# List of 1990 box office number-one films in the United States

This is a list of films which have placed number one at the weekend box office in the United States during 1990.

## Number-one films

| † | This implies the highest-grossing movie of the year. |
| # | Weekend end date | Film | Box office | Notes |
| 1 | January 7, 1990 | Born on the Fourth of July | $11,023,650 | Born on the Fourth of July reached number 1 in its fourth weekend of release. |
| 2 | January 14, 1990 | Born on the Fourth of July | $8,028,075 | |
| 3 | January 21, 1990 | Born on the Fourth of July | $6,228,360 | |
| 4 | January 28, 1990 | Driving Miss Daisy | $5,705,721 | Driving Miss Daisy reached number 1 in its seventh weekend of release. |
| 5 | February 4, 1990 | Driving Miss Daisy | $6,011,600 | |
| 6 | February 11, 1990 | Hard to Kill | $9,213,631 | Highest 3-day weekend debut in the month of February. |
| 7 | February 19, 1990$^{4-dayweekend}$ | Driving Miss Daisy | $9,834,744 | Driving Miss Daisy reclaimed number 1 in its ninth weekend of release. |
| 8 | February 25, 1990 | Driving Miss Daisy | $6,107,836 | |
| 9 | March 4, 1990 | The Hunt for Red October | $17,161,835 | The Hunt for Red October broke Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment's record ($10.7 million) for the highest weekend debut in the month of March and for the highest weekend debut for a spring release. It also broke The Living Daylights' record ($11 million) for the highest weekend debut for a spy film. It was also the biggest opener for a film outside of Thanksgiving or summer, beating Beverly Hills Cop's $15.2 million. |
| 10 | March 11, 1990 | The Hunt for Red October | $14,058,772 | |
| 11 | March 18, 1990 | The Hunt for Red October | $11,077,359 | |
| 12 | March 25, 1990 | Pretty Woman | $11,280,591 | |
| 13 | April 1, 1990 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $25,398,367 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles broke The Hunt for Red October's record from four weeks earlier ($17.2 million) for the highest weekend debut in March, the highest weekend debut for a spring release and the biggest opening for an independent film. |
| 14 | April 8, 1990 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $18,813,741 | |
| 15 | April 15, 1990 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $14,064,921 | |
| 16 | April 22, 1990 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $9,797,376 | |
| 17 | April 29, 1990 | Pretty Woman | $7,150,551 | Pretty Woman reclaimed number 1 in its sixth weekend of release. |
| 18 | May 6, 1990 | Pretty Woman | $6,810,883 | |
| 19 | May 13, 1990 | Pretty Woman | $7,594,013 | |
| 20 | May 20, 1990 | Bird on a Wire | $15,338,160 | |
| 21 | May 28, 1990$^{4-dayweekend}$ | Back to the Future Part III | $23,703,060 | |
| 22 | June 3, 1990 | Total Recall | $25,533,700 | Total Recall had the highest weekend debut for an R-rated film and the highest debut of 1990. |
| 23 | June 10, 1990 | Another 48 Hrs. | $19,475,559 | |
| 24 | June 17, 1990 | Dick Tracy | $22,543,911 | Included an estimated $1.5 million of t-shirt sales. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' biggest opener beating Honey, I Shrunk the Kids's $14.3 million. |
| 25 | June 24, 1990 | Dick Tracy | $15,546,837 | |
| 26 | July 1, 1990 | Days of Thunder | $15,490,445 | |
| 27 | July 8, 1990 | Die Hard 2 | $21,744,661 | |
| 28 | July 15, 1990 | Die Hard 2 | $14,512,301 | |
| 29 | July 22, 1990 | Ghost † | $12,523,295 | Ghost reached number 1 in its second weekend of release. |
| 30 | July 29, 1990 | Presumed Innocent | $11,718,981 | |
| 31 | August 5, 1990 | Ghost † | $10,798,834 | Ghost reclaimed number 1 in fourth weekend of release. |
| 32 | August 12, 1990 | Flatliners | $10,034,685 | |
| 33 | August 19, 1990 | The Exorcist III | $9,312,219 | |
| 34 | August 26, 1990 | Darkman | $8,054,860 | |
| 35 | September 3, 1990$^{4-dayweekend}$ | Ghost † | $9,953,630 | Ghost reclaimed number 1 in eighth weekend of release. |
| 36 | September 9, 1990 | Ghost † | $6,510,023 | |
| 37 | September 16, 1990 | Postcards from the Edge | $7,871,856 | |
| 38 | September 23, 1990 | Goodfellas | $6,368,901 | |
| 39 | September 30, 1990 | Pacific Heights | $6,912,637 | |
| 40 | October 8, 1990$^{4-dayweekend}$ | Marked for Death | $11,790,047 | |
| 41 | October 14, 1990 | Marked for Death | $7,423,949 | |
| 42 | October 21, 1990 | Marked for Death | $5,097,944 | |
| 43 | October 28, 1990 | Graveyard Shift | $5,082,300 | |
| 44 | November 4, 1990 | Jacob's Ladder | $7,500,760 | |
| 45 | November 11, 1990 | Child's Play 2 | $10,718,520 | Seventh consecutive week that a horror thriller was number one. |
| 46 | November 18, 1990 | Home Alone | $17,081,997 | Biggest pre-holiday fall opening. Home Alone remained number one for 12 consecutive weekends. |
| 47 | November 25, 1990 | Home Alone | $20,987,761 | Second-highest Thanksgiving weekend. |
| 48 | December 2, 1990 | Home Alone | $14,386,876 | |
| 49 | December 9, 1990 | Home Alone | $14,232,156 | |
| 50 | December 16, 1990 | Home Alone | $11,617,249 | |
| 51 | December 25, 1990$^{5-dayweekend}$ | Home Alone | $15,079,919 | |
| 52 | January 1, 1991$^{5-dayweekend}$ | Home Alone | $25,148,406 | Highest weekend after 4 weeks of wide release. |

