Year
The most successful movies, first aired in 1981 year
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1.
On Golden Pond (1981) United Kingdom,  USAThe loons are back again on Golden Pond and so are Norman Thayer, a retired professor, and Ethel who have had a summer cottage there since early in their marriage... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 119 285 432 IMDb: 7.6/10 (34 511) User Rating: /10 Votes: 1 |
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2.
The Fox and the Hound (1981) USA A young fox named Tod is taken in by an old woman after his mother is killed by a hunter... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 63 456 988 IMDb: 7.2/10 (101 030) |
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3.
Chariots of Fire (1981) United Kingdom The story, told in flashback, of two young British sprinters competing for fame in the 1924 Olympics... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 59 303 359 IMDb: 7.1/10 (65 364) |
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4.
Time Bandits (1981) United Kingdom A young boy's wardrobe contains a time hole... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 42 368 025 IMDb: 6.9/10 (67 801) User Rating: /10 Votes: 2 |
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5.
Clash of the Titans (1981) USA, United Kingdom Perseus is the favored son of the god Zeus, but he has unwittingly ticked off the sea goddess Thetis... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 41 092 328 IMDb: 6.9/10 (47 411) User Rating: /10 Votes: 7 |
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6.
Absence of Malice (1981) USA Mike Gallagher is a Miami liquor wholesaler whose deceased father was a local mobster... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 40 716 963 IMDb: 6.9/10 (14 645) |
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7.
Reds (1981) USA This movie tells the true story of John Reed, a radical American journalist around the time of World War I... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 40 382 659 IMDb: 7.3/10 (24 560) User Rating: /10 Votes: 1 |
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8.
Tarzan the Ape Man (1981) USA While on an African expedition with her father, Jane Parker meets Tarzan, and the two become fascinated by each other... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 36 565 280 IMDb: 3.4/10 (6 199) User Rating: /10 Votes: 1 |
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9.
Taps (1981) USA An announcement that the venerable Bunker Hill Military Academy, a 141 year old institute, is to be torn down and replaced with condos sets off the young cadets led by their stodgy commander... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 35 856 053 IMDb: 6.8/10 (19 933) User Rating: /10 Votes: 2 |
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10.
Excalibur (1981) USA, United Kingdom As the title would suggest, it follows the travels of the legendary sword Excalibur through Arthurian myth, from the violent, powerful hands of Uther Pendragon, to a long-years' rest in the stone to being redrawn by Uther's son Arthur, who uses it to defeat the evil invaders and establish the great court of Camelot and the great Knights of the Round Table... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 34 971 136 IMDb: 7.3/10 (66 629) User Rating: /10 Votes: 6 |
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11.
Endless Love (1981) USA Two young teenagers, Jade Butterfield and David Axelrod, fall in love with each other... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 32 492 674 IMDb: 4.9/10 (9 478) User Rating: /10 Votes: 1 |
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12.
Bustin' Loose (1981) USA Joe Braxton is an ex-con who has been given a second chance to freedom after violating his probation... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 31 261 269 IMDb: 6.0/10 (3 688) |
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13.
Fort Apache the Bronx (1981) USA From the sight of a police officer this movie depicts the life in New York's infamous South Bronx... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 29 200 000 IMDb: 6.7/10 (6 914) |
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14.
Private Lessons (1981) USA Phillip Filmore is a naive, 15-year-old, preoccupied with sex, who develops a crush on Nicole Mallow, the new 30-something, French housekeeper and sitter to look after him when Phillip's father is out of town for the summer on a "business" trip... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 26 279 000 IMDb: 5.1/10 (4 208) User Rating: /10 Votes: 10 |
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15.
Halloween II (1981) USA It's the same night as the original Halloween... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 25 533 818 IMDb: 6.5/10 (101 025) |
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16.
Body Heat (1981) USA William Hurt and Kathleen Turner strike sparks in Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat, a sexy, haunting tale of desire and skullduggery that echoes 1940s film noirs but is charged with an energy and passion that could only flare in the '80s... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 24 058 838 IMDb: 7.4/10 (39 824) User Rating: /10 Votes: 1 |
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17.
Mad Max 2 (1981) AustraliaMax is travelling in a post apocalypse Australia where Gasoline is the most valuable commodity... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 23 667 907 IMDb: 7.6/10 (191 936) User Rating: /10 Votes: 4 |
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18.
Ghost Story (1981) USA Upon its release in 1981, John Irvin's version of Peter Straub's bestselling horror novel was deemed one of the worst adaptations that the genre had ever produced... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 23 371 905 IMDb: 6.3/10 (9 800) |
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19.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) USA After killing Mrs... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 21 722 776 IMDb: 6.1/10 (77 008) |
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20.
La guerre du feu (1981) Canada,  FranceAnthony Burgess created the primitive language for the early humans in this prehistoric adventure about a trio of warriors who travel the savanna, encountering sabre-toothed tigers, mammoths and cannibalistic tribes in search of a flame that would replace the fire their tribe has lost... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 20 962 615 IMDb: 7.3/10 (23 908) User Rating: /10 Votes: 3 |
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21.
The Final Conflict (1981) United Kingdom, USA Now come into his full knowledge and power, the Anti-Christ in the body of Damien Thorne is about to strike his final blow... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 20 471 382 IMDb: 5.5/10 (22 149) |
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22.
