1985 Top-Grossing Movies in North America

This chart ranks movies by their total cumulative North American box office earnings for movies released in 1985. Each movie is ranked by its total gross across all years it played, not just earnings during 1985.

To see the top-grossing movies that earned money during 1985 (including movies released in previous years), click the “Earned in 1985” button below.

Worldwide Domestic International

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Earned in 1985

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Rank	Movie	Release Date	Distributor	Genre	1985 Domestic Gross	Tickets Sold
1	Back to the Future	Jul 3, 1985	Universal	Adventure	$225,267,287	58,770,880
2	Rambo: First Blood Part II	May 22, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Action	$150,415,432	42,370,544
3	Rocky IV	Nov 27, 1985	MGM	Drama	$127,873,716	35,749,263
4	The Color Purple	Dec 18, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$94,029,472	25,513,943
5	Out of Africa	Dec 18, 1985	Universal	Drama	$79,096,868	21,644,091
6	Cocoon	Jun 21, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$76,257,348	21,480,943
7	The Dream is Alive	Jun 30, 1985	IMAX Films	Documentary	$70,000,000	19,718,309
8	The Goonies	Jun 7, 1985	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$69,427,173	19,020,897
9	The Jewel of the Nile	Dec 11, 1985	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$68,275,764	18,934,553
10	Witness	Feb 8, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$65,532,576	18,459,880
11	Spies Like Us	Dec 6, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$60,083,467	16,726,545
12	Police Academy 2: Their First…	Mar 29, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$55,337,042	15,587,899
13	A View to a Kill	May 24, 1985	MGM	Action	$50,327,960	14,176,890
14	National Lampoon’s European V…	Jul 26, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$49,400,000	13,915,492
15	Fletch	May 31, 1985	Universal	Comedy	$46,700,000	13,154,929
16	The Breakfast Club	Feb 15, 1985	Universal	Comedy	$46,434,721	12,969,368
17	Mask	Mar 8, 1985	Universal	Drama	$42,417,782	11,948,670
18	White Nights	Nov 22, 1985	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$42,160,849	11,726,955
19	Pale Rider	Jun 28, 1985	Warner Bros.	Western	$41,410,568	11,664,948
20	Pee Wee's Big Adventure	Jul 26, 1985	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$40,940,662	11,532,580
21	Brewster's Millions	May 22, 1985	Universal	Comedy	$40,800,000	11,492,957
22	Jagged Edge	Oct 4, 1985	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$40,491,165	11,385,028
23	St. Elmo’s Fire	Jun 28, 1985	Sony Pictures	Drama	$37,800,000	10,653,041
24	Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome	Jul 10, 1985	Warner Bros.	Action	$36,230,219	10,205,695
25	Commando	Oct 4, 1985	20th Century Fox	Action	$35,073,978	9,879,993
26	Silverado	Jul 10, 1985	Sony Pictures	Western	$33,200,000	9,352,112
27	Teen Wolf	Aug 23, 1985	Atlantic	Comedy	$33,086,611	9,320,172
28	The Last Dragon	Mar 22, 1985	Sony Pictures	Action	$33,000,000	9,295,774
29	Murphy's Romance	Dec 25, 1985	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$30,762,621	8,336,461
30	A Nightmare on Elm Street Par…	Nov 1, 1985	New Line	Horror	$29,999,213	5,961,689
31	Desperately Seeking Susan	Mar 29, 1985	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$27,400,000	7,718,309
32	Prizzi's Honor	Jun 14, 1985	20th Century Fox	Black Comedy	$26,700,000	7,521,126
33	Agnes of God	Sep 13, 1985	Sony Pictures	Drama	$25,627,836	7,219,108
34	Fright Night	Aug 2, 1985	Sony Pictures	Horror	$24,922,237	7,020,348
35	Summer Rental	Aug 9, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$24,671,000	6,949,577
36	The Emerald Forest	Jul 3, 1985	Avco Embassy	Drama	$24,468,550	6,892,549
37	Santa Claus	Nov 29, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Adventure	$23,717,291	6,679,418
38	The Care Bears Movie	Mar 29, 1985	Samuel Goldwyn Fi…	Adventure	$22,934,000	6,460,281
39	Friday the 13th: A New Beginn…	Mar 22, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$21,930,418	6,177,582
40	The Black Cauldron	Jul 24, 1985	Walt Disney	Adventure	$21,288,692	5,996,814
41	Porky’s Revenge	Mar 22, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$20,518,000	5,779,718
42	Code of Silence	May 3, 1985	Orion Pictures	Action	$20,345,361	5,731,087
43	Volunteers	Aug 16, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$19,875,740	5,598,800
44	Young Sherlock Holmes	Dec 4, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$19,739,000	5,524,829
45	Year of the Dragon	Aug 16, 1985	MGM	Action	$18,707,466	5,269,708
