1980 in film

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

Worldwide gross revenue

Events

• April 29 – Sir Alfred Hitchcock, known as "the Master of Suspense", dies at his home in Bel Air, California, at the age of 80.
• May 21 – The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the highest-grossing film of the year.
• May 23 – The Shining is released. Notable for being the first "epic" horror film. It has since become one of the most referenced and popular films of all time.
• June 9 – 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 – 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.
• November 19 – 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.

  Awards

Notable films released in 1980

#

• 9 to 5, directed by Colin Higgins, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman

  A

• The Agency, starring Robert Mitchum, Lee Majors, Valerie Perrine –
• Airplane!, starring Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Alien Dead, directed by Fred Olen Ray, starring Buster Crabbe
• Alligator, directed by Lewis Teague, starring Robert Forster, Robin Riker, and Michael Gazzo
• Altered States, directed by Ken Russell, starring William Hurt and Blair Brown
• American Gigolo, directed by Paul Schrader, starring Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton and Héctor Elizondo
• Antropophagus, directed by Joe D'Amato, starring George Eastman, Tisa Farrow, Zora Kerova, Saverio Vallone, and Serena Grandi
• Any Which Way You Can, directed by Buddy Van Horn, starring Clint Eastwood, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith, Barry Corbin, Ruth Gordon
• Arrebato, directed by Ivan Zulueta, starring Eusebio Poncela, and Cecilia Roth
• Atlantic City, directed by Louis Malle, starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon – – Golden Lion winner
• The Awakening, starring Charlton Heston, Susannah York and Stephanie Zimbalist –

  B

• Babylon, starring Brinsley Forde –
• A Bad Son, directed by Claude Sautet –
• Bad Timing, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel –
• The Baltimore Bullet, starring James Coburn
• Berlin Alexanderplatz, a TV mini-series directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Gunther Lamprecht, Hanna Schygulla, Barbara Sukowa –
• The Big Brawl, starring Jackie Chan –
• The Big Red One, directed by Samuel Fuller, starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine
• Bizalom, directed by István Szabó –
• The Black Marble, directed by Harold Becker, starring Robert Foxworth, Paula Prentiss, Harry Dean Stanton
• The Blood of Hussain, directed by Jamil Dehlavi –
• The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins
• The Blues Brothers, directed by John Landis, starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Henry Gibson
• Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown
• Breaker Morant, directed by Bruce Beresford, starring Edward Woodward –
• Bronco Billy, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Sam Bottoms, Scatman Crothers
• Brubaker, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Robert Redford, David Keith, Jane Alexander, Yaphet Kotto

  C

• Caboblanco, directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Dominique Sanda
• Caddyshack, directed by Harold Ramis, starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, Bill Murray
• The Candidate, directed by Volker Schlöndorff –
• Cannibal Holocaust, directed by Ruggero Deodato, starring Robert Kerman –
• Can't Stop the Music, directed by Nancy Walker, starring Valerie Perrine, Bruce Jenner, Steve Guttenberg, Village People
• Carny, starring Jodie Foster, Gary Busey and Robbie Robertson
• Chann Pardesi, starring Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Om Puri –
• A Change of Seasons, starring Shirley MacLaine, Anthony Hopkins, Bo Derek
• The Changeling, starring George C. Scott –
• Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
• Children's Island –
• La Cicala, starring Anthony Franciosa and Virna Lisi –
• City of Women, directed by Federico Fellini, starring Marcello Mastroianni –
• The Club, starring Jack Thompson –
• Coal Miner's Daughter, starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones
• The Competition, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving, Lee Remick, Sam Wanamaker
• The Constant Factor –
• The Crime of Cuenca –
• Cruising, directed by William Friedkin, starring Al Pacino
• Cutting It Short, directed by Jiří Menzel –

  D

• Dadar Kirti –
• Death Watch, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Romy Schneider and Harvey Keitel –
• Delusion directed by Alan Beattie, starring Patricia Pearcy and Joseph Cotten
• Die Laughing, starring Robby Benson and Bud Cort
• The Dogs of War, starring Christopher Walken –
• Dostana, starring Amitabh Bachchan –
• Dressed to Kill, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Angie Dickinson

