| Rank | Release
| Genre
| Budget
| Running Time
| Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Release Date | Distributor
| Estimated
|
|---|
| 1 | On Golden Pond | - | - | - | $35,471,644 | 1,015 | $119,285,432 | Dec 4 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 2 | Reds | - | - | - | $13,152,268 | 644 | $40,382,659 | Dec 4 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 3 | Das Boot | - | - | - | $10,915,250 | 2 | $10,915,250 | Feb 10 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 4 | Vice Squad | - | - | - | $10,247,217 | 510 | $13,253,583 | Jan 22 | Embassy Pictures | false |
| 5 | Private Lessons | - | - | - | $10,236,685 | 224 | $26,279,000 | Aug 28 | - | false |
| 6 | The Seduction | - | - | - | $8,562,259 | 597 | $11,378,339 | Jan 22 | Embassy Pictures | false |
| 7 | Chariots of Fire | - | - | - | $8,456,152 | 810 | $58,972,904 | Sep 25 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 8 | Night Crossing | - | - | - | $8,000,000 | 640 | $8,000,000 | Feb 5 | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | false |
| 9 | The Beast Within | - | - | - | $7,742,572 | 550 | $7,742,572 | Feb 12 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 10 | Absence of Malice | - | - | - | $7,637,244 | 994 | $40,716,963 | Nov 20 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 11 | Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark | - | - | - | $7,285,611 | 1,078 | $212,222,025 | Jun 12 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 12 | Making Love | - | - | - | $7,110,713 | 380 | $11,897,978 | Feb 12 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 13 | Taps | - | - | - | $7,029,674 | 792 | $35,856,053 | Dec 9 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 14 | Sharky's Machine | - | - | - | $5,917,136 | 1,388 | $35,610,100 | Dec 18 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 15 | Cannery Row | - | - | - | $5,301,539 | 700 | $5,301,539 | Feb 12 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 16 | The Border | - | - | - | $4,077,786 | 888 | $6,118,683 | Jan 29 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 17 | Arthur | - | - | - | $2,865,622 | 701 | $95,461,682 | Jul 17 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 18 | Shoot the Moon | - | - | - | $2,803,024 | 585 | $9,217,530 | Jan 22 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 19 | Venom | - | - | - | $2,784,432 | 900 | $5,229,643 | Jan 29 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 20 | Modern Problems | - | - | - | $2,392,707 | 1,119 | $26,154,211 | Dec 25 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 21 | Barbarosa | - | - | - | $1,736,123 | 187 | $1,736,123 | Feb 19 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 22 | Neighbors | - | - | - | $1,573,690 | 1,387 | $29,916,207 | Dec 18 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 23 | Rollover | - | - | - | $707,298 | 755 | $10,851,261 | Dec 11 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 24 | One from the Heart | - | - | - | $636,796 | 41 | $636,796 | Feb 12 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 25 | Ragtime | - | - | - | $498,588 | 447 | $14,920,781 | Nov 20 | Paramount Pictures | false |
