1984 in film

The following is an overview of events in 1984 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths. The year's highest-grossing film was Beverly Hills Cop. Ghostbusters overtook it however, with a re-release the following year. Other popular films included The Neverending Story, which was the most expensive film produced in West Germany, The Karate Kid and Romancing the Stone. A high number of sci-fi/fantasy films were released in 1984.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1984 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * The Walt Disney Studios establishes Touchstone Pictures to release films with more mature subject matter than the traditional Walt Disney Pictures banner.
 * Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film.
 * Michael Eisner becomes head of Walt Disney Productions, while Frank Wells became Chief Operating Officer and Jeffrey Katzenberg was named Chairman.
 * Prince's first film Purple Rain is released.
 * Annie's Coming Out wins AFI Award (Australia)
 * The Motion Picture Association of America institutes the PG-13 rating, as a response to violent movies such as Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
 * Romancing the Stone is released and propelled stars Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, and Danny DeVito and director Robert Zemeckis to super-stardom. The film also gave Zemeckis his first box office hit, which gave Universal Pictures confidence to allow him to direct his next film, Back to the Future.

Awards
Academy Awards:


 * Best Picture: Amadeus
 * Best Director: Miloš Forman - Amadeus
 * Best Actor: F. Murray Abraham - Amadeus
 * Best Actress: Sally Field - Places in the Heart
 * Best Supporting Actor: Haing S. Ngor - The Killing Fields
 * Best Supporting Actress: Peggy Ashcroft - A Passage to India
 * Best Foreign Language Film: La diagonale du fou (Dangerous Moves), directed by Richard Dembo, Switzerland

Golden Globe Awards:


 * Drama:
 * Best Picture: Amadeus
 * Best Actor: F. Murray Abraham - Amadeus
 * Best Actress: Sally Field - Places in the Heart


 * Musical or comedy:
 * Best Picture: Romancing the Stone
 * Best Actor: Dudley Moore - Micki & Maude
 * Best Actress: Kathleen Turner - Romancing the Stone


 * Other
 * Best Director: Miloš Forman - Amadeus
 * Best Foreign English Language Film: A Passage to India, U.K. / U.S.A.

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
 * Paris, Texas, directed by Wim Wenders, France / W. Germany

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
 * A Year of the Quiet Sun (Rok spokojnego slonca), directed by Krzysztof Zanussi,

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
 * Love Streams, directed by John Cassavetes, United States

Notable films released in 1984
U.S.A. unless stated

#
 * 1984, directed by Michael Radford, starring John Hurt and Richard Burton - (U.K.)
 * 2010, directed by Peter Hyams, starring Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Bob Balaban, Dana Elcar, Helen Mirren

A
 * Aaj Ki Awaaz (Today's Voice) - (India)
 * Abnormal Family: Older Brother's Bride (Hentai kazoku: Aniki no yomesan) - (Japan)
 * The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, starring Peter Weller and Jeff Goldblum
 * After the Rehearsal (Efter repetitionen), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin, Lena Olin - (Sweden)
 * Against All Odds, directed by Taylor Hackford, starring Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward, James Woods, Alex Karras, Richard Widmark, Jane Greer
 * All of Me, directed by Carl Reiner, starring Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin
 * Alley Cat
 * Amadeus, directed by Miloš Forman, starring F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce - Academy and Golden Globe (drama) Awards for Best Picture
 * The Ambassador, directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Robert Mitchum, Rock Hudson and Ellen Burstyn
 * American Dreamer, starring JoBeth Williams
 * Annie's Coming Out, starring Angela Punch McGregor - (Australia)
 * Another Country, starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth - (U.K.)
 * The Annunciation (Angyali üdvözlet) - (Hungary)
 * Asesinato en el Senado de la Nación (Murder in the Senate) - (Argentina)

