1981 in film

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Overview of the events of 1981 in filmTemplate:SHORTDESC:Overview of the events of 1981 in film

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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.)

See also: List of 1981 box office number-one films in the United States
The top ten 1981 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

## Events

* January 19 – 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.
* November 29 – Off Santa Catalina Island, 43-year-old actress Natalie Wood drowns during a boating accident.
* Kathleen Turner makes her acting debut.
* Tom Cruise makes his acting debut.
* June 12 – *Raiders of the Lost Ark* is released. It set a major standard for many action-adventure films to date.

## Awards

**Academy Awards:**

Best Picture: ***Chariots of Fire*** – Enigma, The Ladd Company/Warner Bros.
Best Director: **Warren Beatty** – *Reds*
Best Actor: **Henry Fonda** – *On Golden Pond*
Best Actress: **Katharine Hepburn** – *On Golden Pond*
Best Supporting Actor: **John Gielgud** – *Arthur*
Best Supporting Actress: **Maureen Stapleton** – *Reds*
Best Foreign Language Film: ***Mephisto***, directed by Istvan Szabo, Hungary
Best Picture: ***On Golden Pond***
Best Actor: **Henry Fonda** – *On Golden Pond*
Best Actress: **Meryl Streep** – *The French Lieutenant's Woman*
**Musical or comedy:**
Best Picture: ***Arthur***
Best Actor: **Dudley Moore** – *Arthur*
Best Actress: **Bernadette Peters** – *Pennies from Heaven*
**Other**
Best Director: **Warren Beatty** – *Reds*
Best Foreign Film: ***Chariots of Fire***, United Kingdom
**Golden Raspberry Awards:**

Worst Picture: ***Mommie Dearest***
Worst Director: **Michael Cimino** – *Heaven's Gate*
Worst Actor: **Klinton Spilsbury** – *The Legend of the Lone Ranger*
Worst Actress: **Bo Derek** – *Tarzan, the Ape Man*; **Faye Dunaway** – *Mommie Dearest*
Worst Supporting Actor: **Steve Forrest** – *Mommie Dearest*
Worst Supporting Actress: **Diana Scarwid** – *Mommie Dearest*
**Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):**

***Man of Iron*** (Człowiek z żelaza), directed by Andrzej Wajda, Poland
**Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):**

***Marianne and Juliane*** (*Die Bleierne Zeit*), directed by Margarethe von Trotta, W. Germany
**Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):**

***Faster, Faster*** (*Deprisa, deprisa* / *Vivre vite*), directed by Carlos Saura, Spain / France

## Births

* January 6 – Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
* January 8 – Genevieve Cortese, American actress
* January 21 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress and dancer
* January 22 – Beverley Mitchell, American actress
* January 28 – Elijah Wood, American actor
* January 31 – Justin Timberlake, American singer and actor
* February 9 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor
* February 11 – Kelly Rowland, American singer and actress
* February 12 - Lauri Lagle, Estonian actor, director and screenwriter
* February 17 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
* February 19 – Beth Ditto, American singer-songwriter
* February 23 – Josh Gad, American actor and comedian
* March 2 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
* March 6 – Ellen Muth, American actress
* March 11 – David Anders, American actor
* March 28 – Julia Stiles, American actress
* April 10
	+ Laura Bell Bundy, American actress
	+ Michael Pitt, American actor
* April 13 – Courtney Peldon, American actress
* April 19
	+ Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor
	+ Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
* April 28 – Jessica Alba, American actress
* May 5
	+ Danielle Fishel, American actress
	+ Farid Kamil, Malaysian actor and film director
* May 11 – Austin O'Brien, American actor
* May 12 – Rami Malek, American actor
* May 15 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
* May 28 – Laura Bailey, American voice actress
* June 1 – Amy Schumer, American actress and comedian
* June 7 – Larisa Oleynik, American actress
* June 9 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
* June 10 – Jonathan Bennett, American actor
* June 13 – Chris Evans, American actor
* June 14 – Chauncey Leopardi, American actor
* June 20 – Alisan Porter, former American actress
* July 24 – Summer Glau, American actress
* July 30 – Lisa Wilhoit, American actress
* August 1 – Taylor Fry, former American child actress
* August 3 – Travis Willingham, American voice actor
* August 4
	+ Marques Houston, American singer and actor
	+ Meghan Markle, American actress and model
	+ Abigail Spencer, American actress
* August 8 – Meagan Good, American actress
* August 20 – Ben Barnes, English actor
* August 24 – Chad Michael Murray, American actor
* August 25 – Rachel Bilson, American actress
* August 27 – Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor
* September 4 – Beyoncé Knowles, American singer and actress
* September 8 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
* September 12 – Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
* September 16 – Alexis Bledel, American actress
* September 23 – Misti Traya, American actress
* September 26 – Christina Milian, American singer and actress
* September 29 – Shay Astar, American singer and actress
* September 30 – Ashleigh Aston Moore, former Canadian child actress (d. 2007)
* October 1 – Rupert Friend, English actor
* October 3 – Seth Gabel, American actor
* October 9 – Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor
* October 12 – Tom Guiry, American actor
* October 22 – Michael Fishman, American actor
* November 9 – Scottie Thompson, American actress
* November 16 – Caitlin Glass, American voice actress
* November 18 – Nasim Pedrad, Iranian-American actress and comedian
* November 20 – Andrea Riseborough, English actress
* December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and actress
* December 3 – Liza Lapira, American actress
* December 13 – Amy Lee, American singer-songwriter (Evanescence)
* December 16 – Krysten Ritter, American actress
* December 18 – Josh Dallas, American actor
* December 27 – Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
* December 28 – Sienna Miller, English actress

## Film debuts

* Ben Affleck – *The Dark End of the Street*
* Jason Alexander – *The Burning*
* Kim Basinger – *Hard Country*
* Bart the Bear – *Windwalker*
* James Belushi – *Thief*
* Gabriel Byrne – *Excalibur*
* James Cameron – *Piranha II: The Spawning*
* Kevin Costner – *Malibu Hot Summer*
* Tom Cruise – *Endless Love*
* Jeff Daniels – *Ragtime*
* Rebecca De Mornay - *One from the Heart*
* Dennis Farina – *Thief*
* Jami Gertz – *Endless Love*
* Bob Gunton – *Rollover*
* Glenne Headly – *Four Friends*
* Holly Hunter – *The Burning*
* Ciarán Hinds – *Excalibur*
* Peter MacNicol – *Dragonslayer*
* Alfred Molina – *Raiders of the Lost Ark*
* Chris Noth - *Waitress!*
* Demi Moore – *Choices*
* Sean Penn – *Taps*
* Martha Plimpton – *Rollover*
* Amanda Plummer – *Cattle Annie and Little Britches*
* Geoffrey Rush – *Hoodwink*
* Meg Ryan – *Rich and Famous*
* Madeleine Stowe – *Gangster Wars*
* Henry Thomas – *Raggedy Man*
* Kathleen Turner – *Body Heat*

## See also

* List of American films of 1981
* British films of 1981
* French films of 1981
* List of German films: 1980s
* Bollywood films of 1981
* Italian films of 1981
* Japanese films of 1981
* Swedish films of the 1980s

## References

1. ↑ "1981 Domestic Grosses". *Box Office Mojo*. Retrieved 7 April 2014.

Template:1981 films
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