1985 Top-Grossing Movies (Inflation-Adjusted Dollars)

Note: This chart ranks movies by the amount they earned during 1985. It includes movies released in previous years that earned money during 1985. For example, a movie released over Thanksgiving in 1984 will most likely earn money in 1984 and 1985.

To see the top movies released in 1985 (ranked by their total cumulative gross across all years), click the “Released in 1985” button below.

Inflation-adjusted figures are based on ticket sale estimates.

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Show Actuals Released in 1985

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Rank	Movie	Release Date	Distributor	Genre	1985 Gross Infl. adj.	Tickets Sold
1	Back to the Future	Jul 3, 1985	Universal	Adventure	$651,400,305	54,464,908
2	Rambo: First Blood Part II	May 22, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Action	$506,751,709	42,370,544
3	Beverly Hills Cop	Dec 5, 1984	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$440,961,002	36,869,649
4	Rocky IV	Nov 27, 1985	MGM	Drama	$355,514,844	29,725,321
5	Cocoon	Jun 21, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$256,912,079	21,480,943
6	The Dream is Alive	Jun 30, 1985	IMAX Films	Documentary	$235,830,986	19,718,309
7	The Goonies	Jun 7, 1985	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$224,261,465	18,750,958
8	Witness	Feb 8, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$220,780,172	18,459,880
9	Police Academy 2: Their First…	Mar 29, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$186,431,274	15,587,899
10	Fantasia	Nov 13, 1940		Musical	$170,138,183	14,225,600
11	A View to a Kill	May 24, 1985	MGM	Action	$169,555,606	14,176,890
12	National Lampoon’s European V…	Jul 26, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$166,429,296	13,915,492
13	Fletch	May 31, 1985	Universal	Comedy	$157,332,958	13,154,929
14	The Breakfast Club	Feb 15, 1985	Universal	Comedy	$154,554,097	12,922,583
15	Spies Like Us	Dec 6, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$147,408,550	12,325,129
16	The Jewel of the Nile	Dec 11, 1985	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$147,364,368	12,321,435
17	Mask	Mar 8, 1985	Universal	Drama	$142,906,105	11,948,670
18	Pale Rider	Jun 28, 1985	Warner Bros.	Western	$139,512,787	11,664,948
19	Pee Wee\'s Big Adventure	Jul 26, 1985	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$137,929,667	11,532,580
20	Brewster's Millions	May 22, 1985	Universal	Comedy	$137,455,775	11,492,957
21	Jagged Edge	Oct 4, 1985	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$130,610,278	10,920,591
22	St. Elmo’s Fire	Jun 28, 1985	Sony Pictures	Drama	$127,348,732	10,647,887
23	Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome	Jul 10, 1985	Warner Bros.	Action	$122,060,118	10,205,695
24	Commando	Oct 4, 1985	20th Century Fox	Action	$118,164,726	9,879,993
25	Silverado	Jul 10, 1985	Sony Pictures	Western	$111,851,268	9,352,112
26	The Killing Fields	Nov 2, 1984	Warner Bros.	Drama	$111,535,965	9,325,749
27	Teen Wolf	Aug 23, 1985	Atlantic	Comedy	$111,469,258	9,320,172
28	The Last Dragon	Mar 22, 1985	Sony Pictures	Action	$111,177,465	9,295,774
29	Amadeus	Sep 19, 1984	Warner Bros.	Drama	$108,036,119	9,033,120
30	White Nights	Nov 22, 1985	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$100,625,433	8,413,497
31	Desperately Seeking Susan	Mar 29, 1985	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$92,310,986	7,718,309
32	Prizzi's Honor	Jun 14, 1985	20th Century Fox	Black Comedy	$89,952,676	7,521,126
33	Out of Africa	Dec 18, 1985	Universal	Drama	$89,902,805	7,516,956
34	A Passage to India	Dec 14, 1984	Sony Pictures	Drama	$87,078,813	7,280,837
