List of Universal Pictures films (1980–1989)

This is a list of films produced or distributed by Universal Pictures in 1980–1989, founded in 1912 as the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. It is the main motion picture production and distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of the NBCUniversal division of Comcast.^[1]

1980[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
January 25, 1980	Guyana: Cult of the Damned	US distribution only
February 8, 1980	The Last Married Couple in America
March 7, 1980	Coal Miner's Daughter	Nominee of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2019
March 21, 1980	Little Miss Marker
April 18, 1980	North Sea Hijack
April 25, 1980	Where the Buffalo Roam
May 9, 1980	The Nude Bomb	co-production with Time-Life Films
May 23, 1980	The Gong Show Movie
June 13, 1980	The Island	co-production with Zanuck/Brown Company
June 20, 1980	The Blues Brothers	Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2020
July 18, 1980	Cheech and Chong's Next Movie	co-production with C&C Brown Productions
August 8, 1980	Xanadu
August 15, 1980	Smokey and the Bandit II	co-production with Rastar
September 19, 1980	Melvin and Howard	Nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
September 26, 1980	In God We Tru$t
September 26, 1980	Resurrection
October 3, 1980	Somewhere in Time	co-production with Rastar
December 5, 1980	Flash Gordon	US distribution only; produced by Dino De Laurentiis Company

1981[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
January 1, 1981	The White Lions	theatrical distribution only; produced by Alan Landsburg Productions
1981	Invaders from the Deep^{[N 1]}	distribution only; produced by ITC Entertainment; movie compilation of the television series Stingray
1981	Burned at the Stake	theatrical distribution only; produced by Alan Landsburg Productions
January 30, 1981	The Incredible Shrinking Woman
March 6, 1981	All Night Long
March 13, 1981	The Funhouse
April 10, 1981	Nighthawks
April 24, 1981	Beyond the Reef	US distribution only; produced by the Dino De Laurentiis Corporation
April 24, 1981	Cattle Annie and Little Britches^{[N 2]}	US distribution only; produced by Hemdale Film Corporation
May 1, 1981	King of the Mountain	US distribution only; produced by PolyGram Pictures
May 22, 1981	The Four Seasons
	Bustin' Loose
	The Legend of the Lone Ranger^{[N 1]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by ITC Entertainment and Wrather Productions
June 26, 1981	The Great Muppet Caper^{[N 3]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by ITC Entertainment and Henson Associates
July 17, 1981	Endless Love	US distribution only; produced by PolyGram Pictures
August 21, 1981	An American Werewolf in London	US distribution only; produced by PolyGram Pictures and Lycanthrope Films Limited
August 21, 1981	Honky Tonk Freeway^{[N 4]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by EMI Films
September 18, 1981	Continental Divide	co-production with Amblin Productions
September 18, 1981	Raggedy Man
October 2, 1981	Zoot Suit
October 23, 1981	Silence of the North
October 30, 1981	Halloween II	US distribution only; produced by the Dino De Laurentiis Corporation
November 13, 1981	The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper	US distribution only; produced by PolyGram Pictures
December 18, 1981	Ghost Story
December 18, 1981	Heartbeeps

1982[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
February 12, 1982	The Border	co-production with RKO Pictures
February 12, 1982	On Golden Pond^{[N 1]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by IPC Films and ITC Films Nominee of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama.
February 19, 1982	Barbarosa^{[N 1]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by ITC Entertainment
March 5, 1982	Evil Under the Sun^{[N 4]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by EMI Films and Titan Productions
March 12, 1982	Missing	co-production with PolyGram Pictures Nominee of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama.
April 2, 1982	A Little Sex	US distribution only; co-production with MTM Enterprises
April 2, 1982	Cat People	co-production with RKO Pictures
May 7, 1982	Death Valley
May 14, 1982	Conan the Barbarian	US distribution only; produced by Dino De Laurentiis Corporation
May 21, 1982	Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid	co-production with Aspen Film Society
June 11, 1982	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Nominee of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. co-production with Amblin Entertainment Inducted into the National Film Registry in 1994
June 25, 1982	The Thing	co-production with Turman-Foster Company
July 23, 1982	The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas	Nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy co-production with RKO Pictures
August 13, 1982	Fast Times at Ridgemont High	co-production with Refugee Films Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2005
September 26, 1982	Moonlighting	US distribution only
October 22, 1982	Halloween III: Season of the Witch	US distribution only; produced by the Dino De Laurentiis Corporation
December 3, 1982	Frances^{[N 4]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by EMI Films and Brooksfilms
December 10, 1982	Sophie's Choice^{[N 1]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by ITC Entertainment and Keith Barish Productions nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
December 10, 1982	La Traviata	US distribution only
December 17, 1982	The Dark Crystal^{[N 5]}	international and US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by ITC Entertainment and Henson Associates
December 17, 1982	Six Weeks	US distribution only; produced by PolyGram Pictures

