1986 in film
Events
Top grossing films (U.S.)
| Rank |
Title |
Studio |
Actor/Actress |
Director |
Gross |
| 1. |
Top Gun |
Paramount |
Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Tom Skerritt |
Tony Scott |
$176,786,701 |
| 2. |
Crocodile Dundee |
Paramount |
Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski |
Peter Faiman |
$174,803,506 |
| 3. |
Platoon |
Orion |
Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe |
Oliver Stone |
$138,530,565 |
| 4. |
The Karate Kid Part II |
Columbia |
Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita |
John G. Avildsen |
$113,324,868 |
| 5. |
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home |
Paramount |
William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy |
Leonard Nimoy |
$109,713,132 |
| 6. |
Back to School |
Orion |
Rodney Dangerfield |
Alan Metter |
$108,634,920 |
| 7. |
Aliens |
Fox |
Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn |
James Cameron |
$86,160,248 |
| 8. |
The Golden Child |
Paramount |
Eddie Murphy |
Michael Ritchie |
$79,817,937 |
| 9. |
Ruthless People |
Touchstone |
Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater |
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker |
$71,624,879 |
| 10. |
Ferris Bueller's Day Off |
Paramount |
Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jennifer Grey and Jeffrey Jones |
John Hughes |
$70,136,369 |
Awards
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
- The Mission, directed by Roland Joffé, United Kingdom
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
- The Green Ray (Le Rayon vert), directed by Éric Rohmer, France
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
- Stammheim, directed by Reinhard Hauff, West Germany
Razzie Awards
- Worst Picture: Howard the Duck and Under the Cherry Moon (tie)
- Worst Director: Prince - Under the Cherry Moon
- Worst Actor: Prince - Under the Cherry Moon
- Worst Actress: Madonna - Shanghai Surprise
- Worst Supporting Actor: Jerome Benton - Under the Cherry Moon
- Worst Supporting Actress: Dom DeLuise (in drag) - Haunted Honeymoon
- Worst Screenplay: Howard the Duck
Films released in 1986
#
A-C
- About Last Night..., directed by Edward Zwick, starring Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins
- Absolute Beginners, directed by Julien Temple
- The Adventures of the American Rabbit
- The AIDS Show
- Aliens, directed by James Cameron, starring Sigourney Weaver
- American Justice
- An American Tail, directed by Don Bluth with the voices of Phillip Glasser and Dom DeLuise
- Amorosa
- Armed and Dangerous, starring John Candy, Eugene Levy and Meg Ryan
- Armed Response
- As Is, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, starring Colleen Dewhurst, Robert Carradine and Jonathan Hadary
- The Assault - Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Space Needle award
- At Close Range, starring Sean Penn, Christopher Walken and Mary Stuart Masterson
- Attention! Bandits!, aka Bandits, directed by Claude Lelouch (France)
- Avenging Force
- Back to School, starring Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman and Keith Gordon
- Backlash
- Band of the Hand, starring Stephen Lang and Lauren Holly
- A Better Tomorrow, directed by John Woo, starring Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung
- Betty Blue, starring Béatrice Dalle
- The Big Parade
- Big Trouble in Little China, directed by John Carpenter, starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong and Victor Wong
- Black Moon Rising, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton
- Blue City, starring Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy
- Blue Velvet, directed by David Lynch, starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rosselini, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern
- The Boy Who Could Fly, directed by Nick Castle, starring Lucy Deakins and Jay Underwood
- Bullies
- By Touch
- Captain EO
- The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (a prequel to the original Care Bears Movie from 1985), starring Alyson Court, Cree Summer and Hadley Kay
- Caravaggio, directed by Derek Jarman
- Castaway, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Amanda Donohoe and Oliver Reed
- Children of a Lesser God, directed by Randa Haines, starring William Hurt, Marlee Matlin and Piper Laurie
- Choke Canyon
- The Clan of the Cave Bear, starring Daryl Hannah
- Clockwise, starring John Cleese