35	Agnes of God	Sep 13, 1985	Sony Pictures	Drama	$86,340,540	7,219,108
36	Fright Night	Aug 2, 1985	Sony Pictures	Horror	$83,963,367	7,020,348
37	Summer Rental	Aug 9, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$83,116,946	6,949,577
38	The Emerald Forest	Jul 3, 1985	Avco Embassy	Drama	$82,434,890	6,892,549
39	Santa Claus	Nov 29, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Adventure	$79,485,624	6,645,955
40	The Gods Must Be Crazy	Jul 9, 1984	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$78,381,349	6,553,624
41	The Care Bears Movie	Mar 29, 1985	Samuel Goldwyn Fi…	Adventure	$77,264,969	6,460,281
42	Friday the 13th Part V: A New…	Mar 22, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$73,883,887	6,177,582
43	The Black Cauldron	Jul 24, 1985	Walt Disney	Adventure	$71,721,903	5,996,814
44	A Nightmare on Elm Street Par…	Nov 1, 1985	New Line	Horror	$71,301,811	5,961,689
45	Porky's Revenge	Mar 22, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$69,125,431	5,779,718
46	101 Dalmatians	Jan 25, 1961		Adventure	$68,544,475	5,731,143
47	Code of Silence	May 3, 1985	Orion Pictures	Action	$68,543,808	5,731,087
48	Volunteers	Aug 16, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$66,961,648	5,598,800
49	Year of the Dragon	Aug 16, 1985	MGM	Action	$63,025,716	5,269,708
50	Ladyhawke	Apr 12, 1985	Warner Bros.	Action	$61,989,859	5,183,098
51	The Sure Thing	Mar 1, 1985	Embassy	Comedy	$61,100,439	5,108,732
52	Invasion U.S.A.	Sep 27, 1985	Cannon	Action	$59,079,893	4,939,790
53	The Falcon and the Snowman	Jan 25, 1985	Orion Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$57,711,504	4,825,376
54	Young Sherlock Holmes	Dec 4, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$56,669,367	4,738,241
55	To Live and Die in L.A.	Nov 1, 1985	MGM	Action	$56,265,476	4,704,471
56	Weird Science	Aug 2, 1985	Universal	Comedy	$54,969,703	4,596,129
57	Death Wish 3	Nov 1, 1985	Cannon	Action	$54,297,989	4,539,965
58	King Solomon's Mines	Nov 22, 1985	Cannon	Adventure	$49,926,222	4,174,433
59	Remo Williams: The Adventure …	Oct 11, 1985	Orion Pictures	Adventure	$48,493,259	4,054,620
60	Baby: Secret of the Lost Lege…	Mar 22, 1985	Walt Disney	Adventure	$48,096,365	4,021,435
61	The Return of the Living Dead	Aug 16, 1985	Orion Pictures	Horror	$47,967,618	4,010,670
62	Tomboy	Jan 1, 1985		Romantic Comedy	$47,503,099	3,971,830
63	Sesame Street Presents Follow…	Aug 2, 1985	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$47,036,052	3,932,780
64	The Color Purple	Dec 18, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$46,887,654	3,920,372
65	One Magic Christmas	Nov 22, 1985	Walt Disney	Drama	$44,570,419	3,726,623
66	Vision Quest	Feb 15, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$43,797,183	3,661,971
67	Real Genius	Aug 7, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$43,635,534	3,648,456
68	Perfect	Jun 7, 1985	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$43,523,815	3,639,114
69	Micki + Maude	Dec 21, 1984	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$43,229,659	3,614,520
70	The Flamingo Kid	Dec 21, 1984	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$42,925,656	3,589,101
71	Kiss of the Spider Woman	Jul 26, 1985	Island/Alive	Drama	$41,286,429	3,452,042
72	Lifeforce	Jun 21, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Horror	$39,092,507	3,268,604
73	Just One of the Guys	Apr 26, 1985	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$38,331,480	3,204,973
74	Clue	Dec 13, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$37,503,720	3,135,762
75	Krush Groove	Oct 25, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$37,236,746	3,113,440
76	Silver Bullet	Oct 11, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$36,396,170	3,043,158