46	Ladyhawke	Apr 12, 1985	Warner Bros.	Action	$18,400,000	5,183,098
47	The Sure Thing	Mar 1, 1985	Embassy	Comedy	$18,136,000	5,108,732
48	Invasion U.S.A.	Sep 27, 1985	Cannon	Action	$17,536,256	4,939,790
49	To Live and Die in L.A.	Nov 1, 1985	MGM	Action	$17,307,019	4,867,852
50	The Falcon and the Snowman	Jan 25, 1985	Orion Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$17,130,087	4,825,376
51	Weird Science	Aug 2, 1985	Universal	Comedy	$16,316,258	4,596,129
52	Death Wish 3	Nov 1, 1985	Cannon	Action	$16,116,878	4,539,965
53	King Solomon's Mines	Nov 22, 1985	Cannon	Adventure	$15,057,465	4,238,645
54	Kiss of the Spider Woman	Jul 26, 1985	Island/Alive	Drama	$14,582,182	4,079,381
55	Remo Williams: The Adventure …	Oct 11, 1985	Orion Pictures	Adventure	$14,393,902	4,054,620
56	Baby: Secret of the Lost Lege…	Mar 22, 1985	Walt Disney	Adventure	$14,276,095	4,021,435
57	The Return of the Living Dead	Aug 16, 1985	Orion Pictures	Horror	$14,237,880	4,010,670
58	A Chorus Line	Dec 10, 1985	Sony Pictures	Musical	$14,202,899	3,945,933
59	Tomboy	Jan 1, 1985		Romantic Comedy	$14,100,000	3,971,830
60	Clue	Dec 13, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$14,080,477	3,799,762
61	Sesame Street Presents Follow…	Aug 2, 1985	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$13,961,370	3,932,780
62	One Magic Christmas	Nov 22, 1985	Walt Disney	Drama	$13,229,514	3,726,623
63	Vision Quest	Feb 15, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$13,000,000	3,661,971
64	Real Genius	Aug 7, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$12,952,019	3,648,456
65	Perfect	Jun 7, 1985	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$12,918,858	3,639,114
66	Enemy Mine	Dec 20, 1985	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$12,303,411	3,417,086
67	Lifeforce	Jun 21, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Horror	$11,603,545	3,268,604
68	Just One of the Guys	Apr 26, 1985	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$11,377,655	3,204,973
69	Krush Groove	Oct 25, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$11,052,713	3,113,440
70	Silver Bullet	Oct 11, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$10,803,211	3,043,158
71	Missing in Action 2: The Begi…	Mar 1, 1985	Cannon	Action	$10,755,447	3,029,703
72	After Hours	Sep 13, 1985	Warner Bros.	Black Comedy	$10,673,287	2,881,409
73	The Purple Rose of Cairo	Mar 1, 1985	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$10,631,333	2,994,741
74	Return to Oz	Jun 21, 1985	Walt Disney	Adventure	$10,618,813	2,991,214
75	Compromising Positions	Aug 30, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$10,600,000	2,985,915
76	Moving Violations	Apr 19, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$10,600,000	2,985,915
77	American Ninja	Aug 30, 1985	Cannon	Action	$10,499,000	2,957,464
78	Better Off Dead...	Aug 23, 1985	Warner Bros.	Black Comedy	$10,297,601	2,900,732
79	Lost in America	Feb 15, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$10,079,206	2,839,212
80	Brazil	Dec 18, 1985	Universal	Black Comedy	$9,929,135	2,749,437
81	Once Bitten	Nov 15, 1985	Goldwyn Entertain…	Comedy	$9,917,242	2,793,589
82	Explorers	Jul 12, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$9,873,000	2,781,126
83	The Journey of Natty Gann	Sep 27, 1985	Walt Disney	Adventure	$9,468,512	2,645,665
84	Tuff Turf	Jan 11, 1985	New World	Drama	$9,369,329	2,639,247
85	Sweet Dreams	Oct 2, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Drama	$9,100,000	2,563,380
86	Target	Nov 8, 1985	Warner Bros.	Thriller/Suspense	$9,023,199	2,541,746
87	Cat’s Eye	Apr 12, 1985	MGM	Horror	$9,000,000	2,535,211
88	Gotcha	May 3, 1985	Universal	Action	$8,823,269	2,485,427
89	Mischief	Feb 8, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$8,700,000	2,450,704
90	The Man With One Red Shoe	Jul 19, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$8,645,411	2,435,327
91	That Was Then… This is Now	Nov 8, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$8,630,068	2,431,005
92	Secret Admirer	Jun 14, 1985	Orion Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$8,622,757	2,428,945
93	Runaway Train	Dec 6, 1985	Cannon	Action	$7,936,012	2,145,581
94	Twice in a Lifetime	Oct 23, 1985	Bud Yorkin Co.	Drama	$7,681,246	2,106,040
95	The Trip to Bountiful	Dec 20, 1985	Island	Drama	$7,466,662	2,023,482
96	Transylvania 6-5000	Nov 8, 1985	New World	Comedy	$7,200,000	2,028,169
97	Stick	Apr 26, 1985	Universal	Action	$6,964,734	1,961,896
98	Red Sonja	Jun 28, 1985	MGM	Action	$6,905,861	1,945,312
99	Into the Night	Feb 22, 1985	Universal	Action	$6,720,160	1,893,002
100	D.A.R.Y.L.	Jun 14, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$6,561,653	1,848,352