1988 in film

The following is an overview of events in 1988 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths. Rain Man was awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture, marking one of the few instances where the top-grossing film of the year was also the winner of such an award that year.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1988 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Awards

Years in film
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s 2020

Academy Awards

Best Picture: Rain Man - Mirage Entertainment, Star Partners II, United Artists

Best Director: Barry Levinson - Rain Man

Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man

Best Actress: Jodie Foster - The Accused

Best Supporting Actor: Kevin Kline - A Fish Called Wanda

Best Supporting Actress: Geena Davis - The Accidental Tourist

Best Foreign Language Film: Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle erobreren), directed by Bille August, Denmark

Golden Globe Awards

Drama

Best Picture: Rain Man

Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman – Rain Man

Best Actress (tie): Jodie Foster – The Accused

Best Actress (tie): Sigourney Weaver – Gorillas in the Mist

Best Actress (tie): Shirley MacLaine - Madame Sousatzka

Musical or comedy

Best Picture: Working Girl

Best Actor: Tom Hanks – Big

Best Actress: Melanie Griffith – Working Girl

Other

Best Director: Clint Eastwood – Bird

Best Foreign Language Film: Pelle the Conqueror, Denmark

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival)

Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle erobreren), directed by Bille August, Denmark

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival)

La leggenda del santo bevitore (The Legend of the Holy Drinker), directed by Ermanno Olmi, Italy / France

Golden Bear (Berlin International Film Festival)

Red Sorghum (Hong gao liang), directed by Zhang Yimou, China

Golden Raspberry Awards

Worst Picture: Cocktail (Touchstone)

Worst Actor: Sylvester Stallone in Rambo III

Worst Actress: Liza Minnelli in Arthur 2: On the Rocks and Rent-a-Cop

Worst Supporting Actor: Dan Aykroyd in Caddyshack II

Worst Supporting Actress: Kristy McNichol in Two Moon Junction

Worst Director: Blake Edwards for Sunset, and Stewart Raffill for Mac and Me (tie)

Worst Screenplay: Cocktail, screenplay by Heywood Gould, based on his book

Worst New Star: Ronald McDonald (as himself) in Mac and Me

Worst Original Song: "Jack Fresh" from Caddyshack II, written and performed by Full Force

Notable films released in 1988

U.S.A. unless stated

Numerals and A-B

#

• 18 Again!, starring George Burns
• 1969, starring Robert Downey, Jr., Kiefer Sutherland, Winona Ryder

A

• The Abyss (L'Œuvre au noir), starring Gian Maria Volontè - (France/Belgium)
• Above the Law, starring Steven Seagal and Pam Grier
• The Accidental Tourist, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis, Bill Pullman
• The Accused, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, starring Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis - (Canada)
• Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone
• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Eric Idle, Uma Thurman - (U.K.)
• Akira - (Japan)
• Alice (Něco z Alenky) - (Czechoslovakia)
• Alien Nation, starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin
• Amsterdamned - (Netherlands)
• Another Woman, directed by Woody Allen, starring Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm, Gene Hackman
• Appointment With Death, starring Peter Ustinov (as Hercule Poirot), Lauren Bacall, Piper Laurie, John Gielgud, Hayley Mills, Carrie Fisher
• Ariel, directed by Aki Kaurismäki - (Finland)
• Ashik Kerib, directed by Sergei Parajanov (Soviet Union)
• Arthur 2: On the Rocks, starring Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, Kathy Bates
• As Tears Go By (Wong gok Kaa mun), directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Andy Lau and Maggie Cheung - (Hong Kong)
• Aviya's Summer (HaKayitz Shel Aviya) - (Israel)