77	Missing in Action 2: The Begi…	Mar 1, 1985	Cannon	Action	$36,235,252	3,029,703
78	The Purple Rose of Cairo	Mar 1, 1985	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$35,817,111	2,994,741
79	Return to Oz	Jun 21, 1985	Walt Disney	Adventure	$35,774,931	2,991,214
80	Protocol	Dec 21, 1984	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$35,744,566	2,988,676
81	Compromising Positions	Aug 30, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$35,711,549	2,985,915
82	Moving Violations	Apr 19, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$35,711,549	2,985,915
83	Starman	Dec 14, 1984	Sony Pictures	Adventure	$35,514,048	2,969,401
84	American Ninja	Aug 30, 1985	Cannon	Action	$35,371,279	2,957,464
85	Better Off Dead...	Aug 23, 1985	Warner Bros.	Black Comedy	$34,692,763	2,900,732
86	After Hours	Sep 13, 1985	Warner Bros.	Black Comedy	$34,394,009	2,875,753
87	Lost in America	Feb 15, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$33,956,987	2,839,212
88	Once Bitten	Nov 15, 1985	Goldwyn Entertain…	Comedy	$33,411,328	2,793,589
89	Explorers	Jul 12, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$33,262,276	2,781,126
90	A Chorus Line	Dec 10, 1985	Sony Pictures	Musical	$32,629,599	2,728,227
91	Tuff Turf	Jan 11, 1985	New World	Drama	$31,565,401	2,639,247
92	The Cotton Club	Dec 14, 1984	Orion Pictures	Drama	$31,245,244	2,612,478
93	Sweet Dreams	Oct 2, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Drama	$30,658,028	2,563,380
94	Target	Nov 8, 1985	Warner Bros.	Thriller/Suspense	$30,399,285	2,541,746
95	Cat’s Eye	Apr 12, 1985	MGM	Horror	$30,321,127	2,535,211
96	2010	Dec 7, 1984	MGM	Thriller/Suspense	$30,018,118	2,509,876
97	Gotcha	May 3, 1985	Universal	Action	$29,725,718	2,485,427
98	Mischief	Feb 8, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$29,310,423	2,450,704
99	The River	Dec 17, 1984	Universal	Drama	$29,242,560	2,445,030
100	The Man With One Red Shoe	Jul 19, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$29,126,511	2,435,327
101	That Was Then… This is Now	Nov 8, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$29,074,821	2,431,005
102	Secret Admirer	Jun 14, 1985	Orion Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$29,050,190	2,428,945
103	Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of t…	May 25, 1983	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$29,003,930	2,425,077
104	Nineteen Eighty-Four	Dec 14, 1984	Atlantic	Thriller/Suspense	$28,193,160	2,357,287
105	Enemy Mine	Dec 20, 1985	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$27,955,159	2,337,387
106	The Journey of Natty Gann	Sep 27, 1985	Walt Disney	Adventure	$25,931,537	2,168,188
107	City Heat	Dec 7, 1984	Warner Bros.	Action	$24,957,195	2,086,721
108	Transylvania 6-5000	Nov 8, 1985	New World	Comedy	$24,256,901	2,028,169
109	Stick	Apr 26, 1985	Universal	Action	$23,464,287	1,961,896
110	Red Sonja	Jun 28, 1985	MGM	Action	$23,265,943	1,945,312
111	Into the Night	Feb 22, 1985	Universal	Action	$22,640,314	1,893,002
112	D.A.R.Y.L.	Jun 14, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$22,106,301	1,848,352
113	Girls Just Want to Have Fun	Apr 12, 1985	New World	Romantic Comedy	$21,312,555	1,781,986
114	Plenty	Sep 19, 1985	20th Century Fox	Drama	$20,565,176	1,719,496
115	Heaven Help Us	Feb 8, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$20,452,590	1,710,082
116	Day of the Dead	Jun 30, 1985	United Film Distr…	Horror	$19,554,640	1,635,003
117	Avenging Angel	Jan 11, 1985	New World	Action	$18,943,249	1,583,883
118	Johnny Dangerously	Dec 21, 1984	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$17,962,943	1,501,918
119	Brazil	Dec 18, 1985	Universal	Black Comedy	$17,789,051	1,487,378
