Loading AI tools
The year 1979 in film involved many significant events.
United States and Canada
The top ten 1979 released films by North American gross are as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Box-office gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kramer vs. Kramer | Columbia | $106,260,000[1] |
| 2 | The Amityville Horror | American International | $86,432,520[2] |
| 3 | Rocky II | United Artists | $85,182,160[3] |
| 4 | Apocalypse Now | $83,471,511[4] | |
| 5 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | Paramount | $82,258,456[5] |
| 6 | Alien | 20th Century Fox | $80,931,801[6] |
| 7 | 10 | Warner Bros. | $74,865,517[7] |
| 8 | The Jerk | Universal | $73,691,419[8] |
| 9 | Moonraker | United Artists | $70,308,099[9] |
| 10 | The Muppet Movie | Associated Film | $65,200,000[10] |
International
| International market |
Title | Distributor | Admissions | Gross revenue | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local currency | US$ | |||||
| China | Gunshots in the CIB | Changchun Film Studio | 600,000,000[11] | CN¥180,000,000[11] | $116,000,000 | China |
| France | The Gendarme and the Extra-Terrestrials | SNC | 6,280,070[12] | Unknown | Unknown | France |
| West Germany | The Jungle Book | 20th Century Fox | 9,103,582[13] | €32,092,155[13] | $44,000,000 | United States |
| India | Suhaag | Sharma Cine Associates | Unknown | ₹100,000,000[14] | $12,310,000[15] | India |
| Italy | Superman | Columbia-EMI-Warner | 904,000[16] | Unknown | Unknown | United States |
| Japan | Galaxy Express 999 | Toei | Unknown | ¥16,500,000,000[17] | $76,120,000[18] | Japan |
| Soviet Union | Sholay (Embers) | R. K. Films | 60,000,000[19] | 15,000,000 Rbls[n 1] | $28,200,000[a] | India |
| Spain | Superman | Warner Bros. | 4,795,628[21] | ₧655,346,759[21] | $9,763,080[22] | United States |
| United Kingdom | Superman | Columbia-EMI-Warner | 10,190,000[23] | £11,547,308[23] | $24,455,309[24] | |
- March 2 – Buena Vista release their first film since the advent of U.S. movie ratings to not be G-rated, Take Down.
- March 5 – Production begins on The Empire Strikes Back.
- March – Frank Price becomes president of Columbia Pictures.
- May 25 – Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released.
- May 29 - Mary Pickford, a silent screen legend and Hollywood pioneer who was, at the height of her career, the most famous woman in the world, dies of a stroke.
- May 31 – The Muppet Movie, Jim Henson's Muppets' first foray into the world of feature-length motion pictures, is released in United Kingdom.
- June 11 – John Wayne, a famous Western movie actor, dies at the age of 72 from stomach cancer.
- June 27 – 20th Century Fox Pictures president Alan Ladd Jr. and vice-presidents Jay Kanter and Gareth Wigan agree to leave Fox.
- June 29 – Moonraker, the 11th film in the James Bond franchise, is released in the United States and goes on to become the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide.
- August 15 – Apocalypse Now is released to worldwide critical acclaim and box office success. Heralded as one of the greatest films ever made to this day.
- September 19 – Don Bluth and a group of fellow animators resign from The Walt Disney Company's animation department to set up a rival studio, Don Bluth Productions.
- October 1 – Alan Ladd Jr., Jay Kanter and Gareth Wigan who agreed to leave Fox earlier in the year formally announce the creation of The Ladd Company.
- October 3 – producers Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan purchase the film rights of Batman from DC Comics. It would be another ten years, before a Batman feature film would be fully realized.
- November 1 – Production begins on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- December 7 – Star Trek: The Motion Picture debuts in the United States to mixed reviews but blockbuster box office, launching a film franchise that leads to 9 sequels and 3 reboots over the next 37 years. It also leads to the creation of five spin-off television series based upon Gene Roddenberry's creation.
- Allied Artists files for bankruptcy.
