I'm bored tonight, so what the heck...#1's from 30 years ago and 20 years ago:

1982:

Time Bandits
Absence of Malice
On Golden Pond
Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip
Porky's (8 weeks!)
Conan the Barbarian
Rocky III
Star Trek 2
E.T. (17 weeks )
Zapped!
An Officer and a Gentleman
First Blood
Creepshow
The Empire Strikes Back (reissue)
The Toy
Tootsie

1992:

Hook
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Medicine Man
Wayne's World
Basic Instinct
White Men Can't Jump
Sleepwalkers
Lethal Weapon 3
Patriot Games
Batman Returns
League of Their Own
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
Mo' Money
Death Becomes Her
Unforgiven
Honeymoon in Vegas
Sneakers
The Last of the Mohicans
Under Siege
Passenger 57
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Home Alone 2
A Few Good Men
Aladdin

I didn't realize Mo' Money was such a hit!

We went to see Tootsie in '82 and my sister thought we were going to see The Dark Crystal -- she was so pissed.

In 1972, I saw none of those movies in theaters because I was -7 years old.

In 1982, I fared better. I saw E.T. and that was it.

In 1992, the ones that I didn't see were Basic Instinct, Patriot Games, Unforgiven, Honeymoon in Vegas, Sneakers, The Last of the Mohicans, A Few Good Men and Aladdin. Yes, I even saw Mo' Money.

The only ones in 92 I saw in theaters were Hook and Batman Returns, I think. I don't think I ever saw Medicine Man.

Interesting. Both of those years were gaps in my life. In 1982, I was poor. I didn't see any movies in the theater. In 1992, I was just getting back on my feet after losing a job, and I didn't see any of those movies in the theater either.

1982
I think I saw Time Bandits in the theater -- I definitely remember seeing the trailer.
Star Trek 2:  The Wrath of Khan
The Toy
Tootsie

1992
Wayne's World
The Last of the Mohicans
A Few Good Men

Wow, '82 is an impressively short list. ET at #1 for 17 weeks? That's crazy impressive.

Not sure why I skipped, '02, but it looks like we need one more list Fist(when you're bored of course).

Indeed.

I saw 5 of the 1992 list in the theaters. Pretty good for a 9 year old.

In theaters: I saw 15 from the 1972 list, 7 from the 1982 list, 14 from the 1992 list, and only 4 from the 2011 list in post #19.

I had no idea that at one time, Zapped! was the #1 movie at the box office. Wow.

I thought for sure that Tron would have made this list, even for just one week, but E.T. (in its fifth week of release) took in almost 3x as much as Tron on its opening weekend.

As for me, I saw 0 of the 1972 films theatrically, 4 of the 1982, 9 of the 1992, and 3 of the 2011.

I wasn't quite born yet in 1982 but the only 1992 movie I saw in theaters there was Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.

I didn't go to the movies much until the later 90s when I would go with friends.

Smart business model on Hollywoods part but I wonder if they shifted to far the other way. You have an entire segment of the adult population who have no interestest in most of the Fanboy/Kiddiecentric stuff that dominates the box office and would wholly embrace adult drama but for the most part have abandoned the theater going experience. Looking at the success of all the 2011 bp oscar nominees(even an art film like Black Swan hit 100m) there clearly is a untapped market out there.

Heh - I'll be bored all week! I've got pretty much nothing to do this week, sooo...I went through the last 30 years last night and tallied the number of #1 movies:



Fun facts:

-Star Wars stretched its #1 status (off and on) from May to October.

-Richard Pryor was a surprisingly good box office draw well into the 1980s (The Toy, Superman III, Critical Condition, Jo Jo Dancer, You're Life is Calling, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Harlem Knights and 2 stand-up movies). None of them had legs, though.

-Good Morning, Vietnam was #1 for 9 weeks

-Jaws was #1 for all of summer 1975 (holy cow!), and a total of 14 weeks.

-9 of the 1981 #1's (35%) were horror films.

It seems like most the drama and programs geared toward an adult audience are now on television, especially pay cable: Borgias, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy, etc.

I think there are still drama movies made for adults, but they don't get much promotion, except for a handful at the end of the year that get awards attention.

Look at Woody Allen, who had a few films on the 1972 list. He's still going, making quality films for adults, but they don't get the same kinds of releases as mainstream films now. Midnight in Paris was actually a surprise hit, his biggest box office take ever, and it didn't crack the top 50 domestically last year. That film's widest release was a little over 1,000 theaters, after it had built up momentum from word of mouth.

I think part of the problem is the rising cost of seeing a movie coupled with what Josh said. With so much good drama on tv, I don't want to drop $24 (for 2) on a drama at the theater. If I'm dropping that much it's going to be an event movie that benefits from all that theaters have to offer. I can rent the dramas later.