Movie Theatrical Release Schedule for 1981
| Release Date | Movie | Distributor | Domestic Box Office to Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1981 | |||
| January 1 | My Dinner with Andre (Wide) | New Yorker | $15,063 |
| Scream (Limited) | Cal-Com | ||
| During 1981 | Death Hunt (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $5,000,000 |
| The Devil and Max Devlin (Wide) | Walt Disney | $16,000,000 | |
| Fort Apache, The Bronx (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $29,200,000 | |
| The Private Eyes (Wide) | New World | $18,000,000 | |
| Roar (Wide) | $2,110,050 | ||
| Scanners (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $14,200,000 | |
| January 16 | Fear No Evil (Limited) | Embassy | |
| January 23 | Napoléon (Wide, re-release) | $2,645,504 | |
| January 28 | Blood Beach (Limited) | Jerry Gross Organization | |
| January 30 | The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Wide) | Universal | $20,259,000 |
| January TBD | Underground Aces (Limited) | ||
| February 1981 | |||
| February 1 | Subway Riders (Limited) | Hep Pictures | |
| February 8 | Spetters (Limited) | Samuel Goldwyn Films | |
| February 11 | The Last Metro (Wide) | United Artists | $3,000,000 |
| Sphinx (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $2,000,000 | |
| My Bloody Valentine (Limited) | Paramount Pictures | ||
| February 13 | American Pop (Wide) | Columbia | $6,000,000 |
| The Dogs of War (Wide) | MGM | ||
| Eyewitness (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $6,400,000 | |
| Sunday Lovers (Wide) | MGM | ||
| February TBD | Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (Limited) | American Cinema Releasing | |
| March 1981 | |||
| March 6 | All Night Long (Wide) | Universal | $7,800,000 |
| On the Right Track (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $13,000,000 | |
| Permanent Vacation (Limited) | |||
| March 13 | Back Roads (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $11,809,387 |
| The Funhouse (Wide) | Universal | $7,000,000 | |
| Modern Romance (Limited) | Columbia | $29,137 | |
| March 15 | Confidence (1981) (Wide) | New Yorker | |
| March 18 | The Wobblies (Limited) | First Run Features | $12,232 |
| March 20 | Amy (Wide) | Walt Disney | |
| Cutter’s Way (Wide) | United Artists | ||
| The Final Conflict (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $20,471,000 | |
| Kelly (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | ||
| The Postman Always Rings Twice (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $12,200,000 | |
| March 27 | Eyes of a Stranger (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $546,724 |
| Thief (Wide) | United Artists | $4,300,000 | |
| March TBD | Pick-up Summer (Limited) | $28,756 | |
| April 1981 | |||
| April 3 | Atlantic City (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $10,000,000 |
| April 10 | Excalibur (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $34,200,000 |
| From Mao to Mozart (Wide) | United Artists | ||
| Going Ape! (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | ||
| The Howling (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $17,985,000 | |
| Nighthawks (Wide) | Universal | $14,600,000 | |
| Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope (Wide, re-release) | 20th Century Fox | $460,998,007 | |
| This is Elvis (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $429,146 | |
| Knightriders (Limited) | United Film Distribution Co. | ||
| April 17 | Caveman (Wide) | United Artists | $15,965,000 |
| Improper Channels (Exclusive) | Crown International | ||
| April 24 | Beyond the Reef (Wide) | Universal | $547,525 |
| Cattle Annie and Little Britches (Wide) | Universal | $115,679 | |
| The Hand (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $2,000,000 | |
| Second-Hand Hearts (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | ||
| Ms. 45 (Limited) | Rochelle Films | ||
| April 28 | Bloody Birthday (Limited) | Lange | |
| April 30 | Friday the 13th Part 2 (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $21,722,776 |
| May 1981 | |||
| May 1 | Graduation Day (Wide) | IFI Scope | $23,894,000 |
| Hard Country (Wide) | Universal | ||
| The Jazz Singer (Wide) | Universal | $27,118,000 | |
