1984 in film



The following is an overview of events in 1984 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths. The year's highest-grossing film was Beverly Hills Cop. Ghostbusters overtook it, however, with a re-release the following year. Other popular films included The NeverEnding Story, which was the most expensive film produced in West Germany, The Karate Kid and Romancing the Stone. A high number of sci-fi/fantasy films were released in 1984.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1984 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * The Walt Disney Studios establishes Touchstone Pictures to release films with more mature subject matter than the traditional Walt Disney Pictures banner.
 * Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film.
 * Michael Eisner becomes head of Walt Disney Productions, while Frank Wells became chief operating officer and Jeffrey Katzenberg was named chairman.
 * Prince's first film Purple Rain is released.
 * Annie's Coming Out wins AFI Award (Australia)
 * The Motion Picture Association of America institutes the PG-13 rating, as a response to violent movies such as Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
 * Romancing the Stone is released and propelled stars Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, and Danny DeVito and director Robert Zemeckis to super-stardom. The film also gave Zemeckis his first box office hit, which gave Universal Pictures confidence to allow him to direct his next film, Back to the Future.

Awards
Academy Awards:


 * Best Picture: Amadeus
 * Best Director: Miloš Forman - Amadeus
 * Best Actor: F. Murray Abraham - Amadeus
 * Best Actress: Sally Field - Places in the Heart
 * Best Supporting Actor: Haing S. Ngor - The Killing Fields
 * Best Supporting Actress: Peggy Ashcroft - A Passage to India
 * Best Foreign Language Film: La diagonale du fou (Dangerous Moves), directed by Richard Dembo, Switzerland

Golden Globe Awards:


 * Drama:
 * Best Picture: Amadeus
 * Best Actor: F. Murray Abraham - Amadeus
 * Best Actress: Sally Field - Places in the Heart


 * Musical or comedy:
 * Best Picture: Romancing the Stone
 * Best Actor: Dudley Moore - Micki & Maude
 * Best Actress: Kathleen Turner - Romancing the Stone


 * Other
 * Best Director: Miloš Forman - Amadeus
 * Best Foreign English Language Film: A Passage to India, U.K. / U.S.A.

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
 * Paris, Texas, directed by Wim Wenders, France / W. Germany

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
 * A Year of the Quiet Sun (Rok spokojnego slonca), directed by Krzysztof Zanussi,

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
 * Love Streams, directed by John Cassavetes, United States

Christmas films released in 1984

 * 1) A Christmas Carol

Births

 * January 25 - Kaiji Tang, voice actor
 * January 30 - Michael Aloni, Israeli actor
 * January 30 - Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (Kid Cudi) American recording artist
 * February 12 - Alexandra Dahlström, Swedish actress
 * February 13 - Brina Palencia, voice actress
 * February 24 - Nicholas Saputra, Indonesian actor
 * March 2 - Ian Sinclair, voice actor
 * March 7 - Brandon T. Jackson, American stand-up comedian, rapper, actor, and writer
 * March 10 - Olivia Wilde, American actress
 * March 20 - Christy Carlson Romano, American stage and film actress and singer
 * March 25 - Katharine McPhee, American singer and actress
 * April 2 - Ashley Peldon, American actress
 * April 8
 * Kirsten Storms, American actress
 * Taran Noah Smith, American actor
 * April 10
 * Mandy Moore, American singer-songwriter and actress
 * Cara DeLizia, American actress
 * April 18 - America Ferrera, American actress
 * April 21- Praveenprem, South Indian actor
 * June 19 - Paul Dano, American actor
 * June 24 - Lucien Dodge, voice actor
 * June 30 - Fantasia Barrino, American singer and actress
 * July 11 - Serinda Swan, Canadian actress
 * July 19 - Andrea Libman, Canadian actress, voice actress, pianist, and singer
 * July 27
 * Kenny Wormald, American actor
 * Taylor Schilling, American actress
 * September 3 - Garrett Hedlund, American actor
 * September 18 - Nina Arianda, American actress
 * September 22 - Laura Vandervoort, Canadian actress
 * September 23 - Anneliese van der Pol, Dutch-American actress and singer
 * September 27 - Avril Lavigne, Canadian singer-songwriter
 * October 3 - Ashlee Simpson, American actress and singer
 * October 25 - Katy Perry, American singer-songwriter and actress
 * October 27 - Kelly Osbourne, English actress and singer
 * November 16 - Kimberly J. Brown, American actress
 * November 17 - Lauren Maltby, American actress
 * November 21
 * Jena Malone, American actress
 * Lindsey Haun, American actress and singer
 * November 22 - Scarlett Johansson, American actress
 * November 23 - Lucas Grabeel, American actor and singer
 * November 28 - Mary Elizabeth Winstead, American actress
 * December 5 - Lauren London, American actress

Film debuts

 * Jesse Bradford - Falling in Love
 * Jennifer Connelly - Once Upon a Time in America
 * Jon Cryer - No Small Affair
 * Johnny Depp - A Nightmare on Elm Street
 * Tate Donovan - No Small Affair
 * Colin Firth - Another Country
 * Rupert Everett - Another Country
 * Sarah Michelle Gellar - Over the Brooklyn Bridge
 * Heather Graham - Mrs. Soffel
 * Seth Green - Billions for Boris
 * Jennifer Grey - Reckless
 * Val Kilmer - Top Secret!
 * Andie MacDowell - Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
 * Kyle MacLachlan - Dune
 * John Malkovich - Places in the Heart
 * Frances McDormand - Blood Simple
 * Connie Nielsen - Par où t'es rentré ? On t'a pas vu sortir
 * Aidan Quinn - Reckless
 * Lou Diamond Phillips - Interface
 * Tim Roth - The Hit
 * Charlie Sheen - Red Dawn
 * Elisabeth Shue - The Karate Kid
 * Helen Slater - Supergirl
 * Jennifer Tilly - No Small Affair
 * Marisa Tomei - The Flamingo Kid
 * Jean-Claude Van Damme - Breakin'
 * Lars von Trier (director)
 * Ken Watanabe - MacArthur's Children
 * Damon Wayans - Beverly Hills Cop
 * Michelle Yeoh - The Owl vs Bombo
 * Daphne Zuniga - The Initiation