10 Highest-Grossing '80s Movies Ranked Worst To Best
8. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
Year: 1982
Box Office: $435 million
The highest grossing 1980s film of all time is also one of Steven Spielberg's best. It's certainly his most personal, despite the presence of a beer drinking alien with the power of flight, because of its abandonment anxiety and its belief in the power of imagination.
It also mapped out the heart of all Amblin movies that came after it - establishing a prototypical feeling that would become synonymous with that tangible Spielbergian magic. When people say that, they may not realise, but they're more than likely unconsciously calling upon the story-telling pillars of E.T.
It's sentimental - something that is oddly seen as a reason for criticism from some quarters - but it is wholly successful in its agenda thanks to Spielberg's honesty and it absolutely owns the entire Venn diagram of the space where family movies and sci-fi intersect.
And while he may have been buoyed by the stunning successes of his movies this decade, let's all be grateful that he didn't go ahead with the extremely weird-sounding sequel that was once on the table.