The year 1989 involved many significant films.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 1989 by worldwide gross are as follows:
+ Highest-grossing films of 1989 Rank Title Distributor Worldwide gross 1 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Paramount $474,171,806 2 Batman Warner Bros. $411,569,241 3 Back to the Future Part II Universal $332,950,002 4 Look Who's Talking Tri-Star $297,999,813 5 Dead Poets Society Touchstone $235,860,116 6 Lethal Weapon 2 Warner Bros. $227,853,986 7 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Walt Disney Pictures $222,724,172 8 Ghostbusters II Columbia $215,394,738 9 The Little Mermaid Walt Disney Pictures $184,155,863The Little Mermaid Domestic grosses (US & Canada): International grosses (outside US & Canada): 10 Born on the Fourth of July Universal $162,001,698
Events Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million. Basinger would lose the town to her partner in the deal, the pension fund of Chicago-based Ameritech Corp., in 1993 after being forced to file for bankruptcy when a California judge ordered her to pay $7.4 million for refusing to honor a verbal contract to star in the film Boxing Helena. A director's cut of Lawrence of Arabia is released with a 227-minute length. The restoration was undertaken by Robert A. Harris under the supervision of director David Lean. May 24 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is released by Paramount Pictures. It is the third installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. June 13 – The James Bond film Licence to Kill is released. It would be followed by years of legal wrangling over the future of the popular series. The next Bond film, GoldenEye, will be released in 1995. June 23 Batman is released by Warner Bros., earning more than $410 million worldwide. It established the public and critical attention of director Tim Burton. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is released by Walt Disney Pictures, marking the directorial debut of visual effects supervisor Joe Johnston, who later went on to direct The Rocketeer, Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III, and Captain America: The First Avenger. July 7 – Lethal Weapon 2 is released by Warner Bros., becoming both the highest-grossing film in the franchise and the highest grossing R-rated film of the year at the domestic box-office. July 11 – Screen, stage, and Shakespearian legend Laurence Olivier died peacefully at his British home, after appearing in his last filmed role as an old soldier in War Requiem. August 2 – Ron Howard's family comedy Parenthood, starring Steve Martin, Tom Hulce, and Rick Moranis, is released by Universal Pictures. September 28 – Sony announce its intention to buy Columbia Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures. The deal is completed in November for a total cost of nearly $5 billion. They appoint Peter Guber and Jon Peters as co-chairman, in a further deal that cost up to $1 billion, after settling a lawsuit with Warner Bros. November 7 – Andrew G. Vajna agrees to sell his stake in Carolco Pictures to his co-chairman and co-founder Mario Kassar for $106 million. November 17 – The Little Mermaid becomes a critical and commercial success, bringing new life to Walt Disney Feature Animation. This film also reinvigorated public and critical interest in The Walt Disney Company, which would become one of the most prestigious corporations of the 1990s. November 22 – Back to the Future Part II is released by Universal Pictures.
Awards Category/Organization 47th Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 20, 1990 62nd Academy AwardsMarch 26, 1990 43rd BAFTA Awards1990 Drama Comedy or Musical Best Film Born on the Fourth of July Driving Miss Daisy Dead Poets Society Best Director Oliver StoneBorn on the Fourth of July Kenneth BranaghHenry V Best Actor Tom CruiseBorn on the Fourth of July Morgan FreemanDriving Miss Daisy Daniel Day-LewisMy Left Foot Best Actress Michelle PfeifferThe Fabulous Baker Boys Jessica TandyDriving Miss Daisy Pauline CollinsShirley Valentine Best Supporting Actor Denzel WashingtonGlory Ray McAnallyMy Left Foot Best Supporting Actress Julia RobertsSteel Magnolias Brenda FrickerMy Left Foot Michelle PfeifferDangerous Liaisons Best Screenplay, Adapted Ron Kovic and Oliver StoneBorn on the Fourth of July Alfred UhryDriving Miss Daisy Christopher HamptonDangerous Liaisons Best Screenplay, Original Tom SchulmanDead Poets Society Nora EphronWhen Harry Met Sally... Best Original Score The Little MermaidAlan Menken Dead Poets SocietyMaurice Jarre Best Original Song "Under the Sea"The Little Mermaid N/A Best Foreign Language Film Cinema Paradiso Life and Nothing But
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival) Sex, Lies, and Videotape, directed by Steven Soderburgh, United States
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival) A City of Sadness (Bēiqíng chéngshì), directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan
Golden Bear (Berlin International Film Festival) Rain Man, directed by Barry Levinson, United States
People's Choice Award (Toronto International Film Festival): Roger & Me, directed by Michael Moore, United States
1989 films By country/region List of American films of 1989 List of Argentine films of 1989 List of Australian films of 1989 List of Bangladeshi films of 1989 List of British films of 1989 List of Canadian films of 1989 List of French films of 1989 List of Hong Kong films of 1989 List of Japanese films of 1989 List of Mexican films of 1989 List of South Korean films of 1989 List of Soviet films of 1989 List of Spanish films of 1989
By genre/medium List of action films of 1989 List of animated feature films of 1989 List of avant-garde films of 1989 List of comedy films of 1989 List of drama films of 1989 List of horror films of 1989 List of science fiction films of 1989 List of thriller films of 1989 List of western films of 1989