B

• Bad Dreams, directed by Andrew Fleming, starring Jennifer Rubin
• Bat*21, starring Gene Hackman and Danny Glover
• Beaches, directed by Garry Marshall, starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey
• The Bear (L'Ours), directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud - (France)
• Bear Ye One Another's Burden (Einer trage des anderen Last) - (East Germany)
• The Beast, starring George Dzundza and Jason Patric
• Beetlejuice, directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder
• Betrayed, directed by Costa-Gavras, starring Debra Winger and Tom Berenger
• Big, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Tom Hanks
• The Big Blue, directed by Luc Besson, starring Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno - (France/U.S.A./Italy)
• Big Business, directed by Jim Abrahams, starring Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Fred Ward, Michael Gross
• Big Time, a musical starring Tom Waits
• Big Top Pee-wee, directed by Randal Kleiser, starring Paul Reubens, Valeria Golino, Penelope Ann Miller, Kris Kristofferson
• Biloxi Blues, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Matthew Broderick and Christopher Walken
• Bird, directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Forest Whitaker and Diane Venora
• Black Eagle, starring Sho Kosugi and Jean-Claude Van Damme
• Blind Justice, aka Hold My Hand I'm Dying, directed by Terence Ryan, starring Oliver Reed
• The Blob, starring Kevin Dillon and Shawnee Smith
• Bloodsport, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Forest Whitaker
• Bloodstone, directed by Dwight H. Little, starring Rajinikanth
• La Bohème, by Luigi Comencini
• The Boost, directed by Harold Becker, starring James Woods, Sean Young, Steven Hill, Amanda Blake
• Brain Damage, directed by Frank Henenlotter
• Bright Lights, Big City, directed by James Bridges, starring Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates, Dianne Wiest
• Bull Durham, directed by Ron Shelton, starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins
• Bulletproof, starring Gary Busey
• Burning Secret, starring Klaus Maria Brandauer and Faye Dunaway - (U.K./West Germany)
• Buster, starring Phil Collins and Julie Walters - (U.K.)

C-G

C

• Caddyshack II, starring Jackie Mason, Dyan Cannon, Robert Stack, Dina Merrill, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd
• Call Me, starring Patricia Charbonneau
• Camille Claudel, starring Isabelle Adjani and Gérard Depardieu - (France)
• Candy Mountain - (Switzerland/Canada/France)
• Cannibal Tours - (Australia)
• The Cannibals (Os Canibais) - (Portugal)
• The Cat Who Walked by Herself (Koshka, kotoraya gulyala sama po sebe) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Celia - (Australia)
• Chicken and Duck Talk (Gai tung aap gong) - (Hong Kong)
• Child's Play, starring Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Brad Dourif, Alex Vincent
• Chilsu and Mansu (칠수와 만수), directed by Park Kwang-su - (South Korea)
• Chithram (Picture), starring Mohanlal - (India)
• Chocolat, directed by Claire Denis - (France/Cameroon)
• The Chocolate War
• A Chorus of Disapproval, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jeremy Irons - (U.K.)
• Cinema Paradiso, starring Philippe Noiret - winner of Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for best foreign language film - (Italy)
• Clara's Heart, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Neil Patrick Harris
• Clean and Sober, directed by Glenn Gordon Caron, starring Michael Keaton, Morgan Freeman, Kathy Baker
• Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue
• Cocoon: The Return, starring Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Courteney Cox, Jessica Tandy
• Colors, directed by Dennis Hopper, starring Robert Duvall, Sean Penn, María Conchita Alonso
• Coming to America, directed by John Landis, starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley, John Amos
• Consuming Passions, starring Jonathan Pryce - (U.K.)
• Cop, starring James Woods and Lesley Ann Warren
• The Couch Trip, directed by Michael Ritchie, starring Dan Aykroyd, Charles Grodin, Donna Dixon, Mary Gross, Walter Matthau
• Crocodile Dundee II, starring Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski - (Australia)
• Crossing Delancey, starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert
• A Cry in the Dark (aka Evil Angels),^[2] directed by Fred Schepisi, starring Meryl Streep and Sam Neill - (Australia/U.S.A.)

