1990 in film

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

The year 1990 in film involved many significant events as shown below. Universal Pictures celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1990.

Highest-grossing films

The top ten films released in 1990 by worldwide gross are as follows:

Events

• February 4 - Actor Tom Cruise and actress Mimi Rogers divorce.
• March 30 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is released to massive box office success. At the time, it is the highest-grossing independent film in history.
• December 24 - Tom Cruise and actress Nicole Kidman marry.
• CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall (1990).
• The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.
• The use of real-time computer graphics or "digital puppetry" to create a character in a motion picture is performed, in RoboCop 2.
• Future movie stars Chris Rock and Adam Sandler join SNL.
• Buchwald v. Paramount decided, a leading case on the financial rewards due to writers of film treatments.

Awards

1990 Wide-release movies

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Notable films released in 1990

U.S.A. unless stated

A-D

A

• The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, starring Andrew Dice Clay
• After Dark, My Sweet, starring Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern
• Air America, directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr.
• Alice, directed by Woody Allen, starring Mia Farrow
• The Ambulance, starring Eric Roberts
• American Ninja 4: The Annihilation
• Angel Town
• Another 48 Hrs., starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte
• Arachnophobia, starring Jeff Daniels
• Avalon, directed by Barry Levinson, starring Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Pollak
• Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro

B

• Back to the Future Part III, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen
• Bad Influence, starring James Spader and Rob Lowe
• Betsy's Wedding, directed by and starring Alan Alda, with Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Madeline Kahn
• The Big Man aka Crossing the Line, starring Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley and Billy Connolly
• The Big Steal
• Bird on a Wire, starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn
• Blind Fury, starring Rutger Hauer
• Blue Steel, starring Jamie Lee Curtis
• Boiling Point, directed by Takeshi Kitano, starring Beat Takeshi
• The Bonfire of the Vanities, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith
• Bride of Re-Animator

C

• Cadence, starring Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen
• Cadillac Man, starring Robin Williams and Tim Robbins
• Captain America, starring Matt Salinger
• Childhood Days - Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year
• Child's Play 2, starring Jenny Agutter
• China Cry
• City Hunter: Bay City Wars
• Class of 1999, starring Malcolm McDowell and Pam Grier
• Close-Up - (Iran)
• Coins in the Fountain, starring Loni Anderson
• Come See the Paradise, starring Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn Tomita
• The Comfort of Strangers, starring Natasha Richardson and Helen Mirren
• Crash and Burn
• Cry-Baby, directed by John Waters, starring Johnny Depp
• Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Gérard Depardieu - Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film

D

• Dances with Wolves, directed by and starring Kevin Costner - Academy and Golden Globe (drama) Awards for Best Picture
• Darkman, starring Liam Neeson
• Days of Being Wild, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau
• Days of Thunder, starring Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman
• Death Warrant, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
• Dei tau lung (Dragon Fighter)
• Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection, starring Chuck Norris
• Denial
• Desperate Hours, directed by Michael Cimino, starring Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke
• Dick Tracy, directed by and starring Warren Beatty, with Madonna, Glenne Headly, Al Pacino
• Die Hard 2, starring Bruce Willis
• Downtown, starring Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker
• Dreams, directed by Akira Kurosawa
• DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp

E-K

E

• Edward Scissorhands, directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest
• The End of Innocence, directed by and starring Dyan Cannon
• Ernest Goes to Jail, starring Jim Varney
• Europa Europa - Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film (for 1991)
• The Exorcist III, starring George C. Scott

F

• Fantasia (restored version)
• La Femme Nikita, directed by Luc Besson
• The Field, starring Richard Harris
• Fire Birds, starring Nicolas Cage and Tommy Lee Jones
• The First Power, starring Lou Diamond Phillips
• Flashback, starring Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Hopper
• Flatliners, directed by Joel Schumacher, starring Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon
• The Fourth War, starring Roy Schneider and Jürgen Prochnow
• Frankenstein Unbound, starring John Hurt
• The Freshman, starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick
• Funny About Love, directed by Leonard Nimoy, starring Gene Wilder and Christine Lahti

G

• Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg
• The Godfather Part III, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Joe Mantegna, Sofia Coppola
• Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino
• Graffiti Bridge, directed by and starring Prince
• Green Card, starring Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell - Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
• Gremlins 2: The New Batch
• The Grifters, starring Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening
• The Guardian, directed by William Friedkin
• The Guyver

