| Rank | Release
| Weekly | Weekend | % of Week | Weekdays | % of Week | Theaters | Week | Distributor
| New This Week
| Estimated
|
|---|
| 1 | Lone Wolf McQuade | $5,781,279 | $4,295,300 | 74.3% | $1,485,979 | 25.7% | 1,221 | 1 | Orion Pictures | - | false |
| 2 | Flashdance | $5,653,053 | $4,076,124 | 72.1% | $1,576,929 | 27.9% | 1,140 | 1 | Paramount Pictures | - | false |
| 3 | Tootsie | $3,842,492 | $3,103,088 | 80.8% | $739,404 | 19.2% | 1,064 | 18 | Columbia Pictures | - | false |
| 4 | Gandhi | $3,813,094 | $2,891,847 | 75.8% | $921,247 | 24.2% | 825 | 19 | Columbia Pictures | - | false |
| 5 | The Outsiders | $2,806,925 | $2,188,897 | 78% | $618,028 | 22% | 922 | 4 | Warner Bros. | - | false |
| 6 | Max Dugan Returns | $2,445,199 | $1,940,582 | 79.4% | $504,617 | 20.6% | 716 | 4 | Twentieth Century Fox | - | false |
| 7 | Spring Break | $2,396,097 | $1,918,920 | 80.1% | $477,177 | 19.9% | 1,170 | 4 | Columbia Pictures | - | false |
| 8 | Monty Python's the Meaning of Life | $2,299,171 | $1,831,717 | 79.7% | $467,454 | 20.3% | 394 | 3 | Universal Pictures | - | false |
| 9 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | $2,047,741 | $1,557,590 | 76.1% | $490,151 | 23.9% | 689 | 45 | Universal Pictures | - | false |
| 10 | High Road to China | $2,004,740 | $1,530,168 | 76.3% | $474,572 | 23.7% | 849 | 5 | Warner Bros. | - | false |
| 11 | Sophie's Choice | $1,503,823 | $1,115,140 | 74.2% | $388,683 | 25.8% | 457 | 19 | Universal Pictures | - | false |
| 12 | 48 Hrs. | $1,422,904 | $1,024,043 | 72% | $398,861 | 28% | 530 | 19 | Paramount Pictures | - | false |
| 13 | The Sword in the Stone | $1,273,005 | $1,005,674 | 79% | $267,331 | 21% | 614 | 4 | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | - | false |
| 14 | Bad Boys | $880,364 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | Universal Pictures | - | false |
| 15 | My Tutor | $726,876 | $484,881 | 66.7% | $241,995 | 33.3% | 153 | 7 | Crown | - | false |
| 16 | Local Hero | $527,712 | $389,580 | 73.8% | $138,132 | 26.2% | 80 | 9 | Warner Bros. | - | false |
| - | The Black Stallion Returns | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | - | false |
| - | Tender Mercies | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | Universal Pictures | - | false |
| - | Caveman | - | - | - | - | - | - | 105 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | - | false |