D

• Da, starring Barnard Hughes and Martin Sheen
• Dadah is Death, starring Julie Christie and Hugo Weaving - (Australia)
• Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
• Damnation (Karhozat), directed by Béla Tarr - (Hungary)
• Dancing in the Dust - Ivorian polygyny film
• Dangerous Liaisons, directed by Stephen Frears, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves
• The Dawning, starring Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Rebecca Pidgeon - (U.K.)
• Days of Eclipse (Dni zatmeniya) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Dead Heat, starring Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo
• The Dead Pool, starring Clint Eastwood, Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, Jim Carrey
• Dead Ringers, directed by David Cronenberg, starring Jeremy Irons and Geneviève Bujold - (Canada/U.S.A.)
• Dead Solid Perfect, starring Randy Quaid, Kathryn Harrold, Corinne Bohrer
• The Deceivers, starring Pierce Brosnan, Saeed Jaffrey and Shashi Kapoor - (India)
• The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, starring Aerosmith, Kiss, Motörhead and Ozzy Osbourne
• Die Hard, directed by John McTiernan, starring Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Alan Rickman
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, directed by Frank Oz, starring Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly
• Distant Thunder, starring John Lithgow and Ralph Macchio
• Distant Voices, Still Lives, starring Pete Postlethwaite - (U.K.)
• D.O.A., starring Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan
• Dominick and Eugene, starring Tom Hulce, Ray Liotta, Jamie Lee Curtis
• Dragons Forever (Fei lung maang jeung), starring Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung - (Hong Kong)
• Dream Demon, starring Jemma Redgrave - (U.K.)
• The Dressmaker, starring Joan Plowright and Billie Whitelaw - (U.K.)
• Drowning by Numbers, directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Joan Plowright and Joely Richardson - (U.K.)

E

• Earth Girls Are Easy, directed by Julien Temple, starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, Jim Carrey
• Eight Men Out, directed by John Sayles, starring John Cusack, David Strathairn, John Mahoney, Michael Rooker, D. B. Sweeney, Charlie Sheen
• The Eighth Happiness (Baat seng bou hei), starring Chow Yun-fat - (Hong Kong)
• Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, starring Cassandra Peterson
• Ernest Saves Christmas, starring Jim Varney
• The Everlasting Secret Family
• Everybody's All-American, directed by Taylor Hackford, starring Dennis Quaid, Jessica Lange, Timothy Hutton, Patricia Clarkson, John Goodman

F

• Far North, directed by Sam Shepard, starring Jessica Lange
• Feds, starring Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross
• The First Kangaroos, starring Dennis Waterman - (U.K./Australia)
• A Fish Called Wanda, directed by Charles Crichton, starring John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin - (U.K./U.S.A.)
• FleshEater
• Frantic, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Harrison Ford
• Fresh Horses, directed by David Anspaugh, starring Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy
• Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, directed by John Carl Buechler, starring Lar Park Lincoln and Kevin Blair
• Fright Night Part 2, starring William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall
• The Fruit Machine, directed by Philip Saville - (U.K.)
• Full Moon in Blue Water, starring Gene Hackman and Teri Garr
• Funny Farm, starring Chevy Chase

G

• The Gamble, starring Matthew Modine, Faye Dunaway, Jennifer Beals - (Italy)
• Georgia, starring Judy Davis - (Australia)
• Ghosts… of the Civil Dead - (Australia)
• The Good Mother, starring Diane Keaton and Liam Neeson
• Gorillas in the Mist, directed by Michael Apted, starring Sigourney Weaver
• Gotham (aka) The Dead Can't Lie, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Virginia Madsen
• Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka) - (Japan)
• The Great Outdoors, directed by Howard Deutch, starring Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Annette Bening

H-M

H

• Hairspray, directed by John Waters, starring Ricki Lake, Divine, Jerry Stiller, Sonny Bono, Deborah Harry
• A Handful of Dust, starring James Wilby and Kristin Scott Thomas - (U.K.)
• Hanna's War, starring Ellen Burstyn
• Hanussen, directed by István Szabó, starring Klaus Maria Brandauer - (Hungary)
• Hatya, starring Govinda and Neelam - (India)
• Hawks, starring Timothy Dalton and Anthony Edwards - (U.K.)
• Heart of a Dog (Sobachye serdtse) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Heart of Midnight, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh
• Heathers, starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater
• Heartbreak Hotel, directed by Chris Columbus, starring David Keith
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II - (U.K./U.S.A.)
• Hero Hiralal, starring Naseeruddin Shah - (India)
• High Hopes, directed by Mike Leigh - (U.K.)
• High Spirits, directed by Neil Jordan, starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Guttenberg, Daryl Hannah
• Hollow Gate
• Hot to Trot, starring Bobcat Goldthwait and Dabney Coleman
• Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (Hôtel Terminus: Klaus Barbie, sa vie et son temps), directed by Marcel Ophüls - (France)
• The House on Carroll Street, directed by Peter Yates, starring Kelly McGillis and Jeff Daniels
• How Poets are Enjoying Their Lives (Jak básníkům chutná život) - (Czechoslovakia)

