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Overview of the events of 1980 in film From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is an overview of events in 1980 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.
The top ten 1980 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Rank | Title | Distributor | Box-office gross |
---|---|---|---|
1 | The Empire Strikes Back | 20th Century Fox | $209,398,025 |
2 | 9 to 5 | $103,290,500 | |
3 | Stir Crazy | Columbia | $101,300,000 |
4 | Airplane! | Paramount | $83,453,539 |
5 | Any Which Way You Can | Warner Bros. | $70,687,344 |
6 | Private Benjamin | $69,847,348 | |
7 | Coal Miner's Daughter | Universal | $67,182,787 |
8 | Smokey and the Bandit II | $66,132,626 | |
9 | The Blue Lagoon | Columbia | $58,853,106 |
10 | The Blues Brothers | Universal | $57,229,890 |
The following table lists known worldwide gross revenue figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1980. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1980.
Title | Gross | Source | Country |
---|---|---|---|
The Empire Strikes Back | $538,375,067 | [2] | United States |
The Gods Must Be Crazy | $200,000,000 | [3] | South Africa |
Airplane! | $130,000,000 | [4] | United States |
The Blues Brothers | $115,229,890 | [5] |
November 7- Legendary actor Steve McQueen dies at the age of 50 after surgery to remove tumours in his neck after previously been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Industry professionals predicted comedy films and upbeat entertainment to dominate theaters in 1980. This was a response to poor morale in a nation suffering through economic recession, which generally increased theatrical visits as audiences sought escapism and ignored romantic films and depictions of blue-collar life.[6][7] The financial success and low cost of production cost of comedies such as Blazing Saddles (1974) and Animal House (1978), had further driven demand for comedies; Airplane!, The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, and The Jerk, were all scheduled for release that year. The average cost of making films had risen to $6 million which had reduced the number of films being made for niche audiences. Some studios continued to release a wide variety of films, hoping that few significant successes would compensate for other failures.[7]
A surge of interest in science-fiction following Star Wars' release had led to many low-budget entries in the genre attempting to profit by association, and big budget entries such as Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Black Hole, both of which were released in late 1979, just months before The Empire Strikes Back.[8]
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
United States unless stated
Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January | 1 | Adolph Deutsch | 82 | US | Composer, Arranger | |
3 | Ivan Triesault | 81 | Estonia | Actor | ||
14 | Robert Ardrey | 71 | US | Screenwriter | ||
17 | Barbara Britton | 60 | US | Actress | ||
18 | Cecil Beaton | 76 | UK | Costume Designer, Production Designer | ||
22 | Iris Meredith | 64 | US | Actress | ||
23 | Leonard Strong | 71 | US | Actor | ||
24 | Lil Dagover | 92 | Germany | Actress | ||
24 | James Poe | 58 | US | Screenwriter | ||
27 | Peppino De Filippo | 76 | Italy | Actor | ||
28 | Erle C. Kenton | 83 | US | Director | ||
29 | Jimmy Durante | 86 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
February | 1 | Romolo Valli | 54 | Italy | Actor | |
3 | Ray Heindorf | 71 | US | Composer | ||
9 | Renée Houston | 77 | UK | Actress | ||
13 | David Janssen | 48 | US | Actor | ||
17 | Jerry Fielding | 57 | US | Composer | ||
17 | Ed Graves | 62 | US | Art Director | ||
18 | Gale Robbins | 58 | US | Actress, Singer | ||
26 | Mario Mattoli | 81 | Italy | Director, Screenwriter | ||
27 | George Tobias | 78 | US | Actor | ||
March | 5 | Jay Silverheels | 67 | Canada | Actor | |
8 | Frank McDonald | 80 | US | Director | ||
17 | Farciot Edouart | 85 | US | Special Effects Artist | ||
27 | Philip W. Anderson | 64 | US | Film Editor | ||
27 | Steve Fisher | 67 | US | Screenwriter | ||
28 | Dick Haymes | 61 | Argentina | Actor, Singer | ||
30 | David Sharpe | 70 | US | Stuntman, Actor | ||