H

• Hamlet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Helena Bonham Carter
• The Handmaid's Tale, directed by Volker Schlöndorff, starring Natasha Richardson, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall
• Hard to Kill, starring Steven Seagal
• Havana, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Raúl Juliá
• Heart Condition, starring Bob Hoskins, and Denzel Washington
• Heaven and Earth
• Henry & June, starring Fred Ward, Maria de Medeiros and Uma Thurman
• Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
• Hidden Agenda, directed by Ken Loach, starring Frances McDormand
• Home Alone, starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
• The Hot Spot, directed by Dennis Hopper, starring Don Johnson, Jennifer Connelly, Virginia Madsen
• House Party
• The Hunt for Red October, starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, directed by John McTiernan

I

• I Come in Peace, starring Dolph Lundgren
• I Love You to Death, starring Kevin Kline and Tracey Ullman
• Internal Affairs, directed by Mike Figgis, starring Richard Gere and Andy García

J

• Jacob's Ladder, starring Tim Robbins, directed by Adrian Lyne
• Jetsons: The Movie
• Joe Versus the Volcano, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
• John & Brandy
• Journey of Hope (Reise der Hoffnung) - Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Ju Dou, directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang, starring Gong Li

K

• Kindergarten Cop, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
• King of New York, directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Christopher Walken, Wesley Snipes, Laurence Fishburne
• The Krays, directed by Peter Medak, starring Martin Kemp, Gary Kemp, Billie Whitelaw

L-Q

L

• Larks on a String (Skrivánci na niti) - Golden Bear award
• Last of the Finest
• Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
• The Lemon Sisters, starring Diane Keaton
• Life Is Sweet, directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent
• Lionheart, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
• Longtime Companion, starring Bruce Davison
• The Long Walk Home, starring Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg
• Look Who's Talking Too, starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley
• Loose Cannons, starring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd
• Lord of the Flies, starring Balthazar Getty
• Love at Large, starring Tom Berenger

M

• Mack the Knife, starring Raúl Juliá and Richard Harris
• A Man Called Sarge, starring Gary Kroeger and Marc Singer
• Marked for Death, starring Steven Seagal
• The Match Factory Girl, directed by Aki Kaurismäki, starring Kati Outinen
• Memories of a River
• Memphis Belle, directed by Michael Caton-Jones, starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, John Lithgow
• Men at Work, starring Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen
• Mermaids, directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci
• Metropolitan
• Miami Blues, starring Fred Ward and Alec Baldwin
• Midnight Ride, starring Mark Hamill
• Miller's Crossing, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden
• Milou in May
• Misery, directed by Rob Reiner, starring James Caan and Kathy Bates
• Mo' Better Blues, directed by Spike Lee, starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson
• Mountains of the Moon, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Patrick Bergin
• Movie... In Your Face
• Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
• Mr. Destiny, starring James Belushi
• My Blue Heaven, starring Steve Martin and Rick Moranis
• My Mother's Castle (Le Château de ma mère), directed by Yves Robert, Golden Space Needle award (for 1991) - see novel Le Château de ma mère

N

• Narrow Margin, starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer
• The Nasty Girl (Das schreckliche Mädchen)
• Navy SEALs, starring Charlie Sheen
• The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter
• Nightbreed, starring Craig Sheffer
• Nuns on the Run, starring Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane
• The Nutcracker Prince

P

• Pacific Heights, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Michael Keaton, Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine
• Piece of Cake, directed by Jay Sandrich, starring T. K. Carter, Cleavant Derricks, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Tonya Lee Williams
• Postcards from the Edge, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid
• Predator 2, starring Danny Glover
• Presumed Innocent, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Harrison Ford
• Pretty Woman, directed by Garry Marshall, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere
• Problem Child, starring John Ritter
• Pump Up the Volume, directed by Allan Moyle, starring Christian Slater - Golden Space Needle award

Q

• Q&A, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Nick Nolte and Timothy Hutton
• Quick Change, starring Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid
• Quigley Down Under, starring Tom Selleck and Alan Rickman

