To make this list a movie had to be made in 1985. Obviously many movies made in 1984 earned box office dollars in 1985. On the other side many movies made in 1985 made money in 1986 and later. This page will looks at over 180 movies made in 1985. The movies are listed in two massive tables that lets you rank the movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.
Our UMR Top 50 of 1985
1985 Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort 1985 Movies by movie titles and movie trailers
- Sort 1985 Movies by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie.
- Sort 1985 Movies by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort 1985 Movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each 1985 Movies received and how many Oscar® wins each 1985 Movies received.
- Sort 1985 Movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking Score (UMR). Our UMR score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Top earners in 1985 for Adjusted USA Box Office:
Quigley’s 1985 Top Stars List
1. Sylvester Stallone
2. Eddie Murpy
3. Clint Eastwood
4. Michael J. Fox
5. Chevy Chase
6. Arnold Schwarzenegger
7. Chuck Norris
8. Harrison Ford
9. Michael Douglas
10. Meryl Streep
11. Robert Redford
12. Sally Field
13. Kathleen Turner
14. Dan Aykroyd
15. Bill Murray
16. Jack Nicholson
17. Jessica Lange
18. Goldie Hawn
19. Charles Bronson
20. Cher
21. Mel Gibson
22. Pee-Wee Herman
23. Burt Reynolds
24. Sissy Spacek
25. Tom Cruise
1985, my best6 picture was Back to the Future (I know, how predictable). The following 1985’s by your rankings I saw in cinemas back then.
1-5
7-25
27-32
34 – 36
38 – 42
44 – 52
54
56
59 – 63
65
66
68
70
71
75
76
78 – 80
82
83
86 – 89
91
93
95
97
100
102
105
108 – 111
114 – 117
121 – 125
128
129
131
132
135 – 138
143
146
147
149 – 153
155
157 – 159
162
164 – 169
172 – 177
179 – 188
190 – 192
These are the 44 1985 films I have seen for the first time since December 1992. Key is film, studio, star if listed (rarer for more modern films) date seen and source (DVD, TV channel or tape).
ALAMO BAY 1985 TRI AMY MADIGAN ED HARRIS 8/4 1996 A & E
ALMOST YOU 1985 FOX BROOKE ADAMS 3/12 1997 TMC
BOY WHO HAD EVERYTHING (AUSTRALIA) 1985 11/21 1994 55
BREAKIN’ 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO 1985 MGM 3/16 2014 BLACK
CARE BEARS MOVIE (CAR.) 1985 SAMUEL GOLDWYN MICKEY ROONEY 5/3 1997 DIS
CITY LIMITS 1985 ATLANTIC 5/3 1994 COM
CITY NINJA (H.K.) 1985 FIRST FILMS 11/18 2011 DVD
CRIMEWAVE 1985 COL 8/22 2011 SUSP
DEATH IN THE SHADOWS (NETH.) 1985 3/28 2010 DVD
DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS (U.K.) 1985 FOX TIMOTHY DALTON JONATHAN PRYCE 6/5 2006 FXM
DREAMCHILD 1985 MGM IAN HOLM 12/6 2004 TRUE
FANTASY FILM WORLD OF GEORGE PAL (DOC.) 1985 NW 10/12 2017 TCM
FIRST MISSION (H.K.) 1985 GOLDEN HARVEST JACKIE CHAN 8/21 1999 TAPE
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING 1985 PAR XXX XXX 3/9 2004 MAX
HOT TARGET (M.Z. – U.K.) 1985 CROWN INTL 5/30 2012 DVD
KEY EXCHANGE 1985 FOX BROOKE ADAMS 8/28 1996 TMC
KRUSH GROOVE 1985 WB 7/9 2015 HBO-SIG
KUNG FU SHADOW (H.K.) 1985 SATORI 4/29 1993 TAPE
L.A. STREETFIGHTER 1985 ASCOT ENTERTAINMENT 3/20 2010 ACTN
LAMB (U.K.) 1985 CHANNEL FOUR FILMS 6/29 2013 DVD
MACARONI (IT.) 1985 PAR JACK LEMMON MARCELLO MASTROIANNI 5/1 1996 TMC
MISCHIEF 1985 FOX XXX XXX 5/5 2003 ENC
MIXED BLOOD 1985 CINEVISTA 12/29 2013 TCM
MUGSY’S GIRLS 1985 SHAPIRO 7/18 1993 USA
MURDER ELITE (U.K.) 1985 TYBURN ALI MCGRAW BILLIE WHITELAW 4/12 1996 TMC
NIGHT TRAIN FROM TERROR 1985 VISTOR INTL. 5/22 2015 DVD
NINJA CHAMPION (H.K.) 1985 10/28 2010 DVD
POD PEOPLE (FR-SP.) 1985 CINEMA SHARES INTL. 8/4 2012 DVD
PRIME RISK 1985 SAMUEL GOLDWYN XXX XXX 6/25 1996 11
PRIVATE RESORT 1985 TRI JOHNNY DEPP 2/1 2006 ENC
RED FURY 1985 DAYTON FILMS 5/30 2012 DVD
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 1985 ORI XXX XXX 2/2 2003 ENC
ROOM WITH A VIEW (U.K.) 1985 CINECOM 1/31 1994 BRAVO
SHAKER RUN 1985 8/27 2013 DVD
SHAOLIN FOX CONSPIRACY 1985 JOHN LIU FILMS 11/21 1992 TAPE
SHOOTING PARTY (U.K.) 1985 EUROPEAN CLASSICS JAMES MASON EDWARD FOX 12/9 1996 BRAVO
SLASHER 1985 UNITED ENT. 10/27 2011 DVD
STAR KNIGHT (SP.) 1985 8/7 2012 DVD
SUDDEN DEATH 1985 MARVIN 5/19 1994 TAPE
TURTLE DIARY (U.K.) 1985 CBS THEATRICAL GLENDA JACKSON BEN KINGSLEY 6/18 1998 STZ
VAMPIRE HUNTER D (JAP.) 1985 STREAMLINE 5/1 1994 TBS
W 1985 PARAGON 4/27 1994 TAPE
WARRIOR OF THE LOST WORLD 1985 VISTA INTL 4/6 1994 COM
WHITE ICE 1985 SAMUEL GOLDWYN 2/10 1993 5
Hey Dan…so Room With A View, Ran, My Life As A Dog,Trip to Bountiful and Shoah are the only ones in the Top 50 that you did not see in theaters….pretty impressive. Most of those missing movies probably did not get major releases here in the states. I think Back to the Future would top lots of people’s top movies of 1985. Your 44 seen after 1992 would beat lots of people’s total tally count. Good to see Shaker Run got a viewing from you…that is not one of Caine’s best movies. Good information.
