1981 in film
The following is an overview of events in 1981 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten films released in 1981 by box office gross in North America are as follows:| Rank | Title | Distributor | Box-office gross |
| 1 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Paramount | $212,222,025 |
| 2 | On Golden Pond | Universal | $119,285,432 |
| 3 | Superman II | Warner Bros. | $108,185,706 |
| 4 | Arthur | Warner Bros. | $95,461,682 |
| 5 | Stripes | Columbia | $85,297,000 |
| 6 | The Cannonball Run | 20th Century Fox | $72,179,579 |
| 7 | Chariots of Fire | Warner Bros. / 20th Century Fox | $58,972,904 |
| 8 | For Your Eyes Only | United Artists | $54,812,802 |
| 9 | The Four Seasons | Universal | $50,427,646 |
| 10 | Time Bandits | Embassy | $42,365,581 |
Events
- January 20 – Former Governor of California and film actor Ronald Reagan is inaugurated president.
- March 30 – The 53rd Academy Awards are postponed due to the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan earlier that day. They are held the following day with a message from the President recorded for the ceremony prior to the assassination attempt.
- May 16 – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it.
- June 8 – Marvin Davis acquires 20th Century Fox for $720 million.
- June 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark is released by Paramount Pictures. It became Paramount's highest-grossing film of all time and set a major standard for many action-adventure movies to date and spawned four sequels.
- August 21 – An American Werewolf in London is released and becomes a landmark in Visual Effects and Makeup.
- October 1 – MGM president and chief operating officer David Begelman becomes chairman and chief executive officer of United Artists.
- November 1 – United International Pictures is created to handle international distribution of films for United Artists, MGM, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures to replace Cinema International Corporation following MGM's acquisition of UA.
- November 25 – Norman Lear and his partner Jerry Perenchio agree to buy Avco Embassy for $25 million.
- November 29 – Actress Natalie Wood drowns in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island.
Awards
Golden Lion :
'''Golden Bear :'''
1981 films
By country/region
- List of American films of 1981
- List of Argentine films of 1981
- List of Australian films of 1981
- List of Bangladeshi films of 1981
- List of British films of 1981
- List of Canadian films of 1981
- List of French films of 1981
- List of Hong Kong films of 1981
- List of Indian films of 1981
- * List of Hindi films of 1981
- * List of Kannada films of 1981
- * List of Malayalam films of 1981
- * List of Marathi films of 1981
- * List of Tamil films of 1981
- * List of Telugu films of 1981
- List of Japanese films of 1981
- List of Mexican films of 1981
- List of Pakistani films of 1981
- List of South Korean films of 1981
- List of Soviet films of 1981
- List of Spanish films of 1981
By genre/medium
- List of action films of 1981
- List of animated feature films of 1981
- List of avant-garde films of 1981
- List of comedy films of 1981
- List of drama films of 1981
- List of horror films of 1981
- List of science fiction films of 1981
- List of thriller films of 1981
- List of western films of 1981
Births
- January 1
- *Jonas Armstrong, Irish-English actor
- *Eden Riegel, American actress
- January 6
- *Betty Gabriel, American actress
- *Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress and director
- *Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
- January 8 – Genevieve Cortese, American actress
- January 15 - Pitbull, American rapper and actor
- January 17
- *Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
- *Diogo Morgado, Portuguese actor
- January 18 - Antje Traue, German actress
- January 19 - Elizabeth Tulloch, American actress
- January 20
- *Daniel Cudmore, Canadian actor
- *Crystal Lowe, Canadian actress and director
- January 21
- *Amanda Aday, American actress
- *Izabella Miko, Polish actress and dancer
- *David F. Sandberg, Swedish filmmaker
- January 22
- *O. T. Fagbenle, British actor, writer and director
- *Willa Ford, American singer, songwriter, model, television personality and actress
- *Beverley Mitchell, American actress
- January 23 - Julia Jones, American actress
- January 24 – Carrie Coon, American actress
- January 25 - Charlie Bewley, English actor and producer
- January 28
- * Gen Hoshino, Japanese actor and singer
- * Elijah Wood, American actor
- January 29 - Tenoch Huerta, Mexican actor
- January 30 – Chieko Higuchi, Japanese voice actress
- January 31 – Justin Timberlake, American singer and actor
- February 2 - Emily Rose, American actress
- February 5
- *Lee Eon, South Korean actor and model
- *Sara Foster, American actress
- *Nora Zehetner, American actress
- February 7 - James Snyder, American actor and singer
- February 8
- *Dawn Olivieri, American actress
- *Jim Parrack, American actor
- February 9 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor
- February 10
- *Uzo Aduba, American actress
- *Stephanie Beatriz, Argentine actress
- February 11
- *Sonia Rolland, French-Rwandan actress
- *Kelly Rowland, American singer and actress
- February 12
- *Jesse Hutch, Canadian actor