  E

• Elisita –
• The Elephant Man, directed by David Lynch, starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins –
• The Empire Strikes Back, directed by Irvin Kershner, starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
• Encounters of the Spooky Kind, directed by and starring Sammo Hung –
• Every Man for Himself, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jacques Dutronc and Isabelle Huppert –
• The Exterminator, starring Robert Ginty and Samantha Eggar

  F

• Fade to Black, starring Dennis Christopher
• The Falls, directed by Peter Greenaway –
• Fame, directed by Alan Parker, starring Irene Cara
• Fatso, directed by and starring Anne Bancroft, with Dom DeLuise
• The Final Countdown, starring Kirk Douglas, Katharine Ross, Martin Sheen
• The First Deadly Sin, starring Frank Sinatra, David Dukes, Martin Gabel, Brenda Vaccaro, Faye Dunaway
• First Family, directed by Buck Henry, starring Bob Newhart, Madeline Kahn, Gilda Radner
• Flash Gordon, directed by Mike Hodges, starring Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Chaim Topol –
• The Fog, directed by John Carpenter, starring Adrienne Barbeau and Jamie Lee Curtis
• Foolin' Around, starring Gary Busey, Annette O'Toole, Eddie Albert, Cloris Leachman
• The Formula, starring George C. Scott and Marlon Brando
• Foxes, directed by Adrian Lyne, starring Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie, Scott Baio and Adam Faith
• Friday the 13th, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King and Harry Crosby

  G

• The Gamekeeper, directed by Ken Loach –
• –
• Germany, Pale Mother, starring Eva Mattes –
• Gilda Live, starring Gilda Radner, Father Guido Sarducci
• Gloria, directed by John Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands – Golden Lion winner
• The Gods Must Be Crazy, directed by Jamie Uys, starring N!xau, Sandra Prinsloo and Marius Weyers –
• Good Riddance –
• The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, a mockumentary directed by Julien Temple, featuring The Sex Pistols and Malcolm McLaren –

  H

• Hangar 18, starring Darren McGavin and Robert Vaughn
• Health, a.k.a. H.E.A.L.T.H., directed by Robert Altman, starring Carol Burnett, Lauren Bacall, Glenda Jackson, James Garner
• Heart Beat, starring Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, John Heard
• He Knows You're Alone, starring Don Scardino and Caitlin O'Heaney
• Heaven's Gate, directed by Michael Cimino, starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Jeff Bridges
• Herbie Goes Bananas, directed by Vincent McEveety, starring Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman and Charles Martin Smith
• Hero at Large, starring John Ritter and Anne Archer
• Hey Babe!, starring Yasmine Bleeth and Buddy Hackett –
• Hirak Rajar Deshe, directed by Satyajit Ray –
• The Hit –
• Home Movies, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Kirk Douglas, Vincent Gardenia, Gerrit Graham, Nancy Allen
• Hopscotch, directed by Ronald Neame, starring Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson
• How to Beat the High Cost of Living, starring Susan Saint James, Jessica Lange, Jane Curtin, Dabney Coleman, Richard Benjamin
• Humanoids from the Deep, starring Vic Morrow, Doug McClure, Ann Turkel
• The Hunter, starring Steve McQueen, Kathryn Harrold, LeVar Burton, Ben Johnson, Eli Wallach

  I

• The Idolmaker, directed by Taylor Hackford, starring Ray Sharkey and Peter Gallagher
• Inferno, directed by Dario Argento –
• Inside Moves, directed by Richard Donner, starring John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid
• The Island, directed by Michael Ritchie, starring Michael Caine
• It's My Turn, directed by Claudia Weill, starring Jill Clayburgh, Michael Douglas, Charles Grodin

