| Rank | Release
| Weekly | Weekend | % of Week | Weekdays | % of Week | Theaters | Week | Distributor
| New This Week
| Estimated
|
|---|
| 1 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | $14,503,353 | $8,448,840 | 58.2% | $6,054,513 | 41.8% | 1,778 | 10 | Universal Pictures | - | false |
| 2 | Friday the 13th: Part 3 | $14,116,183 | $9,406,522 | 66.6% | $4,709,661 | 33.4% | 1,079 | 1 | Paramount Pictures | - | false |
| 3 | An Officer and a Gentleman | $8,007,623 | $5,019,863 | 62.7% | $2,987,760 | 37.3% | 719 | 3 | Paramount Pictures | - | false |
| 4 | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas | $6,807,691 | $4,445,997 | 65.3% | $2,361,694 | 34.7% | 1,401 | 4 | Universal Pictures | - | false |
| 5 | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope 1982 Re-release | $5,918,725 | $3,766,803 | 63.6% | $2,151,922 | 36.4% | 1,070 | 1 | Twentieth Century Fox | - | false |
| 6 | Things Are Tough All Over | $5,210,582 | $3,649,721 | 70% | $1,560,861 | 30% | 1,503 | 2 | Columbia Pictures | - | false |
| 7 | Fast Times at Ridgemont High | $4,225,997 | $2,545,674 | 60.2% | $1,680,323 | 39.8% | 498 | 1 | Universal Pictures | - | false |
| 8 | The World According to Garp | $3,790,374 | $2,351,928 | 62% | $1,438,446 | 38% | 521 | 4 | Warner Bros. | - | false |
| 9 | Night Shift | $2,756,693 | $1,756,377 | 63.7% | $1,000,316 | 36.3% | 610 | 3 | Warner Bros. | - | false |
| 10 | Young Doctors in Love | $2,236,714 | $1,461,193 | 65.3% | $775,521 | 34.7% | 549 | 5 | Twentieth Century Fox | - | false |
| 11 | Rocky III | $2,189,662 | $1,710,820 | 78.1% | $478,842 | 21.9% | 849 | 12 | United Artists | - | false |
| 12 | The Pirate Movie | $2,082,040 | $1,263,431 | 60.7% | $818,609 | 39.3% | 641 | 2 | Twentieth Century Fox | - | false |
| 13 | Poltergeist | $1,784,225 | $1,425,480 | 79.9% | $358,745 | 20.1% | 699 | 11 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | - | false |
| 14 | Forced Vengeance | $1,515,500 | $1,154,848 | 76.2% | $360,652 | 23.8% | 571 | 3 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | - | false |
| - | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11 | Paramount Pictures | - | false |
| - | The Sword and the Sorcerer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 17 | Group 1 International Distribution | - | false |
| - | The Octagon | - | - | - | - | - | - | 106 | American Cinema Releasing | - | false |
| - | Prom Night | - | - | - | - | - | - | 105 | Embassy Pictures | - | false |
