1990 in film

The year 1990 in film involved many significant events as shown below. Universal Pictures celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1990, despite its actual 75th anniversary taking place in 1987.

Highest-grossing films

The top 10 films released in 1990 by worldwide gross are as follows:

Rank	Title	Distributor	Worldwide gross
1	Ghost	Paramount	$505,702,588
2	Home Alone	20th Century Fox	$476,684,675
3	Pretty Woman	Buena Vista	$463,406,268
4	Dances with Wolves	Orion	$424,208,848
5	Total Recall	TriStar / Carolco	$261,317,921
6	Back to the Future Part III	Universal	$244,527,583
7	Die Hard 2	20th Century Fox	$240,031,094
8	Presumed Innocent	Warner Bros.	$221,303,188
9	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	New Line	$202,084,756
10	Kindergarten Cop	Universal	$201,957,688

Events

March 2 - October (film)|The Hunt for Red October] is released. It is the first film in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan franchise and is met with critical and blockbuster commercial success.
March 23 – Pretty Woman is released and grosses $463 million, making Julia Roberts a worldwide star.
March 30 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is released to massive box office success. At the time, it is the highest-grossing independent film in history.
May 25 – Universal Pictures unveils a new opening logo with music composed by James Horner, which debuts on Back to the Future Part III. It is the first change to the Universal opening logo in 27 years.
June 1 – CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall.
June 15 – Following a massive media and marketing blitz, Dick Tracy is released. Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg expressed disappointment in a studio memo that noted that the film had cost about $100 million in total to produce, market and promote and with its disappointing performance claimed "We made demands on our time, talent and treasury that, upon reflection, may not have been worth it".
June 22 – The use of real-time computer graphics or "digital puppetry" to create a character in a motion picture is performed, in RoboCop 2.
July 4 – The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.
July 13 - Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, is released and grosses $506 million, making it the third highest-grossing movie at the time.
November 9 – Kevin Costner's directorial debut, Dances with Wolves, is released. It later earns twelve Academy Award nominations and wins seven, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner.
November 16
* Home Alone is released. It spends twelve consecutive weeks at number one on the United States box office, becoming both the highest-grossing film of the year and the highest-grossing comedy of all-time.
*The Rescuers Down Under is considered as the first fully digital film ever made.
December 24 – Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman marry.Buchwald v. Paramount decided, a leading case on the financial rewards due to writers of film treatments.