B
 * Bachelor Party, starring Tom Hanks, Adrian Zmed, Tawny Kitaen
 * Bad Manners, aka Growing Pains, starring Martin Mull and Karen Black
 * Balkan Spy (Balkanski spijun) - (Yugoslavia)
 * Ballad of the Little Soldier (Ballade vom kleinen Soldaten), a documentary film about child soldiers directed by Werner Herzog - (West Germany)
 * The Bay Boy, starring Liv Ullmann and Kiefer Sutherland - (Canada/France) - Genie Award for Best Canadian Motion Picture.
 * Bayan Ko:This Is My Country (Bayan ko: Kapit sa patalim) - (Philippines)
 * Beat Street, starring Rae Dawn Chong
 * Before Stonewall, a documentary film
 * Best Defense, starring Dudley Moore, Eddie Murphy, Kate Capshaw
 * Beverly Hills Cop, directed by Martin Brest, starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Ronny Cox, John Ashton, Bronson Pinchot
 * Beyond the Walls (Me'Ahorei Hasoragim) - (Israel)
 * Bianca, directed by and starring Nanni Moretti - (Italy)
 * Bicycles Are for the Summer (Las bicycletas son para el verano) - (Spain)
 * Birdy, directed by Alan Parker, starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage, music from Peter Gabriel
 * Blame It on Rio, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Michael Caine, Joseph Bologna, Demi Moore, Michelle Johnson
 * Blind Date, starring Kirstie Alley
 * Blood Simple, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (debut), starring John Getz, Dan Hedaya, Frances McDormand, M. Emmet Walsh
 * Body Double, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Deborah Shelton, Gregg Henry
 * Bolero, starring Bo Derek
 * The Bostonians, directed by James Ivory, starring Christopher Reeve, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Tandy - (U.S.A./U.K.)
 * The Bounty, directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson - (U.K.)
 * Breakin'
 * Broadway Danny Rose - directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello
 * The Brother from Another Planet, directed by John Sayles, starring Joe Morton
 * The Buddy System, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Wil Wheaton, Nancy Allen

C
 * C.H.U.D., starring John Heard and Daniel Stern
 * Cal, starring John Lynch and Helen Mirren - (U.K.)
 * Camila, directed by María Luisa Bemberg - (Argentina)
 * Cannonball Run II, starring Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Shirley MacLaine, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra
 * Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, a television film starring Warwick Davis
 * Carmen, a cinematic opera directed by Francesco Rosi, starring Plácido Domingo - (France/Italy)
 * The Chain, directed by Jack Gold - (U.K.)
 * Chaos (Kaos) - (Italy)
 * The Children (Les enfants), directed by Marguerite Duras - (France)
 * Children of the Corn, starring Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton
 * Choose Me, directed by Alan Rudolph, starring Lesley Ann Warren, Geneviève Bujold, Keith Carradine
 * Ciske de Rat (Ciske the Rat) - (Netherlands)
 * City Heat, directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Madeline Kahn, Jane Alexander, Richard Roundtree, Rip Torn
 * Cloak & Dagger, starring Henry Thomas and Dabney Coleman
 * Comfort and Joy, directed by Bill Forsyth, starring Bill Paterson - (U.K.)
 * The Company of Wolves, directed by Neil Jordan, starring Stephen Rea, Angela Lansbury, Sarah Patterson - (U.K.)
 * Conan the Destroyer, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wilt Chamberlain, Grace Jones, Olivia d'Abo
 * The Coolangatta Gold - (Australia)
 * Le Cop, starring Philippe Noiret - (France)
 * The Cotton Club, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, James Remar, Bob Hoskins, Fred Gwynne, Nicolas Cage
 * Country, directed by Richard Pearce, starring Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard
 * Crackers, directed by Louis Malle, starring Donald Sutherland and Sean Penn
 * Crimes of Passion, directed by Ken Russell, starring Kathleen Turner and Anthony Perkins

D
 * The Dark Glow of the Mountains (Gasherbrum - Der leuchtende Berg), directed by Werner Herzog - (West Germany)
 * The Descendant of the Snow Leopard (Potomok belogo barsa) - (U.S.S.R.)
 * La diagonale du fou (Dangerous Moves), starring Michel Piccoli - (France/Switzerland) - Academy Award for Foreign Language Film
 * Diary for My Children (Napló gyermekeimnek) - (Hungary)
 * Dreamscape, starring Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw, Max von Sydow, Christopher Lee
 * Dune, directed by David Lynch, starring Kyle MacLachlan, Sting, Sean Young, Francesca Annis, Jürgen Prochnow, Kenneth McMillan, José Ferrer, Max von Sydow