120	Places in the Heart	Sep 21, 1984	Sony/TriStar	Drama	$17,134,641	1,432,662
121	Rainbow Brite and the Star St…	Nov 15, 1985	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$16,474,381	1,377,456
122	Rustlers' Rhapsody	May 10, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Western	$16,329,898	1,365,376
123	King David	Mar 29, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$16,171,268	1,352,112
124	Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo	Dec 19, 1984	Cannon	Musical	$15,671,609	1,310,335
125	Creator	Sep 20, 1985	Universal	Romantic Comedy	$15,402,418	1,287,827
126	Pinocchio	Feb 9, 1940	Walt Disney	Adventure	$14,901,079	1,245,909
127	The Company of Wolves	Apr 19, 1985	Cannon	Horror	$14,787,728	1,236,432
128	The Mean Season	Feb 15, 1985	Orion Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$14,653,345	1,225,196
129	That's Dancing	Jan 18, 1985	MGM	Documentary	$14,186,709	1,186,179
130	My Science Project	Aug 9, 1985	Walt Disney	Comedy	$13,812,958	1,154,929
131	The Heavenly Kid	Jul 26, 1985	Orion Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$12,978,355	1,085,146
132	Mrs. Soffel	Dec 26, 1984	MGM/UA Classics	Drama	$12,889,538	1,077,720
133	Murphy's Romance	Dec 25, 1985	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$12,382,606	1,035,334
134	The Bride	Aug 16, 1985	Sony Pictures	Horror	$12,128,451	1,014,084
135	Dune	Dec 14, 1984	Universal	Action	$12,059,837	1,008,347
136	Turk 182!	Feb 15, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$12,005,937	1,003,840
137	Gremlins	Jun 8, 1984	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$11,941,902	998,486
138	Starchaser: The Legend of Orin	Nov 22, 1985	Atlantic	Adventure	$11,322,583	946,704
139	Fraternity Vacation	Apr 12, 1985	New World	Comedy	$11,229,955	938,959
140	Gymkata	May 3, 1985	MGM	Action	$10,947,416	915,335
141	Stop Making Sense	Oct 19, 1984	Cinecom	Concert/Performance	$10,823,224	904,951
142	The Legend of Billie Jean	Jul 19, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Drama	$10,443,944	873,239
143	Twice in a Lifetime	Oct 23, 1985	Bud Yorkin Co.	Drama	$9,879,189	826,019
144	Rappin'	May 10, 1985	Cannon	Drama	$9,651,700	806,998
145	Hot Moves	May 17, 1985	Cardinal Film Rel…	Comedy	$9,206,451	769,770
146	Fast Forward	Feb 15, 1985	Sony Pictures	Musical	$8,930,805	746,722
147	Maxie	Sep 27, 1985	Orion Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$8,759,437	732,394
148	Bad Medicine	Nov 22, 1985	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$8,588,274	718,083
149	A Private Function	Mar 1, 1985	Island/Alive	Comedy	$8,479,003	708,946
150	Godzilla (ゴジラ)	Aug 23, 1985	New World	Action	$8,231,175	688,225
151	Paris, Texas	Nov 9, 1984	20th Century Fox	Drama	$7,215,748	603,323
152	Re-Animator	Oct 18, 1985	Empire Pictures	Horror	$6,815,515	569,859
153	The Terminator	Oct 26, 1984	Orion Pictures	Action	$6,526,144	545,664
154	Warning Sign	Aug 23, 1985	20th Century Fox	Drama	$6,462,163	540,314
155	The Slugger's Wife	Mar 29, 1985	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$6,327,008	529,014
156	The Brother from Another Plan…	Sep 7, 1984	Cinecom	Comedy	$6,048,967	505,766
157	Runaway	Dec 14, 1984	Sony/TriStar	Thriller/Suspense	$5,697,912	476,414
158	Bring on the Night	Nov 8, 1985	Goldwyn Entertain…	Documentary	$5,645,420	472,025
159	A Soldier’s Story	Sep 14, 1984	Sony Pictures	Drama	$5,300,261	443,165
160	Heavenly Bodies	Feb 1, 1985	MGM/UA Classics	Drama	$5,280,546	441,517
161	Un dimanche à la campagne	Nov 16, 1984	MGM/UA Classics	Drama	$5,271,200	440,735
162	Marie: A True Story	Sep 27, 1985	MGM	Drama	$5,180,361	433,140
163	Ghostbusters	Jun 8, 1984	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$5,029,823	420,553
164	American Flyers	Aug 16, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$4,785,196	400,100
