1985 in film

The following is an overview of events in 1985 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1985 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Rank	Title	Distributor	Box-office gross
1	Back to the Future	Universal	$210,609,762
2	Rambo: First Blood Part II	TriStar / Carolco	$150,415,432
3	Rocky IV	MGM	$127,873,716
4	The Color Purple	Warner Bros.	$94,175,854
5	Out of Africa	Universal	$87,071,205
6	Cocoon	20th Century Fox	$76,113,124
7	The Jewel of the Nile	20th Century Fox	$75,973,200
8	Witness	Paramount	$68,706,993
9	The Goonies	Warner Bros.	$61,389,680
10	Spies Like Us	Warner Bros.	$60,088,980

Context

The year was considered an unsuccessful one for film. Despite a record number of film releases, many films failed at the box office, and ticket sales were down 17% compared with 1984. Industry executives believed the problem, in part, was a lack of original concepts. Films about fantasy and magic failed, as audiences leaned towards science-fiction. Janet Maslin said the fault for this lay partly with Steven Spielberg, who had created such a successful template with films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind that many fantasy films had imitated them. There was also a saturation of youth-oriented films targeted at those under 18. Executives were not fond of these films, but the financial rewards were too significant to ignore. The few films aimed at older audiences, like Cocoon, were surprise successes. Only Back to the Future and Rambo: First Blood Part II were successful blockbusters, earning more than double the box office of Cocoon. Films offering escapism and pro-America themes like Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV also fared well.
The glut of youth-targeted films like Return to Oz and The Black Cauldron, and science-fiction comedies like Weird Science, Real Genius, and My Science Project had resulted in a string of failures. Executives said that the films were all very similar and marketed in the same way, offering no variety for audiences.

Events

April – Rupert Murdoch's News Group Publications officially acquires 50% of TCF Holdings, parent company of 20th Century Fox, for $250 million from Marvin Davis and his family.
June 5 – The Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs] play the Atlanta Braves season|Atlanta Braves] in a baseball game at Wrigley Field. Excerpts from the broadcast later pin this date as the day featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
December 3 – Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.

Awards

Palme d'Or :
Golden Lion :
'''Golden Bear :'''