## Highest-grossing films
### Calendar gross

Highest calendar gross films of 1990 in the United States :
| Rank | Title | Studio(s) | Actor(s) | Director(s) | Gross |
| 1. | Ghost | Paramount Pictures | Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg and Tony Goldwyn | Jerry Zucker | $205,344,137 |
| 2. | Pretty Woman | Walt Disney Studios | Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Héctor Elizondo, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo and Ralph Bellamy | Garry Marshall | $170,111,732 |
| 3. | Home Alone | 20th Century Fox | Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard and Catherine O'Hara | Chris Columbus | $143,592,523 |
| 4. | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | New Line Cinema | Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Brian Tochi, Robbie Rist, Corey Feldman and Josh Pais | Steve Barron | $135,265,915 |
| 5. | The Hunt for Red October | Paramount Pictures | Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, Sam Neill and Tim Curry | John McTiernan | $122,012,643 |
| 6. | Total Recall | TriStar Pictures | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside and Ronny Cox | Paul Verhoeven | $119,394,840 |
| 7. | Die Hard 2 | 20th Century Fox | Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Franco Nero, William Sadler, Dennis Franz and John Amos | Renny Harlin | $117,540,947 |
| 8. | Driving Miss Daisy | Warner Bros. Pictures | Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone and Esther Rolle | Bruce Beresford | $103,859,381 |
| 9. | Dick Tracy | Walt Disney Studios | Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Madonna, Glenne Headly and Charlie Korsmo | Warren Beatty | $103,738,726 |
| 10. | Back to the Future Part III | Universal Pictures | Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson | Robert Zemeckis | $87,727,583 |

### In-year release

Highest-grossing films of 1990 by In-year release :
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic gross |
| 1. | Home Alone | 20th Century Fox | $285,761,243 |
| 2. | Ghost | Paramount | $217,631,306 |
| 3. | Dances with Wolves | Orion | $184,208,848 |
| 4. | Pretty Woman | Disney | $178,406,268 |
| 5. | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | New Line Cinema | $135,265,915 |
| 6. | The Hunt for Red October | Paramount | $122,012,643 |
| 7. | Total Recall | TriStar | $119,394,840 |
| 8. | Die Hard 2 | 20th Century Fox | $117,540,947 |
| 9. | Dick Tracy | Disney | $103,738,726 |
| 10. | Kindergarten Cop | Universal | $91,457,688 |
Highest-grossing films by MPAA rating of 1990 :
| G | The Jungle Book (1990 Re-issue) |
| PG | Home Alone |
| PG-13 | Ghost |
| R | Pretty Woman |