  J-K

• The Jazz Singer, starring Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz, Laurence Olivier
• Just Tell Me What You Want, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Ali MacGraw, Alan King, Peter Weller, Myrna Loy
• Karz, starring Rishi Kapoor –
• Kagemusha, directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara – – Palme d'Or winner
• Khubsoorat, starring Ashok Kumar and Rekha –
• Klondike Fever, starring Jeff East, Rod Steiger, Angie Dickinson, Gordon Pinsent –

  L

• Ladies' Choice, directed by Ivan Andonov, starring Stefan Danailov –
• The Last Flight of Noah's Ark, starring Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold, Ricky Schroder
• The Last Married Couple in America, starring Natalie Wood, George Segal, Valerie Harper, Richard Benjamin
• The Last Metro, directed by François Truffaut, starring Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu –
• The Last Witness –
• The Lathe of Heaven, starring Bruce Davison
• Legend of Tianyun Mountain –
• The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, a documentary film
• Little Darlings, starring Tatum O'Neal, Kristy McNichol, Armand Assante and Matt Dillon
• Little Miss Marker, starring Walter Matthau, Julie Andrews, Tony Curtis, Bob Newhart
• The Long Good Friday, directed by John Mackenzie, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren –
• The Long Riders, directed by Walter Hill, starring the Keach brothers, Carradine brothers and Quaid brothers
• Loulou, starring Isabelle Huppert and Gérard Depardieu –
• Loving Couples, directed by Jack Smight, starring Shirley MacLaine, James Coburn, Stephen Collins, Susan Sarandon

  M

• The Magician of Lublin, starring Alan Arkin, Valerie Perrine, Louise Fletcher
• The Man with Bogart's Face, starring Robert Sacchi, Misty Rowe, Victor Buono, Yvonne De Carlo, Herbert Lom
• Manila by Night –
• McVicar, directed by Tom Clegg, starring Roger Daltrey, Adam Faith, Cheryl Campbell –
• Melvin and Howard, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen
• Midnight Madness
• The Mirror Crack'd, directed by Guy Hamilton, starring Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson –
• Mon oncle d'Amérique, directed by Alain Resnais, starring Gérard Depardieu – – Cannes Special Jury Prize
• Motel Hell, starring Rory Calhoun
• Mother's Day, starring Nancy Hendrickson
• The Mountain Men, starring Charlton Heston and Brian Keith
• My Bodyguard, directed by Tony Bill, starring Matt Dillon, Adam Baldwin, Chris Makepeace, Martin Mull

  N

• The Nest –
• Nightkill, starring Robert Mitchum
• Nijinsky, starring George de la Peña and Alan Bates
• The Ninth Configuration, directed by William Peter Blatty, starring Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson, Jason Miller

  O

• O Megalexandros, directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos –
• Oh, God! Book II, starring George Burns
• One Trick Pony, written by and starring Paul Simon, with Blair Brown, Joan Hackett, Rip Torn
• The Orchestra Conductor, directed by Andrzej Wajda, starring John Gielgud –
• Ordinary People, directed by Robert Redford, starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern
• Out of the Blue, directed by and starring Dennis Hopper, with Linda Manz, Raymond Burr –

  P-Q

• Pepi, Luci, Bom, directed by Pedro Almodóvar –
• Palermo or Wolfsburg – – Golden Bear winner
• Permanent Vacation, directed by Jim Jarmusch
• The Pilot, directed by and starring Cliff Robertson, with Diane Baker and Gordon MacRae
• Playing for Time, directed by Daniel Mann, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Alexander
• Popeye, directed by Robert Altman, starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall
• Pray TV, starring Dabney Coleman
• Private Benjamin, directed by Howard Zieff, starring Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Armand Assante, Robert Webber, Harry Dean Stanton
• The Private Eyes, starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts
• Prom Night, starring Leslie Nielsen and Jamie Lee Curtis
• Qurbani, directed by and starring Feroz Khan –