1985 films

By country/region

By genre/medium

Births

January 1 – Juliana Harkavy, American actress
January 2 – Carla Juri, Swiss actress
January 3
*Nicole Beharie, American actress
*Leah Gibson, Canadian actress
January 5 – Michael Cuccione, Canadian child actor, singer and dancer
January 6
* Hugh Skinner, English actor
* Adam Pearson (actor), British actor, presenter and campaigner
January 9 – James Acaster, English comedian and actor
January 10 – Alex Meraz, American actor and dancer
January 11 – Aja Naomi King, American actress
January 12 – Issa Rae, American actress, writer and producer
January 13 – Ellen Wong, Canadian actress
January 16 – Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actor
January 19 – Damien Chazelle, American film director
January 22 – Tim Dillon, American stand-up comedian and actor
January 23 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch actress and model
January 25
*Claudia Kim, South Korean actress and model
*Hartley Sawyer, American actor
*Michael Trevino, American actor
January 26 – Edwin Hodge, American actor
January 28 – Tom Hopper, British actor
January 29 – Isabel Lucas, Australian actress and model
February 2 – Romain Cogitore, French film director
February 5 – Paige Howard, American actress
February 6 – Crystal Reed, American actress
February 7
*Tina Majorino, American actress
*Deborah Ann Woll, American actress and model
February 9
*David Gallagher, American actor and singer
*Rachel Melvin, American actress
February 13 - Tracy Ifeachor, British actress
February 14 – Jake Lacy, American actor
February 15 – Natalie Morales, American actress and director
February 17 – Anne Curtis, Filipino-Australian actress, model, television host
February 19
*Haylie Duff, American actress and singer
*Arielle Kebbel, American actress and model
*Tatanka Means, Native American activist, actor
February 22 – Zach Roerig, American actor
February 27 - Heléne Yorke, Canadian actress
March 1 – Michael Conner Humphreys, American actor
March 3 – Nathalie Kelley, Australian actress
March 5 – Kenichi Matsuyama, Japanese actor
March 9 – Jolyon Coy, English actor and writer
March 10 – Cooper Andrews, American actor
March 13 – Emile Hirsch, American actor
March 14 – Max Benitz, English writer and former actor
March 15
*Eva Amurri, American actress
*Kellan Lutz, American actor
March 18 – Bianca King, Filipino-British former actress and model
March 19 – Yolanthe Cabau, Spanish-Dutch actress and television host
March 21 – Sonequa Martin-Green, American actress and producer
March 22
*Katie Stuart, Canadian actress and stunt performer
*James Wolk, American actor
March 23 – Maryana Spivak, Russian actress
March 24 – Jeremy James Kissner, American actor
March 26
*Jonathan Groff, American actor and singer
*Keira Knightley, English actress
*Francesca Marie Smith, American actress and writer
March 27 – Ram Charan, Indian film actor
March 31 – Jessica Szohr, American actress
April 1 – Josh Zuckerman, American actor
April 6 - Sinqua Walls, American actor
April 7 – Ariela Massotti, Brazilian actress
April 9
*Annie Funke, American actress
*Tomohisa Yamashita, Japanese singer, actor and television host
April 10
*Barkhad Abdi, Somali-American actor and director
*Christie Laing, Canadian actress
April 12 – Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese former singer and actress
April 16
*Rhiana Griffith, Australian actress
*Benjamin Rojas, Argentine actor and singer
*Gregor Schmidinger, Austrian screenwriter and director
April 17
*Rooney Mara, American actress
*Luke Mitchell, Australian actor and model
*Maiken Pius, Estonian actress
April 20 – Billy Magnussen, American actor
April 22 – Kristin Fairlie, Canadian actress
April 23 – Rachel Skarsten, Canadian actress
April 27 – Sheila Vand, American actress
April 29 – Bar Paly, Israeli-American actress
April 30 – Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and model
May 3 – Meagan Tandy, American actress and model
May 5
*Clark Duke, American actor, comedian and director
*Shoko Nakagawa, Japanese actress, voice actress and singer
May 6 – Jamie Winstone, English actress, daughter of actor Ray Winstone
May 9 – Chris Zylka, American actor and model
May 10 – Odette Annable, American actress
May 11
*Aimee Horne, Australian actress, singer and voice-over artist
*Jadyn Wong, Canadian actress
May 14
*Lina Esco, American actress, producer and director
*Sally Martin, New Zealand actress
May 15 – Tathagata Mukherjee, Indian actor
May 16
*Stanislav Ianevski, Bulgarian actor
*Andrew Keenan-Bolger, American actor
*Julia Voth, Canadian actress and model
May 17 – Sophie McShera, English actress
May 20 – Joel Fry, British actor and musician
May 22
*Tao Okamoto, Japanese actress and model
*Chris Salvatore, American actor, singer-songwriter, and model
May 25
*Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer, actress and television host
*Lauren Frost, American actress and singer
*Roman Reigns, American professional wrestler and actor
May 28 – Carey Mulligan, English actress
May 29
*Blake Foster, American actor
*Yukihiro Takiguchi, Japanese actor, singer and model
May 30 – Sam Gifaldi, American actor
May 31 – Zoraida Gómez, Mexican actress
June 2 – Miyuki Sawashiro, Japanese voice actress
June 4 – Bar Refaeli, Israeli model, television host and actress
June 5 – Marc Pickering, English actor
June 7 – Adam Nagaitis, British actor
June 9 – Sonam Kapoor, Indian actress and model
June 10
*Susannah Fielding, English actress
*Andrew Lees, Australian actor
June 12
* Dave Franco, American actor
* Liisa Pulk, Estonian actress
