| Rank | Release
| Genre
| Budget
| Running Time
| Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Release Date | Distributor
| Estimated
|
|---|
| 1 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | - | - | - | $190,360,115 | 1,078 | $212,222,025 | Jun 12 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 2 | Arthur | - | - | - | $91,089,162 | 701 | $95,461,682 | Jul 17 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 3 | On Golden Pond | - | - | - | $78,491,180 | 1,015 | $119,285,432 | Dec 4 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 4 | Absence of Malice | - | - | - | $36,746,286 | 994 | $40,716,963 | Nov 20 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 5 | Reds | - | - | - | $36,507,611 | 644 | $40,382,659 | Dec 4 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 6 | Time Bandits | - | - | - | $33,069,358 | 821 | $42,365,581 | Nov 6 | Embassy Pictures | false |
| 7 | Taps | - | - | - | $32,454,772 | 792 | $35,856,053 | Dec 9 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 8 | Sharky's Machine | - | - | - | $31,292,899 | 1,388 | $35,610,100 | Dec 18 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 9 | Cinderella 1981 Re-release | - | - | - | $26,306,666 | 1,050 | $28,040,000 | Dec 18 | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | false |
| 10 | Chariots of Fire | - | - | - | $25,957,673 | 810 | $58,972,904 | Sep 25 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 11 | Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip | - | - | - | $24,071,627 | 1,277 | $36,299,720 | Mar 12 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 12 | Porky's | - | - | - | $21,569,249 | 1,605 | $105,492,483 | Mar 19 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 13 | Neighbors | - | - | - | $20,657,085 | 1,387 | $29,916,207 | Dec 18 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 14 | Ghost Story | - | - | - | $20,088,838 | 600 | $23,371,905 | Dec 16 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 15 | Modern Problems | - | - | - | $19,356,539 | 1,119 | $26,154,211 | Dec 25 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 16 | Ragtime | - | - | - | $14,668,530 | 447 | $14,920,781 | Nov 20 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 17 | Vice Squad | - | - | - | $13,253,583 | 510 | $13,253,583 | Jan 22 | Embassy Pictures | false |
| 18 | Private Lessons | - | - | - | $12,601,577 | 224 | $26,279,000 | Aug 28 | Jensen Farley Pictures | false |
| 19 | Making Love | - | - | - | $11,859,862 | 380 | $11,897,978 | Feb 12 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 20 | Death Wish II | - | - | - | $11,772,487 | 377 | $16,100,000 | Feb 19 | Filmways Pictures | false |
| 21 | The Seduction | - | - | - | $11,378,339 | 597 | $11,378,339 | Jan 22 | Embassy Pictures | false |
| 22 | Das Boot | - | - | - | $10,915,250 | 2 | $10,915,250 | Feb 10 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 23 | Shoot the Moon | - | - | - | $8,204,591 | 585 | $9,217,530 | Jan 22 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 24 | Night Crossing | - | - | - | $8,000,000 | 640 | $8,000,000 | Feb 5 | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | false |
| 25 | The Beast Within | - | - | - | $7,742,572 | 550 | $7,742,572 | Feb 12 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 26 | Rollover | - | - | - | $7,621,705 | 755 | $10,851,261 | Dec 11 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 27 | Whose Life Is It Anyway? | - | - | - | $7,454,721 | 615 | $8,206,145 | Dec 2 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 28 | Evil Under the Sun | - | - | - | $6,110,000 | 609 | $6,110,000 | Mar 5 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 29 | Cannery Row | - | - | - | $5,301,539 | 700 | $5,301,539 | Feb 12 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 30 | Deathtrap | - | - | - | $5,279,932 | 603 | $19,282,134 | Mar 19 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 31 | Missing | - | - | - | $5,204,207 | 733 | $14,000,000 | Feb 12 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 32 | The Border | - | - | - | $4,593,800 | 888 | $6,118,683 | Jan 29 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 33 | Quest for Fire | - | - | - | $4,415,783 | 426 | $20,959,585 | Feb 12 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 34 | Pennies from Heaven | - | - | - | $3,491,289 | 315 | $9,171,289 | Dec 11 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 35 | Venom | - | - | - | $2,784,432 | 900 | $5,229,643 | Jan 29 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 36 | I Ought to Be in Pictures | - | - | - | $2,298,912 | 662 | $6,968,359 | Mar 26 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 37 | The Amateur | - | - | - | $1,998,071 | 437 | $6,892,098 | Feb 12 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 38 | Buddy Buddy | - | - | - | $1,847,543 | 248 | $7,258,543 | Dec 11 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 39 | Barbarosa | - | - | - | $1,736,123 | 187 | $1,736,123 | Feb 19 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 40 | One from the Heart | - | - | - | $636,796 | 41 | $636,796 | Feb 12 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 41 | Personal Best | - | - | - | $549,878 | 236 | $5,672,311 | Feb 5 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 42 | Victor/Victoria | - | - | - | $400,658 | 615 | $28,215,453 | Mar 19 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