R-Z

R

• The Reflecting Skin
• Repossessed, a parody of The Exorcist, starring Leslie Nielsen and Linda Blair
• The Rescuers Down Under
• Revenge, starring Kevin Costner and Anthony Quinn
• Reversal of Fortune, starring Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver
• RoboCop 2, starring Peter Weller and Nancy Allen
• Robot Jox
• Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever, starring Corey Feldman
• Rockula
• Rocky V, starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Tommy Morrison
• Romeo.Juliet
• The Rookie, starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Tim Roth - Golden Lion award
• The Russia House, starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer

S

• The Sheltering Sky, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Debra Winger and John Malkovich
• Shipwrecked, starring Gabriel Byrne
• Short Time, starring Dabney Coleman
• A Show of Force, starring Amy Irving
• Shreck
• Sibling Rivalry, starring Kirstie Alley
• Side Out, starring Courtney Thorne-Smith and C. Thomas Howell
• Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation
• Silent Scream, starring Robert Carlyle
• Singapore Sling
• Spaced Invaders, directed by Patrick Read Johnson, starring Douglas Barr, Royal Dano, Ariana Richards, J. J. Anderson
• Stanley & Iris, starring Robert De Niro and Jane Fonda
• State of Grace, starring Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman
• Stella, starring Bette Midler

T

• Taking Care of Business, starring James Belushi and Charles Grodin
• Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
• Tatie Danielle, starring Tsilla Chelton
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, directed by Steve Barron
• Tekken
• Texasville, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Cybill Shepherd
• Three Men and a Little Lady, starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson
• Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas
• Tilaï
• Too Much Sun, directed by Robert Downey, Sr., starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Eric Idle
• Total Recall, directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone
• Treasure Island, starring Charlton Heston and Christian Bale
• Tremors, starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward
• Truly, Madly, Deeply, directed by Anthony Minghella, starring Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson
• The Two Jakes, directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, with Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Eli Wallach

U

• Uchū no hōsoku
• Ultra Q The Movie: Legend of the Stars

V

• Vincent & Theo, starring Tim Roth
• Vincent and Me

W

• Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, starring Winona Ryder
• Where the Heart Is, starring Dabney Coleman
• White Hunter Black Heart, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood
• White Palace, starring Susan Sarandon and James Spader
• Wild at Heart, directed by David Lynch, starring Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd
• Wild Orchid, starring Mickey Rourke
• The Witches, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Anjelica Huston

Y

• Young Guns II, starring Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, William Petersen

Births

• January 13 - Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
• March 1 - Harry Eden, British actor
• March 24 - Keisha Castle-Hughes, actress
• April 9 - Kristen Stewart, American actress
• April 10 - Alex Pettyfer, actor, model
• April 15 - Emma Watson, British actress, model
• April 16 - Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
• April 23 - Dev Patel, British actor
• May 14 - Sasha Spielberg, American actress, daughter of producer/director Steven Spielberg and actress Kate Capshaw
• June 13 - Aaron Taylor-Johnson, British actor
• July 2 - Margot Robbie, Australian actress
• July 6 - Jeremy Suarez, actor and voice actor
• July 16 - James Maslow, actor
• July 24 - Daveigh Chase, American actress
• August 10 - Lucas Till, actor
• August 15 - Jennifer Lawrence, American actress
• August 17 - Rachel Hurd-Wood, British actress
• October 22 - Jonathan Lipnicki, American actor
• November 2 - Kendall Schmidt, actor
• December 20 - JoJo, American singer-songwriter and actress

Notable deaths

Debuts

• Hank Azaria - Pretty Woman
• Benjamin Bratt - Bright Angel
• Julie Benz - Two Evil Eyes
• Robert Carlyle - Silent Scream
• Harry Connick, Jr. - Memphis Belle
• Kevin Connolly - Rocky V
• Russell Crowe - Blood Oath
• Balthazar Getty - Lord of the Flies
• Brendan Gleeson - The Field
• Djimon Hounsou - Without You I'm Nothing
• Charlie Korsmo - Men Don't Leave
• Brad Garret - Jetsons: The Movie
• Reba McEntire - Tremors
• Julianne Moore - Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
• Chris O'Donnell - Men Don't Leave
• Robert Patrick - Die Hard 2
• Christina Ricci - Mermaids
• Catherine Zeta-Jones - Les 1001 Nuits

References