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
- Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, United States
- The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel), directed by Volker Schlöndorff, W. Germany
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
- David, directed by Peter Lilienthal, West Germany
By country/region
- List of American films of 1979
- List of Argentine films of 1979
- List of Australian films of 1979
- List of Bangladeshi films of 1979
- List of British films of 1979
- List of Canadian films of 1979
- List of French films of 1979
- List of Hong Kong films of 1979
- List of Indian films of 1979
- List of Japanese films of 1979
- List of Mexican films of 1979
- List of Pakistani films of 1979
- List of South Korean films of 1979
- List of Soviet films of 1979
- List of Spanish films of 1979
By genre/medium
- January 1 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
- January 6 – Cristela Alonzo, American comedian, actress, writer and producer
- January 8
- Ashraf Barhom, Israeli-Arab actor
- Sarah Polley, Canadian actress
- January 10 - Maximilian Brückner, German actor
- January 16 – Aaliyah, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
- January 24 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
- January 26 – Sara Rue, American actress
- January 28 - Angelique Cabral, American actress
- January 29 – Andrew Keegan, American actor
- February 1 – Rachelle Lefevre, Canadian actress
- February 2 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
- February 3 – Costa Ronin, Australian actor and cinematographer
- February 7 - Cerina Vincent, American actress
- February 8 - Josh Keaton, American actor and musician
- February 9 – Zhang Ziyi, Chinese actress and dancer
- February 11 – Brandy Norwood, American actress and singer
- February 12 - Angus Sampson, Australian actor and filmmaker
- February 13 – Mena Suvari, American actress
- February 21
- Tituss Burgess, American actor and singer
- Maryke Hendrikse, Bahamian-born Canadian voice actress
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and singer
- Jordan Peele, American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer
- March 3 – Patrick Renna, American actor
- March 5 – Riki Lindhome, American actress, comedian and musician
- March 9 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor
- March 10
- Edi Gathegi, Kenyan-American actor
- Danny Pudi, American actor
- March 14 - Chris Klein, American actor
- March 17 – Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian actor, music producer and stand-up comedian
- March 18 – Adam Levine, American singer, songwriter, musician and actor
- March 20
- Freema Agyeman, British actress
- Bianca Lawson, American actress
- March 24 – Lake Bell, American actress, director and screenwriter
- March 25 – Lee Pace, American actor
- March 28 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, producer, singer, film organiser and media personalities[25]
- March 29 – De'Angelo Wilson, American actor and rapper (d. 2008)
- March 30
- Jose Pablo Cantillo, American actor
- Pete Holmes, American comedian, actor, writer, producer and podcaster
- April 4
- Bunko Kanazawa, Japanese actress
- Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
- Natasha Lyonne, American actress
- April 5 – Josh Boone, American filmmaker
- April 7 - Nico Santos, Filipino-American actor
- April 9 - Edward Bennett, English actor
- April 11 – Josh Server, American actor
- April 12
- Claire Danes, American actress
- Jennifer Morrison, American actress, director and producer
- Paul Nicholls, English actor
- April 15
- Karen David, Canadian actress and singer-songwriter
- Luke Evans, Welsh actor and singer
- April 17
- Mylene Dinh-Robic, Canadian actress
- Ken Duken, German actor and director
- Tate Ellington, American actor
- April 19 – Kate Hudson, American actress
- April 21 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor[26]
- April 23 – Jaime King, American actress
- April 26 – Klára Issová, Czech actress
- April 27 - Tom Davis, English actor and comedian
- May 5 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
- May 7 – Yōsuke Kubozuka, Japanese actor
- May 9 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