E
 * Electric Dreams, starring Virginia Madsen and Bud Cort
 * The Element of Crime (Forbrydelsens element), directed by Lars von Trier - (Denmark)
 * The Evil That Men Do, directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Charles Bronson

F
 * Falling in Love, directed by Ulu Grosbard, starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep
 * Farewell to the Ark (Saraba hakobune) - (Japan)
 * Fear City, directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Tom Berenger and Billy Dee Williams
 * Finders Keepers, starring Michael O'Keefe, Beverly D'Angelo, Louis Gossett, Jr.
 * Firestarter, directed by Mark L. Lester, starring Drew Barrymore, David Keith, George C. Scott, Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear
 * Firstborn, starring Peter Weller, Christopher Collet, Teri Garr
 * The Flamingo Kid, directed by Garry Marshall, starring Matt Dillon and Héctor Elizondo
 * Flashpoint, starring Kris Kristofferson and Treat Williams
 * Flowers of Reverie (Szirmok, virágok, koszorúk) - (Hungary)
 * Flügel und Fesseln, directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms - (West Germany)
 * Footloose, directed by Herbert Ross, starring Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Chris Penn, Dianne Wiest
 * Formula of Love (Formula lyubvi) - (U.S.S.R.)
 * Frankenweenie, directed by Tim Burton
 * Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, directed by Joseph Zito, starring Kimberly Beck and Corey Feldman
 * Full Moon in Paris (Les Nuits de la pleine lune), directed by Éric Rohmer - (France)
 * The Funeral aka Death Japanese Style - (Japan)

G
 * Gallavants
 * Garbo Talks, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver, Carrie Fisher, Catherine Hicks
 * Ghostbusters, directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson
 * Give My Regards to Broad Street - written by and starring Paul McCartney, with Ringo Starr - (U.K.)
 * Grandview, U.S.A., starring Jamie Lee Curtis, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze
 * Gremlins, directed by Joe Dante, starring Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates
 * Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, directed by Hugh Hudson, starring Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ralph Richardson in his final role - (U.K.)

H
 * Hard to Hold, starring Rick Springfield
 * Harry & Son, directed by and starring Paul Newman, with Robby Benson, Ellen Barkin, Judith Ivey, Ossie Davis, Joanne Woodward
 * Heartbreakers, starring Peter Coyote, Nick Mancuso, Kathryn Harrold, Max Gail, Carol Wayne
 * Henry IV (Enrico IV), starring Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale - Italy
 * The Hit, directed by Stephen Frears, starring John Hurt and Terence Stamp - (U.K.)
 * The Holy Innocents (Los santos inocentes) - (Spain)
 * The Hotel New Hampshire, directed by Tony Richardson, starring Rob Lowe, Jodie Foster, Nastassja Kinski, Beau Bridges, Matthew Modine

I
 * Iceman, directed by Fred Schepisi, starring Timothy Hutton, John Lone, Lindsay Crouse
 * The Ice Pirates, starring Robert Urich and Mary Crosby
 * Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw
 * Irreconcilable Differences, starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, Drew Barrymore

J
 * The Jesse Owens Story, starring Dorian Harewood
 * John the Fearless (Jan zonder vrees) - (Belgium)
 * Johnny Dangerously, starring Michael Keaton, Marilu Henner, Joe Piscopo, Danny DeVito, Maureen Stapleton, Peter Boyle
 * Just the Way You Are, starring Kristy McNichol

K
 * The Karate Kid, directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita
 * Kidco, starring Scott Schwartz
 * The Killing Fields, directed by Roland Joffé, starring Sam Waterston, John Malkovich, Haing S. Ngor - (U.K.) - British Academy Award for Best Film
 * Klassenverhältnisse, directed by Straub-Huillet - (France/West Germany)

L
 * Lassiter, starring Tom Selleck and Jane Seymour
 * The Last Days of Pompeii, TV miniseries, starring Laurence Olivier, Olivia Hussey, Siobhán McKenna, Franco Nero, Ned Beatty, Nicholas Clay, Ernest Borgnine
 * The Last Starfighter, starring Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Catherine Mary Stewart
 * The Little Drummer Girl, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Diane Keaton
 * Little House: The Last Farewell
 * Little House: Bless All the Dear Children
 * Loafing and Camouflage (Lufa ke Paralayi) - (Greece)
 * The Lonely Guy, starring Steve Martin and Charles Grodin
 * Love and Pigeons (Lyubov i golubi) - (U.S.S.R.)
 * Love Letters, starring Jamie Lee Curtis
 * Love Streams, directed by and starring John Cassavetes, with Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel - Golden Bear award winner