I

• Illegally Yours, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Rob Lowe and Colleen Camp
• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, directed by and starring Keenen Ivory Wayans
• Iron Eagle II, starring Louis Gossett, Jr.
• It Couldn't Happen Here, starring Pet Shop Boys - (U.K.)

J

• Johnny Be Good, starring Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey, Jr., Uma Thurman

K

• Kamilla and the Thief (Kamilla og Tyven) - (Norway)
• Kansas, starring Matt Dillon and Andrew McCarthy
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space
• The Kiss, starring Joanna Pacuła and Meredith Salenger - (U.S.A./Canada)
• Kung-Fu Master (a.k.a. Le Petit Amour), starring Jane Birkin and Charlotte Gainsbourg - (France)

L

• Lady in White
• The Lair of the White Worm, directed by Ken Russell, starring Amanda Donohoe and Hugh Grant - (U.K.)
• The Land Before Time, directed by Don Bluth
• Landscape in the Mist (Topio stin omichli) - (Greece)
• Last Rites, starring Daphne Zuniga, Tom Berenger, Anne Twomey
• The Last Temptation of Christ, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey
• La Leggenda del Santo Bevitore (The Legend Of The Holy Drinker), starring Rutger Hauer - Golden Lion award - (Italy/France)
• License to Drive, starring Corey Haim and Corey Feldman
• Life Is a Long Quiet River (La vie est un long fleuve tranquille) - (France)
• Light Years (Gandahar) - (France)
• The Little Devil (Il Piccolo Diavolo), starring Walter Matthau, Roberto Benigni (also director) - (Italy)
• Little Dorrit, starring Derek Jacobi and Alec Guinness - (U.K.)
• Little Vera (Malenkaya Vera) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Love and Fear (Fürchten und Lieben|Trois Soeurs), starring Fanny Ardant, Greta Scacchi, Valeria Golino - (West Germany/France/Italy)

M

• Madame Sousatzka, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Shirley MacLaine - (U.K.)
• Maison Ikkoku: The Final Chapter - (Japan)
• Mapantsula - (South Africa)
• Married to the Mob, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Oliver Platt, Mercedes Ruehl, Alec Baldwin
• Masquerade, directed by Bob Swaim, starring Rob Lowe, Meg Tilly, Kim Cattrall
• Memories of Me, directed by Henry Winkler, starring Billy Crystal and Alan King
• Men Behind the Sun (hēi tài yáng) - (Hong Kong)
• Messenger of Death, directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Charles Bronson, Trish Van Devere, Laurence Luckinbill, John Ireland
• Midnight Run, directed by Martin Brest, starring Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina
• The Milagro Beanfield War, directed by Robert Redford, starring Rubén Blades, Sônia Braga, Christopher Walken, Melanie Griffith
• Miles from Home, starring Richard Gere and Kevin Anderson
• Miracle Mile, starring Mare Winningham and Anthony Edwards
• Mississippi Burning, directed by Alan Parker, starring Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (Kidō Senshi Gandamu: Gyakushū no Shā) - (Japan)
• The Moderns, directed by Alan Rudolph, starring Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino, John Lone
• Monkey Shines, directed by George A. Romero, starring Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Stanley Tucci
• Moon over Parador, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Raúl Juliá, Sônia Braga
• Moonwalker, starring Michael Jackson
• Moscow Elegy - (U.S.S.R.)
• Moving, starring Richard Pryor
• Mr. North, directed by Danny Huston, starring Anthony Edwards, Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall, Virginia Madsen, Anjelica Huston
• The Music Teacher (Le maître de musique) - (Belgium)
• My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) - (Japan)
• My Stepmother Is an Alien, directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Kim Basinger, Dan Aykroyd, Alyson Hannigan
• Mystic Pizza, starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor

