1980 in film

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.

Highest-grossing films (North America)
The top ten 1980 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Worldwide gross revenue
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.

Events

 * April 29 – Sir Alfred Hitchcock, known as "the Master of Suspense", dies at his home in Bel Air, California, at the age of 80.
 * May 21 – The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the highest-grossing film of the year (just as its predecessor, Star Wars, was three years prior).
 * May 23 - The Shining is released. Notable for being the first "epic" horror film. It has since become one of the most referenced and popular films of all time.
 * June 20 – The Blues Brothers is released and in addition to becoming one of the top-grossing films of the year it also became the first feature film to be based on characters created on Saturday Night Live.
 * November 19 – Heaven's Gate becomes one of the biggest box office bombs of all-time and its colossal failure bankrupts United Artists.
 * Allied Artists is sold to Lorimar Productions.

Awards
Academy Awards:


 * Best Picture: Ordinary People - Paramount
 * Best Director: Robert Redford - Ordinary People
 * Best Actor: Robert De Niro – Raging Bull
 * Best Actress: Sissy Spacek – Coal's Miner's Daughter
 * Best Supporting Actor: Timothy Hutton – Ordinary People
 * Best Supporting Actress: Mary Steenburgen – Melvin and Howard
 * Best Foreign Language Film: Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (Москва Слезам Не Верит), directed by Vladimir Menshov, USSR

Golden Globe Awards:


 * Drama:
 * Best Picture: Ordinary People
 * Best Actor: Robert De Niro – Raging Bull
 * Best Actress: Mary Tyler Moore – Ordinary People


 * Comedy or Musical:
 * Best Picture: Coal Miner's Daughter
 * Best Actor: Ray Sharkey – The Idolmaker
 * Best Actress: Sissy Spacek – Coal Miner's Daughter


 * Other
 * Best Supporting Actor: Timothy Hutton – Ordinary People
 * Best Supporting Actress: Mary Steenburgen – Melvin and Howard
 * Best Director: Robert Redford – Ordinary People
 * Best Foreign Language Film: Tess, United Kingdom
 * Golden Globe Award for World film favourite male: Roger Moore
 * Golden Globe Award for World film favourite female: Jane Fonda

Golden Raspberry Awards:


 * Worst Picture: Can't Stop the Music
 * Worst Director: Robert Greenwald – Xanadu
 * Worst Actor: Neil Diamond – The Jazz Singer
 * Worst Actress: Brooke Shields – The Blue Lagoon
 * Worst Supporting Actor (tie): John Adames – Gloria
 * Worst Supporting Actor (tie): Laurence Olivier – The Jazz Singer
 * Worst Supporting Actress: Amy Irving – Honeysuckle Rose
 * Worst Screenplay: Bronte Woodard & Allan Carr - Can't Stop the Music

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
 * All That Jazz, directed by Bob Fosse, United States
 * Kagemusha, 影武者 (Shadow Warrior), directed by Akira Kurosawa, Japan

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
 * Atlantic City, directed by Louis Malle, USA / Canada / France
 * Gloria, directed by John Cassavetes, United States

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
 * Heartland, directed by Richard Pearce, United States
 * Palermo or Wolfsburg (Palermo oder Wolfsburg), directed by Werner Schroeter, West Germany

Notable films released in 1980
U.S.A. unless stated

#

 * 9 to 5, directed by Colin Higgins, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman

A
 * The Agency, starring Robert Mitchum, Lee Majors, Valerie Perrine – (Canada)
 * Airplane!, starring Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
 * Alien Dead, directed by Fred Olen Ray, starring Buster Crabbe
 * Alligator, directed by Lewis Teague, starring Robert Forster, Robin Riker, and Michael Gazzo
 * Altered States, directed by Ken Russell, starring William Hurt and Blair Brown
 * American Gigolo, directed by Paul Schrader, starring Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton and Héctor Elizondo
 * Antropophagus, directed by Joe D'Amato, starring George Eastman, Tisa Farrow, Zora Kerova, Saverio Vallone, and Serena Grandi (Italy)
 * Any Which Way You Can, directed by Buddy Van Horn, starring Clint Eastwood, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith, Barry Corbin, Ruth Gordon
 * Arrebato (Rapture), directed by Ivan Zulueta, starring Eusebio Poncela, and Cecilia Roth (Spain)
 * Atlantic City, directed by Louis Malle, starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon – (Canada/France) – Golden Lion winner
 * The Awakening, starring Charlton Heston, Susannah York and Stephanie Zimbalist – (U.K.)