  R

• Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty
• Resurrection, starring Ellen Burstyn and Eva Le Gallienne
• The Return of the King, animated film, voices of Orson Bean, John Huston, William Conrad
• Return of the Secaucus 7, directed by John Sayles
• El Retorno del Hombre Lobo –
• Roadie, directed by Alan Rudolph, starring Meat Loaf and Kaki Hunter
• Le Roi et l'oiseau, animated film –
• Rockshow, concert film featuring Paul McCartney and Wings –
• Rough Cut, directed by Don Siegel, starring Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down, David Niven
• Rude Boy, a rockumentary featuring The Clash –

  S

• Sällskapsresan, directed by and starring Lasse Åberg –
• Saturn 3, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel
• The Sea Wolves, starring Gregory Peck, David Niven, Roger Moore –
• See You in the Next War –
• Seems Like Old Times, starring Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase and Charles Grodin
• Serial, starring Martin Mull, Tuesday Weld, Christopher Lee, Bill Macy, Sally Kellerman, Tom Smothers
• The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
• Simon, starring Alan Arkin
• A Small Circle of Friends, starring Brad Davis and Karen Allen
• Smokey and the Bandit II, directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed and Dom DeLuise
• Solo Sunny –
• Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour
• Special Treatment –
• Stardust Memories, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Charlotte Rampling and Jessica Harper
• Stir Crazy, directed by Sidney Poitier, starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder
• Stalker, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and released in 1979 but later released in 1980
• The Stunt Man, directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Barbara Hershey, Steve Railsback
• Sunday Lovers, starring Gene Wilder, Roger Moore, Lino Ventura
• Superman II, starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp

  T

• Terror Train, starring Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner
• La terrazza, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi –
• That Sinking Feeling, directed by Bill Forsyth, starring John Gordon Sinclair –
• Those Lips, Those Eyes, starring Frank Langella, Glynnis O'Connor, Tom Hulce
• Times Square, directed by Allen Moyle, starring Robin Johnson, Trini Alvarado, Tim Curry
• To Love the Damned –
• Tom Horn, starring Steve McQueen, Richard Farnsworth, Linda Evans
• Tribute, starring Jack Lemmon –
• Twelve Months –

  UV

• The Unseen, starring Barbara Bach and Stephen Furst
• Up the Academy, directed by Robert Downey Sr.
• Urban Cowboy, directed by James Bridges, starring John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, Madolyn Smith, Barry Corbin
• Used Cars, directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Kurt Russell, Deborah Harmon, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham
• Virus, starring Sonny Chiba and Glenn Ford –
• Le Voyage en douce, starring Dominique Sanda and Geraldine Chaplin –

  W

• Waiter, Scarper! –
• The Watcher in the Woods, starring Bette Davis –
• When Time Ran Out, starring Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, Burgess Meredith, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons
• Where the Buffalo Roam, directed by Art Linson, starring Bill Murray and Peter Boyle
• Wholly Moses!, starring Dudley Moore, Laraine Newman, Paul Sand, Dom DeLuise
• Who's Singin' Over There? –
• Why Would I Lie?, starring Treat Williams, Lisa Eichhorn, Valerie Curtin
• Willie & Phil, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Margot Kidder, Ray Sharkey, Michael Ontkean
• Windows, starring Talia Shire and Elizabeth Ashley
• Witches' Brew, starring Teri Garr and Richard Benjamin

  X

• Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck, Gene Kelly

  Y

• The Young Master, directed by and starring Jackie Chan –
• Yūgure made –

  Z

• Zigeunerweisen, directed by Seijun Suzuki –

  1980 Wide-release movies

January–March

• January 1980
• *January 18
• **Just Tell Me What You Want
• **Windows
• *January 22
• **In Search of Historic Jesus
• *January 30
• **To All a Goodnight
• February 1980
• *February 1
• **Fatso
• *February 8
• **American Gigolo
• **Hero at Large
• **The Fog
• **The Last Married Couple in America
• **Midnight Madness
• *February 15
• **Caligula
• **Cruising
• **Mad Max
• *February 29
• **Don't Answer the Phone
• **Foxes
• **The Ninth Configuration
• March 1980
• *March 7
• **Coal Miner's Daughter
• **Lady and the Tramp
• *March 14
• **Defiance
• *March 21
• **Forbidden Zone
• **Little Miss Marker
• *March 28
• **Serial
• **Tom Horn
• **When Time Ran Out