M
 * MacArthur's Children (Setouchi Shōnen Yakyū-dan) - (Japan)
 * Macross: Do You Remember Love? (Chōjikū Yōsai Makurosu: Ai Oboete Imasu ka) - (Japan)
 * Making the Grade, starring Judd Nelson
 * The Man from Majorca (Mannen från Mallorca), directed by Bo Widerberg - (Sweden)
 * A Man of Principle (Cóndores no entierran todos los días) - (Colombia)
 * Man Under Suspicion (Morgen in Alabama), starring Maximilian Schell - (West Germany)
 * Maria's Lovers, starring Nastassja Kinski, John Savage, Robert Mitchum
 * Mashaal, starring Dilip Kumar and Anil Kapoor - (India)
 * Mass Appeal, starring Jack Lemmon, Željko Ivanek, Charles Durning
 * Mermaid Legend (Ningyo Densetsu) - (Japan)
 * Micki & Maude, directed by Blake Edwards, starring Dudley Moore, Ann Reinking, Amy Irving
 * Mike's Murder, directed by James Bridges, starring Debra Winger
 * The Miracle of Joe Petrel (Umitsubame Jyo no kiseki) - (Japan)
 * Missing in Action, starring Chuck Norris
 * Monster Dog (Leviatán), starring Alice Cooper - (Spain)
 * Moscow on the Hudson, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Robin Williams
 * Mrs. Soffel, directed by Gillian Armstrong, starring Diane Keaton and Mel Gibson
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan, directed by Frank Oz
 * My First Wife, starring John Hargreaves - (Australia)

N
 * The Naked Face, starring Roger Moore, Rod Steiger, Elliott Gould, Anne Archer, Art Carney
 * The Natural, directed by Barry Levinson, starring Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Barbara Hershey, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Richard Farnsworth
 * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Naushika) - (Japan)
 * The NeverEnding Story (Die Unendliche Geschichte) - directed by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Barret Oliver and Noah Hathaway - (West Germany)
 * Night of the Comet, starring Catherine Mary Stewart and Robert Beltran
 * A Nightmare on Elm Street, directed by Wes Craven, starring Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley
 * The Ninja Mission (Misja ninja) - (Sweden)
 * Nothing Lasts Forever, starring Zach Galligan, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd
 * Nothing Left to Do But Cry

O
 * Oh, God! You Devil, starring George Burns
 * Old Enough, starring Rainbow Harvest and Danny Aiello, Sundance Grand Jury Prize
 * On the Top of the Cherry Tree (Gore na chereshata) - (Bulgaria)
 * Once Upon a Time in America, directed by Sergio Leone, starring Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Tuesday Weld, Treat Williams - (Italy/U.S.A.)
 * Opasen char (Dangerous Charm) - (Bulgaria)
 * Over the Brooklyn Bridge, starring Elliott Gould, Shelley Winters, Sid Caesar
 * Oxford Blues, starring Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Gail Strickland

P-Q
 * Paris, Texas, directed by Wim Wenders, starring Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski - Palme d'Or winner
 * A Passage to India, directed by David Lean, starring Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, Peggy Ashcroft, James Fox - (U.K.) - Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film
 * Pehlivan - (Turkey)
 * The Philadelphia Experiment, starring Michael Paré and Nancy Allen
 * Places in the Heart, directed by Robert Benton, starring Sally Field, Danny Glover, John Malkovich, Ed Harris, Lindsay Crouse, Amy Madigan
 * Police Academy, directed by Hugh Wilson, starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, Bubba Smith
 * The Pope of Greenwich Village, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Daryl Hannah, Kenneth McMillan, Geraldine Page
 * A Private Function, directed by Malcolm Mowbray, starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith - (U.K.)
 * Protocol, starring Goldie Hawn, Chris Sarandon, Gail Strickland
 * Purple Hearts, directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Ken Wahl and Cheryl Ladd
 * Purple Rain, starring Prince
 * Quilombo - (Brazil)