- May 12 – Aaron Yoo, Korean-American actor
- May 19 – Bérénice Marlohe, French actress
- May 20 - Jana Pallaske, German actress and singer
- May 22 – Maggie Q, American actress
- May 23 – Josh Cooley, American animator, screenwriter, director and voice actor
- May 25 - Corbin Allred, American actor
- May 28
- Jesse Bradford, American actor
- Monica Keena, American actress
- June 2 - Morena Baccarin, Brazilian actress
- June 7 – Anna Torv, Australian actress
- June 12 - Wil Horneff, American former child actor
- June 17 – Young Maylay, American rapper, producer and voice actor
- June 20 - Sarah Stiles, American singer and actress
- June 21 – Chris Pratt, American actor
- June 24 – Mindy Kaling, American writer and actress
- June 25 - Busy Philipps, American actress
- June 27
- Martin Bourboulon, French film director and screenwriter[27]
- Benjamin Speed, Australian film composer
- June 30 - Rick Gonzalez, American actor and musician
- July 3 – Ludivine Sagnier, French actress
- July 5 – Eva Maria Daniels, Icelandic film producer (d. 2023)
- July 6
- Kevin Hart, American actor
- Abdul Salis, British actor
- July 7 - Benjamin Mitchell, New Zealand actor
- July 10 – Gong Yoo, South Korean actor
- July 12 – Omid Abtahi, Iranian-American actor
- July 14 – Scott Porter, American actor
- July 16 – Jayma Mays, American actress
- July 17 – Mike Vogel, American actor and former model
- July 19 – David Sakurai, Danish-Japanese actor, director and scriptwriter
- July 26 - Mageina Tovah, American actress
- July 30 - Lucas Babin, American actor
- July 31
- Dana Gourrier, American actress
- B. J. Novak, American writer and actor
- August 1 – Jason Momoa, American actor and filmmaker
- August 3 – Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress[28]
- August 6 – Dayahang Rai, Nepalese actor
- August 10 – JoAnna Garcia Swisher, American actress
- August 12 - Keith Powell, American actor, writer and director
- August 13 - Kasia Smutniak, Polish-Italian actress and model
- August 14 - Jamie Parker, English actor and singer
- August 21 - Kevin Janssens, Belgian actor
- August 22 – Brandon Adams, American actor
- August 23 – Claire Grant, American actress, model and producer
- August 24 – Fabienne Carat, French actress and singer
- August 25 – Şebnem Bozoklu, Turkish actress
- August 26 – Erik Valdez, American actor
- August 27 – Aaron Paul, American actor
- August 29 – Dan Harris, American screenwriter and director
- August 31 – Yuvan Shankar Raja, Indian film composer
- September 1 - Camille Chen, American actress
- September 8 – Pink, American singer and actress
- September 11
- Ariana Richards, American actress
- Cameron Richardson, American actress and producer
- Hu Ting-ting, English-born Taiwanese actress
- September 17
- Neill Blomkamp, South African and Canadian director and screenwriter
- Billy Miller, American actor (d. 2023)
- September 18 – Alison Lohman, American former actress
- September 19 – Noémie Lenoir, French model and actress
- September 20 – Chris Tardio, American actor
- September 22 – MyAnna Buring, Swedish-born British actress
- September 23 – Lisa Loven Kongsli, Norwegian actress
- September 25 - Stephen Rider, American actor
- September 26 - Mark Famiglietti, American actor, screenwriter and producer
- September 27 – Jad Saxton, American voice actress
- Alicyn Packard, American actress, singer, and writer
- September 30 – Jonathan Kasdan, American screenwriter, director, producer and actor
- October 1 – Marielle Heller, American film director
- October 4
- Caitríona Balfe, Irish actress
- Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress
- October 6 – Sareh Bayat, Iranian actress
- October 7
- Tang Wei, Chinese actress
- Aaron Ashmore and Shawn Ashmore, Canadian actors
- October 8 – Kristanna Loken, American actress
- October 9
- Chris O'Dowd, Irish actor and comedian
- Brandon Routh, American actor
- October 20 – John Krasinski, American actor and filmmaker
- October 22 - Tony Denman, American actor
- October 28 – Natina Reed, American singer-songwriter, rapper and actress (d. 2012)
- October 29 – Maya Karin, Malaysian actress
- October 30 - James A. Woods, Canadian actor
- October 31 – Erica Cerra, Canadian actress
- November 5 - Leonardo Nam, Australian actor
