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The following is an overview of events in1980 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.
The top ten 1980 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Box-office gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Empire Strikes Back | 20th Century Fox | $209,398,025 |
| 2 | 9 to 5 | $103,290,500 | |
| 3 | Stir Crazy | Columbia | $101,300,000 |
| 4 | Airplane! | Paramount | $83,453,539 |
| 5 | Any Which Way You Can | Warner Bros. | $70,687,344 |
| 6 | Private Benjamin | $69,847,348 | |
| 7 | Coal Miner's Daughter | Universal | $67,182,787 |
| 8 | Smokey and the Bandit II | $66,132,626 | |
| 9 | The Blue Lagoon | Columbia | $58,853,106 |
| 10 | The Blues Brothers | Universal | $57,229,890 |
The following table lists known worldwide gross revenue figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1980. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1980.
| Title | Gross | Source | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Empire Strikes Back | $538,375,067 | [2] | United States |
| The Gods Must Be Crazy | $200,000,000 | [3] | South Africa |
| Airplane! | $130,000,000 | [4] | United States |
| The Blues Brothers | $115,229,890 | [5] |
Industry professionals predicted comedy films and upbeat entertainment to dominate theaters in 1980. This was a response to poor morale in a nation suffering througheconomic recession, which generally increased theatrical visits as audiences sought escapism and ignored romantic films and depictions ofblue-collar life.[6][7] The financial success and low cost of production cost of comedies such asBlazing Saddles (1974) andAnimal House (1978), had further driven demand for comedies;Airplane!,The Blues Brothers,Caddyshack, andThe Jerk, were all scheduled for release that year. The average cost of making films had risen to $6 million which had reduced the number of films being made for niche audiences. Some studios continued to release a wide variety of films, hoping that few significant successes would compensate for other failures.[7]
A surge of interest in science-fiction followingStar Wars' release had led to many low-budget entries in the genre attempting to profit by association, and big budget entries such asStar Trek: The Motion Picture andThe Black Hole, both of which were released in late 1979, just months beforeThe Empire Strikes Back.[8]
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
United States unless stated
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | Adolph Deutsch | 82 | US | Composer, Arranger | |
| 3 | Ivan Triesault | 81 | Estonia | Actor | ||
| 14 | Robert Ardrey | 71 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 17 | Barbara Britton | 60 | US | Actress | ||
| 18 | Cecil Beaton | 76 | UK | Costume Designer, Production Designer | ||
| 22 | Iris Meredith | 64 | US | Actress | ||
| 23 | Leonard Strong | 71 | US | Actor | ||
| 24 | Lil Dagover | 92 | Germany | Actress | ||
| 24 | James Poe | 58 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 27 | Peppino De Filippo | 76 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 28 | Erle C. Kenton | 83 | US | Director | ||
| 29 | Jimmy Durante | 86 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
| February | 1 | Romolo Valli | 54 | Italy | Actor | |
| 3 | Ray Heindorf | 71 | US | Composer | ||
| 9 | Renée Houston | 77 | UK | Actress | ||
| 13 | David Janssen | 48 | US | Actor | ||
| 17 | Jerry Fielding | 57 | US | Composer | ||
| 17 | Ed Graves | 62 | US | Art Director | ||
| 18 | Gale Robbins | 58 | US | Actress, Singer | ||
| 26 | Mario Mattoli | 81 | Italy | Director, Screenwriter | ||
| 27 | George Tobias | 78 | US | Actor | ||
| March | 5 | Jay Silverheels | 67 | Canada | Actor | |
| 8 | Frank McDonald | 80 | US | Director | ||
| 17 | Farciot Edouart | 85 | US | Special Effects Artist | ||
| 27 | Philip W. Anderson | 64 | US | Film Editor | ||
| 27 | Steve Fisher | 67 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 28 | Dick Haymes | 61 | Argentina | Actor, Singer | ||
| 30 | David Sharpe | 70 | US | Stuntman, Actor | ||
| April | 3 | Mary McCarty | 56 | US | Actress | |
| 6 | John Collier | 78 | UK | Screenwriter | ||
| 9 | Kathleen Burke | 66 | US | Actress | ||
| 10 | Kay Medford | 65 | US | Actress | ||
| 11 | Charlotte Henry | 66 | US | Actress | ||
| 14 | Tom Fadden | 85 | US | Actor | ||