165	Certain Fury	Mar 1, 1985	New World	Action	$4,652,915	389,039
166	Wetherby	Jul 19, 1985	MGM/UA Classics	Drama	$3,683,882	308,016
167	The Trip to Bountiful	Dec 20, 1985	Island	Drama	$3,024,283	252,866
168	The Hit	Mar 8, 1985	Island/Alive	Comedy	$2,953,867	246,978
169	Ran	Dec 20, 1985	Rialto Pictures	Drama	$2,896,715	242,200
170	Dance With a Stranger	Aug 9, 1985	Goldwyn Entertain…	Drama	$2,837,454	237,245
171	The Protector (威龍猛探)	Aug 23, 1985	Warner Bros.	Action	$2,793,718	233,588
172	Lust in the Dust	Feb 8, 1985	New World	Comedy	$2,451,426	204,968
173	Fever Pitch	Nov 22, 1985	MGM	Drama	$2,056,220	171,924
174	Joshua Then and Now	Sep 6, 1985	20th Century Fox	Romantic Comedy	$1,827,421	152,794
175	Runaway Train	Dec 6, 1985	Cannon	Action	$1,801,422	150,620
176	Code Name: Emerald	Sep 27, 1985	MGM	Action	$1,735,140	145,078
177	Mass Appeal	Dec 14, 1984	Universal	Drama	$1,647,785	137,774
178	Supergirl	Nov 21, 1984	Sony/TriStar	Adventure	$1,572,258	131,459
179	Mishima: A Life in Four Chapt…	Sep 13, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$1,474,102	123,252
180	Fool For Love	Dec 6, 1985	Cannon	Drama	$1,467,384	122,690
181	Key Exchange	Aug 14, 1985	20th Century Fox	Romantic Comedy	$1,431,831	119,718
182	Falling in Love	Nov 21, 1984	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$1,396,210	116,740
183	Subway	Nov 6, 1985	Island/Alive	Thriller/Suspense	$1,316,136	110,044
184	Sylvester	Mar 15, 1985	Sony Pictures	Drama	$1,299,385	108,644
185	Alamo Bay	Apr 3, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Drama	$1,283,493	107,315
186	Lily in Love	Apr 19, 1985	New Line	Comedy	$1,269,060	106,108
187	Birdy	Dec 21, 1984	Sony/TriStar	Drama	$1,221,133	102,101
188	Private Resort	May 3, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$1,117,893	93,469
189	Movers and Shakers	May 3, 1985	MGM	Comedy	$1,048,845	87,696
190	Oh God, You Devil!	Nov 9, 1984	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$1,042,562	87,170
191	Eleni	Nov 1, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$1,027,893	85,944
192	The Aviator	Mar 1, 1985	MGM	Adventure	$967,564	80,900
193	Maccheroni	Nov 11, 1985	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$793,009	66,305
194	Def-Con 4	Mar 15, 1985	New World	Action	$710,539	59,409
195	The New Kids	Jan 18, 1985	Sony Pictures	Horror	$670,798	56,086
196	Revolution	Dec 25, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$595,312	49,775
197	The Quiet Earth	Oct 18, 1985	Skouras	Drama	$518,033	43,313
198	The Holcroft Covenant	Oct 18, 1985	Universal	Thriller/Suspense	$510,833	42,711
199	The Doctor and the Devils	Oct 4, 1985	20th Century Fox	Drama	$495,481	41,428
200	Always	Oct 2, 1985	Goldwyn Entertain…	Drama	$493,557	41,267
201	Flesh & Blood	Aug 30, 1985	Orion Pictures	Action	$336,901	28,169
202	My Man Adam	Oct 25, 1985	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$313,049	26,174
203	Fandango	Jan 25, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$290,187	24,263
204	Un amour de Swann	Sep 14, 1984	Orion Pictures	Drama	$252,551	21,116
205	Sylvia	May 31, 1985	MGM/UA Classics	Drama	$149,025	12,460
206	Dreamchild	Oct 4, 1985	Universal	Drama	$129,683	10,843
207	La historia oficial	Nov 8, 1985	Almi	Drama	$99,137	8,289
208	Smooth Talk	Nov 15, 1985	SpectraFilm	Drama	$56,549	4,728
209	Otac na sluzbenom putu	Oct 11, 1985	Cannon	Drama	$39,128	3,271
210	Came a Hot Friday	Oct 4, 1985	Orion Classics	Drama	$30,001	2,508
211	James Joyce's Women	Sep 12, 1985	Universal	Drama	$27,299	2,282
212	Shoah	Nov 1, 1985	IFC Films	Documentary	$15,272	1,276
213	The Bay Boy	Feb 15, 1985	Orion Pictures	Drama	$12,347	1,032
214	Oberst Redl	Oct 4, 1985	Orion Classics	Drama	$7,941	663