June 16 – Débora Nascimento, Brazilian actress and model
June 17 – Tramell Tillman, American actor
June 18
*Sorel Carradine, American actress
*Alex Hirsch, American voice actor, animator, writer, storyboard artist and producer
June 21 – Lana Del Rey, American singer and songwriter
June 22 – Douglas Smith, Canadian actor
June 27 – Martin Sensmeier, American actor and model
June 28 – Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly, American actress
June 30
*Lasarus Ratuere, Australian actor
*Hugh Sheridan, Australian actor, musician and television presenter
July 1 – Léa Seydoux, French actress
July 2
*Nelson Franklin, American actor
*Ashley Tisdale, American actress and singer
July 5
*François Arnaud, Canadian actor
*Stephanie McIntosh, Australian actress and singer
July 6 – Ranveer Singh, Indian actor
July 7 – Seo Woo, South Korean actress
July 11 – Nitya Vidyasagar, Indian-American actress
July 14
*Lee Kwang-soo, South Korean actor, entertainer and model
*Phoebe Waller-Bridge, English actress and writer
July 15
*Tomer Capone, Israeli actor
*Pedro Carvalho, Portuguese actor
*Agniya Kuznetsova, Russian actress
*Crowd Lu, Taiwanese singer-songwriter and actor
*Ecstasia Sanders, American-Canadian actress
*Gaia Scodellaro, Italian actress
July 16
*Yōko Hikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
*Hiroyuki Onoue, Japanese actor
*Rosa Salazar, Canadian-American actress
*Cha Ye-ryun, South Korean actress
July 17 – Caitlin Van Zandt, American actor
July 18
* Chace Crawford, American actor
* James Norton, English actor
July 20 – John Francis Daley, American actor, director, producer, screenwriter and musician
July 21 – Vanessa Lengies, Canadian actress and singer
July 22 – Blake Harrison, English actor, voice actor and dancer
July 25
*James Lafferty, American actor, director and producer
*Shantel VanSanten, American model and actress
July 27
*Aljin Abella, Australian actor of Filipino descent
*Lou Taylor, American actor
July 28 – Jon Michael Hill, American actor
July 30 – Aml Ameen, British actor
August 1 – Henry Lloyd-Hughes, English actor
August 2 – Georgina Haig, Australian actress
August 7 - Stephen Oyoung, American actor
August 9 – Anna Kendrick, American actress and singer
August 10 – Jared Nathan, American actor
August 11 – Jacqueline Fernandez, Sri Lankan actress
August 12 – África Zavala, Mexican actress
August 15 – Emily Kinney, American actress, singer and songwriter
August 16
*Arden Cho, American actress, singer and model
*Cristin Milioti, American actress and singer
August 17 – Yū Aoi, Japanese actress
August 18 – Desiree Casado, former actress
August 21 – Laura Haddock, English actress
August 23
*Juss Haasma, Estonian actor
*Adrian Molina, Mexican-American film director, screenwriter and animator
August 27 – Kayla Ewell, American actress
September 2
*Yani Gellman, Canadian actor
*Allison Miller, American actress
September 4 – Morgan Garrett, American voice actress
September 6 – Lauren Lapkus, American actress and comedian
September 10
*Monica Lopera, Colombian-American actress
*Elyse Levesque, Canadian actress
September 11 – Hayden Szeto, Canadian actor
September 16
*Max Minghella, English actor and filmmaker
*Madeline Zima, American actress
September 21 – Robert Hoffman, American actor
September 22 – Tatiana Maslany, Canadian actress
September 23 – Hasan Minhaj, American actor and stand-up comedian
September 24 – Jessica Lucas, Canadian actress and singer
September 25 – Eréndira Ibarra, Mexican actress
September 26 – Talulah Riley, English actress
September 27 – Grace Helbig, American actress, comedian and YouTuber
September 30 – Ben Lewis, Canadian actor and writer
October 1 – Emerald Fennell, English screen actress and director
October 5 – Carolina Bartczak, Canadian-Polish actress
October 6 – Ida Engvoll, Swedish actress
October 8 – Max Crumm, American actor and singer
October 10 – Aaron Himelstein, American actor
October 11 – Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress
October 17 – Max Irons, English-Irish actor and model
October 24 – Tim Pocock, Australian actor
October 25 – John Robinson, American actor
October 26
*Soko, French singer and actress
*Qi Wei, Chinese actress
*Asin Thottumkal, Indian actress
October 28 – Troian Bellisario, American actress
October 31 – Kether Donohue, American actress and singer
November 2 – Josh Grelle, American voice actor
November 5 – Annet Mahendru, American actress
November 7 – Lucas Neff, American actor
November 10 – Giovonnie Samuels, American actress
November 15 – Thue Ersted Rasmussen, Danish actor
November 20 – Dan Byrd, American actor
November 21
*William Chan, Hong Kong singer and actor
*Ronny Chieng, Malaysian comedian and actor
November 23 – Katie Crown, Canadian-American actress, voice actress, comedian and writer
November 26 – Arturo Castro, Guatemalan actor
November 27 – Alison Pill, Canadian actress
November 30
*Gia Crovatin, American actress and producer
*Kaley Cuoco, American actress
*Daniel Ings, English actor
*Chrissy Teigen, American actress, model and television personality
December 1 – Janelle Monáe, American singer, rapper and actress
December 3 – Amanda Seyfried, American actress and singer
December 5 – Frankie Muniz, American actor
December 6 – Max Kasch, American actor and musician
December 10 – Raven-Symoné, American actress and singer
December 13 – Rachel Hendrix, American actress
December 25
*Smith Cho, American actress
*Perdita Weeks, Welsh actress
December 27 – Jessica Harmon, Canadian actress and director
December 31 - Erich Bergen, American actor