April | 3 | Mary McCarty | 56 | US | Actress | |
6 | John Collier | 78 | UK | Screenwriter | ||
9 | Kathleen Burke | 66 | US | Actress | ||
10 | Kay Medford | 65 | US | Actress | ||
11 | Charlotte Henry | 66 | US | Actress | ||
14 | Tom Fadden | 85 | US | Actor | ||
15 | Raymond Bailey | 75 | US | Actor | ||
17 | Alf Sjöberg | 76 | Sweden | Director | ||
19 | Tony Beckley | 50 | UK | Actor | ||
25 | Mario Bava | 65 | Italy | Director, Screenwriter, Cinematographer | ||
26 | Cicely Courtneidge | 87 | Australia | Actress, Singer | ||
29 | William Clemens | 74 | US | Director | ||
29 | Alfred Hitchcock | 80 | UK | Director | ||
May | 1 | Henry Levin | 70 | US | Director | |
1 | Gene Markey | 84 | US | Screenwriter | ||
2 | George Pal | 72 | Hungary | Producer, Director | ||
4 | Kay Hammond | 71 | UK | Actress | ||
12 | Lillian Roth | 69 | US | Actress | ||
14 | Hugh Griffith | 67 | UK | Actor | ||
15 | Gordon E. Sawyer | 74 | US | Sound Engineer | ||
16 | José Calvo | 64 | Spain | Actor | ||
19 | Ray Rennahan | 84 | US | Cinematographer | ||
21 | Ida Kamińska | 80 | Ukraine | Actress | ||
26 | Franz Bachelin | 84 | Germany | Art Director | ||
June | 4 | Gloria Saunders | 52 | US | Actress | |
12 | Milburn Stone | 75 | US | Actor | ||
18 | Terence Fisher | 76 | UK | Director | ||
22 | Monang Carvajal | 82 | Philippines | Actress | ||
23 | John Laurie | 83 | UK | Actor | ||
23 | Odile Versois | 50 | France | Actress | ||
24 | Boris Kaufman | 73 | Poland | Cinematographer | ||
28 | José Iturbi | 84 | Spain | Conductor, Actor | ||
30 | Thomas Browne Henry | 72 | US | Actor | ||
July | 6 | Frank Cordell | 62 | UK | Composer | |
6 | Gail Patrick | 69 | US | Actress | ||
7 | Reginald Gardiner | 77 | UK | Actor | ||
7 | Dore Schary | 74 | US | Producer, Screenwriter, Executive | ||
11 | Peggy Knudsen | 57 | US | Actress | ||
24 | Peter Sellers | 54 | UK | Actor | ||
30 | Charles McGraw | 66 | US | Actor | ||
31 | Bobby Van | 51 | US | Actor, Dancer | ||
August | 1 | Strother Martin | 61 | US | Actor | |
2 | Donald Ogden Stewart | 85 | US | Screenwriter | ||
9 | Elliot Nugent | 83 | US | Director | ||
14 | Dorothy Stratten | 20 | Canada | Actress | ||
17 | Harold Adamson | 73 | US | Lyricist | ||
24 | Yootha Joyce | 53 | UK | Actress | ||
25 | Gower Champion | 59 | US | Actor, Dancer, Director | ||
25 | Lester Dorr | 87 | US | Actor | ||
26 | Tex Avery | 72 | US | Animator, Director | ||
27 | Douglas Kenney | 33 | US | Screenwriter | ||
September | 3 | Barbara O'Neil | 70 | US | Actress | |
4 | Duncan Renaldo | 76 | Romania | Actor | ||
5 | Barbara Loden | 48 | US | Actress, Director | ||
12 | Lillian Randolph | 81 | US | Actress | ||
17 | Michael Strong | 62 | US | Actor | ||
19 | Sol Lesser | 90 | US | Producer | ||
25 | Lewis Milestone | 84 | Moldova | Director | ||
October | 6 | Hattie Jacques | 58 | UK | Actress | |
10 | Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas | 49 | US | Actor | ||
28 | Leon Janney | 63 | US | Actor | ||
November | 4 | Noel Langley | 68 | South Africa | Screenwriter | |
7 | Emilio Cigoli | 70 | Italy | Actor | ||
7 | Steve McQueen | 50 | US | Actor | ||
9 | Carmel Myers | 81 | US | Actress | ||
9 | Victor Sen Yung | 65 | US | Actor | ||
14 | Nick Dennis | 76 | US | Actor | ||
15 | Bill Lee | 64 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
16 | Imogen Hassall | 38 | UK | Actress | ||
22 | Mae West | 87 | US | Actress, Screenwriter | ||
24 | Nancy Hsueh | 38 | US | Actress | ||
24 | George Raft | 79 | US | Actor | ||
26 | Conrad A. Nervig | 91 | US | Film Editor | ||
26 | Rachel Roberts | 53 | UK | Actress | ||
28 | Sarah Y. Mason | 84 | US | Screenwriter | ||
29 | Edith Evanson | 84 | US | Actress | ||
December | 8 | John Lennon | 40 | UK | Singer, Actor | |
12 | Urie McCleary | 75 | US | Art Director | ||
16 | Peter Collinson | 44 | UK | Director | ||
20 | Ben Sharpsteen | 85 | US | Director, Producer | ||
21 | Marc Connelly | 90 | US | Actor, Screenwriter | ||
22 | Lesser Samuels | 86 | US | Screenwriter | ||
23 | Memmo Carotenuto | 72 | Italy | Actor | ||
28 | Sam Levene | 75 | US | Actor | ||
31 | Raoul Walsh | 93 | US | Director, Actor | ||
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