# 1985 in film

1985 in film refers to the events, releases, and industry developments of the cinema year 1985, a year in which [Robert Zemeckis](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-zemeckis)'s *Back to the Future* led the United States and Canadian box office, the first Blockbuster Video store opened, and a computer-generated character appeared on screen for the first time in a feature film.

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Domestic box office leader | *Back to the Future* grossed $190,581,407 in the US and Canada, ahead of *Beverly Hills Cop* ($157,304,980) and *Rambo: First Blood Part II* ($150,415,432)<sup>[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1985/)</sup> |
| Worldwide totals | 192 films released in 1985 report a combined worldwide gross of $3.7 billion, 80% of it from the US and Canada; 4 films crossed $100 million and none reached $1 billion<sup>[2](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/box-office/year/1985)</sup> |
| Home video milestone | The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, launched by former software entrepreneur David Cook; for the next decade it was the largest chain of video-rental stores<sup>[3](https://www.filmsite.org/1985-filmhistory.html)</sup> |
| Computer graphics milestone | *Young Sherlock Holmes* presented the first fully CG character in a film, a medieval knight in a 30-second sequence that took six months to produce<sup>[4](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/specialfx2/1980.html)</sup> |
| Cannes | The Palme d'Or, awarded unanimously, went to Emir Kusturica's *When Father Was Away on Business*<sup>[5](https://www.festival-cannes.com/retrospective/1985/palmares/)</sup> |
| Academy Awards | At the 58th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 1985, Don Ameche won Supporting Actor for *Cocoon* and *Back to the Future* won Sound Effects Editing<sup>[6](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986)</sup> |

## Box office

The domestic top ten of 1985 was dominated by sequels, action films, and family adventures. *Back to the Future* (Universal, released July 3) led with $190.6 million, followed by *Beverly Hills Cop* (Paramount, December 5) at $157.3 million, *Rambo: First Blood Part II* (TriStar, May 22) at $150.4 million, *Rocky IV* ([United Artists](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-artists), November 27) at $89.1 million, and [Ron Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-howard)'s science-fiction film *Cocoon* (20th Century Fox, June 21) at $76.1 million<sup>[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1985/)</sup>. *Cocoon* ranked fifth for the year domestically<sup>[3](https://www.filmsite.org/1985-filmhistory.html)</sup>. Further down the top ten were *Witness*, *The Goonies*, *Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment*, *Fletch*, and the [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) film *A View to a Kill*<sup>[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1985/)</sup>.

*Rambo: First Blood Part II* was also the top summer film of 1985, earning $139 million from its release date through [Labor Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/labor-day) according to Comscore data<sup>[7](https://apnews.com/article/988d3e996ec52afdb3117aa42336a092)</sup>.

**Worldwide rankings differ by source.** [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo)'s worldwide chart for 1985 places *Out of Africa* first at $224,260,502, with *Back to the Future* second at $222,678,862, of which 95.4% came from the domestic market<sup>[8](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/1985/)</sup>. JP Box-Office instead lists *Back to the Future* as the year's worldwide leader at $381,109,762<sup>[9](https://www.jpbox-office.com/v9_bilan_pays.php?view=6&year=1985)</sup>, and What's After the Movie likewise ranks it first at $385.1 million, ahead of *Rocky IV* at $300.5 million and *Rambo: First Blood Part II* at $300.4 million<sup>[2](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/box-office/year/1985)</sup>. The differences reflect incomplete and inconsistent reporting of foreign grosses for films of this period.

## Industry and exhibition

**Home video.** The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, in 1985, launched by former software entrepreneur David Cook. For the next decade it became the largest chain of video-rental stores, competing with mostly small-time rental operations with limited selections; some larger Blockbuster stores featured as many as 8,000 film rentals<sup>[3](https://www.filmsite.org/1985-filmhistory.html)</sup>. A Manitoba education curriculum history marks the opening as the moment video rentals emerged as a significant source of income for the film industry<sup>[10](https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/cinema_gr12/full_doc.pdf)</sup>. Film histories of the period note that from the mid-1980s video became financially more important than cinema, so that theatrical exhibition increasingly functioned as promotion for later home release<sup>[11](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/film-histories/exhibitors-strike-back-multiplexes-video-and-the-rise-of-home-cinema/CF8E441ACB24E9338766FF26B0836DC7)</sup>.

**Television.** Cable-TV's The Discovery Channel debuted on June 17, 1985<sup>[3](https://www.filmsite.org/1985-filmhistory.html)</sup>.

**Festival infrastructure.** [Robert Redford](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-redford)'s Sundance Institute, established in 1980, took over the Utah/US Film Festival by 1986; the festival was named after Redford's character in *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969) and was renamed the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) in 1991<sup>[3](https://www.filmsite.org/1985-filmhistory.html)</sup>.

## Technology

[Computer graphics](https://www.edgepedia.org/computer-graphics) moved from sequences to characters in 1985. In *Young Sherlock Holmes*, a medieval knight sprang to life from a stained glass window in the first fully CG character sequence in a feature film; the 30-second shot took six months to accomplish<sup>[4](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/specialfx2/1980.html)</sup>. The same decade's timeline notes that the first all-digital CG sequence had appeared two years earlier with the Genesis Effect in *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan*<sup>[4](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/specialfx2/1980.html)</sup>.