1983[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
February 4, 1983	Videodrome	distribution only; produced by Filmplan International, Canadian Film Development Corporation and Famous Players
February 18, 1983	The Pirates of Penzance
February 18, 1983	The Sting II
February 1983	Second Thoughts^{[N 4]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by EMI Films and Turman-Foster Company
March 4, 1983	Tender Mercies^{[N 4]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by EMI Films and Antron Media Productions Nominee of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
March 23, 1983	Eddie Macon's Run
March 25, 1983	Bad Boys^{[N 4]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by EMI Films
March 31, 1983	Monty Python's The Meaning of Life	co-production with Python (Monty) Pictures
May 6, 1983	Doctor Detroit
June 3, 1983	Psycho II
July 1, 1983	Stroker Ace^{[N 6]}	North America theatrical and international home video distribution only; co-production with Warner Bros.
July 15, 1983	Puberty Blues	US distribution only
July 22, 1983	Jaws 3-D	co-production with Alan Landsburg Productions
July 29, 1983	Private School
August 12, 1983	Smokey and the Bandit Part 3
August 19, 1983	Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn	US distribution only; produced by Albert Band International Productions
September 2, 1983	Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence^{[N 7]}	US distribution only; produced by Recorded Picture Company
September 9, 1983	Nightmares
September 15, 1983	Heat and Dust^{[N 8]}	US theatrical distribution only; produced by Merchant Ivory Productions
September 21, 1983	Cross Creek^{[N 4]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment
September 30, 1983	Going Berserk
	The Lonely Lady	US distribution only
	Hanna K.	US distribution only
October 21, 1983	Rumble Fish	co-production with Zoetrope Studios
December 9, 1983	Scarface	co-production with Martin Bregman Productions
December 16, 1983	D.C. Cab	co-production with The Guber-Peters Company and RKO Pictures

1984[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
January 27, 1984	The Lonely Guy	co-production with Aspen Film Society
February 17, 1984	Crackers
February 1984	Slayground^{[N 4]}	US theatrical co-distribution with Associated Film Distribution only; produced by Thorn EMI Films
March 2, 1984	Repo Man^{[N 9]}	distribution only; produced by Edge City Productions
March 16, 1984	Tank	co-production with Lorimar Productions
April 6, 1984	Hard to Hold
April 13, 1984	Iceman
May 4, 1984	Sixteen Candles	co-production with Channel Productions
May 11, 1984	Firestarter	North America and select international theatrical distribution only; produced by Dino De Laurentiis Company
June 1, 1984	Streets of Fire	co-production with RKO Pictures and Hill-Gordon-Silver Productions
June 13, 1984	Under the Volcano	US distribution only; produced by Ithaca Enterprises
June 29, 1984	Conan the Destroyer	North America/Australia theatrical/Spain theatrical distribution only; produced by the Dino De Laurentiis Company
July 13, 1984	The Last Starfighter	US distribution only; co-production with Lorimar Productions
July 20, 1984	One Deadly Summer	US distribution only; produced by TF1
August 10, 1984	Cloak & Dagger
September 21, 1984	All of Me^{[N 10]}	US theatrical distribution only; produced by Kings Road Entertainment
September 28, 1984	The Wild Life
October 10, 1984	Comfort and Joy^{[N 4]}	US theatrical distribution only; produced by Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment, Kings Road Entertainment, and Scottish Television
October 26, 1984	Terror in the Aisles	US distribution only; produced by T.E.M. Programs International
December 14, 1984	Dune	North American and select international theatrical distribution only; produced by Dino De Laurentiis Corporation
December 14, 1984	Mass Appeal	distribution only
December 19, 1984	The River