B
 * Babylon, starring Brinsley Forde – (U.K.)
 * A Bad Son (un mauvais fils), directed by Claude Sautet – (France)
 * Bad Timing, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel – (U.K.)
 * The Baltimore Bullet, starring James Coburn
 * Berlin Alexanderplatz, a TV mini-series directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Gunther Lamprecht, Hanna Schygulla, Barbara Sukowa – (West Germany)
 * The Big Brawl, starring Jackie Chan – (Hong Kong/U.S.A.)
 * The Big Red One, directed by Samuel Fuller, starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine
 * Bizalom (Confidence), directed by István Szabó – (Hungary)
 * The Black Marble, directed by Harold Becker, starring Robert Foxworth, Paula Prentiss, Harry Dean Stanton
 * The Blood of Hussain, directed by Jamil Dehlavi – (Pakistan)
 * The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins
 * The Blues Brothers, directed by John Landis, starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Henry Gibson
 * Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)
 * Breaker Morant, directed by Bruce Beresford, starring Edward Woodward – (Australia)
 * Bronco Billy, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Sam Bottoms, Scatman Crothers
 * Brubaker, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Robert Redford, David Keith, Jane Alexander, Yaphet Kotto

C
 * Caboblanco, directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Dominique Sanda
 * Caddyshack, directed by Harold Ramis, starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, Bill Murray
 * The Candidate (Der Kandidat), directed by Volker Schlöndorff – (West Germany)
 * Cannibal Holocaust, directed by Ruggero Deodato, starring Robert Kerman – (Italy)
 * Can't Stop the Music, directed by Nancy Walker, starring Valerie Perrine, Bruce Jenner, Steve Guttenberg, Village People
 * Carny, starring Jodie Foster, Gary Busey and Robbie Robertson
 * Chann Pardesi, starring Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Om Puri – (India)
 * A Change of Seasons, starring Shirley MacLaine, Anthony Hopkins, Bo Derek
 * The Changeling, starring George C. Scott – (Canada)
 * Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
 * Children's Island (Barnens ö) – (Sweden)
 * La Cicala (The Cicada), starring Anthony Franciosa and Virna Lisi – (Italy)
 * City of Women (La città delle donne), directed by Federico Fellini, starring Marcello Mastroianni – (Italy)
 * The Club, starring Jack Thompson – (Australia)
 * Coal Miner's Daughter, starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones
 * The Competition, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving, Lee Remick, Sam Wanamaker
 * The Constant Factor (Constans) – (Poland)
 * The Crime of Cuenca (El crimen de Cuenca) – (Spain)
 * Cruising, directed by William Friedkin, starring Al Pacino
 * Cutting It Short (Postřižiny), directed by Jiří Menzel – (Czechoslovakia)

D
 * Dadar Kirti (Deeds of My Elder Brother) – (India)
 * Death Watch (La Mort en direct), directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Romy Schneider and Harvey Keitel – (France)
 * Delusion directed by Alan Beattie, starring Patricia Pearcy and Joseph Cotten
 * Die Laughing, starring Robby Benson and Bud Cort
 * The Dogs of War, starring Christopher Walken – (U.S.A./U.K.)
 * Dostana (Friendship), starring Amitabh Bachchan – (India)
 * Dressed to Kill, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Angie Dickinson

E
 * Elisita – (Spain)
 * The Elephant Man, directed by David Lynch, starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins – (U.S.A./U.K.)
 * The Empire Strikes Back, directed by Irvin Kershner, starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
 * Encounters of the Spooky Kind (Gui da gui), directed by and starring Sammo Hung – (Hong Kong)
 * Every Man for Himself (Sauve qui peut (la vie)), directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jacques Dutronc and Isabelle Huppert – (France)
 * The Exterminator, starring Robert Ginty and Samantha Eggar