R
 * Raaj Tilak, starring Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Dharmendra - (India)
 * The Razor's Edge, starring Bill Murray, Theresa Russell, Catherine Hicks, Denholm Elliott
 * Reckless, starring Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah
 * Red Dawn, directed by John Milius, starring Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson
 * Repentance (Pokayaniye) - (U.S.S.R.)
 * Repo Man, directed by Alex Cox, starring Emilio Estevez, Dick Rude, Harry Dean Stanton
 * The Return of Godzilla (also known as "Godzilla 1985") - (Japan)
 * Revenge of the Nerds, starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Curtis Armstrong, Timothy Busfield
 * Rhinestone, starring Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton
 * The River, directed by Mark Rydell, starring Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson
 * The Road to Bresson (De weg naar Bresson), starring Robert Bresson, Louis Malle, Andrei Tarkovsky, Orson Welles - (Netherlands)
 * Roadhouse 66, starring Willem Dafoe and Judge Reinhold
 * Romancing the Stone, directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner - Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
 * Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (Ronja Rövardotter) - (Sweden)
 * Runaway, directed by Michael Crichton, starring Tom Selleck

S
 * Saaransh (The Gist), directed by Mahesh Bhatt - (India)
 * Secret Honor, directed by Robert Altman, starring Philip Baker Hall
 * Sharaabi (Drunkard), directed by Prakash Mehra, starring Amitabh Bachchan - (India)
 * Sheena, starring Tanya Roberts
 * Silent Night, Deadly Night
 * Sixteen Candles, written and directed by John Hughes, starring Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Schoeffling, Gedde Watanabe
 * Slapstick of Another Kind, starring Jerry Lewis, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman
 * Slunce, seno, jahody - (Czechoslovakia)
 * A Soldier's Story, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Adolph Caesar, Denzel Washington
 * The Snowdrop Festival (Slavnosti sněženek), directed by Jiří Menzel - (Czechoslovakia)
 * Solomon Northup's Odyssey
 * Songwriter, starring Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Lesley Ann Warren
 * Splash, directed by Ron Howard, starring Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy
 * Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, directed by and starring Leonard Nimoy, with William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Christopher Lloyd, Judith Anderson
 * Starman, directed by John Carpenter, starring Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen
 * Stop Making Sense, a concert film directed by Jonathan Demme featuring Talking Heads
 * Stranger Than Paradise, directed by Jim Jarmusch
 * Strangler vs. Strangler (Davitelj protiv davitelja) - (Yugoslavia)
 * Streets of Fire, directed by Walter Hill, starring Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe
 * A Summer at Grandpa's (Dong–dong de jia qi) - (Taiwan)
 * A Sunday in the Country (Un dimanche à la campagne), directed by Bertrand Tavernier - (France)
 * Supergirl, starring Helen Slater, Faye Dunaway, Peter O'Toole
 * Swing Shift, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti, Ed Harris, Fred Ward
 * Szaffi - (Hungary)

T
 * The Tale of Tsar Saltan (Skazka o tsare Saltanye) - (U.S.S.R.)
 * Tank, starring James Garner and Shirley Jones
 * Le Tartuffe, directed by and starring Gérard Depardieu - (France)
 * Teachers, starring Nick Nolte, JoBeth Williams, Judd Hirsch
 * The Terminator, directed by James Cameron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
 * Terror in the Aisles, starring Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen
 * Thief of Hearts, starring Steven Bauer, Barbara Williams, George Wendt
 * This Is My Country (Bayan ko: Kapit sa patalim) - (Philippines)
 * This Is Spinal Tap, directed by Rob Reiner, starring Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest
 * Tightrope, starring Clint Eastwood and Geneviève Bujold
 * Top Secret!, directed by Jim Abrahams and starring Val Kilmer

U-V
 * Ultraman Story (Urutoraman Sutōr) - (Japan)
 * Ultraman Zoffy: Ultra Warriors vs. the Giant Monster Army - (Japan)
 * Under the Volcano, directed by John Huston, starring Albert Finney and Jacqueline Bisset
 * Unfaithfully Yours, starring Dudley Moore, Nastassja Kinski, Armand Assante, Albert Brooks
 * Until September, starring Karen Allen
 * Up the Creek, starring Tim Matheson and Jennifer Runyon
 * Veneno para las hadas (Poison for the Fairies) - (Mexico)
 * Vigil - (New Zealand)
 * Voyage to Cythera (Taxidi sta Kythira) - (Greece)

