1986 Top-Grossing Movies (Inflation-Adjusted Dollars)

Note: This chart ranks movies by the amount they earned during 1986. It includes movies released in previous years that earned money during 1986. For example, a movie released over Thanksgiving in 1985 will most likely earn money in 1985 and 1986.

To see the top movies released in 1986 (ranked by their total cumulative gross across all years), click the “Released in 1986” button below.

Inflation-adjusted figures are based on ticket sale estimates.

← 1985

Show Actuals Released in 1986

1987 →

Rank	Movie	Release Date	Distributor	Genre	1986 Gross Infl. adj.	Tickets Sold
1	Top Gun	May 16, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Action	$553,960,524	46,317,769
2	Crocodile Dundee	Sep 26, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$417,759,231	34,929,701
3	The Karate Kid, Part II	Jun 20, 1986	Sony Pictures	Action	$371,062,962	31,025,331
4	Back to School	Jun 13, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$294,190,210	24,597,843
5	Aliens	Jul 18, 1986	20th Century Fox	Action	$274,532,767	22,954,244
6	Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home	Nov 26, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$270,365,839	22,605,839
7	The Color Purple	Dec 18, 1985	Warner Bros.	Drama	$258,259,114	21,593,571
8	Ruthless People	Jun 27, 1986	Walt Disney	Black Comedy	$230,898,532	19,305,897
9	Ferris Bueller’s Day Off	Jun 11, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$226,099,993	18,904,681
10	Down and Out in Beverly Hills	Jan 31, 1986	Walt Disney	Comedy	$200,303,324	16,747,769
11	The Golden Child	Dec 12, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Action	$175,694,934	14,690,211
12	Out of Africa	Dec 18, 1985	Universal	Drama	$168,960,535	14,127,135
13	Legal Eagles	Jun 18, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$160,707,555	13,437,086
14	Cobra	May 23, 1986	Cannon	Action	$158,098,382	13,218,928
15	Stand by Me	Aug 8, 1986	Sony Pictures	Drama	$153,882,679	12,866,444
16	The Color of Money	Oct 17, 1986	Walt Disney	Drama	$144,592,428	12,089,667
17	Police Academy 3: Back in Tra…	Mar 21, 1986	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$140,487,005	11,746,405
18	An American Tail	Nov 21, 1986	Universal	Adventure	$138,186,694	11,554,071
19	Poltergeist II: The Other Side	May 23, 1986	MGM	Horror	$132,161,756	11,050,314
20	Short Circuit	May 9, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$131,198,173	10,969,746
21	Pretty in Pink	Feb 28, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$130,469,296	10,908,804
22	Peggy Sue Got Married	Oct 10, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$127,077,595	10,625,216
23	About Last Night...	Jul 1, 1986	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$124,765,398	10,431,889
24	Running Scared	Jun 27, 1986	MGM	Comedy	$124,115,548	10,377,554
25	The Fly	Aug 15, 1986	20th Century Fox	Horror	$121,163,504	10,130,727
26	The Money Pit	Mar 26, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$120,888,363	10,107,722
27	Gung Ho	Mar 14, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$118,025,568	9,868,358
28	Heartbreak Ridge	Dec 5, 1986	Warner Bros.	Drama	$115,511,811	9,658,178
29	Hannah and Her Sisters	Feb 7, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$114,250,289	9,552,699
30	Nothing in Common	Jul 30, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Comedy	$104,203,515	8,712,668
31	Three Amigos	Dec 12, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$101,401,058	8,478,349
32	Soul Man	Oct 24, 1986	New World	Comedy	$88,059,765	7,362,856
33	Murphy's Romance	Dec 25, 1985	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$87,321,482	7,301,127
34	Wildcats	Feb 14, 1986	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$84,737,225	7,085,052
35	Jumpin' Jack Flash	Oct 10, 1986	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$82,487,907	6,896,982
36	Heartburn	Jul 25, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$81,606,172	6,823,258
37	The Jewel of the Nile	Dec 11, 1985	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$79,092,892	6,613,118
38	Iron Eagle	Jan 17, 1986	Sony/TriStar	Action	$77,884,655	6,512,094
39	Children of a Lesser God	Oct 3, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$77,746,534	6,500,546
40	Little Shop of Horrors	Dec 19, 1986	Warner Bros.	Musical	$76,583,719	6,403,321
41	The Great Mouse Detective	Jul 2, 1986	Walt Disney	Adventure	$76,097,624	6,362,677
42	Rocky IV	Nov 27, 1985	MGM	Drama	$72,046,347	6,023,942
43	Tough Guys	Oct 3, 1986	Walt Disney	Comedy	$69,175,315	5,783,889
44	Lady and the Tramp	Jun 22, 1955		Adventure	$66,700,575	5,576,971