N-Z

N

• The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, directed by David Zucker, starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O. J. Simpson
• The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey - (New Zealand)
• Necromancer
• The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking - (Sweden/U.S.A.)
• A New Life, directed by and starring Alan Alda, with Ann-Margret, John Shea, Hal Linden, Veronica Hamel
• Night of the Demons

O

• Off Limits, starring Willem Dafoe, Gregory Hines, Fred Ward
• Hack O'Lantern
• Oliver & Company, voices of Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Dom DeLuise

P

• Painted Faces (Cat siu fuk), starring Sammo Hung - (Hong Kong)
• Paperhouse, starring Ben Cross - (U.K.)
• Pascali's Island, starring Ben Kingsley and Helen Mirren - (U.K.)
• Pass the Ammo, starring Tim Curry, Linda Kozlowski, Annie Potts, Bill Paxton
• Patty Hearst, starring Natasha Richardson
• Plain Clothes, starring Arliss Howard and Suzy Amis
• Police Story 2 (Ging chaat goo si juk jaap), starring Jackie Chan and Maggie Cheung - (Hong Kong)
• Poltergeist III, starring Heather O'Rourke, Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen
• Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw
• The Presidio, directed by Peter Hyams, starring Sean Connery, Mark Harmon, Meg Ryan
• Primal Rage
• The Prince of Pennsylvania, starring Keanu Reeves, Fred Ward, Amy Madigan, Bonnie Bedelia
• Prison, starring Viggo Mortensen
• Prisoner of Rio, starring Steven Berkoff - (Poland/U.K./Brazil)
• Punchline, directed by David Seltzer, starring Sally Field, Tom Hanks, John Goodman
• Purple People Eater

Q

• Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (From Disaster to Disaster) - (India)
• Quelques jours avec moi (A Few Days with Me), starring Daniel Auteuil and Sandrine Bonnaire - (France)

R

• Rain Man, directed by Barry Levinson, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise - Academy and Golden Globe (drama) for Best Picture and Golden Bear (for 1989)
• Rambo III, starring Sylvester Stallone and Richard Crenna
• Rattle and Hum, a rockumentary featuring U2
• Red Heat, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi
• Rented Lips, directed by Robert Downey, Sr., starring Martin Mull, Dick Shawn, Jennifer Tilly, Robert Downey, Jr.
• The Rescue, starring Kevin Dillon
• Return to Snowy River - (Australia)
• Roots: The Gift
• Rouge (Jin Zi Kau), starring Leslie Cheung - (Hong Kong)
• Run for Your Life, starring David Carradine, Lauren Hutton, Franco Nero - (Italy)
• Running on Empty, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Christine Lahti, Judd Hirsch, River Phoenix, Martha Plimpton