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) USA After being exposed to a bizarre mixture of household chemicals, Pat Kramer begins to shrink... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 20 259 961 IMDb: 5.5/10 (5 109) User Rating: /10 Votes: 1 |
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23.
Mommie Dearest (1981) USA The abusive and traumatic adoptive upbringing of Christina Crawford at the hands of her mother, screen queen Joan Crawford, is depicted... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 19 032 261 IMDb: 6.6/10 (18 119) |
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24.
Paternity (1981) USA A single man searches for a woman who will bear his baby with no strings attached... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 18 838 812 IMDb: 4.9/10 (1 098) |
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25.
Eye of the Needle (1981) United Kingdom WWII German superspy, the Needle, who gravitates towards murder using his trusty switchblade, discovers vital evidence about the Allies D-Day invasion... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 17 583 634 IMDb: 7.1/10 (11 708) User Rating: /10 Votes: 2 |
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26.
Outland (1981) United Kingdom Marshal W.T... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 17 374 595 IMDb: 6.6/10 (32 142) |
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27.
The Devil and Max Devlin (1981) USA Max, a dead corrupt businessman, makes a Faustian pact with Satan's henchman to drive three people to Hell in exchange for longer life... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 16 000 000 IMDb: 5.0/10 (1 431) |
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28.
Caveman (1981) USA A simple caveman accidently becomes leader of a clan of cavemisfits and outcasts... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 15 965 924 IMDb: 5.8/10 (8 523) User Rating: /10 Votes: 1 |
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29.
Ragtime (1981) USA The story runs in the 1910's New York... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 14 920 781 IMDb: 7.3/10 (10 479) |
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30.
Rich and Famous (1981) USA Liz and Merry Noel become friends as college roommates and their friendship endures over the years... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 14 492 125 IMDb: 5.8/10 (2 029) |
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31.
The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) USA, United Kingdom When the young Texas Ranger, John Reid, is the sole survivor of an ambush arranged by the militaristic outlaw leader, Butch Cavendich, he is rescued by an old childhood Comanche friend, Tonto... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 12 617 845 IMDb: 4.9/10 (2 490) |
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32.
Back Roads (1981) USA A prostitute and a drifter find themselves bound together as they make their way through the rural South, doing what they have to do to survive... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 11 809 387 IMDb: 5.6/10 (1 066) |
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33.
Rollover (1981) USA An Arab oil organization devises a plan to wreck the world economy in order to cause anarchy and chaos... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 10 851 261 IMDb: 5.4/10 (1 431) |
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34.
Pennies from Heaven (1981) USA In Chicago during the 1930s depression, sheet music salesman Arthur Parker is trying to sell his products, but it's not easy to convince unwilling music store owners to buy them... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 9 171 289 IMDb: 6.5/10 (6 104) |
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35.
Prince of the City (1981) USA New York City cop Daniel Ciello is involved in some questionable police practices... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 8 124 257 IMDb: 7.4/10 (9 407) |
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36.
The Funhouse (1981) USA The teenager Amy Harper dates Buzz Dawson for the first time and they go to the carnival with their friends Richie and Liz... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 7 886 857 IMDb: 5.9/10 (16 109) User Rating: /10 Votes: 2 |
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37.
Venom (1981) United Kingdom International terrorists attempt to kidnap a wealthy couples child... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 5 229 643 IMDb: 5.8/10 (3 188) |
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38.
The Hand (1981) USA A comic book artist loses his hand, which in turn takes on a murderous life of its own... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 2 447 576 IMDb: 5.5/10 (6 655) |
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39.
Honky Tonk Freeway (1981) USA, United Kingdom Ticlaw, a small town in Florida, has only one attraction: a safari park... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 2 004 742 IMDb: 5.2/10 (1 159) |
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40.
Raggedy Man (1981) USA It's 1944 in the small town of Gregory, Texas... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 1 976 198 IMDb: 6.7/10 (1 803) User Rating: /10 Votes: 3 |
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41.
Silence of the North (1981) Canada Based on the biography of Olive Fredrickson, It tells of her life as a girl, then a trapper's wife and later a widow with three small children surviving under rugged pioneer conditions in northern Alberta Canada from the early 1900's through to the Depression... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 1 622 898 IMDb: 6.4/10 (266) |
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42.
Possession (1981) France,  West GermanyDuring a secretive business trip away, Mark learns that his wife Anna is growing restless in what he believed was their happy marriage... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 1 113 538 IMDb: 7.3/10 (41 729) |
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43.
Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981) USA In 19th century Oklahoma two teen girls, fans of stories about outlaws, are on a quest to meat and join up with them... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 534 816 IMDb: 6.1/10 (917) |
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44.
Das Boot ist voll (1981) Switzerland, West Germany,  AustriaDuring World War II, Switzerland severely limited refugees: "Our boat is full." A train from Germany halts briefly in an isolated corner of Switzerland... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 1 718 IMDb: 7.1/10 (691) User Rating: /10 Votes: 26 |
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45.
The Pit (1981) Canada Twelve year-old Jamie Benjamin is a misunderstood lad... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 560 IMDb: 5.7/10 (3 478) User Rating: /10 Votes: 2 |
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46.
La femme d'à côté (1981) France Two ex-lovers wind up living next door to each other with their respective spouses... Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $ 509 IMDb: 7.2/10 (8 694) |
