1986 Top-Grossing Movies in North America

This chart ranks movies by their total cumulative North American box office earnings for movies released in 1986. Each movie is ranked by its total gross across all years it played, not just earnings during 1986.

To see the top-grossing movies that earned money during 1986 (including movies released in previous years), click the “Earned in 1986” button below.

Worldwide Domestic International

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Earned in 1986

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Rank	Movie	Release Date	Distributor	Genre	1986 Domestic Gross	Tickets Sold
1	Top Gun	May 16, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Action	$186,998,815	48,279,829
2	Crocodile Dundee	Sep 26, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$174,803,506	46,493,463
3	Platoon	Dec 19, 1986	Orion Pictures	Drama	$137,963,328	35,406,375
4	The Karate Kid, Part II	Jun 20, 1986	Sony Pictures	Action	$115,103,979	31,025,331
5	Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home	Nov 26, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$109,713,132	29,215,933
6	Back to School	Jun 13, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$91,258,000	24,597,843
7	Aliens	Jul 18, 1986	20th Century Fox	Action	$85,160,248	22,954,244
8	The Golden Child	Dec 12, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Action	$79,817,937	21,165,211
9	Ruthless People	Jun 27, 1986	Walt Disney	Black Comedy	$71,624,879	19,305,897
10	Ferris Bueller’s Day Off	Jun 11, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$70,136,369	18,904,681
11	Down and Out in Beverly Hills	Jan 31, 1986	Walt Disney	Comedy	$62,134,225	16,747,769
12	The Color of Money	Oct 17, 1986	Walt Disney	Drama	$52,293,000	13,992,565
13	Stand by Me	Aug 8, 1986	Sony Pictures	Drama	$52,287,414	14,120,597
14	Legal Eagles	Jun 18, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$49,851,591	13,437,086
15	Cobra	May 23, 1986	Cannon	Action	$49,042,224	13,218,928
16	An American Tail	Nov 21, 1986	Universal	Adventure	$47,483,002	12,734,990
17	Police Academy 3: Back in Tra…	Mar 21, 1986	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$43,579,163	11,746,405
18	Heartbreak Ridge	Dec 5, 1986	Warner Bros.	Drama	$42,724,017	11,420,882
19	Peggy Sue Got Married	Oct 10, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$41,382,841	11,127,335
20	Poltergeist II: The Other Side	May 23, 1986	MGM	Horror	$40,996,665	11,050,314
21	Short Circuit	May 9, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$40,697,761	10,969,746
22	Pretty in Pink	Feb 28, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$40,471,663	10,908,804
23	Hannah and Her Sisters	Feb 7, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$40,084,041	10,740,301
24	Three Amigos	Dec 12, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$39,246,734	10,471,202
25	Little Shop of Horrors	Dec 19, 1986	Warner Bros.	Musical	$38,946,965	10,275,010
26	About Last Night...	Jul 1, 1986	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$38,702,310	10,431,889
27	Running Scared	Jun 27, 1986	MGM	Comedy	$38,500,726	10,377,554
28	The Fly	Aug 15, 1986	20th Century Fox	Horror	$37,585,000	10,130,727
29	The Money Pit	Mar 26, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$37,499,651	10,107,722
30	Gung Ho	Mar 14, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$36,611,610	9,868,358
31	Nothing in Common	Jul 30, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$32,324,000	8,712,668
32	Children of a Lesser God	Oct 3, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$31,853,080	8,479,076
33	The Great Mouse Detective	Jul 2, 1986	Walt Disney	Adventure	$30,700,858	6,362,677
34	Hoosiers	Nov 14, 1986	Orion Pictures	Drama	$28,607,524	7,400,439
35	Soul Man	Oct 24, 1986	New World	Comedy	$27,316,198	7,362,856
36	Wildcats	Feb 14, 1986	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$26,285,544	7,085,052
37	Jumpin' Jack Flash	Oct 10, 1986	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$25,587,804	6,896,982
38	Heartburn	Jul 25, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$25,314,289	6,823,258
39	The Morning After	Dec 25, 1986	20th Century Fox	Thriller/Suspense	$25,147,055	6,645,007
40	Iron Eagle	Jan 17, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Action	$24,159,872	6,512,094
41	Crimes of the Heart	Dec 12, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Black Comedy	$22,905,000	6,060,525
42	Tough Guys	Oct 3, 1986	Walt Disney	Comedy	$21,458,229	5,783,889
43	A Room with a View	Mar 7, 1986	Cinecom	Drama	$20,966,644	5,626,587
44	F/X	Feb 7, 1986	Orion Pictures	Action	$20,603,715	5,553,561
45	Friday the 13th Part VI: Jaso…	Aug 1, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$19,472,057	5,248,532
