1998 in film


Many significant films were released in 1998, including Shakespeare in Love, Saving Private Ryan,'' Armageddon, American History X, The Truman Show, Primary Colors, 'Rushmore', Rush Hour, There's Something About Mary, The Big Lebowski, and Terrence Malick's directorial return in The Thin Red Line''.

Highest-grossing films

The top 10 films released in 1998 by worldwide gross are as follows:
RankTitleDistributorWorldwide gross
1ArmageddonBuena Vista$553,709,788
2Saving Private RyanDreamWorks / Paramount$485,000,000
3GodzillaSony / TriStar$379,014,294
4There's Something About Mary20th Century Fox$369,884,651
5A Bug's LifeBuena Vista$363,398,565
6Deep ImpactParamount / DreamWorks$349,464,664
7MulanBuena Vista$304,320,254
8Dr. Dolittle20th Century Fox$294,456,605
9Shakespeare in LoveMiramax / Universal$289,317,794
10Lethal Weapon 4Warner Bros.$285,444,603

Box office records

  • Saving Private Ryan grossed $485 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing World War II film until it was surpassed by Dunkirk. However, when adjusted for 2025 inflation, Saving Private Ryan grossed approximately $826 million worldwide.
  • Blade became the top-grossing film based on a Marvel Comics character, grossing $131.2 million worldwide at the time of its release.
  • The Star Trek franchise became the seventh film franchise to gross $1 billion with the release of Star Trek: Insurrection.

    Events

  • March 1 – Titanic becomes the first film to gross over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Twenty days later, the film won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
  • May 8 and July 1 – 1998 saw the release of two dueling science-fiction disaster films about asteroids: Armageddon and Deep Impact, both of which became box office successes. Armageddon became the more popular of the two and was also the highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide.
  • July 24 – Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, was released and received critical acclaim, leading it to be the top-grossing domestic film of 1998. Saving Private Ryan won five Academy Awards, including Best Director. The film was lauded as an influential landmark in the war and action film genres, primarily due to its use of desaturated colors, hand-held cameras, and tight angles.
  • August 21 – Blade, based on the character of the same name, grossed over $131.2 million worldwide. Its success would help stage future film adaptations of Marvel Comics.
  • September 19 – Antz, DreamWorks' first animated feature film, premiered at the 23rd Toronto International Film Festival.
  • December 25 - Filmmaker Terrence Malick returned after a 20-year hiatus, with The Thin Red Line.

    Awards

1998 films

By country/region