1984 in film explained
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 (the highest-grossing film worldwide that year); Spielberg also executive produced the fourth placed Gremlins.[1]
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.[1] Beverly Hills Cop made it three for films released in 1984 after its performance during 1985 took it to rentals of $108 million.[2] 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
See also: List of 1984 box office number-one films in the United States. The top ten 1984 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1984[3] | Rank | Title | Distributor | Box-office gross |
|---|
| 1 | Ghostbusters | Columbia | $229,242,989 |
|---|
| 2 | Beverly Hills Cop | Paramount | $224,760,478 |
|---|
| 3 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | $179,870,271 |
|---|
| 4 | Gremlins | Warner Bros. | $153,083,102 |
|---|
| 5 | The Karate Kid | Columbia | $90,815,558[4] [5] [6] |
|---|
| 6 | Police Academy | Warner Bros. | $81,198,894 |
|---|
| 7 | Footloose | Paramount | $80,035,402 |
|---|
| 8 | Romancing the Stone | 20th Century Fox | $76,572,238 |
|---|
| 9 | | Paramount | $76,471,076 |
|---|
| 10 | Splash | Buena Vista | $69,821,334 | |
|---|
International
| International market | Title | Director | Production country | Revenue | Admissions | Source(s) |
|---|
| Brazil | Gremlins | Joe Dante | United States | $1,505,985 | | [7] |
| France | Marche à l'ombre | Michel Blanc | France | | 6,168,425 | [8] |
| Hong Kong | Aces Go Places 3 | Tsui Hark | Hong Kong | | | [9] |
| India | Tohfa | K. Raghavendra Rao | India | | | [10] |
| Italy | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Steven Spielberg | United States | | 838,309 | [11] |
| Japan | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Steven Spielberg | United States | | | [12] |
| South Korea | Project A | Jackie Chan | Hong Kong | ₩ | 396,436 | [13] [14] [15] |
| Soviet Union | Disco Dancer | Babbar Subhash | India | $75,900,000 | 60,900,000 | [16] |
| Spain | Gremlins | Joe Dante | United States | $4,255,642 | 3,202,047 | [17] |
| United States and Canada | Beverly Hills Cop | Martin Brest | United States | $234,760,478 | 67,150,000 | [18] |
| West Germany | Police Academy | Hugh Wilson | United States | | 5,187,443 | [19] | |
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, .
- 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 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 $177.2 million[20] going on to gross $229.2 million in its initial run.[21] It is overtaken by Beverly Hills Cop in summer 1985[22] but regains the record after its re-release in August 1985.[23] It also became the biggest grossing film released by Columbia Pictures.
- 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
By genre/medium
Births
- January 1 - Kollam Sudhi, Indian actor and comedian (d. 2023)
- January 6
- January 7 - Max Riemelt, German actor
- January 8 - Steven Kanumba, Tanzanian actor and director (d. 2012)[24]
- January 12
- January 21
- January 25 - Kaiji Tang, voice actor
- January 31 – Michael Aloni, Israeli actor
- February 1
- 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
- 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
- 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
- April 2
- April 3 - Chrissie Fit, American actress and singer
- April 4 - Carolina Gaitán, Colombian actress and singer
- April 8
- April 10
- Cara DeLizia, American actress
- Mandy Moore, American singer-songwriter and 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 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
- 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 26
- June 29 - Carla Medina, Mexican singer, actress and television host
- June 30 - Fantasia Barrino, American singer and actress
- July 1
- 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
- July 12 - Mikaela Hoover, American actress
- July 14 - Britta Soll, Estonian actress
- July 17 - Mary Nighy, English actress and filmmaker
- July 19
- July 20 - Jacky Heung, Hong Kong actor
- July 25 - Zawe Ashton, English actress, playwright, director and narrator
- July 27
- July 28 - John David Washington, American actor and producer
- July 29 - J. Madison Wright Morris, American actress (d. 2006)
- July 30
- August 3
- 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 – Him Law, Hong Kong actor
- September 3
- 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
- September 17 - Mark Shandii Bacolod, Filipino director and producer (d. 2022)
- September 18
- September 19
- 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
- October 2 - John Morris, American actor
- October 3
- October 4 - Will Theakston, former English actor
- October 5
- 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
- October 25 - Katy Perry, American singer-songwriter and actress
