Top Movies of 1981 - Best Box Office Performers

Rank	Title	Language	Genre(s)	Domestic	Worldwide
1	Superman II	UK	Action Adventure Sci-Fi	$108,185,706	$216,385,706
2	On Golden Pond	UK	Drama	$119,285,432	$119,285,810
3	Arthur	UK	Comedy Romance	$95,461,682	$95,461,682
4	Stripes	UK	Comedy War	$85,297,000	$85,297,000
5	The Cannonball Run	UK	Action Sport Comedy	$72,179,579	$72,179,579
6	The Fox and the Hound	UK	Adventure Drama Animation	$63,456,988	$63,456,988
7	For Your Eyes Only	UK	Action Adventure Thriller	$54,812,802	$54,837,696
8	Time Bandits	UK	Adventure Sci-Fi Fantasy	$42,365,581	$42,368,025
9	Clash of the Titans	UK	Action Adventure Fantasy	$41,092,328	$41,092,328
10	Absence of Malice	UK	Drama Thriller Romance	$40,716,963	$40,716,963
11	Reds	UK	Biography Drama History	$40,382,659	$40,382,788
12	Tarzan the Ape Man	UK	Adventure Drama	$36,565,280	$36,565,280
13	Taps	UK	Drama	$35,856,053	$35,856,053
14	Sharky's Machine	UK	Action Drama Thriller	$35,610,100	$35,610,100
15	Excalibur	UK	Adventure Drama Fantasy	$34,967,437	$34,971,136
16	Endless Love	UK	Drama Romance	$31,184,024	$32,492,674
17	History of the World: Part I	UK	History Comedy	$31,672,907	$31,672,907
18	The Great Muppet Caper	UK	Adventure Mystery Comedy	$31,206,251	$31,206,251
19	An American Werewolf in London	UK	Horror	$30,565,292	$30,819,283
20	Neighbors	UK	Comedy	$29,916,207	$29,916,207
21	Fort Apache the Bronx	UK	Drama Crime	$29,200,000	$29,200,000
22	The French Lieutenant's Woman	UK	Drama Romance	$26,890,068	$26,890,068
23	Private Lessons	FR	Comedy	$26,279,000	$26,279,000
24	Modern Problems	UK	Sci-Fi Fantasy Comedy	$26,154,211	$26,154,211
25	Halloween II	UK	Thriller Horror	$25,533,818	$25,533,818
26	Escape from New York	UK	Action Sci-Fi	$25,244,626	$25,276,664
27	Body Heat	UK	Drama Thriller Crime	$24,058,838	$24,058,838
28	Friday the 13th Part 2	UK	Mystery Thriller Horror	$21,722,776	$21,722,975
29	The Final Conflict	UK	Horror	$20,471,382	$20,471,382
30	Nighthawks	UK	Action Thriller Crime	$14,905,359	$19,905,359
31	Mommie Dearest	UK	Biography Drama	$19,032,261	$19,034,156
32	Paternity	UK	Comedy Romance	$18,838,812	$18,838,812
33	The Howling	UK	Horror	$17,985,893	$17,985,893
34	Eye of the Needle	UK	Thriller Romance War	$17,583,634	$17,583,686
35	Outland	UK	Action Sci-Fi Thriller	$17,374,595	$17,374,595
36	Caveman	UK	Comedy Romance	$15,965,924	$15,965,924
37	Continental Divide	UK	Comedy Romance	$15,578,237	$15,578,237
38	The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia	UK	Drama Music	$14,923,752	$14,923,752
39	Ragtime	UK	Drama	$14,920,781	$14,920,781
40	S.O.B.	UK	Drama Comedy	$14,867,086	$14,867,086
41	Rich and Famous	CN	Drama	$14,492,125	$14,492,125
42	Scanners	UK	Sci-Fi Thriller Horror	$14,225,876	$14,225,876
43	Dragonslayer	UK	Action Adventure Fantasy	$14,110,013	$14,110,013
44	True Confessions	UK	Drama Crime	$12,850,276	$12,850,276
45	Atlantic City	UK	Drama Romance Crime	$12,729,675	$12,729,675
46	The Postman Always Rings Twice	UK	Drama Thriller Romance	$12,376,625	$12,383,416
47	Blow Out	UK	Mystery Thriller	$12,000,000	$12,001,495
48	Back Roads	UK	Adventure Comedy Romance	$11,809,387	$11,809,387
49	Thief	UK	Action Drama Thriller	$11,492,915	$11,494,812
50	Raiders of the Lost Ark	UK	Action Adventure	$11,000,000	$11,000,000

Top Grossing Movies in 1981

Movies Box Office by Year