Births January 1 – Zoe Boyle, British actress January 3 – Alex D. Linz, American actor January 6 - Max Pirkis, English actor January 8 – Karan Soni, Indian-American actor January 9 – Nina Dobrev, Bulgarian-Canadian actress and model January 13 – Andy Allo, Cameroonian-American singer-songwriter and actress January 14 – Emma Greenwell, American-born English actress January 15 - Ryan Corr, Australian actor January 16 Rila Fukushima, Japanese actress and model Yvonne Zima, American actress January 17 – Kelly Marie Tran, American actress January 20 Krys Marshall, American actress Nic Westaway, Australian actor and singer January 23 – April Pearson, English actress January 20 – Piret Krumm, Estonian actress January 26 – Hannah Arterton, American actress January 29 – Kaspar Velberg, Estonian actor January 30 Kylie Bunbury, Canadian-American actress Khleo Thomas, American actor February 1 – Marco Pigossi, Brazilian actor February 2 - Alex Sharp, English actor February 3 – Ryne Sanborn, American former actor February 4 Märt Pius, Estonian actor Priit Pius, Estonian actor February 5 – Jeremy Sumpter, American actor February 10 – Olga Korsak, Latvian actress February 11 - Adele Haenel, French actress February 12 Odelya Halevi, Israeli actress Katy O'Brian, American actress February 13 Carly McKillip, Canadian actress and singer Katie Volding, American actress February 16 – Elizabeth Olsen, American actress February 19 - Griffin Newman, American actor and comedian February 21 Corbin Bleu, American actor and singer Scout Taylor-Compton, American actress and singer February 24 – Daniel Kaluuya, English actor February 28 Aaron Moten, American actor Angelababy, Hong Kong actress and singer March 1 – Daniella Monet, American actress and singer March 2 – Nathalie Emmanuel, English actress and model March 3 – Andrea Brooks, Canadian actress and model March 5 Jake Lloyd, American actor Sterling Knight, American actor and musician March 11 Rainey Qualley, American actress and singer Anton Yelchin, Russian-American actor (died 2016) March 15 Tom Bateman, British actor Caitlin Wachs, American actress March 17 Morfydd Clark, Welsh actress Harry Melling, English actor March 18 – Lily Collins, English-American actress March 20 – Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor and director March 21 – Takeru Sato, Japanese actor March 23 – Ayesha Curry, Canadian-American actress March 25 Matthew Beard, English actor and model Aly Michalka, American actress and singer April 2 – Liis Lass, Estonian actress April 5 Freddie Fox, English actor, director and voice artist Lily James, English actress April 8 – Gabriella Wilde, English model and actress April 9 – Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Norwegian actress April 12 – Yoshi Sudarso, Indonesian-born American actor April 17 - Beau Knapp, American actor April 18 – Alia Shawkat, American actress April 19 – Simu Liu, Canadian actor, writer, producer and stuntman April 26 – Luke Bracey, Australian actor April 29 Sophie Charlotte, Brazilian actress Gabriel Chavarria, American-Hispanic actor April 30 - Alex Hafner, international actor May 5 – Larissa Wilson, English actress May 10 – Lindsey Shaw, American actress May 12 – Mimi Gianopulos, American actress May 16 – Pääru Oja, Estonian actor May 18 – Jona Xiao, American actress May 21 - Emily Robins, New Zealand actress May 23 – Alberto Frezza, Italian–American actor May 24 Tara Correa-McMullen, American actress (died 2005) Brianne Howey, American actress May 29 Riley Keough, American actress Brandon Mychal Smith, American actor, singer and rapper Mathew Waters, Australian actor May 30 – Kevin Covais, American actor and singer-songwriter June 3 Megumi Han, Japanese voice actress Imogen Poots, English actress Daniela Vega, Chilean actress June 5 - Elizabeth Ludlow, American actress June 12 Jade Anouka, English actress Stephanie Bennett, Canadian actress June 13 - Irina Gorovaia, American actress June 14 Lucy Hale, American actress and singer Courtney Halverson, American actress Tobit Raphael, American actor Ellie White, English actress and comedian June 18 – Renee Olstead, American actress and singer June 19 – Giacomo Gianniotti, Italian-Canadian actor June 20 Eve Harlow, Soviet-Canadian actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor June 21 – Jascha Washington, American actor June 23 – Marielle Jaffe, American actress, singer and model June 24 - Rafi Gavron, British actor June 25 Edgar Morais, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor, director, and screenwriter June 26 – Carlos Lopez, American stunt performer (died 2014) June 27 Kimiko Glenn, American actress Kelley Jakle, American actress and singer-songwriter Matthew Lewis, English actor July 1 Mitch Hewer, English actor Hannah Murray, English actress July 3 – Kento Kaku, Japanese actor July 7 - Alice Orr-Ewing, British actress July 11 David Henrie, American actor Shareeka Epps, American actress July 12 – Phoebe Tonkin, Australian actress and model July 13 - Leon Bridges, American singer-songwriter and actor July 14 – Alisha Wainwright, American actress July 16 – Kim Woo-bin, South Korean actor July 19 – James Austin Johnson, American comedian and actor July 21 Rory Culkin, American actor Jasmine Cephas Jones, American actress, singer and producer Juno Temple, English actress Jing Tian, Chinese actress Jamie Waylett, British former actor July 23 – Daniel Radcliffe, English actor July 25 – Andrew Caldwell, American actor July 27 – Charlotte Arnold, Canadian actress July 31 Alexis Knapp, American actress Sofia Pernas, American actress Jessica Williams, American actress and comedian Zelda Williams, American actress, director, producer and writer August 1 – Landry Allbright, American actress, writer and editor August 2 – Priscilla Betti, French actress August 9 - Paige Spara, American actress August 10 Marcus Rosner, Canadian actor Brenton Thwaites, Australian actor August 14 – Artyom Bogucharsky, Russian actor August 15 Joe Jonas, American singer and actor (Jonas Brothers) Carlos PenaVega, actor (Big Time Rush)