| Rank | Release
| Genre
| Budget
| Running Time
| Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Release Date | Distributor
| Estimated
|
|---|
| 1 | Superman | - | - | - | $93,292,767 | 817 | $134,218,018 | Dec 15 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 2 | The Amityville Horror | - | - | - | $86,432,000 | 748 | $86,432,000 | Jul 27 | American International Pictures (AIP) | false |
| 3 | Rocky II | - | - | - | $85,182,160 | 780 | $85,182,160 | Jun 15 | United Artists | false |
| 4 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | - | - | - | $82,258,456 | 1,002 | $82,258,456 | Dec 7 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 5 | Alien | - | - | - | $78,944,891 | 757 | $78,944,891 | May 25 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 6 | Apocalypse Now | - | - | - | $78,784,010 | 3 | $78,784,010 | Aug 15 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 7 | 10 | - | - | - | $74,865,517 | 706 | $74,865,517 | Oct 5 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 8 | The Jerk | - | - | - | $73,691,419 | 525 | $73,691,419 | Dec 14 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 9 | Moonraker | - | - | - | $70,308,099 | 788 | $70,308,099 | Jun 29 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 10 | Meatballs | - | - | - | $43,046,003 | 7 | $43,046,003 | Jun 29 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 11 | Escape from Alcatraz | - | - | - | $43,000,000 | 815 | $43,000,000 | Jun 22 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 12 | Manhattan | - | - | - | $39,946,780 | 29 | $39,946,780 | Apr 25 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 13 | All That Jazz | - | - | - | $37,823,676 | 5 | $37,823,676 | Dec 20 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 14 | 1941 | - | - | - | $31,755,742 | 325 | $31,755,742 | Dec 14 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 15 | The Champ | - | - | - | $30,441,738 | 563 | $30,441,738 | Apr 4 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 16 | The Rose | - | - | - | $29,174,648 | 44 | $29,174,648 | Nov 7 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 17 | The Warriors | - | - | - | $22,490,039 | 551 | $22,490,039 | Feb 9 | Paramount Pictures | false |
| 18 | Norma Rae | - | - | - | $22,228,000 | 48 | $22,228,000 | Mar 2 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 19 | National Lampoon's Animal House 1979 Re-release | - | - | - | $21,508,877 | 40 | $21,508,877 | Sep 21 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 20 | La Cage aux Folles | - | - | - | $20,424,259 | 5 | $20,424,259 | Mar 30 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 21 | Dracula | - | - | - | $20,158,970 | 395 | $20,158,970 | Jul 20 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 22 | Life of Brian | - | - | - | $19,398,164 | 5 | $19,398,164 | Aug 17 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 23 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | - | - | - | $17,046,340 | 934 | $21,671,241 | Mar 30 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 24 | Breaking Away | - | - | - | $16,424,918 | 95 | $16,424,918 | Jul 13 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 25 | Roller Boogie | - | - | - | $13,253,715 | 478 | $13,253,715 | Dec 19 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 26 | The Great Train Robbery | - | - | - | $13,027,857 | 54 | $13,027,857 | Feb 2 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 27 | Kramer vs. Kramer | - | - | - | $11,811,688 | 898 | $106,260,000 | Dec 19 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 28 | Fiddler on the Roof 1979 Re-release | - | - | - | $10,404,330 | 456 | $10,404,330 | Nov 7 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 29 | The Frisco Kid | - | - | - | $9,346,177 | 26 | $9,346,177 | Jul 13 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 30 | The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh | - | - | - | $8,281,246 | 1 | $8,281,246 | Nov 2 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 31 | The Prisoner of Zenda | - | - | - | $7,650,600 | 417 | $7,650,600 | May 25 | Universal Pictures | false |
| 32 | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope | - | - | - | $6,760,165 | 1,750 | $307,263,857 | May 25 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 33 | Cuba | - | - | - | $5,610,280 | 331 | $5,610,280 | Dec 21 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 34 | Butch and Sundance: The Early Days | - | - | - | $5,136,913 | 689 | $5,136,913 | Jun 15 | Twentieth Century Fox | false |
| 35 | The Great Santini | - | - | - | $4,702,575 | 87 | $4,702,575 | Oct 26 | Warner Bros. | false |
| 36 | Lost and Found | - | - | - | $3,223,197 | 382 | $3,223,197 | Jun 22 | Columbia Pictures | false |
| 37 | Voices | - | - | - | $2,631,244 | 2 | $2,631,244 | Mar 14 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 38 | Rich Kids | - | - | - | $1,856,122 | 5 | $1,856,122 | Aug 17 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 39 | Last Embrace | - | - | - | $1,537,125 | 266 | $1,537,125 | May 2 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
| 40 | The Passage | - | - | - | $1,101,186 | 17 | $1,101,186 | Mar 9 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | false |