  April–June

• April 1980
• *April 1
• **The Baltimore Bullet
• *April 17
• **The Private Eyes
• **Stalker
• *April 25
• **Where the Buffalo Roam
• May 1980
• *May 9
• **Friday the 13th
• **The Nude Bomb
• *May 16
• **Fame
• **The Long Riders
• *May 21
• **The Empire Strikes Back
• *May 23
• **Carny
• **The Gong Show Movie
• **The Shining
• *May 30
• **Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown
• **The Hollywood Knights
• June 1980
• *June 1
• **The Mountain Men
• *June 4
• **The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood
• *June 6
• **Galaxina
• **Up the Academy
• **Urban Cowboy
• *June 11
• **Bronco Billy
• *June 13
• **The Children
• **The Island
• **Roadie
• **Wholly Moses!
• *June 19
• **Animalympics
• **Rough Cut
• *June 20
• **The Blues Brothers
• **Brubaker
• **Can't Stop the Music
• *June 25
• **Herbie Goes Bananas
• **The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

  July–September

• July 1980
• *July 2
• **Airplane!
• **Alligator
• *July 5
• **The Blue Lagoon
• *July 11
• **Oh! Heavenly Dog
• **Used Cars
• *July 18
• **Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
• **Honeysuckle Rose
• **The Little Dragons
• **Prom Night
• *July 24
• **The Earthling
• *July 25
• **Caddyshack
• **Dressed to Kill
• August 1980
• *August 1
• **The Final Countdown
• **The Hunter
• **I Go Pogo
• **Loose Shoes
• **Raise the Titanic
• *August 8
• **The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
• **Xanadu
• *August 10
• **Why Would I Lie?
• *August 14
• **The Octagon
• *August 15
• **The Kidnapping of the President
• **Smokey and the Bandit II
• **Those Lips, Those Eyes
• September 1980
• *September 8
• **Battle Beyond the Stars
• *September 9
• **Phobia
• *September 12
• **He Knows You're Alone
• *September 19
• **The Exterminator
• **Melvin and Howard
• *September 26
• **In God We Tru$t
• **My Bodyguard
• **Resurrection
• **Stardust Memories
• **Without Warning

  October–December

• October 1980
• *October 3
• **Coast to Coast
• **The First Deadly Sin
• **Oh, God! Book II
• **One-Trick Pony
• **Somewhere in Time
• **Terror Train
• *October 4
• **Superman II
• *October 10
• **The Elephant Man
• **Kagemusha
• **Private Benjamin
• *October 14
• **Fade to Black
• *October 18
• **Motel Hell
• *October 31
• **The Awakening
• **Touched by Love
• **Witches' Brew
• November 1980
• *November 7
• **The Boogeyman
• *November 11
• **Shogun Assassin
• *November 14
• **The Idolmaker
• **Raging Bull
• *November 19
• **Heaven's Gate
• *November 21
• **The Apple
• **Hurray for Betty Boop
• **The Visitor
• December 1980
• *December 1
• **A Change of Seasons
• *December 3
• **The Competition
• *December 5
• **Flash Gordon
• *December 6
• **Popeye
• *December 12
• **Stir Crazy
• *December 17
• **Any Which Way You Can
• *December 19
• **9 to 5
• **The Formula
• **Inside Moves
• **The Jazz Singer
• **Seems Like Old Times
• *December 25
• **Altered States
• **First Family