1990 films

By country/region

By genre/medium

Births

January 1 - Tom Ackerley, British producer and former assistant director
January 7 – Liam Aiken, American actor
January 13 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
January 14 - Grant Gustin, American actor and singer
January 15
* Sidney Franklin, American actor
* Chris Warren, American actor
January 18 - Zeeko Zaki, Egyptian-born American actor
January 19 - Shaunette Renée Wilson, Guyanese-born American actress
January 21
*Kelly Rohrbach, American actress
*Jacob Smith, American actor
January 22 - Phil Wang, British-Malaysian stand-up comedian, writer and actor
January 23 - Joel Basman, Swiss actor
January 25 - Dustin Ingram, American actor and musician
January 26 – Christopher Massey, American actor, comedian and rapper
January 29 – François Civil, French actor
January 30
*Eiza González, Mexican actress and singer
*Jake Thomas, American actor and voice actor
January 31 - Siobhán Cullen, Irish actress
February 1 - Toby Onwumere, Nigerian-American actor
February 2 - Julia Fox, Italian-American actress
February 4 - Will Denton, American actor
February 5
*Charlbi Dean, South African actress and model
*Anthony Ingruber, Dutch-Australian actor and impressionist
February 8
*Christian Madsen, American actor
*Ben Schnetzer, American actor
February 9 - Tyson Houseman, Canadian actor
February 10 - Trevante Rhodes, American actor
February 11 - Q'orianka Kilcher, American actress
February 15
*Isabella Giovinazzo, Australian actress
*Callum Turner, British actor and model
February 16 - The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter
February 20 - Sean Sagar, British actor
February 21 – Flavio Aquilone, Italian voice actor
February 28 - Georgina Leonidas, British actress
March 1 – Harry Eden, British actor
March 2 - Tiger Shroff, Indian actor
March 11 - Reiley McClendon, American actor
March 12 – Jörgen Liik, Estonian actor
March 13 - Sasha Clements, Canadian actress
March 20 - Stacy Martin, French actress
March 24 – Keisha Castle-Hughes, Australian-New Zealand actress
March 25 - Kiowa Gordon, American actor of Hualapai descent
March 26 - Choi Woo-shik, Korean-Canadian actor
March 28 – Laura Harrier, American actress
March 29 - Josh Blaylock, American actor
March 30 - Chelsea Harris, American actress
April 5 - Haruma Miura, Japanese actor
April 9 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
April 10 – Alex Pettyfer, English actor and model
April 12
*Jamie Muscato, English actor and singer
*Eline Powell, Belgian actress
April 15 – Emma Watson, English actress
April 16 – Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
April 17 – Gia Mantegna, American actress
April 18 - Britt Robertson, American actress
April 23 – Dev Patel, British actor
April 25 - Meghann Fahy, American actress
May 1 - Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress and singer
May 2 - Kay Panabaker, American retired actress
May 3 - Harvey Guillén, American actor
May 6 - Moses Storm, American writer, actor and comedian
May 14
* Rea Lest-Liik, Estonia actress
* Sasha Spielberg, American actress, daughter of producer/director Steven Spielberg and actress Kate Capshaw
May 15 - Sophie Cookson, English actress
May 16
*Deniz Akdeniz, Australian actor
*Thomas Brodie-Sangster, British actor
*Marc John Jefferies, American actor
May 17
*Ross Butler, American actor
*Leven Rambin, American actress
May 18 - Luke Kleintank, American actor
May 20 - Josh O'Connor, British actor
May 24 - Félix Moati, French actor, director and screenwriter
May 26 - Madeleine Mantock, British actress
May 27 - Chris Colfer, American actor and singer
May 30
*Sai Bennett, English actress
*Im Yoon-ah, South Korean actress
*Mason Lee, Taiwanese-American actor
May 31 - Phillipa Soo, American actress and singer
June 2