1985[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
February 15, 1985	The Breakfast Club	co-production with A&M Films and Channel Productions Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2016
February 22, 1985	Into the Night
March 8, 1985	Mask
April 12, 1985	Annie's Coming Out	US distribution only; also known as A Test of Love
April 26, 1985	Stick
May 3, 1985	Gotcha!
May 22, 1985	Brewster's Millions	co-production with Silver Pictures (uncredited)
May 31, 1985	Fletch
July 3, 1985	Back to the Future	Nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. co-production with Amblin Entertainment Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2007
August 2, 1985	Weird Science	co-production with Hughes Entertainment and Silver Pictures
September 13, 1985	James Joyce's Women	US distribution only; produced by Rejoycing Company
September 20, 1985	Creator^{[N 10]}	US theatrical distribution only; produced by Kings Road Entertainment
September 20, 1985	Morons from Outer Space^{[N 2]}	US theatrical distribution only; produced by Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment
October 4, 1985	Dreamchild^{[N 2]}
October 18, 1985	The Holcroft Covenant^{[N 2]}
October 18, 1985	Wild Geese II^{[N 2]}
October 1985	UFOria	distribution only; produced by Melvin Simon Productions
December 18, 1985	Brazil	US distribution only; produced by Embassy International Pictures
December 20, 1985	Out of Africa	Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. co-production with Mirage Enterprises

1986[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
January 31, 1986	The Best of Times^{[N 10]}	US theatrical distribution only; produced by Kings Road Entertainment
March 26, 1986	The Money Pit	co-production with Amblin Entertainment
April 18, 1986	Legend	US distribution only; produced by Embassy International Pictures
May 14, 1986	Sweet Liberty
June 18, 1986	Legal Eagles
July 2, 1986	Psycho III
August 1, 1986	Howard the Duck	distribution only; produced by Lucasfilm
August 29, 1986	Bullies	US distribution only; produced by Simcom Limited
September 12, 1986	'night, Mother	co-production with Aaron Spelling Productions and Blackbird Productions
October 3, 1986	Playing for Keeps	US distribution only; produced by Miramax Films
October 10, 1986	Clockwise^{[N 4]}	US theatrical distribution only; produced by Cannon Screen Entertainment
November 21, 1986	An American Tail	co-production with Amblin Entertainment and Sullivan Bluth Studios
December 25, 1986	Brighton Beach Memoirs	co-production with Rastar

1987[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
April 10, 1987	The Secret of My Success	co-production with Rastar
May 1, 1987	The Allnighter	co-production with Aurora Productions
June 5, 1987	Harry and the Hendersons	co-production with Amblin Entertainment
June 26, 1987	Dragnet
July 17, 1987	Jaws: The Revenge
August 14, 1987	North Shore	co-production with Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions
August 21, 1987	Born in East L.A.
September 18, 1987	Amazon Women on the Moon
October 9, 1987	Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
October 9, 1987	Three O'Clock High
October 23, 1987	Prince of Darkness	US distribution only; produced by Alive Films
October 27, 1987	Positive I.D.
November 6, 1987	Cry Freedom	co-production with Marble Arch Productions
November 13, 1987	Cross My Heart
December 4, 1987	Walker	co-production with In-Cine Compañía Industrial Cinematográfica
December 18, 1987	Batteries Not Included	Nominee of the Saturn Award for Best Actress. co-production with Amblin Entertainment

1988[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
February 5, 1988	The Serpent and the Rainbow
March 18, 1988	The Milagro Beanfield War^{[N 9]}
March 25, 1988	Biloxi Blues	co-production with Rastar
April 22, 1988	Casual Sex?
May 6, 1988	Shakedown	US distribution only; produced by Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment
June 17, 1988	The Great Outdoors	distribution only; produced by Hughes Entertainment
July 8, 1988	Phantasm II	US distribution only; produced by Spacegate Corporation
July 20, 1988	Midnight Run	Nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. co-production with City Light Films
August 12, 1988	The Last Temptation of Christ	co-production with Cineplex Odeon Films
September 9, 1988	Moon Over Parador
September 23, 1988	Gorillas in the Mist	Nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. North American distribution only; co-production with Warner Bros. and The Guber-Peters Company
October 14, 1988	Madame Sousatzka	US distribution only; produced by Cineplex Odeon Films
November 4, 1988	They Live	US distribution only; produced by Alive Films
November 18, 1988	The Land Before Time	co-production with Amblin Entertainment and Sullivan Bluth Studios
November 1988	Missing Link
December 1, 1988	Screwball Hotel
December 2, 1988	Watchers^{[N 11]}	US theatrical distribution only; produced by Concorde Pictures, Centaur Films, Rose & Ruby Productions, and Canadian Entertainment Investors No. 2 and Company
December 9, 1988	Twins
December 21, 1988	Talk Radio	US distribution only; produced by Cineplex Odeon Films