Deaths

Month	Date	Name	Age	Country	Profession	Notable films
January	5	Robert Surtees	78	US	Cinematographer
January	5	John Paxton	73	US	Screenwriter
January	11	Edward Buzzell	89	US	Director
January	12	Paul Luty	52	UK	Actor
January	13	Carol Wayne	42	US	Actress
January	14	Jetta Goudal	93	Netherlands	Actress
January	18	Wilfrid Brambell	72	Ireland	Actor
January	18	Georgie Stoll	82	US	Composer, Musical Director
January	25	Paul J. Smith	78	US	Composer
January	29	Chic Murray	65	UK	Actor
February	4	John Wexley	77	US	Screenwriter
February	6	Neil McCarthy	52	UK	Actor
February	10	Wanda Tuchock	86	US	Screenwriter
February	11	Henry Hathaway	86	US	Director
February	11	Heinz Roemheld	83	US	Composer
February	12	Nicholas Colasanto	61	US	Actor
February	19	Dorothy Black	85	South Africa	Actress
February	20	Clarence Nash	80	US	Voice Actor
February	21	Ina Claire	91	US	Actress
February	21	Louis Hayward	75	South Africa	Actor
February	22	Alexander Scourby	71	US	Actor
February	24	Joseph C. Wright	92	US	Art Director
February	27	J. Pat O'Malley	80	UK	Actor
February	27	David Huffman	39	US	Actor
March	1	Alfred Zeisler	92	US	Producer, Director
March	3	Connie Gilchrist	89	US	Actress
March	3	Noel Purcell	84	Ireland	Actor
March	5	Thomas Little	98	US	Set Decorator
March	8	Edward Andrews	70	US	Actor
March	19	Anthony Nelson Keys	73	UK	Producer
March	21	Michael Redgrave	77	UK	Actor
March	21	Michael Trubshawe	79	UK	Actor
April	16	Scott Brady	60	US	Actor
April	21	John Welsh	70	Ireland	Actor
April	23	Kent Smith	78	US	Actor
April	25	Richard Haydn	80	UK	Actor
April	26	Albert Maltz	76	US	Screenwriter
May	1	George Pravda	68	Czech Republic	Actor
May	4	Harry Earles	83	US	Actor
May	7	Dawn Addams	54	UK	Actress
May	8	Susan Morrow	53	US	Actress
May	8	Dolph Sweet	64	US	Actor
May	9	Edmond O'Brien	69	US	Actor
May	13	Selma Diamond	64	Canada	Actress
May	13	Leatrice Joy	91	US	Actress
May	14	Frank Westmore	62	??	Makeup Artist
May	16	Margaret Hamilton	82	US	Actress
May	17	Hugh Burden	72	UK	Actor
May	20	George Memmoli	46	US	Actor
May	22	Wolfgang Reitherman	75	Germany	Animator, Director
May	22	Gerald Case	80	UK	Actor
May	25	Robert Nathan	91	US	Screenwriter
May	26	Harold Hecht	77	US	Producer
May	30	Talbot Jennings	90	US	Screenwriter
June	1	Richard Greene	66	UK	Actor
June	7	Gordon Rollings	59	UK	Actor
June	8	Charles LeMaire	88	US	Costume Designer
June	9	Clifford Evans	73	UK	Actor
June	10	George Chandler	86	US	Actor
June	12	Dominique Laffin	33	France	Actress
June	17	John Boulting	71	UK	Producer, Director
June	17	Georgia Hale	84	US	Actress
June	24	Valentine Dyall	77	UK	Actor
June	28	James Craig	73	US	Actor
July	3	Nelson Leigh	80	US	Actor
July	7	Ewen Solon	67	New Zealand	Actor
July	8	Phil Foster	71	US	Actor
July	8	Victor Rendina	68	US	Actor
July	9	Rafael Campos	49	Dominican Republic	Actor
July	10	Arthur J. Ornitz	68	US	Cinematographer
July	16	Elsie Wagstaff	86	UK	Actress
July	17	Margo	68	Mexico	Actress
July	19	Henry Mollison	80	UK	Actor
July	20	Estelle Evans	78	Bahamas	Actress
July	21	Alvah Bessie	81	US	Screenwriter