Prestige theatrical presentation remained conventional: [Lawrence Kasdan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lawrence-kasdan)'s Western *Silverado* was composed for a 2.35:1 widescreen frame, mixed for Dolby Stereo, and shown in 70mm blow-up prints in premium engagements, the standard prestige format of the mid-1980s<sup>[12](https://sightlines.media/film/11509/silverado-1985)</sup>.

## Awards and festivals

At Cannes in 1985, the [Palme d'Or](https://www.edgepedia.org/palme-dor) went unanimously to *When Father Was Away on Business* by [Emir Kusturica](https://www.edgepedia.org/emir-kusturica), which also shared the FIPRESCI International Critics' Prize with [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)'s *The Purple Rose of Cairo*. André Téchiné won Best Director for *Rendez-vous*, *Birdy* by Alan Parker took the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, and William Hurt won Best Actor for *Kiss of the Spider Woman*<sup>[5](https://www.festival-cannes.com/retrospective/1985/palmares/)</sup>.

The 58th Academy Awards, held March 24, 1986, honored films released in 1985; its highlights included [Don Ameche](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-ameche)'s Supporting Actor win for *Cocoon* and the Sound Effects Editing award for *Back to the Future*<sup>[6](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986)</sup>.

## Critical standing

Retrospective rankings place [Akira Kurosawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/akira-kurosawa)'s *Ran* at the top of the year's films: it is the best-rated film of 1985 on What's After the Movie at 89/100, ahead of *Back to the Future* at 88/100<sup>[13](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/movies/collection/best-1985-movies)</sup>, and it shares the top weighted score on The Film Index with Elem Klimov's Soviet war film *Come and See* at 91.4<sup>[14](https://moviesranking.com/top?from=1985&to=1985)</sup>. Other frequently listed titles include Claude Lanzmann's documentary *Shoah*, Terry Gilliam's *Brazil*, Agnès Varda's *Vagabond*, Juzo Itami's *Tampopo*, Martin Scorsese's *After Hours*, and Paul Schrader's *Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters*<sup>[14](https://moviesranking.com/top?from=1985&to=1985)</sup>. On Rotten Tomatoes' ranked guide, *Brazil* holds a 98% Tomatometer score, second behind *Tampopo*<sup>[15](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-movies-1985/)</sup>.

Contemporary commentary noted the audience the hits were aimed at: a February 1985 *Time* article observed that more than half the US movie audience was in the 12-to-24 age group, which kept Hollywood producing teen films<sup>[16](https://time.com/3833877/cinema-is-there-life-after-teenpix/)</sup>. A Washington Post survey of 75 newspaper and magazine reviewers published in January 1986 recorded the split between the year's box-office triumphs, led by *Rocky* and *Rambo*, and the critics' own best-of votes<sup>[17](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1986/01/12/revenge-of-the-critics/18571693-730c-44ab-9ae3-0be875a192f6/)</sup>.

## References

1. [Domestic Box Office For 1985, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1985/)
2. [1985 Box Office: Highest-Grossing Movies, What's After the Movie](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/box-office/year/1985)
3. [Film History Milestones and Timeline: 1985, Filmsite](https://www.filmsite.org/1985-filmhistory.html)
4. [Special Effects: Titanic and Beyond, 1980s, NOVA Online (PBS)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/specialfx2/1980.html)
5. [Rétrospective 1985, Palmarès, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/retrospective/1985/palmares/)
6. [The 58th Academy Awards, Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986)
7. [List of the top summer movies since 'Jaws', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/988d3e996ec52afdb3117aa42336a092)
8. [1985 Worldwide Box Office, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/1985/)
9. [Bilan Annuel Monde 1985, JP Box-Office](https://www.jpbox-office.com/v9_bilan_pays.php?view=6&year=1985)
10. [Grade 12 Cinema as a Witness to Modern History, Manitoba Education](https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/cinema_gr12/full_doc.pdf)
11. [The Exhibitors Strike Back: Multiplexes, Video and the Rise of Home Cinema, Film Histories (Cambridge University Press)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/film-histories/exhibitors-strike-back-multiplexes-video-and-the-rise-of-home-cinema/CF8E441ACB24E9338766FF26B0836DC7)
12. [Silverado (1985), Sightlines](https://sightlines.media/film/11509/silverado-1985)
13. [Best Movies of 1985: Top 25 Films Ranked, What's After the Movie](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/movies/collection/best-1985-movies)
14. [Best 1000 Films, 1985, The Film Index](https://moviesranking.com/top?from=1985&to=1985)
15. [100 Best Movies of 1985 Ranked, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-movies-1985/)
16. [Cinema: Is There Life After Teenpix?, Time (February 1985)](https://time.com/3833877/cinema-is-there-life-after-teenpix/)
17. [Revenge of the Critics, The Washington Post (January 1986)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1986/01/12/revenge-of-the-critics/18571693-730c-44ab-9ae3-0be875a192f6/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › National and regional cinemas by year › Box-office and grossing lists*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license