- October 27
- 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
- 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
- November 30 - Lydia Wilson, English-American actress
- December 5
- December 11 - Sandra Echeverría, Mexican actress and singer
- 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
- December 29 - Chris Pang, Australian actor and producer
Deaths
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
|---|
| January | 6 | | 85 | Hungary | Cinematographer | |
| 7 | | 85 | UK | Director | |
| 11 | | 70 | US | Actor | |
| 20 | | 79 | US | Actor | |
| 29 | | 93 | US | Screenwriter | |
| February | 11 | | 82 | France | Actress | |
| 15 | | 76 | US | Singer, Actress | |
| 17 | | 69 | US | Actress | |
| 29 | | 87 | US | Set Designer | |
| March | 1 | | 69 | US | Actor | |
| 1 | | 83 | UK | Actor | |
| 4 | | 82 | US | Cinematographer | |
| 5 | | 91 | US | Actor | |
| 6 | | 78 | Dominica | Actor | |
| 10 | | 64 | India | Actor | |
| 18 | | 76 | US | Lyricist | |
| 20 | | 69 | US | Film Editor | |
| 21 | | 80 | US | Cinematographer | |
| 24 | | 93 | US | Actor | |
| 27 | | 75 | US | Director, Choreographer | |
| 27 | | 60 | UK | Actor | |
| 28 | | 69 | US | Composer | |
| April | 1 | | 73 | US | Producer | |
| 2 | | 80 | US | Producer, Director | |
| 7 | | 79 | US | Producer, Screenwriter | |
| 10 | | 77 | US | Actor | |
| 13 | | 73 | UK | Actor | |
| 14 | | 80 | UK | Director, Film Editor | |
| 15 | | 85 | US | Cinematographer | |
| 16 | | 84 | US | Director | |
| 18 | | 71 | UK | Actor | |
| 18 | | 81 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 25 | | 64 | Italy | Actor | |
| 26 | | 84 | US | Actress | |
| May | 4 | | 52 | UK | Actress | |
| 10 | | 57 | US | Director | |
| 12 | | 68 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 13 | | 75 | Spain | Costume Designer | |
| 16 | | 35 | US | Actor | |
| 16 | | 71 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 20 | | 72 | UK | Actor | |
| 21 | | 72 | US | Actress | |
| 21 | | 93 | US | Actress | |
| 22 | | 76 | US | Actor | |
| 28 | | 45 | US | Actor, Director | |
| June | 1 | | 80 | US | Actress | |
| 15 | | 78 | Poland | Actor | |
| 17 | | 88 | US | Sound Engineer | |
| 17 | | 79 | Japan | Director, Screenwriter | |
| 18 | | 81 | Argentina | Director, Screenwriter | |
| 19 | | 30 | US | Actress | |
| 20 | | 101 | UK | Actress | |
| 22 | | 75 | US | Director | |
| 24 | | 94 | US | Director | |
| 26 | | 69 | US | Screenwriter, Producer | |
| 30 | | 79 | US | Screenwriter | |
| July | 2 | | 87 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 7 | | 82 | UK | Actress | |
| 11 | | 81 | UK | Actor | |
| 14 | | 56 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 23 | | 76 | US | Actor | |
| 23 | | 69 | UK | Actor | |
| 24 | | 59 | US | Actor | |
| 25 | | 56 | Japan | Actor | |
| 26 | Roger H. Lewis | 66 | US | Producer | |
| 27 | | 75 | UK | Actor | |
| 29 | | 61 | US | Actor | |
| August | 2 | | 88 | Argentina | Director | |
| 4 | | 75 | US | Actor | |
| 4 | | 82 | US | Actress | |
| 5 | | 58 | UK | Actor | |
| 5 | | 70 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 8 | | 63 | US | Actor | |
| 14 | | 89 | UK | Screenwriter | |
| 19 | | 80 | US | Actor | |
| 25 | | 59 | US | Screenwriter, Actor | |
| 25 | | 89 | US | Director, Screenwriter | |
| 29 | | 94 | Italy | Actress | |
| 30 | | 73 | US | Composer | |
| September | 3 | | 83 | US | Composer, Producer | |
| 6 | | 76 | US | Actor | |
| 11 | | 61 | US | Film Editor | |
| 14 | | 77 | US | Actress | |
| 17 | | 70 | US | Actor | |
| 19 | | 64 | US | Actress | |
| 24 | | 85 | US | Actor | |
| 25 | | 87 | Canada | Actor | |
| October | 9 | Joan Young | 84 | UK | Actress | |
| 10 | | 57 | UK | Actor | |
| 11 | | 82 | US | Director | |
| 16 | | 52 | US | Actress | |
| 21 | | 52 | France | Director, Screenwriter, Actor | |
| 23 | | 61 | Austria | Actor | |
| 24 | | 84 | US | Actor | |
| 24 | | 66 | US | Actress | |
| 25 | | 25 | France | Actress | |
| 30 | | 66 | UK | Actress | |
| 31 | | 84 | Italy | Actor, Screenwriter, Director | |
| November | 1 | | 74 | US | Screenwriter, Director | |
| 3 | Milo Anderson | 75 | US | Costume Designer | |
| 7 | | 73 | US | Actor | |
| 13 | | 66 | US | Actress | |
| 20 | | 62 | UK | Actor | |
| December | 2 | | 72 | US | Composer | |
| 7 | | 65 | US | Actress | |
| 8 | | 81 | US | Actor | |
| 11 | | 73 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 11 | | 81 | US | Director | |
| 13 | | 89 | US | Actress | |
| 19 | | 78 | Mexico | Art Director | |
| 24 | | 53 | UK | Actor | |
| 24 | | 61 | UK | Actor | |
| 24 | | 72 | UK | Cinematographer | |
| 28 | | 59 | US | Director, Screenwriter | |
| 29 | | 84 | US | Songwriter | | |
External links
Notes and References
- News: 'Ghostbusters' Tops Comedies . . January 16, 1985 . 16.
