1990 in film

Highest-grossing films

Events

• February 4 – Actor Tom Cruise and actress Mimi Rogers divorce.
• March 30 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is released to massive box office success. At the time, it is the highest-grossing independent film in history.
• May 25 - Universal Pictures unveils a new opening logo with music composed by James Horner, and debuting on Back to the Future Part III. It is the first change to the Universal opening logo in 27 years.
• June 15 - Following a massive media and marketing blitz, Dick Tracy is released to box office success and critical acclaim. Ultimately, the film will go on to earn 7 Academy Award nominations, including 3 wins.
• December 24 – Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman marry.
• CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall.
• The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.
• The use of real-time computer graphics or "digital puppetry" to create a character in a motion picture is performed, in RoboCop 2.
• Future movie stars Chris Rock and Adam Sandler join SNL.
• Buchwald v. Paramount decided, a leading case on the financial rewards due to writers of film treatments.
• The Rescuers Down Under is considered as the first fully digital film ever made.

  Awards

1990 wide-release movies

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Notable films released in 1990

A

• The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, starring Andrew Dice Clay
• After Dark, My Sweet, starring Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern
• Air America, directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr.
• Alice, directed by Woody Allen, starring Mia Farrow
• The Ambulance, starring Eric Roberts
• Angel Town
• Another 48 Hrs., starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte
• Arachnophobia, starring Jeff Daniels
• Avalon, directed by Barry Levinson, starring Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Pollak
• Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro

  B

• Back to the Future Part III, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen
• Bad Influence, starring James Spader and Rob Lowe
• Bad Jim, starring James Brolin, Richard Roundtree, and John Clark Gable
• Betsy's Wedding, directed by and starring Alan Alda, with Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Madeline Kahn
• The Big Man aka Crossing the Line, starring Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley and Billy Connolly
• The Big Steal
• Bird on a Wire, starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn
• Blind Fury, starring Rutger Hauer
• Blue Steel, starring Jamie Lee Curtis
• Boiling Point, directed by Takeshi Kitano
• The Bonfire of the Vanities, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith
• Bride of Re-Animator

  C

• Cadence, starring Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen
• Cadillac Man, starring Robin Williams and Tim Robbins
• Captain America, starring Matt Salinger
• Childhood Days – Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year
• Child's Play 2, starring Jenny Agutter
• China Cry
• Class of 1999, starring Malcolm McDowell and Pam Grier
• Close-Up –
• Coins in the Fountain, starring Loni Anderson
• Come See the Paradise, starring Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn Tomita
• The Comfort of Strangers, starring Natasha Richardson and Helen Mirren
• Crash and Burn
• Cry-Baby, directed by John Waters, starring Johnny Depp
• Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Gérard Depardieu – Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film

  D

• Dances with Wolves, directed by and starring Kevin Costner – Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture
• Darkman, starring Liam Neeson
• Days of Being Wild, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau
• Days of Thunder, starring Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman
• Death Warrant, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
• Dei tau lung
• ', starring Chuck Norris
• Denial
• Desperate Hours, directed by Michael Cimino, starring Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke
• Dick Tracy, directed by and starring Warren Beatty, with Madonna, Glenne Headly, Al Pacino
• Die Hard 2, starring Bruce Willis
• Downtown, starring Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker
• Dreams, directed by Akira Kurosawa
• '

  E

• Edward Scissorhands, directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest
• El Diablo, starring Anthony Edwards, Louis Gossett Jr., Robert Beltran, Jim Beaver, Don Collier
• The End of Innocence, directed by and starring Dyan Cannon
• Ernest Goes to Jail, starring Jim Varney
• Europa Europa – Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• The Exorcist III, starring George C. Scott

  F

• Fantasia
• La Femme Nikita, directed by Luc Besson
• The Field, starring Richard Harris
• Fire Birds, starring Nicolas Cage and Tommy Lee Jones
• The First Power, starring Lou Diamond Phillips
• Flashback, starring Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Hopper
• Flatliners, directed by Joel Schumacher, starring Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon
• The Fourth War, starring Roy Schneider and Jürgen Prochnow
• Frankenstein Unbound, starring John Hurt
• The Freshman, starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick
• Funny About Love, directed by Leonard Nimoy, starring Gene Wilder and Christine Lahti

  G

• Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg
• The Godfather Part III, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Joe Mantegna, Sofia Coppola
• Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino
• Graffiti Bridge, directed by and starring Prince
• Green Card, starring Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell – Golden Globe Award for Best Picture
• '
• The Grifters, starring Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening
• The Guardian, directed by William Friedkin
• ', directed by Charles Correll, starring James Arness, Richard Kiley, Michael Learned, Amy Stock-Poynton, Geoffrey Lewis, Hugh O'Brian, Joe Lara
• The Guyver