  Births

• January 7 – Hele Kõrve, Estonian actress and singer
• January 16 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, American singer-songwriter and actor
• January 17 – 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 21
• *Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer and voice actress
• *Kim Sharma, Indian actress
• January 30 – Wilmer Valderrama, American actor
• February 11 – Matthew Lawrence, American actor
• February 12 – Christina Ricci, American actress
• March 3 – Katherine Waterston, American actress
• March 7
• * Laura Prepon, American actress
• * Mart Toome, Estonian actor
• March 9 – Matthew Gray Gubler, American actor
• March 31
• *Kate Micucci, American actress
• *Maaya Sakamoto, Japanese singer and voice actress
• April 8 – Carrie Savage, American voice actress
• April 13
• * Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress
• * Kelli Giddish, American actress
• April 26
• * Jordana Brewster, American actress
• * Channing Tatum, American actor
• May 2 - Ellie Kemper, American actress and comedian
• May 8
• * Jasen Fisher, American former child actor
• * Kimberlee Peterson, American actress
• May 22 – Evelin Võigemast, Estonian actress
• June 10 - Jessica DiCicco, American film, television and voice actress
• June 16 – Sibel Kekilli, German actress
• June 23 – Melissa Rauch, American actress and comedian
• June 24 – Minka Kelly, American actress
• July 3 – Olivia Munn, American actress
• July 6 – Eva Green, French actress
• July 18 – Kristen Bell, American actress
• August 18 – Preeti Jhangiani, Indian actress
• August 25 – Jackie Tohn, American actress and singer
• August 26
• *Macaulay Culkin, American actor
• *Chris Pine, American actor
• September 9 – Michelle Williams, American actress
• September 13 – Ben Savage, American actor
• September 21 – Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
• September 29 - Zachary Levi, American actor and singer
• October 8
• *Nick Cannon, American comedian, rapper and television host
• *Nathan Head, British actor
• October 14 – Ben Whishaw, English actor
• October 18 – Erin Dean, American former actress
• October 19 – Benjamin Salisbury, American actor
• October 24 – Monica, American singer-songwriter, producer and actress
• October 29 – Ben Foster, American actor
• November 12 – Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
• December 3
• *Anna Chlumsky, American actress
• *Jenna Dewan, American actress and dancer
• December 19
• *Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor
• *Marla Sokoloff, American actress
• December 30 – Eliza Dushku, American actress

  Notable deaths

Film debuts

• Christopher Atkins – The Blue Lagoon
• Adam Baldwin – My Bodyguard
• Drew Barrymore – Altered States
• Jennifer Beals – My Bodyguard
• Pierce Brosnan – The Long Good Friday
• Robbie Coltrane – Flash Gordon
• Joan Cusack – My Bodyguard
• Willem Dafoe – Heaven's Gate
• Tony Danza – The Hollywood Knights
• Michael J. Fox – Midnight Madness
• Peter Gallagher – The Idolmaker
• Julie Hagerty – Airplane!
• Tom Hanks – He Knows You're Alone
• Linda Hunt – Popeye
• William Hurt – Altered States
• Timothy Hutton – Ordinary People
• Jeremy Irons – Nijinsky
• Ralph Macchio – Up the Academy
• Gabriel Macht – Why Would I Lie?
• William H. Macy – Somewhere in Time
• Sophie Marceau – La Boum
• Christopher McDonald – The Hearse
• Elizabeth McGovern – Ordinary People
• Cathy Moriarty – Raging Bull
• David Morse – Inside Moves
• Cynthia Nixon – Little Darlings
• Catherine O'Hara – Deadly Companion
• Terry O'Quinn – Heaven's Gate
• Joe Pantoliano – The Idolmaker
• Dolly Parton – 9 to 5
• Michelle Pfeiffer – The Hollywood Knights
• Harold Ramis – Caddyshack
• Judge Reinhold – Running Scared
• Paul Reubens – Pray TV
• Sharon Stone – Stardust Memories
• David Strathairn – Return of the Secaucus 7
• Meg Tilly – Fame
• John Turturro – Raging Bull
• Dianne Wiest – It's My Turn
• Bruce Willis – The First Deadly Sin
• Mare Winningham – One-Trick Pony
• Nicholas Woodeson – Heaven's Gate
• Sean Young – Jane Austen in Manhattan