1987 Movies

To make this list a movie had to be made in 1987.  Obviously many movies made in 1986 earned box office dollars in 1987.  On the other side many movies made in 1987 made money in 1988 and later.   This page will looks at over 200 movies made in 1987.  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 1987

1987 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 1987 Movies by movie titles and movie trailers
  • Sort 1987 Movies by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie.
  • Sort 1987 Movies by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort 1987 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 1987 Movies received and how many Oscar® wins each 1986 Movies received.
  • Sort 1987 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.

Detailed Table

Jump to mobile-friendly table.

 

Top earners in 1987 for Adjusted USA Box Office:

(Visited 1 times)

35 thoughts on “1987 Movies”

  1. 122 Anna (1987) Sally Kirkland
    Sally deserves some props (please update the nomination field):
    Anna
    Academy Awards, USA 1988
    Nominee
    Oscar Best Actress in a Leading Role
    Sally Kirkland

    Reply

    1. Good catch Sidney Johnson. I have added in Sally Kirkland’s Oscar nomination into that movie’s stats. I remember when she got that nomination….how did 33 years pass already?

      Reply

  2. I saw 58 including top 20 and 39 of top 50. a fabulous year for movies. many hidden gems so loved by me that I gave them 10s (great) or nines (very good nearly great). great year for Costner and steve martin and they can’t break into the top 20. 10s and favorites: charring cross road hg, broadcast news, Roxanne hg, lethal weapon, no way out hg, untouchables. 10s not favorites: empire of the sun, full metal jacket, moonstruck. 9s and favorites: inner space hg, stakeout hg, blind date hg, predator, summer school hg , lost boys hg, princess bride hg. 9s not favorites: wall street, Robocop, good morning Vietnam, fatal attraction, planes trains and automobiles, last emperor. more hidden gems(hg): from the hip, house of games, cry freedom, the big easy, suspect (all eights), the glass menagerie a 7. I love to laugh.

    Reply

    1. Hey bob cox. 58 is about 25% of the movies on the list. 78% of the Top 50 probably means you are watching the right movies. Lots of great movies listed in your comment. Right there with you on Broadcast News, Roxanne, Lethal Weapon, Stakeout, Princess Bride, RoboCop and Empire of the Sun. Bale’s performance in Empire is incredible. The first time I watched it, I thought the role was played by two different kids. He is still going strong 31 years later.

      I can tell you love to laugh…most of your hidden gems are downers…with the exception of From The Hip. Glad to see someone else thinking good things about that movie. I saw it in crowded theaters…and it got some good responses. Good stuff as always.

      Reply

  3. Wow, these annual lists seem to get longer and longer. I recognize 31 titles seen. Looking through 1987, it was not a bad year, particularly for European films that earned some recognition in North America. Wings of Desire is one of my favorites, but also memorable were: Au Revoir les Enfants, Pelle the Conqueror, Babette’s Feast, Baghdad Cafe and Prick Up Your Ears. In terms of American films, I would not have expected 3 Men and a Baby (a unoriginal remake of a French film) to have been the top box officer earner of the year. Personal favorites are Broadcast News, The Untouchables, Full Metal Jacket and The Princess Bride. Some comedies I still enjoy seeing once in a while include Throw Mama from the Train, Roxanne, Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

    Reply

    1. Hey PhilHoF17. First of all…Happy New Year. Glad to see you commenting again…especially since we agree on so much stuff…lol. Box Office Mojo really started picking up steam with regards to collecting data. So finding box office is not nearly as challenging…which is why there are so many movies on this page.

      I have most of the European movies….of those I enjoyed Babette’s Feast the most….I have not seen Prick Up Your Ears yet….but one day I will.

      Three Men and A Baby was huge. I saw it in theaters. I remember watching it….and thinking…..this is not really funny….maybe it gets funnier later. Of your favorites….not only have I seen and liked them…..with the exception of Roxanne….I saw all of them in theaters.

      Good feedback on these 1987 movies.

      Reply

  4. Hey Bob…..just checked to make sure my memory was correct. Here was the Top 6 the weekend From The Hip opened.

    #1 Platoon just over 8 million
    #2 Outrageous Fortune just over 5 million
    Three new movies opened that weekend
    #3 Light of Day….3.6 million
    #4 Black Widow….3.2 million
    #5 From the Hip…2.6 million

    The entire Top 5 grossed under $22 million. So my memory still works…..lol.