  H

• Hamlet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Helena Bonham Carter
• The Handmaid's Tale, directed by Volker Schlöndorff, starring Natasha Richardson, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall
• Happily Ever After, featuring the voices of Irene Cara, Edward Asner, Carol Channing, Dom DeLuise
• Hard to Kill, starring Steven Seagal
• Havana, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Raúl Juliá
• Heart Condition, starring Bob Hoskins, and Denzel Washington
• Heaven and Earth
• Henry & June, starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Maria de Medeiros and Richard E. Grant
• Hidden Agenda, directed by Ken Loach, starring Frances McDormand
• Home Alone, starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
• The Hot Spot, directed by Dennis Hopper, starring Don Johnson, Jennifer Connelly, Virginia Madsen
• House Party
• The Hunt for Red October, starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, directed by John McTiernan

  I

• I Come in Peace, starring Dolph Lundgren
• I Love You to Death, starring Kevin Kline and Tracey Ullman
• Internal Affairs, directed by Mike Figgis, starring Richard Gere and Andy García

  J

• Jacob's Ladder, starring Tim Robbins, directed by Adrian Lyne
• Joe Versus the Volcano, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
• Journey of Hope – Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Ju Dou, directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang, starring Gong Li

  K

• Kindergarten Cop, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
• King of New York, directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Christopher Walken, Wesley Snipes, Laurence Fishburne
• The Krays, directed by Peter Medak, starring Martin Kemp, Gary Kemp, Billie Whitelaw

  L

• Larks on a String – Golden Bear award
• Last of the Finest
• The Lemon Sisters, starring Diane Keaton
• Life Is Sweet, directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent
• Lionheart, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
• Longtime Companion, starring Bruce Davison
• The Long Walk Home, starring Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg
• Look Who's Talking Too, starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley
• Loose Cannons, starring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd
• Lord of the Flies, starring Balthazar Getty
• Love at Large, starring Tom Berenger

  M

• Mack the Knife, starring Raúl Juliá and Richard Harris
• A Man Called Sarge, starring Gary Kroeger and Marc Singer
• Marked for Death, starring Steven Seagal
• The Match Factory Girl, directed by Aki Kaurismäki, starring Kati Outinen
• Memories of a River
• Memphis Belle, directed by Michael Caton-Jones, starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, John Lithgow
• Men at Work, starring Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen
• Mermaids, directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci
• Metropolitan
• Miami Blues, starring Fred Ward and Alec Baldwin
• Midnight Ride, starring Mark Hamill
• Miller's Crossing, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden
• Milou in May
• Misery, directed by Rob Reiner, starring James Caan and Kathy Bates
• Mo' Better Blues, directed by Spike Lee, starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson
• Mountains of the Moon, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Patrick Bergin
• Movie... In Your Face
• Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
• Mr. Destiny, starring James Belushi
• My Blue Heaven, starring Steve Martin and Rick Moranis
• My Mother's Castle, directed by Yves Robert, Golden Space Needle award – see novel Le Château de ma mère

  N

• Narrow Margin, starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer
• The Nasty Girl
• Navy SEALs, starring Charlie Sheen
• Nightbreed, starring Craig Sheffer
• Nuns on the Run, starring Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane
• The Nutcracker Prince
• Nobody's Perfect

  P

• Pacific Heights, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Michael Keaton, Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine
• Piece of Cake, directed by Jay Sandrich, starring T. K. Carter, Cleavant Derricks, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Tonya Lee Williams
• Postcards from the Edge, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid
• Predator 2, starring Danny Glover
• Presumed Innocent, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Harrison Ford
• Pretty Woman, directed by Garry Marshall, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere
• Problem Child, starring John Ritter
• Pump Up the Volume, directed by Allan Moyle, starring Christian Slater – Golden Space Needle award

  Q

• Q&A, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Nick Nolte and Timothy Hutton
• Quick Change, starring Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid
• Quigley Down Under, starring Tom Selleck and Alan Rickman

  R

• The Reflecting Skin
• Repossessed, a parody of The Exorcist, starring Leslie Nielsen and Linda Blair
• The Rescuers Down Under
• Revenge, starring Kevin Costner and Anthony Quinn
• Reversal of Fortune, starring Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver
• RoboCop 2, starring Peter Weller and Nancy Allen, directed by Irvin Kershner
• Robot Jox
• Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever, starring Corey Feldman
• Rockula
• Rocky V, starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Tommy Morrison
• Romeo.Juliet
• The Rookie, starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Tim Roth – Golden Lion award
• The Russia House, starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer

  S

• The Sheltering Sky, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Debra Winger and John Malkovich
• Shipwrecked, starring Gabriel Byrne
• Short Time, starring Dabney Coleman
• A Show of Force, starring Amy Irving
• Sibling Rivalry, starring Kirstie Alley
• Side Out, starring Courtney Thorne-Smith and C. Thomas Howell
• Silent Scream, starring Robert Carlyle
• Singapore Sling
• Spaced Invaders, directed by Patrick Read Johnson, starring Douglas Barr, Royal Dano, Ariana Richards, J. J. Anderson
• Stanley & Iris, starring Robert De Niro and Jane Fonda
• State of Grace, starring Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman
• Stella, starring Bette Midler

  T

• Taking Care of Business, starring James Belushi and Charles Grodin
• Tatie Danielle, starring Tsilla Chelton
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, directed by Steve Barron
• Tekken
• Texasville, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Cybill Shepherd
• Three Men and a Little Lady, starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson
• Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas
• Tilaï
• Too Much Sun, directed by Robert Downey Sr., starring Robert Downey Jr. and Eric Idle
• Total Recall, directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone
• Treasure Island, starring Charlton Heston and Christian Bale
• Tremors, starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward
• Truly, Madly, Deeply, directed by Anthony Minghella, starring Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson
• The Two Jakes, directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, with Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Eli Wallach

  U

• Uchū no hōsoku

• V

• Vincent & Theo, starring Tim Roth
• Vincent and Me

  W

• Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, starring Winona Ryder
• Where the Heart Is, starring Dabney Coleman
• White Hunter Black Heart, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood
• White Palace, starring Susan Sarandon and James Spader
• Wild at Heart, directed by David Lynch, starring Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd
• Wild Orchid, starring Mickey Rourke
• The Witches, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Anjelica Huston

  Y

• Young Guns II, starring Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, William Petersen

  Births

• January 13 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
• January 26 - Christopher Massey, American actor, comedian and rapper
• January 30 - Jake Thomas, American actor and voice actor
• March 1 – Harry Eden, British actor
• March 24 – Keisha Castle-Hughes, actress
• March 28 – Laura Harrier, actress
• April 9 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
• April 10 – Alex Pettyfer, English actor, model
• April 15 – Emma Watson, English actress
• April 16 – Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
• April 17 - Gia Mantegna, American actress
• April 23 – Dev Patel, British actor
• May 14 – Sasha Spielberg, American actress, daughter of producer/director Steven Spielberg and actress Kate Capshaw
• May 16 – Thomas Brodie-Sangster, British actor
• June 2 – Jack Lowden, British actor
• June 13 – Aaron Taylor-Johnson, British actor
• June 20 – Josh O'Connor, British actor
• July 2 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress
• July 6 – Jeremy Suarez, actor and voice actor
• July 16 – James Maslow, American actor
• July 24 – Daveigh Chase, American actress
• July 27 - Indiana Evans, Australian actress and singer-songwriter
• July 29 - Matt Prokop, American actor
• August 10 – Lucas Till, American actor
• August 15 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress
• August 17 – Rachel Hurd-Wood, British actress
• August 23 - Wesley Singerman, American record producer, songwriter and guitarist, and voice actor
• August 29 - Nicole Gale Anderson, American actress
• September 9 – Klaudia Tiitsmaa, Estonian actress
• September 20 – Saara Kadak, Estonian actress
• September 21
• * Christian Serratos, American actress
• * Allison Scagliotti, American actress and director
• October 22 – Jonathan Lipnicki, American actor
• November 2 – Kendall Schmidt, American actor
• November 4 - Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Canadian actor
• December 1 – Jack O'Connell, actor
• December 20 – JoJo, American singer-songwriter and actress
• December 23 - Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress and singer

  Notable deaths

Debuts

• Hank Azaria – Pretty Woman
• Javier Bardem – The Ages of Lulu
• Benjamin Bratt – Bright Angel
• Julie Benz – Two Evil Eyes
• Robert Carlyle – Silent Scream
• Harry Connick Jr. – Memphis Belle
• Kevin Connolly – Rocky V
• Russell Crowe – Blood Oath
• Hope Davis – Home Alone
• Vin Diesel – Awakenings
• Brad Garrett – '
• Balthazar Getty – Lord of the Flies
• Brendan Gleeson – The Field
• Marcia Gay Harden – Miller's Crossing
• Djimon Hounsou – Without You I'm Nothing
• Lisa Kudrow – Impulse
• Nia Long – Buried Alive
• George Lopez - Ski Patrol
• Samantha Mathis – Pump Up the Volume
• Joseph Mazzello – Presumed Innocent
• Julianne Moore – '
• Chris O'Donnell – Men Don't Leave
• Robert Patrick – Die Hard 2
• Guy Pearce – Heaven Tonight
• Christina Ricci – Mermaids
• Rob Schneider – Martians Go Home
• Tom Sizemore – Blue Steel
• Catherine Zeta-Jones – Les 1001 Nuits