- *Lauri Lagle, Estonian actor, director and screenwriter
- February 14 - Patrick Heusinger, American actor
- February 17 –
- *Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
- *Paris Hilton, American media personality, singer and actress
- February 19
- *Beth Ditto, American singer-songwriter
- *Ethan Rains, Iranian-American actor
- February 20 - Majandra Delfino, American actress and singer
- February 22 – Elodie Yung, French actress
- February 23
- *Josh Gad, American actor and comedian
- *Mai Nakahara, Japanese voice actress
- February 25 - Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Mexican actor
- February 26 - Demetrius Grosse, American actor and producer
- February 27 - Josh Groban, American singer-songwriter and actor
- March 2
- * Amos Crawley, Canadian actor
- * Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
- March 3
- *Austin Highsmith Garces, American actress
- *Eugene, South Korean actress and singer
- March 5 - Hanna Alström, Swedish actress
- March 6 – Ellen Muth, American actress
- March 7 – Mona Fastvold, Norwegian filmmaker and actress
- March 11
- *David Anders, American actor
- *Matthias Schweighöfer, German actor and filmmaker
- March 12 - Lisa Durupt, Canadian actress
- March 17 - Nicky Jam, American singer and actor
- March 18 - Chris Geere, English actor
- March 20 - Jake Hoffman, American actor and writer
- March 21 - Rini Bell, American actress
- March 22 - Tiffany Dupont, American actress
- March 23 - Luciana Carro, Canadian actress
- March 24 - Philip Winchester, American actor
- March 27 - Quim Gutiérrez, Spanish actor
- March 28 – Julia Stiles, American actress
- March 29
- * Alexander Fehling, German actor
- * Alain Moussi, Canadian-Gabonese actor and stuntman
- March 30 - Katy Mixon, American actress
- March 31
- *Ryan Bingham, American singer-songwriter and actor
- *Ryōko Shintani, Japanese voice actress
- April 1 - Hannah Spearritt, English actress and singer
- April 6
- *Eliza Coupe, American actress and comedian
- *Niko Nicotera, German-born American actor
- April 8 - Taylor Kitsch, Canadian actor and model
- April 9 - Moran Atias, Israeli actress
- April 10
- *Laura Bell Bundy, American actress
- *Harry Hadden-Paton, British actor
- *Michael Pitt, American actor
- April 13 – Courtney Peldon, American actress
- April 16 - Russell Harvard, American actor
- April 17 - Charlie Hofheimer, American actor
- April 19
- * Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor
- * Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
- April 23 – Gemma Whelan, English actress
- April 24 - Sasha Barrese, American actress
- April 26
- *Mariana Ximenes, Brazilian actress
- *Luke Ford, Canadian-Australian actor
- *Amit Shah, English actor
- April 28
- *Jessica Alba, American actress
- *Toby Leonard Moore, Australian actor
- *Catherine Reitman, Canadian-American actress, producer and writer
- April 29 - Alex Vincent, American actor and writer
- April 30
- *Kunal Nayyar, British actor
- *Emma Pierson, English actress
- *Rose Rollins, American actress
- May 2 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress
- May 3 – Natalie Tong, Hong Kong actress and model
- May 4 - Angel Oquendo, American actor
- May 5
- *Danielle Fishel, American actress
- *Farid Kamil, Malaysian actor and film director
- May 8 - Kaan Urgancıoğlu, Turkish actor
- May 10 – Qurrat Ann Kadwani, American actress
- May 11
- *JP Karliak, American actor, voice actor and comedian
- *Austin O'Brien, American actor
- May 12 – Rami Malek, American actor
- May 13 - Ryan Piers Williams, American actor, director and writer
- May 15 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
- May 16 - Joseph Morgan, English actor
- May 18 - Allen Leech, Irish actor
- May 21 - Belladonna, American actress, director and producer
- May 28 – Laura Bailey, American voice actress
- May 29
- *Justin Chon, American actor, director and YouTube personality
- *Anders Holm, American actor, comedian, writer and producer
- June 1
- *Johnny Pemberton, American actor, comedian and podcaster
- *Amy Schumer, American comedian and actress
- June 4 – T.J. Miller, American actor, stand-up comedian, producer and writer
- June 7 – Larisa Oleynik, American actress
- June 9 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
- June 10 – Jonathan Bennett, American actor
- June 12
- *Jeremy Howard, American actor
- *Malachi Pearson, American actor
- June 13 – Chris Evans, American actor
- June 14 – Chauncey Leopardi, American actor
- June 20 – Alisan Porter, American former actress
- June 23 - Joe Taslim, Indonesian actor and martial artist
- June 26 - Jimmy Ray Bennett, American actor
- June 28 - Jon Watts, American filmmaker
- June 30
- *Tom Burke, English actor
- *Anna Slotky, American former actress
- July 1 - Amanda Lucas, American retired professional mixed martial artist and actress
- July 3 - Rebecca Honig, American voice actress
- July 4 - Tahar Rahim, French actor
- July 5 - Ryan Hansen, American actor and comedian
- July 13
- *Fran Kranz, American actor and director
- *Michael Mando, Canadian actor
- July 17 - Michiel Huisman, Dutch actor
- July 21
- *Davide Perino, Italian actor and voice actor
- *Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter and actor
- July 22 - Josh Lawson, Australian actor and filmmaker
- July 23 - Raphaël Personnaz, French actor