1989[edit]

Release Date	Title	Notes
February 17, 1989	The 'Burbs	distribution only; produced by Imagine Entertainment
March 17, 1989	Fletch Lives
April 7, 1989	The Dream Team	distribution only; produced by Imagine Entertainment
April 21, 1989	Field of Dreams	US distribution only; co-production with the Gordon Company Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2017
April 28, 1989	K-9	co-production with the Gordon Company
June 2, 1989	Renegades^{[N 12]}	US distribution only; produced by Morgan Creek Productions and Interscope Communications
June 30, 1989	Do the Right Thing	Nominee of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. co-production with 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks Inducted into the National Film Registry in 1999
August 2, 1989	Parenthood	distribution only; produced by Imagine Entertainment
August 16, 1989	Uncle Buck	co-production with Hughes Entertainment
September 15, 1989	Sea of Love
October 27, 1989	Shocker	US distribution only; produced by Alive Films
November 10, 1989	Dad	distribution only; produced by Amblin Entertainment
November 22, 1989	Back to the Future Part II	co-production with Amblin Entertainment
December 15, 1989	The Wizard	US distribution only; co-production with Finnegan-Pinchuk Company
December 20, 1989	Born on the Fourth of July	Nominee of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
December 22, 1989	Always	co-production with United Artists and Amblin Entertainment

Notes[edit]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Owned by ITV Studios
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 Owned by MGM
↑ Owned by Disney (via The Muppets Studio)
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 ^4.4 ^4.5 ^4.6 ^4.7 ^4.8 ^4.9 Owned by StudioCanal
↑ Owned by The Jim Henson Company with Shout! Studios handling distribution; Universal retains theatrical rights due to contractual obligations
↑ US rights owned by Warner Bros.
↑ Owned by HanWay Films, with RLJE Films handling U.S. distribution
↑ Owned by Cohen Media Group
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 This film has since been transferred to Universal's Focus Features division
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 ^10.2 Owned by Lionsgate in the U.S., and Icon Entertainment International and Exclusive Media internationally
↑ Owned by StudioCanal, with U.S. distribution rights split between Rialto Pictures and Lionsgate
↑ Co-owned by Revolution Studios

References[edit]

↑ Dick, Bernard F. (2021-11-09). City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 167–197. ISBN 978-0-8131-9612-1. Search this book on

External links[edit]

Universal Pictures

This article "List of Universal Pictures films (1980–1989)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:List of Universal Pictures films (1980–1989). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

[ITV-2] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Owned by ITV Studios

[MGM-3] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 Owned by MGM

[Disney-4] Owned by Disney (via The Muppets Studio)

[StudioCanal-5] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 ^4.4 ^4.5 ^4.6 ^4.7 ^4.8 ^4.9 Owned by StudioCanal

[Henson-6] Owned by The Jim Henson Company with Shout! Studios handling distribution; Universal retains theatrical rights due to contractual obligations

[WarnerBrosUS-7] US rights owned by Warner Bros.

[HanWay-8] Owned by HanWay Films, with RLJE Films handling U.S. distribution

[Cohen-9] Owned by Cohen Media Group

[Focus-10] 9.0 ^9.1 This film has since been transferred to Universal's Focus Features division

[KingsRoad-11] 10.0 ^10.1 ^10.2 Owned by Lionsgate in the U.S., and Icon Entertainment International and Exclusive Media internationally

[Canal-12] Owned by StudioCanal, with U.S. distribution rights split between Rialto Pictures and Lionsgate

[Revolution-13] Co-owned by Revolution Studios

[1] Dick, Bernard F. (2021-11-09). City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 167–197. ISBN 978-0-8131-9612-1. Search this book on

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