• **Roller Boogie
• *December 20
• **All That Jazz
• *December 21
• **Baby Snakes
• **The Black Hole
• **Cuba
• **C.H.O.M.P.S.
• **The Electric Horseman
• **Scavenger Hunt

  Births

• January 1 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
• January 8 – Sarah Polley, Canadian actress
• January 24 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
• January 27 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
• February 2 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
• February 9 – Zhang Ziyi, Chinese actress and dancer
• February 11 – Brandy Norwood, American actress and singer
• February 13 – Mena Suvari, American actress
• February 21 – Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and singer
• February 21 – Maryke Hendrikse, Bahamian-born Canadian voice actress
• March 9 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor
• March 10 – Danny Pudi, American actor
• March 24 – Lake Bell, American actress, director and screenwriter
• March 25 - Lee Pace, American actor
• March 28 - Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, producer, singer, film organiser and media personalities
• April 4
• * Bunko Kanazawa, Japanese actress
• * Heath Ledger, Australian actor
• * Natasha Lyonne, American actress
• April 11 – Josh Server, American actor
• April 12 – Claire Danes, American actress
• April 19 – Kate Hudson, American actress
• April 21 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
• April 23 – Jaime King, American actress
• May 9 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
• May 22 – Maggie Q, American actress
• May 28 – Monica Keena, American actress
• June 7 – Anna Torv, Australian actress
• June 21 – Chris Pratt, American actor
• June 24 – Mindy Kaling, American writer and actress
• June 27 – Benjamin Speed, Australian film composer
• July 3 – Ludivine Sagnier, French actress
• July 6 – Kevin Hart, American actor
• July 16 – Jayma Mays, American actress
• July 31 – B. J. Novak, American writer and actor
• August 3 – Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress
• August 27 – Aaron Paul, American actor
• August 31 – Yuvan Shankar Raja, Indian film composer
• September 8 – Pink, American singer and actress
• September 11 – Ariana Richards, American actress
• October 1 – Marielle Heller, American film director
• October 4 – Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress
• October 6 – Sareh Bayat, Iranian actress
• October 8 – Kristanna Loken, American actress
• October 20 - John Krasinski, American actor and filmmmaker
• October 29 – Maya Karin, Malaysian actress
• November 19 – Barry Jenkins, American film director
• December 3 – Tiffany Haddish, American comedian and actress
• December 11 – Rider Strong, American actor
• December 23 – Summer Altice, American model and actress
• December 26 – Chris Daughtry, American actor and singer

  Notable deaths

Debuts

• Rosanna Arquette – More American Graffiti
• Lorraine Bracco – Duos sur canapé
• Matt Craven – Meatballs
• Ted Danson – The Onion Field
• Keith David – Disco Godfather
• Matt Dillon – Over the Edge
• Lisa Eichhorn – Yanks
• Cary Elwes – Yesterday's Hero
• Bruce Greenwood – Bear Island
• Danny Glover – Escape from Alcatraz
• Dennis Haysbert – Scoring
• Sam J. Jones – 10
• Wayne Knight – The Wanderers
• Christine Lahti – ...And Justice for All
• Diane Lane – A Little Romance
• Hayao Miyazaki – The Castle of Cagliostro
• David Paymer – The In-Laws
• Chris Penn – Charlie and the Talking Buzzard
• Jean Reno – The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting
• Mickey Rourke – 1941
• Jay O. Sanders – Starting Over
• Ricky Schroder – The Champ
• Wallace Shawn – Manhattan
• Martin Short – Lost and Found
• Timothy Spall – Quadrophenia
• Daniel Stern – Breaking Away
• Patrick Swayze – Skatetown, U.S.A.
• Christoph Waltz – Breakthrough
• Peter Weller –
• Ray Winstone – That Summer!
• JoBeth Williams – Kramer vs. Kramer