S

• Salaam Bombay!, directed by Mira Nair - (India/U.K.)
• Salome's Last Dance, directed by Ken Russell - (U.K.)
• Sathya - (Sri Lanka)
• School Daze, directed by Spike Lee, starring Laurence Fishburne and Giancarlo Esposito
• Scrooged, directed by Richard Donner, starring Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Carol Kane, Alfre Woodard, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait
• The Secret of the Sahara, directed by Alberto Negrin, starring Michael York and Andie MacDowell
• The Seventh Sign, starring Demi Moore, Michael Biehn and Jürgen Prochnow
• Shadows in the Storm, starring Mia Sara, Michael Madsen, Ned Beatty
• Shakedown, aka Blue Jean Cop, starring Peter Weller and Sam Elliott
• She's Having a Baby, directed by John Hughes, starring Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth McGovern, Alec Baldwin
• Shoot to Kill, aka Deadly Pursuit, starring Sidney Poitier and Tom Berenger
• Short Circuit 2, starring Fisher Stevens
• A Short Film About Killing (Krótki film o zabijaniu) - (Poland)
• A Short Film About Love (Krótki film o miłości), directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski - (Poland)
• Slugs
• Some Girls, directed by Michael Hoffman, starring Patrick Dempsey and Jennifer Connelly
• Soursweet, directed by Mike Newell - (U.K.)
• Space Mutiny, directed by David Winters - (South Africa)
• Spike of Bensonhurst, starring Sasha Mitchell, Ernest Borgnine
• Split Decisions, starring Craig Sheffer, Jeff Fahey, Jennifer Beals, Gene Hackman
• Stand and Deliver, starring Edward James Olmos and Lou Diamond Phillips
• Stars and Bars, starring Daniel Day-Lewis
• Stealing Heaven, starring Derek de Lint and Kim Thomson - (U.K.)
• Stealing Home, starring Mark Harmon and Jodie Foster
• Story of Women (Une affaire de femmes), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Isabelle Huppert - (France)
• A Summer Story, starring James Wilby, Imogen Stubbs, Susannah York - (U.K.)
• Sunset, directed by Blake Edwards, starring James Garner, Bruce Willis, Malcolm McDowell, Kathleen Quinlan, Mariel Hemingway
• Sur (South) - (Argentina)
• Sweet Hearts Dance, starring Don Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Elizabeth Perkins, Jeff Daniels
• Sweet Lies, starring Treat Williams
• Switching Channels, directed by Ted Kotcheff, starring Kathleen Turner, Burt Reynolds, Christopher Reeve

T

• Taffin, starring Pierce Brosnan, Ray McAnally, Alison Doody - (Ireland)
• Tales from the Gimli Hospital - (Canada)
• Talk Radio, directed by Oliver Stone, starring Eric Bogosian, Ellen Greene, Alec Baldwin
• Tapeheads, starring John Cusack and Tim Robbins
• Tequila Sunrise, directed by Robert Towne, starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Raúl Juliá, Arliss Howard, J. T. Walsh
• Testimony, a biopic of Dmitri Shostakovich starring Ben Kingsley - (U.K.)
• They Live, directed by John Carpenter, starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster
• Things Change, directed by David Mamet, starring Joe Mantegna, Don Ameche, Robert Prosky, William H. Macy
• A Time of Destiny, starring William Hurt, Timothy Hutton, Melissa Leo
• Time of the Gypsies (Dom za vešanje) - (Yugoslavia)
• Time of Violence (Vreme na nasilie) - (Bulgaria)
• To Kill a Priest (Le Complot), starring Christopher Lambert and Ed Harris - (France)
• Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller - (Canada)
• Torch Song Trilogy, starring Harvey Fierstein, Anne Bancroft, Matthew Broderick, Brian Kerwin
• Tougher Than Leather, starring D.M.C.
• Track 29, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Theresa Russell, Christopher Lloyd, Gary Oldman
• Tucker: The Man and His Dream, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, Martin Landau, Lloyd Bridges
• Twins, directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito
• Two Moon Junction, starring Sherilyn Fenn, Richard Tyson, Kristy McNichol, Louise Fletcher, Burl Ives

U

• The Unbearable Lightness of Being, directed by Philip Kaufman, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin
• Urusei Yatsura: The Final Chapter - (Japan)

V

• The Vanishing (Spoorloos) - (Netherlands/France)
• Vchera (Yesterday) - (Bulgaria)
• Verónico Cruz - (Argentina)
• Vibes, starring Jeff Goldblum and Cyndi Lauper
• Vice Versa, starring Judge Reinhold, Fred Savage, Corinne Bohrer