F
 * Fade to Black, starring Dennis Christopher
 * The Falls, directed by Peter Greenaway – (U.K.)
 * Fame, directed by Alan Parker, starring Irene Cara
 * Fatso, directed by and starring Anne Bancroft, with Dom DeLuise
 * The Final Countdown, starring Kirk Douglas, Katharine Ross, Martin Sheen
 * The First Deadly Sin, starring Frank Sinatra, David Dukes, Martin Gabel, Brenda Vaccaro, Faye Dunaway
 * First Family, directed by Buck Henry, starring Bob Newhart, Madeline Kahn, Gilda Radner
 * Flash Gordon, directed by Mike Hodges, starring Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Chaim Topol – (U.S.A./U.K.)
 * The Fog, directed by John Carpenter, starring Adrienne Barbeau and Jamie Lee Curtis
 * Foolin' Around, starring Gary Busey, Annette O'Toole, Eddie Albert, Cloris Leachman
 * The Formula, starring George C. Scott and Marlon Brando
 * Foxes, directed by Adrian Lyne, starring Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie, Scott Baio and Adam Faith
 * Friday the 13th, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King and Harry Crosby

G
 * The Gamekeeper, directed by Ken Loach – (U.K.)
 * Gamera: Super Monster (Uchu Kaijū Gamera) – (Japan)
 * Germany, Pale Mother (Deutschland bleiche Mutter), starring Eva Mattes – (West Germany)
 * Gilda Live, starring Gilda Radner, Father Guido Sarducci
 * Gloria, directed by John Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands – Golden Lion winner
 * The Gods Must Be Crazy, directed by Jamie Uys, starring N!xau, Sandra Prinsloo and Marius Weyers – (South Africa)
 * Good Riddance (Les Bons débarras) – (Canada)
 * The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, a mockumentary directed by Julien Temple, featuring The Sex Pistols and Malcolm McLaren – (U.K.)

H
 * Hangar 18, starring Darren McGavin and Robert Vaughn
 * Health, a.k.a. H.E.A.L.T.H., directed by Robert Altman, starring Carol Burnett, Lauren Bacall, Glenda Jackson, James Garner
 * Heart Beat, starring Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, John Heard
 * He Knows You're Alone, starring Don Scardino and Caitlin O'Heaney
 * Heaven's Gate, directed by Michael Cimino, starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Jeff Bridges
 * Herbie Goes Bananas, directed by Vincent McEveety, starring Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman and Charles Martin Smith
 * Hero at Large, starring John Ritter and Anne Archer
 * Hey Babe!, starring Yasmine Bleeth and Buddy Hackett – (Canada)
 * Hirak Rajar Deshe (Kingdom of Diamonds), directed by Satyajit Ray – (India)
 * The Hit (Trhák) – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Home Movies, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Kirk Douglas, Vincent Gardenia, Gerrit Graham, Nancy Allen
 * Hopscotch, directed by Ronald Neame, starring Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson
 * How to Beat the High Cost of Living, starring Susan Saint James, Jessica Lange, Jane Curtin, Dabney Coleman, Richard Benjamin
 * Humanoids from the Deep, starring Vic Morrow, Doug McClure, Ann Turkel
 * The Hunter, starring Steve McQueen (in his final film), Kathryn Harrold, LeVar Burton, Ben Johnson, Eli Wallach

I
 * The Idolmaker, directed by Taylor Hackford, starring Ray Sharkey and Peter Gallagher
 * Inferno, directed by Dario Argento – (Italy)
 * Inside Moves, directed by Richard Donner, starring John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid
 * The Island, directed by Michael Ritchie, starring Michael Caine
 * It's My Turn, directed by Claudia Weill, starring Jill Clayburgh, Michael Douglas, Charles Grodin

J-K
 * The Jazz Singer, starring Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz, Laurence Olivier
 * Just Tell Me What You Want, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Ali MacGraw, Alan King, Peter Weller, Myrna Loy
 * Karz (In Debt), starring Rishi Kapoor – (India)
 * Kagemusha, directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara – (Japan) – Palme d'Or winner
 * Khubsoorat, starring Ashok Kumar and Rekha – (India)
 * Klondike Fever, starring Jeff East, Rod Steiger, Angie Dickinson, Gordon Pinsent – (Canada)