| 15 | Raymond Bailey | 75 | US | Actor | ||
| 17 | Alf Sjöberg | 76 | Sweden | Director | ||
| 19 | Tony Beckley | 50 | UK | Actor | ||
| 25 | Mario Bava | 65 | Italy | Director, Screenwriter, Cinematographer | ||
| 26 | Cicely Courtneidge | 87 | Australia | Actress, Singer | ||
| 29 | William Clemens | 74 | US | Director | ||
| 29 | Alfred Hitchcock | 80 | UK | Director | ||
| May | 1 | Henry Levin | 70 | US | Director | |
| 1 | Gene Markey | 84 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 2 | George Pal | 72 | Hungary | Producer, Director | ||
| 4 | Kay Hammond | 71 | UK | Actress | ||
| 12 | Lillian Roth | 69 | US | Actress | ||
| 14 | Hugh Griffith | 67 | UK | Actor | ||
| 15 | Gordon E. Sawyer | 74 | US | Sound Engineer | ||
| 16 | José Calvo | 64 | Spain | Actor | ||
| 19 | Ray Rennahan | 84 | US | Cinematographer | ||
| 21 | Ida Kamińska | 80 | Ukraine | Actress | ||
| 26 | Franz Bachelin | 84 | Germany | Art Director | ||
| June | 4 | Gloria Saunders | 52 | US | Actress | |
| 12 | Milburn Stone | 75 | US | Actor | ||
| 18 | Terence Fisher | 76 | UK | Director | ||
| 22 | Monang Carvajal | 82 | Philippines | Actress | ||
| 23 | John Laurie | 83 | UK | Actor | ||
| 23 | Odile Versois | 50 | France | Actress | ||
| 24 | Boris Kaufman | 73 | Poland | Cinematographer | ||
| 28 | José Iturbi | 84 | Spain | Conductor, Actor | ||
| 30 | Thomas Browne Henry | 72 | US | Actor | ||
| July | 6 | Frank Cordell | 62 | UK | Composer | |
| 6 | Gail Patrick | 69 | US | Actress | ||
| 7 | Reginald Gardiner | 77 | UK | Actor | ||
| 7 | Dore Schary | 74 | US | Producer, Screenwriter, Executive | ||
| 11 | Peggy Knudsen | 57 | US | Actress | ||
| 24 | Peter Sellers | 54 | UK | Actor | ||
| 30 | Charles McGraw | 66 | US | Actor | ||
| 31 | Bobby Van | 51 | US | Actor, Dancer | ||
| August | 1 | Strother Martin | 61 | US | Actor | |
| 2 | Donald Ogden Stewart | 85 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 9 | Elliot Nugent | 83 | US | Director | ||
| 14 | Dorothy Stratten | 20 | Canada | Actress | ||
| 17 | Harold Adamson | 73 | US | Lyricist | ||
| 24 | Yootha Joyce | 53 | UK | Actress | ||
| 25 | Gower Champion | 59 | US | Actor, Dancer, Director | ||
| 25 | Lester Dorr | 87 | US | Actor | ||
| 26 | Tex Avery | 72 | US | Animator, Director | ||
| 27 | Douglas Kenney | 33 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| September | 3 | Barbara O'Neil | 70 | US | Actress | |
| 4 | Duncan Renaldo | 76 | Romania | Actor | ||
| 5 | Barbara Loden | 48 | US | Actress, Director | ||
| 12 | Lillian Randolph | 81 | US | Actress | ||
| 17 | Michael Strong | 62 | US | Actor | ||
| 19 | Sol Lesser | 90 | US | Producer | ||
| 25 | Lewis Milestone | 84 | Moldova | Director | ||
| October | 6 | Hattie Jacques | 58 | UK | Actress | |
| 10 | Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas | 49 | US | Actor | ||
| 28 | Leon Janney | 63 | US | Actor | ||
| November | 4 | Noel Langley | 68 | South Africa | Screenwriter | |
| 7 | Emilio Cigoli | 70 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 7 | Steve McQueen | 50 | US | Actor | ||
| 9 | Carmel Myers | 81 | US | Actress | ||
| 9 | Victor Sen Yung | 65 | US | Actor | ||
| 14 | Nick Dennis | 76 | US | Actor | ||
| 15 | Bill Lee | 64 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
| 16 | Imogen Hassall | 38 | UK | Actress | ||
| 22 | Mae West | 87 | US | Actress, Screenwriter | ||
| 24 | Nancy Hsueh | 38 | US | Actress | ||
| 24 | George Raft | 79 | US | Actor | ||
| 26 | Conrad A. Nervig | 91 | US | Film Editor | ||
| 26 | Rachel Roberts | 53 | UK | Actress | ||
| 28 | Sarah Y. Mason | 84 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 29 | Edith Evanson | 84 | US | Actress | ||
| December | 8 | John Lennon | 40 | UK | Singer, Actor | |
| 12 | Urie McCleary | 75 | US | Art Director | ||
| 16 | Peter Collinson | 44 | UK | Director | ||
| 20 | Ben Sharpsteen | 85 | US | Director, Producer | ||
| 21 | Marc Connelly | 90 | US | Actor, Screenwriter | ||
| 22 | Lesser Samuels | 86 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 23 | Memmo Carotenuto | 72 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 28 | Sam Levene | 75 | US | Actor | ||
| 31 | Raoul Walsh | 93 | US | Director, Actor |
Business records filed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) list the date of birth for a "Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson" as March 2, 1980