    Reply

    1. HI BRUCE

      Thanks for additional info about the 1987 Top 5 at the box office. You have reminded me of a pop song that I used to listen to regularly “If Your Memory Serves You Well” sung by Julie Driscoll.

      I agree with you that at the time of a star’s being ”flavour of the month” we don’t appreciate how transient that status can be.

      That applies to even the Greatest. When as a small boy I first came across The Duke and King Gable each was such a monument that I thought that not only like the Pyramids had they been around forever but that they would always be with us. The Duke was around for a good while longer but the King was gone within the decade and, very sadly, Ty Power [whom I especially idolised in the 1950s] within a few years.

      Winger and Russell [I used to have a crush on the latter] have ended up with differing fortunes to date $16 million and $5 million net worth respectively. Debs is now 63 and has 5 acting awards and 27 noms and Theresa is 61 and has 2 wins and 0 noms. I suppose if The Curse of 39 hadn’t gotten them when it did Son of the Curse would have truck by now.

      Great chatting with you and I look forward to 1988 if you get my meaning.

      Reply

      1. Hey Bob. Thanks for sharing your “favorites”. Looks like you have picked some winners over the years. I think Judd is the one that panned out the least. Who knew that The Breakfast Club was the peak and straight to home entertainment was Judd’s future. I have not heard of the song “If Your Memory Serves You Well”….but it seems very fitting. As for Ty Power…it is a shame that his box office legacy does not get more attention…I wonder if Tom Cruise is headed for the same legacy. Good stuff as always. Might be awhile before we get to 1988. Working on some 2018 yearly review pages when we get back home later today.

        Reply

  5. I thought you’d long ago finished the stats on the 1980’s Bruce, 2 years left?

    I’ve seen 76 of the 239 films on the chart, which might have been impressive until I saw Bruce and Dan’s tallys.

    Looking at my files I have 74 films from 1987 in my movie collection, my favorites are –

    Angel Heart
    Batteries Not Included
    Beverly Hills Cop II
    Dragnet
    Evil Dead II
    Extreme Prejudice
    Full Metal Jacket
    Gate ,The
    Good Morning Vietnam
    Hamburger Hill
    Harry and the Hendersons
    Hellraiser
    Hidden ,The
    Innerspace
    Last Emperor ,The
    Lethal Weapon
    Living Daylights ,The
    Lost Boys ,The
    Masters of the Universe
    Monster Squad ,The
    Near Dark
    Nightmare on Elm St. III-Dream Warriors
    No Way Out
    Planes Trains and Automobiles
    Predator
    Prince of Darkness
    Princess Bride ,The
    Robocop
    Roxanne
    Running Man ,The
    Secret of My Success ,The
    Spaceballs
    Stakeout
    Untouchables ,The
    Wall Street
    Witches of Eastwick ,The
    zz-China – A Better Tomorrow II
    zz-China – A Chinese Ghost Story
    zz-Japan Anime – The Wings of Honneamise

    Good to see The WIngs of Honneamise on the chart and with a good score, classic anime, one of the best. Hopefully Katsuhiro Otomo’s ‘Akira’ (1988) makes it to your next yearly chart it’s the most famous anime of them all (and the film that made me a fan of the genre).

    Moonstruck no.1 on the UMR chart? hmmm… topping The Last Emperor, The Untouchables and Full Metal Jacket? I know the UMR rating has it’s own weird logic but it can confuse the uninitiated.

    Another top job Bruce. Vote Up!

    Reply

    1. Hey Steve. Not everybody can fly as high as me and Dan…..lol. Yep two more 1980s years to go. Slowly closing the gap to today’s movies. As for Moonstruck being number one? Statistically it is a beast. A box office success…topping Last Emperor and Full Metal Jacket by a lot….$10 million ahead of The Untouchables. On the review side….it is right there with Emperor and slightly behind Full Metal. Award side…won a Golden Globe best picture…nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and was nominated for the 3rd most nominations, winning the second most Oscars. In the end it slightly edged out the Last Emperor for the Top Spot. Glad to see The Hidden on your favorites list….an under appreciated science fiction movie. I have seen all of your favorites with the exception of The Gate. I will make sure I have Akira on the 1988 page. Good feedback as always. – Cogerson

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.