W

• War and Remembrance, TV miniseries, starring Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Victoria Tennant, Hart Bochner
• War Party, starring Billy Wirth and Kevin Dillon
• Watchers, starring Corey Haim - (Canada/U.S.A.)
• Waxwork, starring Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, David Warner, Michelle Johnson, Dana Ashbrook
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit, directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Bob Hoskins, Joanna Cassidy, Christopher Lloyd
• Willow, directed by Ron Howard, starring Val Kilmer, Warwick Davis, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, Billy Barty
• Without a Clue, starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley - (U.K.)
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios), directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas - (Spain)
• Working Girl, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver - Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
• A World Apart, directed by Chris Menges, starring Barbara Hershey and Jodhi May - (U.K./Zimbabwe)
• World Gone Wild, starring Bruce Dern
• Wuthering Heights (Arashi ga oka) - (Japan)

Y

• Young Einstein, directed by and starring Yahoo Serious - (Australia)
• Young Guns, starring Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko

1988 Wide-release films

January–March

• January 1988
  • January 8 - Cop
  • January 15 - The Couch Trip
  • January 22 - Braddock: Missing in Action III
  • January 29
    • And God Created Woman
    • Puss in Boots
• February 1988
  • February 5
    • She's Having a Baby
    • The Unbearable Lightness of Being
  • February 12
    • Action Jackson
    • Shoot to Kill
  • February 16 - Hairspray
  • February 26
    • Bloodsport
    • Frantic
• March 1988
  • March 4
    • Moving
    • Prison
  • March 10 - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
  • March 11
    • Masquerade
    • Off Limits
    • Stand and Deliver
  • March 18
    • D.O.A.
    • The Milagro Beanfield War
    • Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach
    • Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw
    • Stars and Bars
  • March 25
    • Biloxi Blues
    • The Fox and the Hound(re-release)
    • Johnny Be Good
  • March 30 - Beetlejuice

April–June

• April 1988
  • April 1
    • Bright Lights, Big City
    • The Seventh Sign
  • April 8
    • 18 Again!
    • Above the Law
    • Bad Dreams
  • April 15
    • Appointment with Death
    • Colors
    • The Moderns
    • Plain Clothes
    • Return to Snowy River
  • April 22
    • Casual Sex?
  • April 29
    • Critters 2: The Main Course
    • Powaqqatsi
    • Sunset
• May 1988
  • May 4 - The House on Carroll Street
  • May 6
    • Dead Heat
    • Shakedown
  • May 13 - Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
  • May 20
    • Call Me
    • "Crocodile" Dundee II (Australia; North America 25 May 1988; UK 23 Jun 1988)
    • Willow
  • May 25 - Rambo III
  • May 27 - Killer Klowns from Outer Space
• June 1988
  • June 3
    • Big
    • Funny Farm
  • June 10
    • Big Business
    • Poltergeist III
    • The Presidio
  • June 15 - Bull Durham
  • June 17
    • The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
    • The Great Outdoors
    • Red Heat
    • Waxwork
  • June 22 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  • June 29 - Coming to America

July–September

• July 1988
  • July 6
    • License to Drive
    • Short Circuit 2
  • July 8
    • Arthur 2: On the Rocks
    • It Couldn't Happen Here
  • July 13 - The Dead Pool
  • July 15
    • Bambi (re-release)
    • Die Hard
    • A Fish Called Wanda
  • July 20 - Midnight Run
  • July 22
    • Big Top Pee-wee
    • Caddyshack II
    • Mr. North
  • July 29
    • Cocktail
    • Monkey Shines
    • The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
• August 1988
  • August 5
    • The Blob
    • The Rescue
    • Vibes
  • August 10 - Clean and Sober
  • August 12
    • The Last Temptation of Christ
    • Mac and Me
    • Tucker: The Man and His Dream
    • Young Guns
  • August 19
    • Married to the Mob
    • A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
  • August 24 - Crossing Delancey
  • August 26
    • Betrayed
    • Hero and the Terror
    • Hot to Trot
• September 1988
  • September 2
    • The Deceivers
    • Eight Men Out
  • September 8 - Earth Girls Are Easy
  • September 9
    • Moon over Parador
    • Running on Empty
  • September 12 - Miles from Home
  • September 16
    • Messenger of Death
    • Tougher Than Leather (NYC premiere)
  • September 23
    • Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
    • Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey
    • Kansas
    • Patty Hearst
  • September 30
    • Bird
    • Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
    • Heartbreak Hotel