- Club Paradise, directed by Harold Ramis, starring Robin Williams, Jimmy Cliff, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy
- Cobra, starring Sylvester Stallone
- The Color of Money, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Paul Newman, Tom Cruise and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
- Comrades
- Crawlspace
- Crimes of the Heart, directed by Bruce Beresford, starring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek and Tess Harper
- Critters
- Crocodile Dundee, directed by Peter Faiman, starring Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski
D-F
- Dangerously Close
- Le Déclin de l'empire américain, (The Decline of the American Empire), written and directed by Denys Arcand
- The Delta Force, starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin
- Down and Out in Beverly Hills, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Nick Nolte, Bette Midler and Richard Dreyfuss
- Down by Law, directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni
- Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam, starring Jim Varney
- Duet for One, starring Julie Andrews
- F/X, starring Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off, directed by John Hughes, starring Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck, Jennifer Grey and Jeffrey Jones
- Firewalker, starring Chuck Norris
- Fire with Fire, starring Craig Sheffer and Virginia Madsen
- Flight of the Navigator, directed by Randal Kleiser
- The Fly, directed by David Cronenberg, starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis
- Footrot Flats
- Foreign Body, directed by Ronald Neame
- Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
- The Fringe Dwellers, directed by Bruce Beresford
G-H
- Genesis, directed by Mrinal Sen, starring Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, M.K. Raina (India / Switzerland / Belgium / France)
- Ghost Warrior
- GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords
- The Golden Child, directed by Michael Ritchie, starring Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance and Charlotte Lewis
- Gonza the Spearman (近松門左衛門 鑓の権三)
- Good to Go
- The Great Mouse Detective
- The Green Ray (Le Rayon vert) - Golden Lion award
- Gung Ho!, directed by Ron Howard, starring Michael Keaton
- Half Moon Street, starring Sigourney Weaver and Michael Caine
- Hannah and Her Sisters, directed by and starring Woody Allen with Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Barbara Hershey
- Haunted Honeymoon, starring Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner and Dom DeLuise
- Heartbreak Ridge, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Mario van Peebles, Marsha Mason, Boyd Gaines
- Heartburn, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson
- Heat, starring Burt Reynolds
- Heathcliff: The Movie
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
- Hibiscus Town (芙蓉镇), directed by Xie Jin
- Highlander, directed by Russell Mulcahy, starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery
- The Hitcher, directed by Robert Harmon, starring Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Jason Leigh
- Hoosiers, starring Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey and Dennis Hopper
- Hôtel du Paradis
- Howard the Duck, starring Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones and Tim Robbins
I-K
- Jake Speed
- Jean de Florette, directed by Claude Berri, starring Gérard Depardieu, Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil
- The Jet Benny Show
- Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, starring Richard Pryor
- Jumpin' Jack Flash, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Collins, Annie Potts, Jon Lovitz, Carol Kane
- Just Between Friends, starring Mary Tyler Moore, Christine Lahti and Ted Danson
L-N
- Labyrinth, directed by Jim Henson, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly
- Lady Jane, directed by Trevor Nunn, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes
- Laputa: Castle in the Sky (August 2 - Japan)
- Legal Eagles, directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger and Daryl Hannah
- Let's Get Harry, starring Robert Duvall
- Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Frank Oz, starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene and Steve Martin
- Low Blow
- Lucas, starring Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen and Winona Ryder
- Luxo Jr.
