Domestic Box Office For December 1988
| Rank | Release | Gross | Max Th | Opening | % of Total | Open Th | Open | Close | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rain Man | $172,825,435 | 1,590 | $7,005,719 | 4.1% | 1,248 | Dec 16 | - | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) |
| 2 | Twins | $111,938,388 | 1,659 | $11,174,980 | 10% | 1,396 | Dec 9 | - | Universal Pictures |
| 3 | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | $78,756,177 | 1,969 | $9,331,746 | 11.8% | 1,576 | Dec 2 | - | Paramount Pictures |
| 4 | Working Girl | $63,779,477 | 1,149 | $4,718,485 | 7.4% | 1,051 | Dec 23 | - | Twentieth Century Fox |
| 5 | Beaches | $57,041,866 | 1,122 | $198,361 | 0.3% | 7 | Dec 23 | - | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| 6 | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | $42,039,085 | 1,515 | $3,840,498 | 9.1% | 1,466 | Dec 16 | - | Orion Pictures |
| 7 | Tequila Sunrise | $41,292,551 | 1,411 | $6,350,974 | 15.4% | 1,115 | Dec 2 | - | Warner Bros. |
| 8 | Dangerous Liaisons | $34,670,720 | 762 | $84,451 | 0.2% | 3 | Dec 23 | - | Warner Bros. |
| 9 | Mississippi Burning | $34,603,943 | 1,134 | $225,034 | 0.7% | 9 | Dec 9 | Jun 15 | Orion Pictures |
| 10 | The Accidental Tourist | $32,632,093 | 954 | $97,578 | 0.3% | 3 | Dec 23 | Apr 6 | Warner Bros. |
| 11 | My Stepmother Is an Alien | $13,854,000 | 1,148 | $2,066,980 | 14.9% | 1,106 | Dec 9 | - | Columbia Pictures |
| 12 | I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | $13,030,057 | 266 | $543,588 | 4.2% | 135 | Dec 16 | - | United Artists |
| 13 | Hellbound: Hellraiser II | $12,090,735 | 1,187 | $3,185,511 | 26.3% | 1,180 | Dec 23 | - | New World Pictures |
| 14 | Torch Song Trilogy | $4,865,997 | 135 | $70,022 | 1.4% | 6 | Dec 16 | Jun 1 | New Line Cinema |
| 15 | Talk Radio | $3,468,572 | 653 | $80,547 | 2.3% | 6 | Dec 23 | - | Universal Pictures |
| 16 | Pelle the Conqueror | $2,053,931 | 42 | $45,985 | 2.2% | 10 | Dec 21 | May 18 | Miramax |
| 17 | Watchers | $940,173 | 161 | $260,820 | 27.7% | 161 | Dec 2 | - | Universal Pictures |
| 18 | We Think the World of You | $20,998 | 1 | $5,465 | 26% | 1 | Dec 22 | Jan 5 | Cinecom Pictures |
| 19 | Haunted Summer | $9,911 | 1 | $4,726 | 47.7% | 1 | Dec 16 | - | Cannon Film Distributors |