- November 8 – Dania Ramirez, Dominican actress
- November 9 – Matt McCarthy, American comedian, actor and writer
- November 13 – Riccardo Scamarcio, Italian actor and producer
- November 14 – Olga Kurylenko, Ukrainian-French actress
- November 19 – Barry Jenkins, American film director
- November 22 – Andrew Knott, British actor
- November 23 – Jonathan Sadowski, American actor
- November 25 – Joel Kinnaman, Swedish-American actor
- November 28 – Daniel Henney, American actor and model
- November 29 - Timo Vuorensola, Finnish director, singer and actor
- December 3 – Tiffany Haddish, American comedian and actress
- December 5 – Nick Stahl, American actor
- December 7
- Eric Bauza, Canadian-born American voice actor, stand-up comedian and animation artist
- Sara Bareilles, American actress and singer
- December 11 – Rider Strong, American actor
- December 15 – Adam Brody, American actor, writer, musician and producer
- December 17 - Lil Rel Howery, American actor and comedian
- December 20 - Ramón Rodríguez, Puerto Rican actor
- December 23 – Summer Altice, American model and actress
- December 26 – Chris Daughtry, American actor and singer
- December 28
- André Holland, American actor
- Noomi Rapace, Swedish actress
- December 29 – Diego Luna, Mexican actor, director and producer
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 11 | Jack Soo | 61 | US | Actor | |
| 16 | Peter Butterworth | 63 | UK | Actor, writer | ||
| 16 | Ted Cassidy | 46 | US | Actor | ||
| 18 | Cyril J. Mockridge | 82 | UK | Composer | ||
| 25 | Dick Crockett | 63 | US | Stuntman, Actor | ||
| February | 12 | Jean Renoir | 84 | US | Director, writer, actor | |
| 16 | Louise Allbritton | 58 | US | Actress | ||
| 17 | William Gargan | 73 | US | Actor | ||
| 19 | Leigh Jason | 74 | US | Director | ||
| 28 | Jane Hylton | 51 | UK | Actress | ||
| March | 1 | Dolores Costello | 75 | US | Actress | |
| 2 | Edith Craig | 71 | US | Actress | ||
| 6 | John Robinson | 70 | UK | Actor | ||
| 9 | Barbara Mullen | 64 | UK | Actress | ||
| 19 | John Tate | 64 | UK | Actor | Invasion | |
| 21 | Bomba Tzur | 50 | Israel | Actor | ||
| 22 | Ben Lyon | 78 | US | Actor, writer | ||
| 24 | Yvonne Mitchell | 63 | UK | Actress | ||
| April | 4 | Edgar Buchanan | 76 | US | Actor | |
| 6 | Norman Tokar | 59 | US | Director | ||
| 10 | Nino Rota | 67 | Italy | Composer | ||
| 24 | John Carroll | 72 | US | Actor | ||
| May | 6 | Rosemary La Planche | 55 | US | Actress | |
| 8 | Victor Saville | 83 | UK | Producer, director | ||
| 10 | Beatrice Campbell | 56 | UK | Actress | ||
| 11 | Joan Chandler | 55 | US | Actress | ||
| 26 | George Brent | 80 | US | Actor | ||
| 29 | Mary Pickford | 87 | US | Actress, producer, writer | ||
| June | 1 | Jack Mulhall | 91 | US | Actor | |
| 2 | Larisa Shepitko | 41 | Soviet Union | Director | ||
| 2 | Jim Hutton | 45 | US | Actor | ||
| 6 | Jack Haley | 80 | US | Actor | ||
| 11 | John Wayne | 72 | US | Actor, producer, director | ||
| 12 | Henry Berman | 65 | US | Editor, Producer | ||
| 14 | David Butler | 84 | US | Director | ||
| 16 | Nicholas Ray | 67 | US | Director, writer, actor | ||
| 19 | Nick Grinde | 86 | US | Director | ||
| 21 | Julian Orchard | 49 | UK | Actor, writer | ||
| July | 2 | Larisa Shepitko | 41 | USSR | Director, writer, actress | |
| 8 | Michael Wilding | 66 | UK | Actor, producer | ||
| 13 | Corinne Griffith | 84 | US | Actress | ||
| 22 | Kathleen Case | 45 | US | Actress | ||
| 25 | Eric Pohlmann | 66 | Germany | Actor | ||
| 26 | Virginia Brissac | 96 | US | Actress | ||
| 27 | Ettore Manni | 52 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 27 | Shirley Mason | 79 | US | Actress | ||
| 28 | George Seaton | 68 | US | Director | ||
| 28 | Frederick Stafford | 51 | Czechoslovakia | Actor | ||
| 31 | Beatrix Lehmann | 76 | UK | Actress | The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | |
| August | ?? | Betty Henderson | 72 | UK | Actress | |
| 6 | Kurt Kasznar | 65 | Austria | Actor | ||
| 7 | Vicente Salumbides | 85 | Philippines | Actor, Director | ||
| 10 | Dick Foran | 69 | US | Actor | ||
| 17 | Vivian Vance | 70 | US | Actress | ||
| 21 | Stuart Heisler | 82 | US | Director | ||
| 30 | Jean Seberg | 40 | US | Actress | ||
| September | 1 | Doris Kenyon | 81 | US | Actress | |