July	23	Mickey Shaughnessy	64	US	Actor
July	23	Tom Waldman	63	US	Screenwriter
July	27	Michel Audiard	65	France	Screenwriter, Director
July	28	Grant Williams	53	US	Actor
August	1	Al Overton	73	US	Sound Engineer
August	1	Joseph Walker	92	US	Cinematographer
August	2	Bob Holt	56	US	Actor
August	2	Frank Faylen	79	US	Actor
August	7	Grayson Hall	62	US	Actress
August	8	Louise Brooks	78	US	Actress
August	8	Milton H. Greene	63	US	Producer
August	10	Kenny Baker	72	US	Singer, Actor
August	12	Patrick Hines	55	US	Actor
August	13	Marion Martin	77	US	Actress
August	14	Gale Sondergaard	86	US	Actress
August	15	Lester Cole	81	US	Screenwriter
August	24	Morrie Ryskind	89	US	Screenwriter
August	28	Ruth Gordon	88	US	Actress, Screenwriter
August	29	Evelyn Ankers	67	Chile	Actress
August	29	Patrick Barr	77	UK	Actor
August	30	Tom Howard	75	UK	Special Effects Artist
September	4	Isabel Jeans	93	UK	Actress
September	4	George O'Brien	86	US	Actor
September	6	Johnny Desmond	65	US	Actor, Singer
September	6	Jane Frazee	67	US	Actress, Singer
September	10	Alexa Kenin	23	US	Actress
September	11	William Alwyn	79	UK	Composer
September	14	Julian Beck	60	US	Actor
September	23	Harvey Parry	85	US	Stuntman
September	24	Paul Mann	71	Canada	Actor
September	26	Frank Bracht	75	US	Film Editor
September	27	Lloyd Nolan	83	US	Actor
September	28	L. B. Abbott	77	US	Special Effects Artist
September	29	Arthur Krams	73	US	Set Decorator
September	30	Simone Signoret	64	France	Actress
September	30	Floyd Crosby	85	US	Cinematographer
October	2	Rock Hudson	59	US	Actor
October	6	Nelson Riddle	64	US	Composer
October	8	Theresa Harris	78	US	Actress
October	10	Yul Brynner	65	Russia	Actor
October	10	Orson Welles	70	US	Actor, Director, Screenwriter
October	11	Elwood Ullman	82	US	Screenwriter
October	13	Francesca Bertini	93	Italy	Actress
October	16	Franklin Milton	78	US	Sound Engineer
October	21	Diane Thomas	39	US	Screenwriter
October	22	Stefano Satta Flores	48	Italy	Actor
October	24	Masaichi Nagata	79	Japan	Producer
October	28	William Bramley	57	US	Actor
October	29	John Davis Lodge	82	US	Actor
October	30	Kirby Grant	73	US	Actor
October	30	David Oxley	64	UK	Actor
November	1	Phil Silvers	74	US	Actor
November	6	Sanjeev Kumar	47	India	Actor
November	9	Helen Rose	81	US	Costume Designer
November	19	Jimmy Ritz	81	US	Actor
November	19	Stepin Fetchit	83	US	Actor
November	27	Harry Harvey Sr.	84	US	Actor
December	3	Sam Gilman	70	US	Actor
December	5	Howard Rodman	73	US	Screenwriter
December	8	Jack H. Skirball	89	US	Producer
December	11	Kathleen Ryan	63	Ireland	Actress
December	12	Anne Baxter	62	US	Actress
December	12	Phil Karlson	77	US	Director
December	14	Bruce Weintraub	33	US	Set Decorator
December	17	Harry M. Leonard	85	US	Sound Engineer
December	22	Lawrence Hauben	54	US	Screenwriter
December	23	Gina Kaus	92	Austria	Screenwriter
December	26	Margarete Schön	90	Germany	Actress
December	28	Renato Castellani	72	Italy	Director, Screenwriter
December	31	Ricky Nelson	45	US	Actor, Singer
December	31	Sam Spiegel	84	Poland	Producer