45	F/X	Feb 7, 1986	Orion Pictures	Action	$66,420,601	5,553,561
46	Friday the 13th Part VI: Jaso…	Aug 1, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$62,772,453	5,248,532
47	House	Feb 28, 1986	New World	Horror	$62,684,040	5,241,140
48	A Room with a View	Mar 7, 1986	Cinecom	Drama	$61,792,439	5,166,591
49	Flight of the Navigator	Jul 30, 1986	Walt Disney	Adventure	$59,847,108	5,003,938
50	Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Ca…	May 2, 1986	Sony Pictures	Drama	$58,137,044	4,860,956
51	The Delta Force	Feb 14, 1986	Cannon	Action	$54,821,284	4,583,719
52	Spies Like Us	Dec 6, 1985	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$52,640,947	4,401,416
53	Howard the Duck	Aug 1, 1986	Universal	Action	$52,533,007	4,392,391
54	Raw Deal	Jun 6, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Action	$52,254,752	4,369,126
55	Armed and Dangerous	Aug 15, 1986	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$51,403,932	4,297,987
56	Legend	Apr 18, 1986	Universal	Adventure	$49,974,463	4,178,466
57	Song of the South	Nov 12, 1946		Musical	$49,954,212	4,176,773
58	The Morning After	Dec 25, 1986	20th Century Fox	Thriller/Suspense	$49,928,703	4,174,640
59	Youngblood	Jan 31, 1986	MGM	Drama	$49,801,311	4,163,989
60	Crimes of the Heart	Dec 12, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Black Comedy	$47,341,007	3,958,278
61	Psycho III	Jul 2, 1986	Universal	Horror	$46,684,638	3,903,397
62	Sweet Liberty	May 14, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$45,793,006	3,828,846
63	One Crazy Summer	Aug 8, 1986	Warner Bros.	Romantic Comedy	$43,300,377	3,620,432
64	Extremities	Aug 22, 1986	Atlantic	Thriller/Suspense	$43,256,164	3,616,736
65	Critters	Apr 11, 1986	New Line	Horror	$42,447,465	3,549,119
66	April Fool's Day	Mar 27, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$41,739,958	3,489,963
67	Labyrinth	Jun 27, 1986	Sony Pictures	Adventure	$41,037,684	3,431,244
68	Club Paradise	Jul 11, 1986	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$39,679,221	3,317,660
69	White Nights	Nov 22, 1985	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$39,628,967	3,313,458
70	Firewalker	Nov 21, 1986	Cannon	Adventure	$38,150,472	3,189,838
71	Big Trouble in Little China	Jul 1, 1986	20th Century Fox	Action	$35,783,288	2,991,913
72	101 Dalmatians	Jan 25, 1961	Walt Disney	Adventure	$34,868,732	2,915,445
73	Under the Cherry Moon	Jul 2, 1986	Warner Bros.	Musical	$32,528,715	2,719,792
74	Murphy's Law	Apr 18, 1986	Cannon	Action	$32,068,374	2,681,302
75	SpaceCamp	Jun 6, 1986	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$31,262,792	2,613,945
76	Sleeping Beauty	Jan 29, 1959	Walt Disney	Adventure	$30,511,243	2,551,107
77	Deadly Friend	Oct 10, 1986	Warner Bros.	Horror	$28,977,149	2,422,838
78	Platoon	Dec 19, 1986	Orion Pictures	Drama	$28,440,957	2,378,006
79	Manhunter	Aug 15, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Thriller/Suspense	$27,791,458	2,323,700
80	Care Bears Movie II: A New Ge…	Mar 7, 1986	Sony Pictures	Adventure	$27,531,681	2,301,980
81	Wise Guys	Apr 18, 1986	MGM	Black Comedy	$27,322,527	2,284,492
82	Something Wild	Oct 22, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$26,956,744	2,253,908
83	Lucas	Mar 28, 1986	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$26,434,501	2,210,242
84	Haunted Honeymoon	Jul 25, 1986	Orion Pictures	Comedy	$25,897,420	2,165,336
85	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2	Aug 22, 1986	Cannon	Horror	$25,873,161	2,163,307
86	The Best of Times	Jan 31, 1986	Universal	Comedy	$25,115,778	2,099,981
87	Quicksilver	Feb 14, 1986	Sony Pictures	Drama	$24,612,806	2,057,926
88	Maximum Overdrive	Jul 25, 1986	De Laurentiis Ent…	Horror	$23,964,046	2,003,682
89	Runaway Train	Dec 6, 1985	Cannon	Action	$23,859,745	1,994,961
90	The Boy Who Could Fly	Aug 15, 1986	20th Century Fox	Drama	$23,138,026	1,934,617
91	The Name of the Rose	Sep 24, 1986	20th Century Fox		$23,059,267	1,928,032
92	Back to the Future	Jul 3, 1985	Universal	Adventure	$22,527,833	1,883,598
93	Blue City	May 2, 1986	Paramount Pictures	Action	$22,395,181	1,872,506
94	She’s Gotta Have It	Aug 8, 1986	Island	Comedy	$22,184,230	1,854,868
95	Nine 1/2 Weeks	Feb 21, 1986	MGM	Thriller/Suspense	$21,711,249	1,815,321
96	Black Moon Rising	Jan 10, 1986	New World	Action	$21,397,649	1,789,101
97	The Trip to Bountiful	Dec 20, 1985	Island	Drama	$21,176,569	1,770,616
98	Just Between Friends	Mar 21, 1986	Orion Pictures	Drama	$20,660,146	1,727,436
99	Hoosiers	Nov 14, 1986	Orion Pictures	Drama	$19,626,076	1,640,976
100	A Fine Mess	Aug 8, 1986	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$19,438,462	1,625,289