W
 * W's Tragedy (W no higeki) - (Japan)
 * What Have I Done to Deserve This? (¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto?), directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura - (Spain)
 * Wheels on Meals (Fai Chan Tse), starring Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung - (Hong Kong)
 * When the Raven Flies (Hrafninn flýgur) - (Iceland)
 * Where the Boys Are '84, starring Lisa Hartman, Lorna Luft, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Wendy Schaal
 * Where the Green Ants Dream (Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen), directed by Werner Herzog - (West Germany)
 * Where the Toys Come From
 * The Wild Life, starring Chris Penn, Eric Stoltz and Lea Thompson
 * The Woman in Red, directed by and starring Gene Wilder, with Gilda Radner, Charles Grodin, Judith Ivey, Kelly Le Brock
 * Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain (Gao shan xia de hua huan) - (China)

Y
 * A Year of the Quiet Sun (Rok spokojnego slonca) - (Poland) - Golden Lion winner
 * Yellow Earth (Huáng tǔdì), directed by Chen Kaige - (China)

1984 film releases
U.S.A. unless stated

January–March

 * January 1984
 * January 13
 * Angel
 * Hot Dog…The Movie
 * January 27
 * Broadway Danny Rose
 * El Norte
 * The Lonely Guy
 * Love Letters
 * February 1984
 * February 3 - Reckless
 * February 10 - Unfaithfully Yours
 * February 17
 * Blame It on Rio
 * Crackers
 * Footloose
 * Lassiter
 * February 24 -
 * March 1984
 * March 2
 * Against All Odds
 * Repo Man
 * This Is Spinal Tap
 * March 9
 * Children of the Corn
 * The Hotel New Hampshire
 * Pete's Dragon (re-realese)
 * Splash
 * March 16 - Tank
 * March 23
 * Police Academy
 * Racing with the Moon
 * March 30
 * Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
 * Romancing the Stone

April–June

 * April 1984
 * April 6
 * Moscow on the Hudson
 * Up the Creek
 * April 13
 * Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
 * Phar Lap
 * Swing Shift
 * May 1984
 * May 4
 * The Bounty
 * Breakin'
 * The Buddy System
 * Sixteen Candles
 * May 11
 * Firestarter
 * The Natural
 * May 23 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
 * June 1984
 * June 1
 * Once Upon a Time in America
 * Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
 * Streets of Fire
 * June 6 - Beat Street
 * June 8
 * Ghostbusters
 * Gremlins
 * Top Secret!
 * June 15 - Under the Volcano
 * June 22
 * The Karate Kid
 * Rhinestone
 * June 29
 * Bachelor Party
 * Cannonball Run II
 * Conan the Destroyer

July–September

 * July 1984
 * July 13
 * The Last Starfighter
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan
 * July 20
 * Best Defense
 * Revenge of the Nerds
 * July 27
 * Purple Rain
 * The Jungle Book (re-release)
 * August 1984
 * August 2 - The Bostonians
 * August 3
 * Grandview, U.S.A.
 * The Philadelphia Experiment
 * August 10 - Red Dawn
 * August 15 - The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
 * August 17
 * Dreamscape
 * Sheena
 * Tightrope
 * August 24 - Oxford Blues
 * August 31
 * Bolero
 * C.H.U.D.
 * September 1984
 * September 7 - The Brother from Another Planet
 * September 14 - A Soldier's Story
 * September 19 - Amadeus
 * September 21
 * All of Me
 * Places in the Heart
 * September 28
 * The Wild Life
 * Irreconcilable Differences
 * Country