L
 * Ladies' Choice (Dami Kanyat), directed by Ivan Andonov, starring Stefan Danailov – (Bulgaria)
 * The Last Flight of Noah's Ark, starring Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold, Ricky Schroder
 * The Last Married Couple in America, starring Natalie Wood, George Segal, Valerie Harper, Richard Benjamin
 * The Last Metro (Le dernier metro), directed by François Truffaut, starring Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu – (France)
 * The Last Witness (Choehuui jeungin) – (South Korea)
 * The Lathe of Heaven, starring Bruce Davison
 * Legend of Tianyun Mountain (Tiān yún shān chuán qí) – (China)
 * The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, a documentary film
 * Little Darlings, starring Tatum O'Neal, Kristy McNichol, Armand Assante and Matt Dillon
 * Little Miss Marker, starring Walter Matthau, Julie Andrews, Tony Curtis, Bob Newhart
 * The Long Good Friday, directed by John Mackenzie, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren – (U.K.)
 * The Long Riders, directed by Walter Hill, starring the Keach brothers, Carradine brothers and Quaid brothers
 * Loulou, starring Isabelle Huppert and Gérard Depardieu – (France)
 * Loving Couples, directed by Jack Smight, starring Shirley MacLaine, James Coburn, Stephen Collins, Susan Sarandon

M
 * The Magician of Lublin, starring Alan Arkin, Valerie Perrine, Louise Fletcher
 * The Man with Bogart's Face, starring Robert Sacchi, Misty Rowe, Victor Buono, Yvonne De Carlo, Herbert Lom
 * Manila by Night – (Philippines)
 * McVicar, directed by Tom Clegg, starring Roger Daltrey, Adam Faith, Cheryl Campbell – (U.K.)
 * Melvin and Howard, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen
 * Midnight Madness
 * The Mirror Crack'd, directed by Guy Hamilton, starring Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson – (U.K.)
 * Mon oncle d'Amérique, directed by Alain Resnais, starring Gérard Depardieu – (France) – Cannes Special Jury Prize
 * Motel Hell, starring Rory Calhoun
 * Mother's Day, starring Nancy Hendrickson
 * The Mountain Men, starring Charlton Heston and Brian Keith
 * My Bodyguard, directed by Tony Bill, starring Matt Dillon, Adam Baldwin, Chris Makepeace, Martin Mull

N
 * The Nest (El Nido) – (Spain)
 * Nightkill, starring Robert Mitchum
 * Nijinsky, starring George de la Peña and Alan Bates
 * The Ninth Configuration, directed by William Peter Blatty, starring Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson, Jason Miller

O
 * O Megalexandros (Alexander the Great), directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos – (Greece)
 * Oh, God! Book II, starring George Burns
 * One Trick Pony, written by and starring Paul Simon, with Blair Brown, Joan Hackett, Rip Torn
 * The Orchestra Conductor (Dyrygent), directed by Andrzej Wajda, starring John Gielgud – (Poland)
 * Ordinary People, directed by Robert Redford, starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern
 * Out of the Blue, directed by and starring Dennis Hopper, with Linda Manz, Raymond Burr – (Canada)

P-Q
 * Pepi, Luci, Bom, directed by Pedro Almodóvar – (Spain)
 * Palermo or Wolfsburg – (West Germany) – Golden Bear winner
 * Permanent Vacation, directed by Jim Jarmusch
 * The Pilot, directed by and starring Cliff Robertson, with Diane Baker and Gordon MacRae
 * Playing for Time, directed by Daniel Mann, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Alexander
 * Popeye, directed by Robert Altman, starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall
 * Pray TV, starring Dabney Coleman
 * Private Benjamin, directed by Howard Zieff, starring Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Armand Assante, Robert Webber, Harry Dean Stanton
 * The Private Eyes, starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts
 * Prom Night, starring Leslie Nielsen and Jamie Lee Curtis
 * Qurbani (Sacrifice), directed by and starring Feroz Khan – (India)

R
 * Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty
 * Resurrection, starring Ellen Burstyn and Eva Le Gallienne
 * The Return of the King, animated film, voices of Orson Bean, John Huston, William Conrad
 * Return of the Secaucus 7, directed by John Sayles
 * El Retorno del Hombre Lobo (Return of the Werewolf) – (Spain)
 * Roadie, directed by Alan Rudolph, starring Meat Loaf and Kaki Hunter
 * Le Roi et l'oiseau (The King and the Mocking Bird), animated film – (France)
 * Rockshow, concert film featuring Paul McCartney and Wings – (U.K.)
 * Rough Cut, directed by Don Siegel, starring Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down, David Niven
 * Rude Boy, a rockumentary featuring The Clash – (U.K.)