- July 24
- *Mohammed Amer, Palestinian-American stand-up comedian and actor
- *Summer Glau, American actress
- *Sheaun McKinney, American actor
- *Lauren Miller Rogen, American actress, comedian, screenwriter and director
- July 28 - Neil Casey, American actor, writer and comedian
- July 30 – Lisa Wilhoit, American actress
- July 31 - Eric Lively, American former actor
- August 1 – Taylor Fry, American former child actress
- August 3 – Travis Willingham, American voice actor
- August 4
- *Marques Houston, American singer and actor
- *Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, American former actress and model
- *Valerie LaPointe, American storyboard artist and director
- *Abigail Spencer, American actress
- August 5 - Jesse Williams, American actor, director and producer
- August 6 – Leslie Odom Jr., American actor
- August 8
- *Tongayi Chirisa, Zimbabwean actor and singer
- *Meagan Good, American actress
- August 10 - Jon Prescott, American actor
- August 20
- *Ben Barnes, English actor
- *Michael Rady, American actor
- August 22
- *Ross Marquand, American impressionist, actor and producer
- *Takumi Saito, Japanese actor
- August 24 – Chad Michael Murray, American actor
- August 25 – Rachel Bilson, American actress
- August 27
- *Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor
- *Sugar Lyn Beard, Canadian actress and radio personality
- August 29 - Émilie Dequenne, Belgian actress
- August 31 - Joshua Close, Canadian actor
- September 1
- *Michael Adamthwaite, Canadian actor
- *Boyd Holbrook, American actor
- September 3
- *Evgeniya Brik, Russian actress
- *David Shae, American actor
- September 4 – Beyoncé Knowles, American singer and actress
- September 8 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
- September 9 - Julie Gonzalo, Argentine-American actress
- September 12
- *Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
- *Elle LaMont, American actress
- September 14 - Miyavi, Japanese guitarist, singer-songwriter and actor
- September 15 - Ben Schwartz, American actor, voice actor, comedian, improviser, writer, director and producer
- September 16
- *Fan Bingbing, Chinese actress, model, producer and singer
- *Alexis Bledel, American actress
- September 17 - Griff Furst, American actor, producer and director
- September 18 - Jennifer Tisdale, American actress and singer
- September 22 - Ashley Eckstein, American actress
- September 23 – Misti Traya, American actress
- September 24
- *Yuki Matsuzaki, Japanese actor
- *Fernanda Urrejola, Chilean actress
- September 26 – Christina Milian, American singer and actress
- September 29 – Shay Astar, American singer and actress
- September 30 – Ashleigh Aston Moore, American-Canadian former child actress
- October 1 – Rupert Friend, English actor
- October 3
- *Seth Gabel, American actor
- *Giselle Itié, Mexican-born Brazilian actress
- October 9 – Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor
- October 12
- *Tom Guiry, American actor
- *Brian J. Smith, American actor
- October 15 - Brandon Jay McLaren, Canadian actor
- October 17 - Liam Garrigan, English actor
- October 18 – Graham Moore, American screenwriter
- October 22 – Michael Fishman, American actor
- October 23 - Jackie Long, American actor, writer, musician, director and producer
- October 25 - Josh Henderson, American actor and singer
- October 30
- *Fiona Dourif, American actress and producer
- *Steve Peacocke, Australian actor
- *Shaun Sipos, Canadian actor
- November 1 - Matt Jones, American actor, voice artist, comedian, rapper and singer
- November 2 - Katharine Isabelle, Canadian actress
- November 6 – Lee Dong-wook, South Korean actor
- November 7 - Lotta Losten, Swedish actress
- November 9 – Scottie Thompson, American actress
- November 10 – Perla Liberatori, Italian voice actress
- November 14 - Vanessa Bayer, American comedian and actress
- November 15 - Sammy Sheik, Egyptian-American actor
- November 16
- *Caitlin Glass, American voice actress
- *Kate Miller-Heidke, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
- November 17 - Bojana Novakovic, Serbian-Australian actress
- November 18
- *Nasim Pedrad, Iranian-American comedian and actress
- *Christina Vidal, American actress and singer
- November 20 – Andrea Riseborough, English actress
- November 23 - John Lavelle, American actor and playwright
- November 30 - Jake Szymanski, American actor, writer, director and producer
- December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and actress
- December 3
- *Maddy Curley, American actress
- *Liza Lapira, American actress
- December 5
- *Adan Canto, Mexican actor
- *Lydia Leonard, British actress
- December 8 - Dov Tiefenbach, Canadian actor and musician
- December 13 – Amy Lee, American singer-songwriter
- December 15
- *Michelle Dockery, English actress
- *Brendan Fletcher, Canadian actor, screenwriter and producer
- *Victoria Summer, English actress, model and singer
- December 16 – Krysten Ritter, American actress
- December 22 - Nicolas Vaporidis, Italian actor
- December 27
- *Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
- *Jay Ellis, American actor
- December 28 – Sienna Miller, English actress
- December 29 - Charlotte Riley, English actress
- December 30
- *Gina Beck, British actress and singer
- *Leila Farzad, British actress