October–December

 * October 1984
 * October 5
 * Teachers
 * October 10
 * 1984 (U.K.)
 * October 19
 * The Razor's Edge
 * October 26
 * American Dreamer
 * Body Double
 * The Terminator
 * November 1984
 * November 2 - Killing Fields
 * November 9
 * A Nightmare on Elm Street
 * No Small Affair
 * Silent Night, Deadly Night
 * November 16 - Just the Way You Are
 * November 21 - Supergirl
 * November 25 - The Ewok Adventure
 * December 1984
 * December 5
 * Beverly Hills Cop
 * December 7
 * 2010
 * City Heat
 * December 14
 * A Passage to India
 * 1984
 * The Cotton Club
 * Dune
 * Starman
 * December 15
 * The Return of Godzilla (Japan)
 * December 21
 * Birdy
 * The Flamingo Kid
 * Johnny Dangerously
 * Micki & Maude
 * Pinocchio (re-release)
 * December 26 - Mrs. Soffel

Births

 * January 25 - Kaiji Tang, voice actor
 * January 30 - Michael Aloni, Israeli actor
 * January 30 - Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (Kid Cudi) American recording artist
 * February 12 - Alexandra Dahlström, Swedish actress
 * February 13 - Brina Palencia, voice actress
 * February 24 - Nicholas Saputra, Indonesian actor
 * March 2 - Ian Sinclair, voice actor
 * March 7 - Brandon T. Jackson, American stand-up comedian, rapper, actor, and writer
 * March 10 - Olivia Wilde, American actress
 * March 20 - Christy Carlson Romano, American stage and film actress and singer
 * March 25 - Katharine McPhee, American singer and actress
 * April 2 - Ashley Peldon, American actress
 * April 8
 * Kirsten Storms, American actress
 * Taran Noah Smith, American actor
 * April 10
 * Cara DeLizia, American actress
 * Mandy Moore, American singer-songwriter and actress
 * April 18 - America Ferrera, American actress
 * April 21- praveenprem, south indian actor
 * June 24 - Lucien Dodge, voice actor
 * June 30 - Fantasia Barrino, American singer and actress
 * July 11 - Serinda Swan, Canadian actress
 * July 19 - Andrea Libman, Canadian actress, voice actress, pianist, and singer
 * July 27
 * Kenny Wormald, American actor
 * Taylor Schilling, American actresses
 * September 3 - Garrett Hedlund, American actor
 * September 22 - Laura Vandervoort, Canadian actress
 * September 23 - Anneliese van der Pol, Dutch-American actress and singer
 * September 27 - Avril Lavigne, Canadian singer-songwriter
 * October 3 - Ashlee Simpson, American actress and singer
 * October 25 - Katy Perry, American singer-songwriter and actress
 * October 27 - Kelly Osbourne, English actress and singer
 * November 16 - Kimberly J. Brown, American actress
 * November 17 - Lauren Maltby, American actress
 * November 21 - Jena Malone, American actress
 * November 22 - Scarlett Johansson, American actress
 * November 23 - Lucas Grabeel, American actor and singer
 * November 28 - Mary Elizabeth Winstead, American actress
 * December 5 - Lauren London, American actress

Film debuts

 * Jesse Bradford - Falling in Love
 * Jennifer Connelly - Once Upon a Time in America
 * Jon Cryer - No Small Affair
 * Johnny Depp - A Nightmare on Elm Street
 * Tate Donovan - No Small Affair
 * Colin Firth - Another Country
 * Rupert Everett - Another Country
 * Sarah Michelle Gellar - Over the Brooklyn Bridge
 * Heather Graham - Mrs. Soffel
 * Seth Green - Billions for Boris
 * Jennifer Grey - Reckless
 * Val Kilmer - Top Secret!
 * Andie MacDowell - Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
 * Kyle MacLachlan - Dune
 * John Malkovich - Places in the Heart
 * Frances McDormand - Blood Simple
 * Connie Nielsen - Par où t'es rentré ? On t'a pas vu sortir
 * Aidan Quinn - Reckless
 * Lou Diamond Phillips - Interface
 * Tim Roth - The Hit
 * Charlie Sheen - Red Dawn
 * Elisabeth Shue - The Karate Kid
 * Helen Slater - Supergirl
 * Jennifer Tilly - No Small Affair
 * Marisa Tomei - The Flamingo Kid
 * Jean-Claude Van Damme - Breakin'
 * Lars von Trier (director)
 * Ken Watanabe - MacArthur's Children
 * Damon Wayans - Beverly Hills Cop
 * Michelle Yeoh - The Owl vs Bombo
 * Daphne Zuniga - The Initiation