S
 * Sällskapsresan (The Charter Trip), directed by and starring Lasse Åberg – (Sweden)
 * The Sea Wolves, starring Gregory Peck, David Niven, Roger Moore – (U.K./U.S.A./Switzerland)
 * See You in the Next War (enja u sledećem ratu) – (Yugoslavia)
 * Seems Like Old Times, starring Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase and Charles Grodin
 * Serial, starring Martin Mull, Tuesday Weld, Christopher Lee, Bill Macy, Sally Kellerman, Tom Smothers
 * The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
 * Simon, starring Alan Arkin
 * A Small Circle of Friends, starring Brad Davis and Karen Allen
 * Smokey and the Bandit II, directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed and Dom DeLuise
 * Solo Sunny – (East Germany)
 * Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour
 * Special Treatment (Poseban tretman) – (Yugoslavia)
 * Stardust Memories, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Charlotte Rampling and Jessica Harper
 * Stir Crazy, directed by Sidney Poitier, starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder
 * Stalker, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and released in 1979 but later released in 1980
 * The Stunt Man, directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Barbara Hershey, Steve Railsback
 * Sunday Lovers, starring Gene Wilder, Roger Moore, Lino Ventura
 * Superman II, starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp

T
 * Terror Train
 * La terrazza (The Terrace), starring Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi – (Italy)
 * That Sinking Feeling, directed by Bill Forsyth, starring John Gordon Sinclair – (U.K.)
 * Those Lips, Those Eyes, starring Frank Langella, Glynnis O'Connor, Tom Hulce
 * Times Square, directed by Allen Moyle, starring Robin Johnson, Trini Alvarado, Tim Curry
 * To Love the Damned (Maledetti vi amerò) – (Italy)
 * Tom Horn, starring Steve McQueen, Richard Farnsworth, Linda Evans
 * Tribute, starring Jack Lemmon – (Canada)
 * Twelve Months (Sekai Meisaku Douwa Mori wa Ikiteiru / Dvenadtsat mesyatsev) – (Japan/U.S.S.R.)

UV
 * The Unseen, starring Barbara Bach and Stephen Furst
 * Up the Academy, directed by Robert Downey Sr.
 * Urban Cowboy, directed by James Bridges, starring John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, Madolyn Smith, Barry Corbin
 * Used Cars, directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Kurt Russell, Deborah Harmon, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham
 * Virus (Fukkatsu no hi), starring Sonny Chiba and Glenn Ford – (Japan)
 * Le Voyage en douce, starring Dominique Sanda and Geraldine Chaplin – (France)

W
 * Waiter, Scarper! (Vrchní, prchni!) – (Czechoslovakia)
 * The Watcher in the Woods, starring Bette Davis – (U.K./U.S.A.)
 * When Time Ran Out, starring Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, Burgess Meredith, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons
 * Where the Buffalo Roam, directed by Art Linson, starring Bill Murray and Peter Boyle
 * Wholly Moses!, starring Dudley Moore, Laraine Newman, Paul Sand, Dom DeLuise
 * Who's Singin' Over There? (Ko to tamo peva) – (Yugoslavia)
 * Why Would I Lie?, starring Treat Williams, Lisa Eichhorn, Valerie Curtin
 * Willie & Phil, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Margot Kidder, Ray Sharkey, Michael Ontkean
 * Windows, starring Talia Shire and Elizabeth Ashley
 * Witches' Brew, starring Teri Garr and Richard Benjamin

X
 * Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck, Gene Kelly

Y
 * The Young Master (Shi di chu ma), directed by and starring Jackie Chan – (Hong Kong)
 * Yūgure made – (Japan)

Z
 * Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), directed by Seijun Suzuki – (Japan)

