Box Office Records > Domestic > All Movies > Cumulative > Top 1981 Domestic
Top 1981 Movies at the Domestic Box Office
See also: Top 1981 International - Top 1981 Worldwide
Other Domestic Cumulative records: All Time Domestic - All Time Domestic (Inf. Adj.) - All Time Animated Domestic - All Time Sequel Domestic - All Time Non-Sequel Domestic - Top 2023 Domestic - Top 2024 Domestic
This chart contains the total domestic box office for movies released in 1981.
See Top Grossing Movies of 1981 for a list of movies that earned most at the domestic box office during 1981, including films released in 1980 and earlier.
| Rank | Movie | Distributor | Domestic Box Office |
Opening Weekend Box Office |
Max Theater Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Paramount… | $225,686,079 | $8,305,823 | 1,400 |
| 2 | On Golden Pond | Universal | $119,285,432 | $89,213 | 1,015 |
| 3 | Superman II | Warner Bros. | $108,185,706 | $14,100,522 | 1,887 |
| 4 | Stripes | Columbia | $85,300,000 | $6,152,166 | 1,117 |
| 5 | Arthur | Warner Bros. | $81,464,486 | $2,719,534 | 949 |
| 6 | Chariots of Fire | Warner Bros. | $61,558,162 | $68,907 | 810 |
| 7 | The Cannonball Run | 20th Cent… | $57,498,710 | $11,765,654 | 1,692 |
| 8 | For Your Eyes Only | Universal | $54,800,000 | $6,834,967 | 1,086 |
| 9 | Reds | Paramount… | $50,000,000 | $2,411,083 | 665 |
| 10 | The Fox and the Hound | Walt Disney | $43,899,231 | $4,215,000 | 1,567 |
| 11 | The Four Seasons | Universal | $42,488,161 | $4,128,525 | 634 |
| 12 | Time Bandits | Avco Embassy | $37,400,000 | $6,507,356 | 1,046 |
| 13 | Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams | Columbia | $37,000,000 | $8,153,738 | 1,390 |
| 14 | Tarzan, The Ape Man | MGM | $36,565,000 | $6,700,809 | 1,113 |
| 15 | Taps | 20th Cent… | $35,856,053 | $93,005 | 792 |
| 16 | Excalibur | Warner Bros. | $34,200,000 | $4,519,706 | 839 |
| 17 | Absence of Malice | Columbia | $33,312,129 | $64,775 | 994 |
| 18 | Endless Love | Universal | $33,000,000 | $4,162,921 | 632 |
| 19 | Sharky's Machine | Warner Bros. | $32,984,898 | $3,022,041 | 1,442 |
| 20 | An American Werewolf in London | Universal | $31,973,249 | $3,786,512 | 870 |
| 21 | History of the World: Part I | 20th Cent… | $31,672,000 | $4,892,731 | 606 |
| 22 | Bustin' Loose | Universal | $31,261,000 | $4,798,289 | 833 |
| 23 | The Great Muppet Caper | Universal | $31,206,251 | $2,760,026 | 700 |
| 24 | Clash of the Titans | MGM | $30,000,000 | $6,580,742 | 1,127 |
| 25 | Neighbors | Columbia | $29,916,207 | $6,481,386 | 1,415 |
| 26 | Fort Apache, The Bronx | 20th Cent… | $29,200,000 | ||
| 27 | The Jazz Singer | Universal | $27,118,000 | ||
| 28 | Only When I Laugh | Columbia | $25,782,304 | $3,880,870 | 799 |
| 29 | Halloween II | Universal | $25,533,818 | $7,676,836 | 1,217 |
| 30 | Escape from New York | Avco Embassy | $25,244,700 | $4,162,385 | 579 |
| 31 | Modern Problems | 20th Cent… | $24,474,312 | $4,758,371 | 1,184 |
| 32 | Body Heat | Warner Bros. | $24,058,000 | $564,593 | 814 |
| 33 | Graduation Day | IFI Scope | $23,894,000 | ||
| 34 | The French Lieutenant's Woman | United Ar… | $22,600,000 | $124,110 | 510 |
| 35 | Friday the 13th Part 2 | Paramount… | $21,722,776 | $6,429,784 | 1,350 |
| 36 | The Final Conflict | 20th Cent… | $20,471,000 | $5,571,675 | 918 |
| 37 | The Incredible Shrinking Woman | Universal | $20,259,000 | $4,279,264 | 789 |
| 38 | Outland | Warner Bros. | $20,000,000 | $2,455,000 | 761 |
| 39 | Heavy Metal | Columbia | $19,571,091 | $3,261,186 | 752 |
| 40 | Mommie Dearest | Paramount… | $19,032,000 | $905,920 | 930 |
| 41 | Paternity | Paramount… | $18,838,000 | $3,610,147 | 1,075 |
| 42 | Under the Rainbow | Warner Bros. | $18,826,490 | $2,287,205 | 792 |
| 43 | Private Lessons | Jensen Fa… | $18,064,851 | $1,177,841 | 224 |
| 44 | The Private Eyes | New World | $18,000,000 | ||
| 45 | The Howling | Avco Embassy | $17,985,000 | ||
| 46 | Eye of the Needle | United Ar… | $17,583,000 | $1,832,928 | 467 |
| 47 | Take This Job and Shove It | Avco Embassy | $17,569,000 | $3,121,433 | 500 |
| 48 | Ragtime | Paramount… | $17,468,158 | $151,351 | 500 |
| 49 | Ghost Story | Universal | $16,202,210 | $2,105,729 | 600 |
| 50 | The Devil and Max Devlin | Walt Disney | $16,000,000 | ||
| 51 | Caveman | United Ar… | $15,965,000 | 563 | |
| 52 | Continental Divide | Universal | $15,578,000 | $3,218,347 | 864 |
| 53 | S.O.B. | Paramount… | $14,867,086 | 639 | |
| 54 | Nighthawks | Universal | $14,600,000 | $2,525,360 | 659 |
| 55 | Scanners | Avco Embassy | $14,200,000 | ||
| 56 | The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia | Avco Embassy | $14,000,000 | $2,534,729 | 500 |
| 57 | Blow Out | Filmways … | $13,747,234 | $3,000,000 | 708 |
| 58 | The Legend of the Lone Ranger | Universal | $13,400,000 | $2,700,000 | 980 |
| 59 | Rich and Famous | MGM | $13,000,000 | $2,337,594 | 650 |
| 60 | On the Right Track | 20th Cent… | $13,000,000 | 36 | |
| 61 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | Paramount… | $12,200,000 | ||
| 62 | True Confessions | United Ar… | $12,200,000 | $154,923 | 458 |
| 63 | First Monday in October | Paramount… | $12,000,000 | $2,714,682 | 525 |
| 64 | Back Roads | Warner Bros. | $11,809,387 | $3,046,339 | 805 |
| 65 | Raggedy Man | Universal | $11,000,000 | $287,081 | 189 |
| 66 | Wolfen | Warner Bros. | $11,000,000 | $3,037,911 | 967 |
| 67 | Victory | Paramount… | $10,853,000 | $2,488,808 | 692 |
| 68 | Happy Birthday To Me | Columbia | $10,609,514 | 782 | |
| 69 | Rollover | Warner Bros. | $10,217,873 | $2,260,689 | 755 |
The Domestic Market is defined as the North American movie territory (consisting of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam).
This table is updated daily to reflect the latest studio reports.
Note: This chart is not adjusted for inflation.