I have seen 18 movies from 1985. Unlike in previous years, while I have seen 6 of the top 10, I have seen only two more of the top 20. Some films I saw when I was a teenager, others when I was in my 20s. I don’t recall seeing any of these films when they first came out except for Back to the Future and The Breakfast Club.
The HIGHEST ranked film I have seen is Out of Africa at number 2.
The highest ranked film I have NOT seen is The Color Purple. I read the novel English class.
The LOWESST ranked film I have seen is Death Wish 3.
Top 10 Movies I Have Seen:
Out of Africa
Witness
Back to the Future
Cocoon
A Room With a View
The Breakfast Club
Movies I Have Seen From the Top 20:
The Jewel of the Nile
Murphy’s Romance
Other Films I Have Seen:
My Life As a Dog
Desperately Seeking Susan
A View to a Kill
The Falcon and the Snowman
St. Elmo’s Fire
Teen Wolf
Clue
That’s Dancing!
The Chorus Line
Death Wish 3
Favourite 1985 Movies:
Back to the Future
The Breakfast Club
Cocoon
A Room With a View
A View to a Kill
Murphy’s Romance
Jewel of the Nile
St. Elmo’s Fire
Clue
Hey Flora…thanks for sharing your thoughts on our 1985 page…..you were getting close to double digits when these movies came out. 18 is not too bad for these post 1976 movies…and 60% of the Top Ten is pretty good. Of your favorites….right there with you with most of them….with A View To A Kill being the exception….not my favorite Bond movie at all. Moore ended his Bond career on a sour note in my opinion. Breakfast Club has a huge impact on me back then…those cast members are now pushing 60….seems hard to believe. Good feedback as always.
Been a reader lately versus a contributor. You have been a very busy person. Lots and lots of new pages, recent favorites would have been all the entire 1980s pages, Kevin Kline and Burgess Meredith. Love seeing Commando ranked 31st, I loved that Arnie movie growing up, but would have put it lower in the rankings, mainly because so many people do not realize the greatness of that movie. Keep up the awesome work.
Hey SteinHoF16…your funny comments have been missed…..glad to hear from you. Glad you have liked our latest pages. I appreciate the continued reading of the pages. As for Commando…saw that one in theaters…..Arnold was in his prime during this time period. Glad the UMR rankings made you happy. Hope all is well for you and your family.
I was a wee little one in 1985, but I love Back To The Future and The Goonies. Me and older brothers wore out our VHS copies of those movies.
Hey Layla…..thanks for the visit and the comment. I also watched Back to the Future a lot back then….not so much with The Goonies…but I know lots of people love that movie. Good stuff.
Seen 104 of these movies…including 17 in theaters. Lots of favorites here.
The almost forgotten movies…Martin Scorsese’s (1) After Hours – I see myself in the Griffin Dune character, (2) Fandango – Judd Nelson and Kevin Costner in a Spielberg produced movie…fun movie..huge flop, (3) To Live and Die In L.A. – underrated good movie. (4) Flesh & Blood….Rutger shines. (5) Runaway Train…gritty gritty movie with awesome performances from Voight and Roberts
The good but not great movies (6) The Sure Thing…a teenage comedy that copies It Happened One Night..love it (7) Fletch…Chevy Chase at his best (8) Silverado…great cast in a good western (9) Return of the Living…good mix of comedy and horror
My all-time favorites (10) Breakfast Club….seen this movie so many times….has gained all-time great status over the last 33 years (11) Brazil….love this movie…Gilliam’s masterpiece.
The “popular movies that I liked too”….(12) Cocoon, (13) Prizzi’s Honor, (14) Back To The Future, (15) Witness.
I graduated high school in 1985…so many of these movies bring back such great memories.
I forgot to add Ran to my favorites…what a beautiful movie….one of the best uses of color I have ever seen on screen….this one should be seen on a big screen.