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.