- Malcolm
- The Manhattan Project, starring John Lithgow, Christopher Collet and Cynthia Nixon
- Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann and starring William Petersen, Kim Greist, Dennis Farina, Tom Noonan and Brian Cox (as Hannibal Lecter)
- Manon des Sources, directed by Claude Berri, starring Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Béart
- Matador, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas
- Maximum Overdrive, with AC/DC soundtrack, starring Emilio Estevez
- The Men's Club, starring Roy Scheider, Harvey Keitel, Craig Wasson, David Dukes, Frank Langella and Treat Williams
- The Messenger
- Miracles
- The Mission, directed by Roland Joffe, starring Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons and Ray McAnally - Palme d'Or award
- Modern Girls
- Mona Lisa, directed by Neil Jordan, starring Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson and Michael Caine
- The Money Pit, directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long
- Monster in the Closet, directed by Bob Dahlin, starring Claude Akins, Henry Gibson, Paul Dooley, Stella Stevens and Stacy Ferguson
- The Morning After, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Jane Fonda and Jeff Bridges
- The Mosquito Coast, directed by Peter Weir, starring Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren and River Phoenix
- Murphhy's Law, starring Charles Bronson
- My Little Pony: The Movie (a feature-length adaptation of the TV series and toy line)
- My Sweet Little Village (international release)
O-Q
- The Patriot, starring Gregg Henry and Jeff Conaway
- Peggy Sue Got Married, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage
- Pirates, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Walter Matthau
- Platoon, directed by Oliver Stone, starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe - Academy and Golden Globe (drama) Awards for Best Picture
- Poltergeist II: The Other Side
- P.O.W. The Escape, starring David Carradine
- Pretty in Pink, directed by Howard Deutch, starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer and James Spader
- Project A-ko
- Psycho III, directed by Anthony Perkins, starring Anthony Perkins, Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey
R-S
- Rad
- Raw Deal, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
- The Return of Josey Wales, starring Michael Parks
- Rita, Sue and Bob Too
- River's Edge, starring Crispin Glover and Keanu Reeves
- Robotech: The Movie, directed by Carl Macek and Noboru Ishiguro
- Rosa Luxemburg
- Round Midnight, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Dexter Gordon
- Ruthless People, directed by Jim Abrahams, starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater
- The Sacrifice, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
- Salvador, starring James Woods and James Belushi
- Sarraounia
- Seize the Day, starring Robin Williams
- Shanghai Surprise, starring Madonna and Sean Penn
- She's Gotta Have It, directed by Spike Lee
- Short Circuit, directed by John Badham, starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg
- Sid and Nancy, starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb
- Solarbabies
- Something Wild, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith and Ray Liotta
- SpaceCamp, starring Kate Capshaw, Lea Thompson and Kelly Preston
- Stammheim - Golden Bear award
- Stand by Me, directed by Rob Reiner, starring River Phoenix, Will Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, directed by Leonard Nimoy
- Stoogemania
- Streets of Gold, starring Wesley Snipes and Klaus Maria Brandauer
T-V
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, starring Dennis Hopper
- That's Life!, starring Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews
- ¡Three Amigos!, directed by John Landis, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase
- Thunder Run
- Tai-Pan, starring Bryan Brown and Joan Chen
- Toby McTeague
- Top Gun, directed by Tony Scott, starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer
- Tough Guys, starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas
- The Transformers: The Movie, starring Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, and Orson Welles
- Trick or Treat, starring Marc Price, Gene Simmons, and Ozzy Osbourne
- Troll
- True Stories, directed by and starring David Byrne
W-Z
Births
- January 24 - Mischa Barton, English-born American actress
- February 14 - Tiffany Thornton, American actress, comedian, singer and songwriter
- February 19 - Maria Mena, Norwegian singer
- March 9 - Brittany Snow, American actress
- March 14 - Jamie Bell, English actor
- April 3 - Amanda Bynes, American actress and variety show host
- April 9 - Leighton Meester, American actress and singer
- May 13- Robert Pattinson, English-born American actor
- May 16 - Megan Fox, American actress
- June 11 - Shia LaBeouf, American actor
- June 13 - Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, American actresses and entrepreneurs
- June 27 - Drake Bell, American actor
- July 2 - Lindsay Lohan, American actress
- August 16 - Shawn Pyfrom, American actor
- August 29 - Lauren Conrad, American TV personality and author
- September 12 - Emmy Rossum, American actress and singer
- October 2 - Camilla Belle, American actress
- November 1 - Penn Badgley, American actor
- November 25 - Katie Cassidy, American actress and singer
Deaths
- January 2 - Una Merkel, American actress
- January 14 - Donna Reed, American actress
- March 10 - Ray Milland, British actor
- March 30 - James Cagney, American actor
- April 13 - Stephen Stucker, American actor
- April 23 - Otto Preminger, Austrian born director
- April 26 - Broderick Crawford, Oscar winning American actor
- April 26 - Bessie Love, American actress
- March 15 - Alexandru Giugaru, Romanian actor
- May 23 - Sterling Hayden, American actor
- June 3 - Anna Neagle, English actress
- June 13 - Benny Goodman, American musician, actor
- July 25 - Vincente Minnelli, American director
- September 27 - Cliff Burton, American musician, Metallica
- October 5 - Hal B. Wallis, American film producer
- November 21 - Dar Robinson, American film stuntman
- November 29 - Cary Grant, American actor
- December 13 - Heather Angel, English actress
- December 26 - Elsa Lanchester, English actress
- December 28 - Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian film director
Film debuts