1980 Wide-release movies
U.S.A. unless stated

January–March

 * January 1980
 * January 18
 * Just Tell Me What You Want
 * Windows
 * January 22
 * In Search of Historic Jesus
 * January 30
 * To All a Goodnight
 * February 1980
 * February 1
 * Fatso
 * February 8
 * American Gigolo
 * Hero at Large
 * The Fog
 * The Last Married Couple in America
 * Midnight Madness
 * February 15
 * Caligula
 * Cruising
 * Mad Max
 * February 29
 * Don't Answer the Phone
 * Foxes
 * The Ninth Configuration
 * March 1980
 * March 7
 * Coal Miner's Daughter
 * Lady and the Tramp (re-release)
 * March 14
 * Defiance
 * March 21
 * Forbidden Zone
 * Little Miss Marker
 * March 28
 * Serial
 * Tom Horn
 * When Time Ran Out

April–June

 * April 1980
 * April 1
 * The Baltimore Bullet
 * April 17
 * The Private Eyes
 * Stalker
 * April 25
 * Where the Buffalo Roam
 * May 1980
 * May 9
 * Friday the 13th
 * The Nude Bomb
 * May 16
 * Fame
 * The Long Riders
 * May 21
 * The Empire Strikes Back
 * May 23
 * Carny
 * The Gong Show Movie
 * The Shining
 * May 30
 * Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)
 * The Hollywood Knights
 * June 1980
 * June 1
 * The Mountain Men
 * June 4
 * The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood
 * June 6
 * Galaxina
 * Up the Academy
 * Urban Cowboy
 * June 11
 * Bronco Billy
 * June 13
 * The Children
 * The Island
 * Roadie
 * Wholly Moses!
 * June 19
 * Animalympics
 * Rough Cut
 * June 20
 * The Blues Brothers
 * Brubaker
 * Can't Stop the Music
 * June 25
 * Herbie Goes Bananas
 * The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

July–September

 * July 1980
 * July 2
 * Airplane!
 * Alligator
 * July 5
 * The Blue Lagoon
 * July 11
 * Oh! Heavenly Dog
 * Used Cars
 * July 18
 * Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
 * Honeysuckle Rose
 * The Little Dragons
 * Prom Night
 * July 24
 * The Earthling
 * July 25
 * Caddyshack
 * Dressed to Kill
 * August 1980
 * August 1
 * The Final Countdown
 * The Hunter
 * I Go Pogo
 * Loose Shoes
 * Raise the Titanic
 * August 8
 * The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
 * Xanadu
 * August 10
 * Why Would I Lie?
 * August 14
 * The Octagon
 * August 15
 * The Kidnapping of the President
 * Smokey and the Bandit II
 * Those Lips, Those Eyes
 * September 1980
 * September 8
 * Battle Beyond the Stars
 * September 9
 * Phobia
 * September 12
 * He Knows You're Alone
 * September 19
 * The Exterminator
 * Melvin and Howard
 * September 26
 * In God We Tru$t
 * My Bodyguard
 * Resurrection
 * Stardust Memories
 * Without Warning

October–December

 * October 1980
 * October 3
 * Coast to Coast
 * The First Deadly Sin
 * Oh, God! Book II
 * One-Trick Pony
 * Somewhere in Time
 * Terror Train
 * October 4
 * Superman II
 * October 10
 * The Elephant Man
 * Kagemusha
 * Private Benjamin
 * Song of the South (re-release)
 * October 14
 * Fade to Black
 * October 18
 * Motel Hell
 * October 31
 * The Awakening
 * Touched by Love
 * Witches' Brew
 * November 1980
 * November 7
 * The Boogeyman
 * November 11
 * Shogun Assassin
 * November 14
 * The Idolmaker
 * Raging Bull
 * November 19
 * Heaven's Gate
 * November 21
 * The Apple
 * Hurray for Betty Boop
 * The Visitor
 * December 1980
 * December 1
 * A Change of Seasons
 * December 3
 * The Competition
 * December 5
 * Flash Gordon
 * December 6
 * Popeye
 * December 12
 * Stir Crazy
 * December 17
 * Any Which Way You Can
 * December 19
 * 9 to 5
 * The Aristocats (re-release)
 * The Formula
 * Inside Moves
 * The Jazz Singer
 * Seems Like Old Times
 * December 25
 * Altered States
 * First Family