| King of the Mountain (Wide) | Universal | $958,637 | |
| May 8 | The Burning (Limited) | Filmways Pictures | |
| Shoot the Sun Down (Limited) | |||
| May 15 | Happy Birthday To Me (Wide) | Columbia | $10,609,514 |
| The Fan (Limited) | Paramount Pictures | ||
| During 1981 | Take This Job and Shove It (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $17,569,000 |
| May 22 | Bustin' Loose (Wide) | Universal | $31,261,000 |
| The Four Seasons (Wide) | Universal | $42,488,161 | |
| Glen or Glenda (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | ||
| The Legend of the Lone Ranger (Wide) | Universal | $13,400,000 | |
| Outland (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $20,000,000 | |
| May 29 | Polyester (Limited) | New Line | |
| June 1981 | |||
| June 5 | Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams (Wide) | Columbia | $37,000,000 |
| The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $14,000,000 | |
| Final Exam (Limited) | |||
| The Sea Wolves (Limited) | Paramount Pictures | ||
| June 12 | Clash of the Titans (Wide) | MGM | $30,000,000 |
| Herbie Goes Bananas (Wide, re-release) | Walt Disney | $17,000,000 | |
| Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (Wide, re-release) | $28,000,000 | ||
| History of the World: Part I (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $31,672,000 | |
| Raiders of the Lost Ark (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $225,686,079 | |
| The World's Greatest Athlete (Limited, re-release) | $22,583,370 | ||
| June 19 | The Cannonball Run (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $57,498,710 |
| Herbie Rides Again (Wide, re-release) | $31,765,098 | ||
| Superman II (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $108,185,706 | |
| Swiss Family Robinson (Wide, re-release) | $40,400,000 | ||
| June 26 | Dragonslayer (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $6,000,000 |
| For Your Eyes Only (Wide) | United Artists | $54,800,000 | |
| Force: Five (Wide) | American Cinema Releasing | $8,000,000 | |
| The Great Muppet Caper (Wide) | Universal | $31,206,251 | |
| Stripes (Wide) | Columbia | $85,300,000 | |
| June TBD | Demonoid (Limited) | ||
| Texas Lightning (Limited) | Film Ventures International | ||
| July 1981 | |||
| July 1 | S.O.B. (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $14,867,086 |
| The Declline of Western Civilization (Limited) | |||
| July 10 | Escape from New York (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $25,244,700 |
| The Fox and the Hound (Wide) | Walt Disney | $43,899,231 | |
| July 17 | Arthur (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $81,464,486 |
| Endless Love (Wide) | Universal | $33,000,000 | |
| July 23 | Gas (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | |
| July 24 | Blow Out (Wide) | Filmways Pictures | $13,747,234 |
| Eye of the Needle (Wide) | United Artists | $17,583,000 | |
| Nobody's Perfekt (Wide) | Columbia | $995 | |
| Tarzan, The Ape Man (Wide) | MGM | $36,565,000 | |
| Wolfen (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $11,000,000 | |
| Zorro, The Gay Blade (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $10,000,000 | |
| Comin' at Ya! (Exclusive) | Filmways Pictures | $6,704,127 | |
| July 31 | Star Wars Ep. V: The Empire Strikes Back (Wide, re-release) | 20th Century Fox | $291,738,960 |
| Under the Rainbow (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $18,826,490 | |
| Victory (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $10,853,000 | |
| August 1981 | |||
| August 7 | Condorman (Wide) | Walt Disney | |
| An Eye for an Eye (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $7,496,681 | |
| Heavy Metal (Wide) | Columbia | $19,571,091 | |
| Student Bodies (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $1,582,148 | |
| Hell Night (Exclusive) | Compass International | $2,300,000 | |
| Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (Exclusive) | Comworld | $19,225 | |
| August 14 | Deadly Blessing (Wide) | United Artists | $2,800,000 |
| The Blue Lagoon (Limited, re-release) | Columbia | $47,923,795 | |
| Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (Limited) | 20th Century Fox | $221,898 | |
| August 19 | Prince of the City (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $9,000,000 |