- News: Nobody Climbed $100-Mil Mountain . . January 1986.
- Web site: 1984 Domestic Grosses . . 7 April 2014.
- News: Thomas . Bob . Bob Thomas (reporter) . The Karate Kid Returns . 8 June 2020 . . . November 6, 1985 . It is the film location for Columbia Pictures' "Karate Kid II," a sequel to Hollywood's biggest sleeper of 1984. "The Karate Kid" surprised almost everyone by amassing a domestic gross of . That's phenomenal for a modest film with no stars and a title that sounded like a combination of Bruce Lee and a kidflick..
- News: Siskel . Gene . Gene Siskel . Ralph Macchio's Baby Face Can't Mask Maturing Talent . 27 January 2021 . . 15 June 1986.
- News: Hurlburt . Roger . 'Karate Kid II' Kayos Legacy Of Predecessor . https://web.archive.org/web/20200921053937/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1986-06-20-8602060335-story.html . 27 January 2021 . . 20 June 1986 . 2020-09-21 . live.
- . 'Gremlins' Hits In Int'l Marts . 43 . February 15, 1985 . highest-grossing film ever by WB in Iberia, taking in $4,255,642
$1,505,985 in five weeks of release, making it the highest-grossing film [in Brazil] in 1984.
- Web site: Bilan Annuel France - 1984 . JP's Box-Office . 12 December 2018.
- Web site: Hong Kong Film Archive . . 26 April 2019 . 24 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200724130310/https://ipac.hkfa.lcsd.gov.hk/ipac/cclib/ipac.jsp?cs=iso-8859-1 . dead .
- Web site: Box Office 1984 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130115225607/http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=190&catName=MTk4NA. dead . 15 January 2013 . . 15 January 2013.
- Web site: Bilan Annuel Italie - 1984 . JP's Box-Office . 12 December 2018 . 24 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200724130253/http://www.jpbox-office.com/bilanitalie.php?year=1984 . dead .
- Web site: 1984年（1月～12月） . Eiren . Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan . 20 November 2018.
- Web site: 【ジャッキーチェン興行成績】 第10回：韓国での興行収入 . KungFu Tube . 5 September 2010 . 7 December 2018 . ja.
- Web site: KOFIC 영화관 입장권 통합전산망 . . September 2018 . 8 November 2018 . ko.
- Book: Park, Seung Hyun . A Cultural Interpretation of Korean Cinema, 1988-1997 . 2000 . . 119 . Average Ticket Prices in Korea, 1974-1997 [...] * Source: Korea Cinema Yearbook (1997-1998) * Currency: won [...] Foreign [...] 1984 [...] 3,000.
- https://books.google.com/books?id=cpoLAQAAMAAJ Indian Films in Soviet Cinemas: The Culture of Movie-going After Stalin
- Web site: Bilan Annuel Espagne - 1984 . JP's Box-Office . 12 December 2018 . 16 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181216030906/http://www.jpbox-office.com/bilanespagne.php?year=1984 . dead .
- Web site: Beverly Hills Cop (1984) . . 12 December 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223203/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beverlyhillscop.htm&adjust_yr=1&p=.htm . 2018-12-15.
- Web site: Bilan Annuel Allemagne - 1984 . JP's Box-Office . 12 December 2018 . 15 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181215222236/http://www.jpbox-office.com/bilanall.php?year=1984 . dead .
- Web site: Tootsie . . May 30, 2018.
- Web site: Ghostbusters . . May 30, 2018.
- Web site: Beverly Hills Cop . . May 30, 2018.
- Web site: Ghostbusters . . May 30, 2018.
- News: Tanzania: Kanumba's Mother - My Son Was the Most Precious Gift . April 8, 2012 . Tanzania Daily News . Meddy Mulisa . December 6, 2021.