*Brittany Curran, American actress
*Jack Lowden, Scottish actor
June 13 - Aaron Taylor-Johnson, British actor
June 15 - Denzel Whitaker, American actor
June 17 - Monica Barbaro, American actress
June 18 - Jeremy Irvine, English actor
June 20 - Jacob Wysocki, American actor and comedian
June 26 - Brandon Sklenar, American actor
July 2 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress
July 4
*Melissa Barrera, Mexican actress and singer
*David Kross, German actor
July 6 – Jeremy Suarez, American actor
July 11 - Connor Paolo, American actor
July 12 – Rachel Brosnahan, American-British actress
July 13 - Nomzamo Mbatha, South African actress and television personality
July 15
*Olly Alexander, British musician, actor and screenwriter
*Alexander Calvert, Canadian actor
July 16
*Eddie Hassell, American actor
*James Maslow, American actor
July 19 - Steven Anthony Lawrence, American actor
July 24 – Daveigh Chase, American actress
July 27 – Indiana Evans, Australian actress and singer-songwriter
July 29 – Matt Prokop, American actor
July 30 - Eliot Sumner, English singer-songwriter and actor
July 31 - Ruby Modine, American actress, model and singer
August 1 - Jack O'Connell, English actor
August 4 - Chet Hanks, American actor and musician
August 9
*Bill Skarsgård, Swedish actor
*Emily Tennant, Canadian actress
August 10 – Lucas Till, American actor
August 15 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress
August 17 – Rachel Hurd-Wood, British actress
August 20 - Win Morisaki, Burmese singer and actor
August 23 – Wesley Singerman, American record producer, songwriter and guitarist, and voice actor
August 24 – Elizabeth Debicki, Australian actress
August 29
*Nicole Gale Anderson, American actress
*Erika Harlacher, American voice actress
September 1 - Aisling Loftus, English actress
September 3 - Bianca Bin, Brazilian actress
September 9
*Sarah Baker, American actress and comedian
*Klaudia Tiitsmaa, Estonian actress
September 11 - Georgina Terry, British actress
September 15 – Matt Shively, American actor
September 20 – Saara Pius, Estonian actress
September 21
*Christian Serratos, American actress
*Allison Scagliotti, American actress and director
September 27 - Lola Kirke, American actress and singer
September 28 - Kirsten Prout, Canadian actress
September 30 - Caren Pistorius, New Zealand actress
October 2 - Samantha Barks, Manx actress and singer
October 5
*Wesley Morgan, Canadian actor and model
*Taylour Paige, American actress and dancer
October 6 - Scarlett Byrne, English actress and model
October 8 - Tom Rhys Harries, Welsh actor
October 13
*Florian Munteanu, German-Romanian actor and model
*Himesh Patel, British actor
October 18 - Carly Schroeder, American actress
October 22 – Jonathan Lipnicki, American actor
October 31 - Patti Harrison, Vietnamese-American comedian and actress
November 2 – Kendall Schmidt, American actor
November 4 – Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Canadian actor
November 6 - Bowen Yang, Australian-born American comedian, writer and actor
November 9 – Chris Di Staulo, Canadian filmmaker
November 14 - Jessica Jacobs, Australian actress and singer
November 16 - Milo Gibson, American actor
November 18 - Matt Milne, English actor and director
November 24 - Sarah Hyland, American actress
November 25 - Stephanie Hsu, American actress
November 26 - Rita Ora, British actress, singer and songwriter
November 28 - Carla Diaz, Brazilian actress
November 29 - Diego Boneta, Mexican actor, producer and singer
December 10 - Teyana Taylor, American singer-songwriter and actress
December 20
*JoJo, American singer-songwriter and actress
*Bugzy Malone, British rapper and actor
December 23
*Moses J. Moseley, American actor, writer and model
*Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress and singer

