This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekly box office in the United States during 1980 per Variety. The data was based on grosses from 20 to 22 key cities and therefore, the gross quoted may not be the total that the film grossed nationally in the week.
| Week ending | Film | Gross | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,287,481 | [1] | |||
| 2 | Kramer vs. Kramer | $1,897,954 | Kramer vs. Kramer reached number one in its third week of release | [2] | |
| 3 | $2,018,194 | [3] | |||
| 4 | $1,655,591 | Kramer vs. Kramer grossed $3 million for the weekend ended January 20 from all national markets | [4] [5] | ||
| 5 | $1,541,864 | Kramer vs. Kramer grossed $3 million for the weekend ended January 27 from all national markets | [6] [7] | ||
| 6 | The Silent Scream | $1,919,563 | The Silent Scream reached number one in its third week on the chart | [8] | |
| 7 | American Gigolo | $1,463,443 | American Gigolo reached number one in its second week of release | [9] | |
| 8 | Cruising | $1,694,803 | Cruising grossed $5,096,223 in its opening 5 days. Kramer vs. Kramer grossed $2.8 million for the weekend ended February 17 | [10] [11] [12] | |
| 9 | $1,229,186 | [13] | |||
| 10 | The Fog | $1,599,290 | The Fog reached number one in its fifth week of release | [14] | |
| 11 | All That Jazz | $1,144,802 | All That Jazz reached number one in its twelfth week of release | [15] | |
| 12 | Coal Miner's Daughter | $1,005,036 | Coal Miner's Daughter reached number one in its second week of release | [16] | |
| 13 | Kramer vs. Kramer | $1,809,419 | Kramer vs. Kramer returned to number one in its 14th week of release. It grossed $1.6 million for the weekend ended March 23 from all markets | [17] [18] | |
| 14 | Little Darlings | $1,918,892 | Little Darlings reached number one in its second week of release | [19] | |
| 15 | $1,545,554 | [20] | |||
| 16 | Kramer vs. Kramer | $1,194,160 | Kramer vs. Kramer returned to number one in its 17th week of release. It grossed $1.6 million for the weekend ended April 13 from all markets | [21] [22] | |
| 17 | $1,335,476 | Kramer vs. Kramer grossed $1.8 million for the weekend ended April 20 from all markets | [23] [24] | ||
| 18 | $1,078,596 | Kramer vs. Kramer grossed $1.4 million for the weekend ended April 27 from all markets. Where the Buffalo Roam grossed $1.8 million. | [25] [26] | ||
| 19 | $847,617 | Kramer vs. Kramer grossed $1.1 million for the weekend ended May 4 from all markets | [27] [28] | ||
| 20 | Friday the 13th | $2,237,500 | Friday the 13th grossed $5,816,321 for the weekend ended May 11 from all markets | [29] [30] | |
| 21 | $1,945,657 | [31] | |||
| 22 | The Empire Strikes Back | $4,064,022 | The Empire Strikes Back grossed $6,415,804 for the 4-day Memorial Day weekend from all markets | [32] [33] | |
| 23 | $3,415,791 | [34] | |||
| 24 | $3,225,299 | The Empire Strikes Back grossed $4,339,769 for the weekend ended June 8 from all markets | [35] [36] | ||
| 25 | $2,817,077 | The Empire Strikes Back grossed $3,606,000 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended June 15. Bronco Billy grossed $3,708,710 | [37] [38] | ||
| 26 | $3,711,553 | The Empire Strikes Back grossed $10,840,307 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended June 22 | [39] [40] | ||
| 27 | $3,416,490 | The Empire Strikes Back grossed $9,217,874 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended June 29 | [41] [42] | ||
| 28 | $2,893,659 | The Empire Strikes Back grossed $8,309,772 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended July 6 | [43] [44] | ||
| 29 | Airplane! | $2,739,328 | Airplane! reached number one in its third week of release grossing $7,105,024 for the five days to July 13 from all markets. The Empire Strikes Back grossed $6,652,858 nationally from all markets for the 3-day weekend | [45] [46] [47] | |
| 30 | $2,662,155 | [48] | |||
| 31 | $2,096,358 | [49] | |||
| 32 | $2,209,013 | The Empire Strikes Back was number one nationally for the 3-day weekend with a gross of $5,758,759 from all markets | [50] [51] [52] | ||
| 33 | Dressed to Kill | $1,745,388 | Dressed to Kill reached number one in its third week of release. It grossed $2,942,000 for the weekend ended August 10 from all markets. The Empire Strikes Back grossed $4,554,679 for the weekend | [53] [54] [55] | |
| 34 | Smokey and the Bandit II | $1,860,800 | Smokey and the Bandit II grossed $10,883,835 nationally for the weekend ended August 17, a record August opening | [56] [57] [58] | |
| 35 | $2,140,529 | Smokey and the Bandit II grossed $8,395,755 nationally for the weekend ended August 24 | [59] [60] | ||
| 36 | $1,451,882 | [61] | |||
| 37 | $820,196 | [62] | |||
| 38 | The Exterminator | $1,143,000 | [63] | ||
| 39 | $858,000 | [64] | |||
| 40 | Hopscotch | $1,252,492 | Hopscotch grossed $2,552,864 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended September 28 | [65] [66] | |
| 41 | $1,126,721 | [67] | |||
| 42 | Private Benjamin | $1,187,114 | Private Benjamin grossed $4,739,769 from all markets for the weekend ended October 12 | [68] [69] [70] | |
| 43 | $1,201,574 | Private Benjamin grossed $4,935,571 from all markets for the weekend ended October 19 | [71] | ||
| 44 | $1,954,556 | [72] | |||
| 45 | $1,756,902 | [73] | |||
| 46 | $1,628,001 | [74] | |||
| 47 | $1,281,696 | [75] | |||
| 48 | $1,016,984 | [76] | |||
| 49 | $872,420 | [77] | |||
| 50 | Flash Gordon | $1,428,771 | Flash Gordon grossed $3,934,030 from all markets for the weekend ended December 7 | [78] [79] [80] | |
| 51 | Stir Crazy | $2,463,066 | Stir Crazy grossed $8.7 million nationally from all markets for the weekend ended December 14 | [81] [82] [83] | |
| 52 | $2,371,298 | Stir Crazy grossed $6,656,501 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended December 21. Any Which Way You Can grossed $8,024,663 | [84] [85] [86] | ||
| 53 | $2,424,829 | Stir Crazy grossed $7,938,584 for the weekend ended December 28. Any Which Way You Can grossed $10,091,105 | [87] [88] | ||
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Rental[89] [90] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Empire Strikes Back | 20th Century Fox | $120,000,000 | |
| 2 | Kramer vs. Kramer | Columbia Pictures | $60,528,000 | |
| 3 | The Jerk | Universal Pictures | $43,000,000 | |
| 4 | Airplane! | Paramount Pictures | $38,000,000 | |
| 5 | Smokey and the Bandit II | Universal Pictures | $37,600,000 | |
| 6 | Coal Miner's Daughter | Universal Pictures | $36,000,000 | |
| 7 | Private Benjamin | Warner Bros. | $33,500,000 | |
| 8 | The Blues Brothers | Universal Pictures | $31,000,000 | |
| 9 | The Electric Horseman | Columbia Pictures | $30,917,000 | |
| 10 | The Shining | Warner Bros. | $30,200,000 |