| 2 | Felix Aylmer | 90 | UK | Actor | ||
| 12 | Les Clark | 71 | US | Animator | ||
| 12 | Jocelyne LaGarde | 54 | Tahiti | Actress | Hawaii | |
| 17 | Willis Goldbeck | 80 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 22 | Frederick Piper | 76 | UK | Actor | ||
| 23 | Catherine Lacey | 75 | UK | Actress | ||
| 26 | John Cromwell | 91 | US | Director | ||
| 26 | Arthur Hunnicutt | 69 | US | Actor | ||
| 27 | Gracie Fields | 81 | UK | Actress, singer | ||
| October | 1 | Dorothy Arzner | 82 | US | Director | |
| 3 | Dorothy Peterson | 81 | US | Actress | ||
| 12 | Celia Lovsky | 82 | Austria | Actress | ||
| 17 | John Stuart | 81 | UK | Actor | ||
| 25 | Fernando Soler | 83 | Mexico | Actor | ||
| 30 | Graham Ashley | 52 | UK | Actor | ||
| November | 1 | Saro Urzì | 66 | Italy | Actor | |
| 5 | Amedeo Nazzari | 71 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 8 | Sydney Tafler | 63 | UK | Actor | ||
| 11 | Dimitri Tiomkin | 85 | Russia | Composer | ||
| 20 | Michael Darbyshire | 62 | UK | Actor, writer | ||
| 21 | Paul Wexler | 50 | US | Actor | ||
| 22 | George Froeschel | 88 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 23 | Merle Oberon | 68 | India | Actress, producer | ||
| 30 | Barbara von Annenkoff | 79 | Germany | Actress | ||
| 30 | Joyce Grenfell | 69 | UK | Actress | ||
| 30 | Zeppo Marx | 78 | US | Actor, director | ||
| December | 5 | Jesse Pearson | 49 | US | Actor | Bye Bye Birdie |
| 5 | Lesley Selander | 70 | US | Director | ||
| 9 | James Neilson | 70 | US | Director | ||
| 10 | Ann Dvorak | 68 | US | Actress | ||
| 11 | Claire Carleton | 66 | US | Actress | ||
| 12 | Jon Hall | 64 | US | Actor, director | ||
| 22 | George Pollock | 72 | UK | Director | ||
| 23 | Ernest B. Schoedsack | 86 | US | Director, cinematographer, producer | ||
| 25 | Michael Collins | 57 | Canada | Actor | ||
| 25 | Lee Bowman | 79 | US | Actor | ||
| 25 | Joan Blondell | 73 | US | Actress | ||
- Rosanna Arquette – More American Graffiti
- Tobin Bell - Manhattan
- Lorraine Bracco – Duos sur canapé
- David Bradley – The Frisco Kid
- Grand L. Bush – Hair
- Yancy Butler – Savage Weekend
- Gordon Clapp – Running
- Frances Conroy – Manhattan
- Matt Craven – Meatballs
- Denise Crosby – 10
- Ted Danson – The Onion Field
- Keith David – Disco Godfather
- Matt Dillon – Over the Edge
- Lisa Eichhorn – The Europeans
- Cary Elwes – Yesterday's Hero
- Giancarlo Esposito – Running
- Christopher Fairbank – Agatha
- Danny Glover – Escape from Alcatraz
- Bruce Greenwood – Bear Island
- Linda Hamilton – Night Flowers
- Dennis Haysbert – Scoring
- Stephen McKinley Henderson – A Pleasure Doing Business
- James Horner (film composer) – The Lady in Red
- Anna Maria Horsford – An Almost Perfect Affair
- Hawthorne James – Disco Godfather
- Lucinda Jenney – Impostors
- Michael Jeter – Hair
- Sam J. Jones – 10
- David Keith – The Great Santini
- David Patrick Kelly – The Warriors
- Wayne Knight – The Wanderers
- Christine Lahti – ...And Justice for All
- Laurene Landon – Bitter Heritage
- Diane Lane – A Little Romance
- Fredric Lehne – Being There
- Carl Lumbly – Escape from Alcatraz
- Tzi Ma – Cocaine Cowboys
- Hayao Miyazaki (director) – The Castle of Cagliostro
- Bill Nighy – The Bitch
- Will Patton – Minus Zero
- David Paymer – The In-Laws
- Elizabeth Peña – El Super
- Chris Penn – Charlie and the Talking Buzzard
- Rhea Perlman – Swap Meet
- Clarke Peters – The Music Machine
- CCH Pounder – All That Jazz
- Mickey Rourke – 1941
- Jay O. Sanders – Starting Over
- Raynor Scheine – Something Short of Paradise
- Wallace Shawn – Manhattan
- Martin Short – Lost and Found
- J. Smith-Cameron – Gal Young Un
- John Snyder – The Warriors
- Timothy Spall – Quadrophenia
- Mike Starr – Squeeze Play!
- Daniel Stern – Breaking Away
- Emma Suárez – Memoirs of Leticia Valle
- Patrick Swayze – Skatetown, U.S.A.
- Joey Travolta – Sunnyside
- Jean-Claude Van Damme – Woman Between Wolf and Dog
- Christoph Waltz – Breakthrough
- Peter Weller – Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
- Joanne Whalley – Birth of the Beatles
- JoBeth Williams – Kramer vs. Kramer
- Michael Wincott – Title Shot
- Ray Winstone – That Summer!
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