Deaths

Month	Date	Name	Age	Country	Profession	Notable films
January	2	Alan Hale Jr.	68	US	Actor
January	5	Arthur Kennedy	75	US	Actor
January	6	Ian Charleson	40	UK	Actor
January	6	Peter Cookson	76	US	Actor
January	8	Terry-Thomas	78	UK	Actor
January	10	Lyle R. Wheeler	84	US	Art Director
January	14	John Witty	74	UK	Actor
January	15	Gordon Jackson	66	UK	Actor
January	20	John Maxim	64	UK	Actor
January	20	Barbara Stanwyck	82	US	Actress
January	25	Ava Gardner	67	US	Actress
January	26	Dodo Abashidze	66	Georgia	Director
January	27	Helen Jerome Eddy	92	US	Actress
February	2	Hans Schumm	93	Germany	Actor
February	6	John Merivale	72	Canada	Actor
February	6	Jimmy Van Heusen	77	US	Songwriter
February	8	Frank Ross	85	US	Producer
February	13	Ken Lynch	79	US	Actor
February	14	Jean Wallace	66	US	Actress
February	15	Henry Brandon	77	Germany	Actor
February	15	Michel Drach	59	France	Director, Screenwriter, Producer
February	16	Joshua Shelley	70	US	Actor
February	17	Allen Rivkin	86	US	Screenwriter
February	19	Gabriel Katzka	59	US	Producer
February	19	Michael Powell	84	UK	Director
February	28	Fabia Drake	86	UK	Actress
March	5	Gary Merrill	74	US	Actor
March	17	Capucine	62	Switzerland	Actress
March	18	Robin Harris	36	US	Actor, Comedian
March	20	Maurice Cloche	82	France	Director
March	28	Helene Reynolds	75	US	Actress
April	2	Aldo Fabrizi	84	Italy	Actor
April	3	Clair Huffaker	63	US	Screenwriter
April	8	Ernest Steward	79	UK	Cinematographer
April	11	Vanda Godsell	67	UK	Actress
April	15	Greta Garbo	84	Sweden	Actress
April	17	Joseph McMillan Johnson	77	US	Art Director, Production Designer, Visual Effects Artist
April	18	Robert D. Webb	87	US	Director
April	20	Alex McCrindle	78	UK	Actor
April	22	Albert Salmi	62	US	Actor
April	23	Paulette Goddard	79	US	Actress
April	25	Dexter Gordon	67	US	Musician, Actor
April	27	Bella Spewack	91	US	Screenwriter
May	1	Sunset Carson	69	US	Actor
May	2	David Rappaport	38	US	Actor
May	6	Charles Farrell	89	US	Actor
May	10	Susan Oliver	58	US	Actress
May	12	Anthony Masters	70	UK	Production Designer
May	12	Nate Monaster	78	US	Screenwriter
May	14	Franklyn Seales	37	West Indies	Actor
May	16	Sammy Davis Jr.	64	US	Actor, Singer
May	16	Jim Henson	53	US	Puppeteer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer
May	18	Jill Ireland	54	UK	Actress
May	22	Max Wall	82	UK	Actor
May	25	Vic Tayback	60	US	Actor
June	1	Eric Barker	78	UK	Actor
June	2	Rex Harrison	82	UK	Actor
June	3	Tom Brown	70	US	Actor
June	4	Jack Gilford	81	US	Actor
June	6	Marcel Grignon	75	France	Cinematographer
June	7	Barbara Baxley	67	US	Actress
June	15	Leonard Sachs	80	UK	Actor
June	20	Ina Balin	52	US	Actress
June	23	Frank Gatliff	62	UK	Actor
June	25	Sydney Boehm	82	US	Screenwriter
July	8	Howard Duff	76	US	Actor
July	13	Lois Moran	81	US	Actress
July	14	Philip Leacock	74	UK	Director
July	15	Margaret Lockwood	73	UK	Actress
July	15	Bud Thackery	87	US	Cinematographer
July	19	Eddie Quillan	83	US	Actor
July	20	Sergei Parajanov	66	Georgia	Director
July	21	Stanley Shapiro	65	US	Screenwriter
July	23	Georges Flamant	86	France	Actor
July	27	Elizabeth Allan	80	UK	Actress
July	27	Ernest Archer	80	UK	Art Director
July	28	Jill Esmond	82	UK	Actress
August	2	Edwin Richfield	68	UK	Actor, Screenwriter
August	3	Betty Amann	85	Germany	Actress
August	12	Dorothy Mackaill	87	US	Actress
August	12	Sara Seegar	76	US	Actress
August	17	Pearl Bailey	72	US	Actress, Singer
August	23	Dorothea Kent	74	US	Actress
August	27	Raymond St. Jacques	60	US	Actor
August	28	Edmund H. North	79	US	Screenwriter
September	4	Irene Dunne	91	US	Actress
September	5	Jack Hildyard	82	UK	Cinematographer
September	19	Werner Janssen	91	US	Composer
September	19	Hermes Pan	80	US	Choreographer
September	20	Jackie Moran	67	US	Actor
October	4	Jill Bennett	58	UK	Actress
October	4	Roy Charman	60	UK	Sound Engineer
October	14	Leonard Bernstein	72	US	Composer
October	15	Delphine Seyrig	58	France	Actress, Director
October	20	Joel McCrea	84	US	Actor
October	27	Jacques Demy	59	France	Director, Screenwriter, Composer
October	27	Ugo Tognazzi	68	Italy	Actor
November	2	William Travilla	70	US	Costume Designer
November	3	Valerie French	62	UK	Actress
November	3	Mary Martin	76	US	Actress, Singer
November	3	Walter H. Tyler	81	US	Art Director
November	4	Carol Sobieski	51	US	Screenwriter
November	10	Maura McGiveney	51	US	Actress
November	11	Alexis Minotis	90	Greece	Actor
November	12	Eve Arden	82	US	Actress
November	13	Don Chaffey	73	New Zealand	Director
November	13	Maurice Richlin	70	US	Screenwriter
November	23	Roald Dahl	74	UK	Screenwriter
November	27	David White	74	US	Actor
December	1	Sergio Corbucci	63	Italy	Director, Screenwriter
December	1	Carla Lehmann	73	Canada	Actress
December	2	Robert Cummings	80	US	Actor
December	4	Edward Binns	79	US	Actor
December	7	Joan Bennett	80	US	Actress
December	8	Martin Ritt	76	US	Director, Actor, Producer
December	9	Mike Mazurki	82	US	Actor
December	18	Anne Revere	87	US	Actress
December	18	Connie Russell	67	US	Singer, Actress
December	26	Gene Callahan	67	US	Production Designer
December	28	Warren Skaaren	44	US	Screenwriter
December	-	-	-	-	-	-