46	House	Feb 28, 1986	New World	Horror	$19,444,631	5,241,140
47	Flight of the Navigator	Jul 30, 1986	Walt Disney	Adventure	$18,564,613	5,003,938
48	Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Ca…	May 2, 1986	Sony Pictures	Drama	$18,034,150	4,860,956
49	The Mission	Oct 31, 1986	Warner Bros.	Drama	$17,218,000	4,444,447
50	The Delta Force	Feb 14, 1986	Cannon	Action	$17,005,599	4,583,719
51	Howard the Duck	Aug 1, 1986	Universal	Action	$16,295,774	4,392,391
52	Raw Deal	Jun 6, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Action	$16,209,459	4,369,126
53	Armed and Dangerous	Aug 15, 1986	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$15,945,534	4,297,987
54	Legend	Apr 18, 1986	Universal	Adventure	$15,502,112	4,178,466
55	Youngblood	Jan 31, 1986	MGM	Drama	$15,448,400	4,163,989
56	Psycho III	Jul 2, 1986	Universal	Horror	$14,481,606	3,903,397
57	The Mosquito Coast	Dec 1, 1986	Warner Bros.	Drama	$14,302,000	3,695,098
58	Sweet Liberty	May 14, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$14,205,021	3,828,846
59	One Crazy Summer	Aug 8, 1986	Warner Bros.	Romantic Comedy	$13,431,806	3,620,432
60	Extremities	Aug 22, 1986	Atlantic	Thriller/Suspense	$13,418,091	3,616,736
61	Critters	Apr 11, 1986	New Line	Horror	$13,167,232	3,549,119
62	April Fool's Day	Mar 27, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$12,947,763	3,489,963
63	Labyrinth	Jun 27, 1986	Sony Pictures	Adventure	$12,729,917	3,431,244
64	Club Paradise	Jul 11, 1986	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$12,308,521	3,317,660
65	No Mercy	Dec 19, 1986	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$12,303,904	3,177,083
66	Brighton Beach Memoirs	Dec 25, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$11,957,943	3,114,662
67	Firewalker	Nov 21, 1986	Cannon	Adventure	$11,834,302	3,189,838
68	Big Trouble in Little China	Jul 1, 1986	20th Century Fox	Action	$11,100,000	2,991,913
69	Under the Cherry Moon	Jul 2, 1986	Warner Bros.	Musical	$10,090,429	2,719,792
70	Murphy's Law	Apr 18, 1986	Cannon	Action	$9,947,631	2,681,302
71	SpaceCamp	Jun 6, 1986	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$9,697,739	2,613,945
72	Deadly Friend	Oct 10, 1986	Warner Bros.	Horror	$8,988,731	2,422,838
73	Manhunter	Aug 15, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Thriller/Suspense	$8,620,929	2,334,365
74	Blue Velvet	Sep 19, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Thriller/Suspense	$8,551,228	2,214,606
75	Care Bears Movie II: A New Ge…	Mar 7, 1986	Sony Pictures	Adventure	$8,540,346	2,301,980
76	Wise Guys	Apr 18, 1986	MGM	Black Comedy	$8,475,466	2,284,492
77	Something Wild	Oct 22, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$8,362,000	2,253,908
78	Lucas	Mar 28, 1986	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$8,200,000	2,210,242
79	Haunted Honeymoon	Jul 25, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$8,033,397	2,165,336
80	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2	Aug 22, 1986	Cannon	Horror	$8,025,872	2,163,307
81	The Best of Times	Jan 31, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$7,790,931	2,099,981
82	Quicksilver	Feb 14, 1986	Sony Pictures	Drama	$7,634,909	2,057,926
83	Maximum Overdrive	Jul 25, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Horror	$7,433,663	2,003,682
84	Witchboard	Dec 31, 1986	Cinema Guild	Horror	$7,369,373	1,901,986
85	The Boy Who Could Fly	Aug 15, 1986	20th Century Fox	Drama	$7,177,431	1,934,617
86	The Name of the Rose	Sep 24, 1986	20th Century Fox		$7,153,000	1,928,032
87	She’s Gotta Have It	Aug 8, 1986	Island	Comedy	$7,137,502	1,920,325
88	Blue City	May 2, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Action	$6,947,000	1,872,506
89	Nine 1/2 Weeks	Feb 21, 1986	MGM	Thriller/Suspense	$6,734,844	1,815,321
90	Black Moon Rising	Jan 10, 1986	New World	Action	$6,637,565	1,789,101
91	Just Between Friends	Mar 21, 1986	Orion Pictures	Drama	$6,408,791	1,727,436
92	A Fine Mess	Aug 8, 1986	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$6,029,824	1,625,289
93	Trick or Treat	Oct 24, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Horror	$6,000,000	1,617,250
94	My Little Pony: The Movie	Jun 6, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Adventure	$5,958,456	1,606,052
95	Highlander	Mar 7, 1986	20th Century Fox	Action	$5,900,000	1,590,296
96	The Transformers: The Movie	Aug 8, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Adventure	$5,849,647	1,576,724
97	The Hitcher	Feb 21, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Horror	$5,844,868	1,575,436
98	Crossroads	Mar 14, 1986	Sony Pictures	Drama	$5,839,031	1,573,862
99	Mona Lisa	Jun 13, 1986	Island	Thriller/Suspense	$5,794,000	1,561,725
100	Wisdom	Dec 31, 1986	20th Century Fox		$5,715,174	1,489,175