Births

 * January 7 – Hele Kõrve, Estonian actress and singer
 * January 16 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, American singer-songwriter and actor
 * January 17 – Zooey Deschanel, American singer-songwriter and actress
 * January 18 – Estelle, British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress
 * January 21 – Kim Sharma, Indian actress
 * January 30 – Wilmer Valderrama, American actor
 * February 11 – Matthew Lawrence, American actor
 * February 12 – Christina Ricci, American actress
 * March 3 – Katherine Waterston, American actress
 * March 7
 * Laura Prepon, American actress
 * Mart Toome, Estonian actor
 * March 9 – Matthew Gray Gubler, American actor
 * March 31
 * Kate Micucci, American actress
 * Maaya Sakamoto, Japanese singer and voice actress
 * April 8 – Carrie Savage, American voice actress
 * April 13
 * Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress
 * Kelli Giddish, American actress
 * April 26
 * Jordana Brewster, American actress
 * Channing Tatum, American actor
 * May 8
 * Jasen Fisher, American former child actor
 * Kimberlee Peterson, American actress
 * May 22 – Evelin Võigemast, Estonian actress
 * June 16 – Sibel Kekilli, German actress
 * June 23 – Melissa Rauch, American actress and comedian
 * June 24 – Minka Kelly, American actress
 * July 3 – Olivia Munn, American actress
 * July 6 – Eva Green, French actress
 * July 18 – Kristen Bell, American actress
 * August 18 – Preeti Jhangiani, Indian actress
 * August 25 – Jackie Tohn, American actress and singer
 * August 26
 * Macaulay Culkin, American actor
 * Chris Pine, American actor
 * September 9 – Michelle Williams, American actress
 * September 13 – Ben Savage, American actor
 * September 21 – Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
 * October 8 - Nathan Head, British actor
 * October 14 – Ben Whishaw, English actor
 * October 18 – Erin Dean, American former actress
 * October 19 – Benjamin Salisbury, American actor
 * October 24 – Monica, American singer-songwriter, producer and actress
 * October 29 – Ben Foster, American actor
 * November 12 – Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
 * December 3 – Anna Chlumsky, American actress
 * December 19
 * Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor
 * Marla Sokoloff, American actress
 * December 30 – Eliza Dushku, American actress

Film debuts

 * Christopher Atkins – The Blue Lagoon
 * Adam Baldwin – My Bodyguard
 * Drew Barrymore – Altered States
 * Jennifer Beals – My Bodyguard
 * Pierce Brosnan – The Long Good Friday
 * Robbie Coltrane – Flash Gordon
 * Joan Cusack – My Bodyguard
 * Willem Dafoe – Heaven's Gate
 * Tony Danza – The Hollywood Knights
 * Michael J. Fox – Midnight Madness
 * Peter Gallagher – The Idolmaker
 * Julie Hagerty – Airplane!
 * Tom Hanks – He Knows You're Alone
 * Linda Hunt – Popeye
 * William Hurt – Altered States
 * Timothy Hutton – Ordinary People
 * Jeremy Irons – Nijinsky
 * Ralph Macchio – Up the Academy
 * William H. Macy – Somewhere in Time
 * Sophie Marceau – La Boum
 * Christopher McDonald – The Hearse
 * Elizabeth McGovern – Ordinary People
 * Cathy Moriarty – Raging Bull
 * David Morse – Inside Moves
 * Cynthia Nixon – Little Darlings
 * Catherine O'Hara – Deadly Companion
 * Terry O'Quinn – Heaven's Gate
 * Joe Pantoliano – The Idolmaker
 * Dolly Parton – 9 to 5
 * Michelle Pfeiffer – The Hollywood Knights
 * Harold Ramis – Caddyshack (actor)
 * Judge Reinhold – Running Scared
 * Paul Reubens – Pray TV
 * Sharon Stone – Stardust Memories
 * David Strathairn – Return of the Secaucus 7
 * Meg Tilly – Fame
 * John Turturro – Raging Bull
 * Dianne Wiest – It's My Turn
 * Bruce Willis – The First Deadly Sin
 * Mare Winningham – One-Trick Pony
 * Nicholas Woodeson – Heaven's Gate
 * Sean Young – Jane Austen in Manhattan