The following is an overview of events in 1985 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1985 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Context

The year was considered an unsuccessful one for film. Despite a record number of film releases, many films failed at the box office, and ticket sales were down 17% compared with 1984. Industry executives believed the problem, in part, was a lack of original concepts. Films about fantasy and magic failed, as audiences leaned towards science-fiction. Janet Maslin said the fault for this lay partly with Steven Spielberg, who had created such a successful template with films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind that many fantasy films had imitated them. There was also a saturation of youth-oriented films targeted at those under 18. Executives were not fond of these films, but the financial rewards were too significant to ignore. The few films aimed at older audiences, like Cocoon, were surprise successes. Only Back to the Future and Rambo: First Blood Part II were successful blockbusters, earning more than double the box office of Cocoon. Films offering escapism and pro-America themes like Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV had also fared well. The glut of youth-targeted films like Return to Oz and The Black Cauldron, and science-fiction comedies like Weird Science, Real Genius, and My Science Project had resulted in a string of failures. Executives said that the films were all very similar and marketed in the same way, offering no variety for audiences.

Events

Awards

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

1985 films

By country/region

By genre/medium

Births

Deaths

Film debuts