| August 21 | An American Werewolf in London (Wide) | Universal | $31,973,249 |
| Comin' at Ya! (Wide) | Filmways Pictures | $6,704,127 | |
| First Monday in October (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $12,000,000 | |
| Honky Tonk Freeway (Wide) | Universal | $939,423 | |
| Heartland (Limited) | Levitt-Pickman | $7,051 | |
| August 28 | Body Heat (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $24,058,000 |
| Gallipoli (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $5,732,587 | |
| Private Lessons (Wide) | Jensen Farley Pictures | $18,064,851 | |
| September 1981 | |||
| September 17 | Tim (Wide) | Satori | |
| September 18 | Continental Divide (Wide) | Universal | $15,578,000 |
| The French Lieutenant's Woman (Wide) | United Artists | $22,600,000 | |
| Mommie Dearest (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $19,032,000 | |
| Raggedy Man (Wide) | Universal | $11,000,000 | |
| Cannibals in the Streets (Limited) | Almi | ||
| September 23 | Only When I Laugh (Wide) | Columbia | $25,782,304 |
| September 25 | Carbon Copy (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $8,400,000 |
| So Fine (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $10,000,000 | |
| True Confessions (Wide) | United Artists | $12,200,000 | |
| Chariots of Fire (Limited) | Warner Bros. | $61,558,162 | |
| Southern Comfort (Exclusive) | 20th Century Fox | $2,939,174 | |
| September TBD | St. Helens (Limited) | ||
| October 1981 | |||
| October 2 | Paternity (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $18,838,000 |
| Zoot Suit (Wide) | Universal | $380,302 | |
| October 9 | Rich and Famous (Wide) | MGM | $13,000,000 |
| Tattoo (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $860,472 | |
| Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper (Limited) | Film Ventures International | ||
| Full Moon High (Limited) | Filmways Pictures | ||
| October 16 | All the Marbles (Wide) | MGM | $4,300,000 |
| Caligula (Wide, re-release) | $23,400,000 | ||
| October 23 | The Boat is Full (Wide) | Castle Hill Productions | $1,016 |
| Enter the Ninja (Wide) | Cannon | ||
| Silence of the North (Wide) | Universal | $344,837 | |
| Nightmare (Limited) | |||
| The Pit (Limited) | New World | $560 | |
| October 25 | Quartet (Limited) | New World | |
| October 30 | Halloween II (Wide) | Universal | $25,533,818 |
| Looker (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $3,281,232 | |
| Saturday The 14th (Limited) | New World | ||
| October 31 | Shock Treatment (Limited) | 20th Century Fox | |
| October TBD | Galaxy of Terror (Limited) | New World | |
| November 1981 | |||
| November 6 | Time Bandits (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $37,400,000 |
| November 13 | Dead and Buried (Wide) | Avco Embassy | $216,166 |
| The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (Wide) | Universal | $2,104,164 | |
| November 19 | Absence of Malice (Wide) | Columbia | $33,312,129 |
| Road Games (Wide) | Avco Embassy | ||
| November 20 | Man of Iron (Wide) | United Artists | |
| Ragtime (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $17,468,158 | |
| The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (Limited) | Warner Bros. | ||
| November 27 | Just Before Dawn (Limited) | Picturmedia | |
| December 1981 | |||
| December 2 | Whose Life is it Anyway? (Wide) | MGM | $6,100,000 |
| December 4 | On Golden Pond (Wide) | Universal | $119,285,432 |
| Reds (Wide) | Paramount Pictures | $50,000,000 | |
| December 9 | Taps (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $35,856,053 |
| Signs of Life (Limited) | |||
| December 11 | Buddy Buddy (Wide) | United Artists | $5,299,037 |
| Pennies from Heaven (Wide) | MGM | $6,200,000 | |
| Rollover (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $10,217,873 | |
| Four Friends (Limited) | Filmways Pictures | ||
| December 18 | Cinderella (Wide, re-release) | Walt Disney | $93,141,149 |
| Ghost Story (Wide) | Universal | $16,202,210 | |
| Heartbeeps (Wide) | Universal | $6,000,000 | |
| Neighbors (Wide) | Columbia | $29,916,207 | |
| Sharky's Machine (Wide) | Warner Bros. | $32,984,898 | |
| December 25 | Modern Problems (Wide) | 20th Century Fox | $24,474,312 |
| During 1981 | Will (Limited) | ||