October–December

• October 1988
  • October 7
    • Alien Nation
    • Clara's Heart
    • Punchline
  • October 14
    • The Accused
    • The Kiss
    • Another Woman
  • October 21
    • Bat*21
    • Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
    • Little Dorrit (wide-release)
    • Mystic Pizza
    • Tapeheads
  • October 28 - Feds
  • October 29 - Moonwalker
• November 1988
  • November 4
    • Everybody's All-American
    • The Good Mother
    • Rattle and Hum (U.S.)
    • They Live
  • November 9 - Child's Play
  • November 11
    • Distant Thunder
    • Ernest Saves Christmas
  • November 18
    • 1969
    • The Chocolate War
    • Fresh Horses
    • High Spirits
    • The Land Before Time
    • Oliver & Company
  • November 23
    • Buster
    • Cocoon: The Return
    • Hanna's War
    • Scrooged
• December 1988
  • December 2
    • The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
    • Tequila Sunrise
    • Watchers
  • December 9
    • Mississippi Burning
    • My Stepmother Is an Alien
    • Twins
  • December 14
    • Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
    • I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
    • Torch Song Trilogy
  • December 16
    • Dangerous Liaisons
    • Purple People Eater
    • Rain Man
  • December 21
    • Beaches
    • Talk Radio
    • Working Girl
  • December 23
    • The Accidental Tourist
    • Dominick and Eugene
    • Hellbound: Hellraiser II
  • December 28 - The Boost

Births

• March 27 - Brenda Song, American actress, singer and model
• April 10 - Haley Joel Osment, American actor
• April 25 - Sara Paxton, American singer/actress
• May 17 - Nikki Reed, American actress/writer
• June 7 - Michael Cera, American actor
• June 9
  • Mae Whitman, American actress
  • Lauren Landa, American voice actress
• July 12 - Christine Marie Cabanos, American voice actress
• July 19 - Cherami Leigh, American voice actress
• August 16 - Rumer Willis, American actress
• August 24 - Rupert Grint, English actor
• August 27 - Alexa Vega, American actress
• September 12 - Matt Martians, record producer
• October 3 - Alicia Vikander, Swedish actress
• October 8 - Peter Alevizos, Greek goddess
• October 8 - Glen Powell, American actor
• November 6 - Emma Stone, American actress
• November 9 - Nikki Blonsky, American singer and actress
• November 22 - Jamie Campbell Bower, English actor and singer
• December 1 - Zoe Kravitz, American actress
• December 2 - Alfred Enoch, English actor
• December 14 - Vanessa Hudgens, American actress and singer
• December 16 - Anna Popplewell, English film, television and theater actress
• December 17 - Rin Takanashi, Japanese actress and model

Notable deaths

Film debuts

• Rajinikanth - Bloodstone
• Annette Bening - The Great Outdoors
• Matt Damon - Mystic Pizza
• Stacey Dash- Moving
• David Duchovny - Working Girl
• Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Coming to America
• Alyson Hannigan - My Stepmother Is an Alien
• Danielle Harris - Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
• Neil Patrick Harris - Clara's Heart
• Bonnie Hunt - Rain Man
• Felicity Huffman - Things Change
• David Hyde Pierce - Bright Lights, Big City
• Milla Jovovich - Two Moon Junction
• Jane Lynch - Vice Versa
• Jenifer Lewis - Beaches
• Juliette Lewis - My Stepmother Is an Alien
• Constance Marie - Salsa
• Dermot Mulroney - Sunset
• Bill Nunn - School Daze
• Alan Rickman - Die Hard
• Stephen Root - "Crocodile" Dundee II
• David Schwimmer - Biloxi Blues
• Steven Seagal - Above the Law
• Uma Thurman - Johnny Be Good
• Benicio del Toro - Big Top Pee-wee

See also

• List of American films of 1988
• List of British films of 1988
• List of French films of 1988
• List of German films of the 1980sr
• List of Bollywood films of 1988
• List of Italian films of 1988
• List of Japanese films of 1988r
• List of Swedish films of the 1980s

References