1987 in film

Last updated: 2025-07-24 17:52:21

1987 in film

The following is an overview of events in 1987 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths. Paramount Pictures celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1987.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1987 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1987^[1]
Rank	Title	Distributor	Box-office gross
1	Three Men and a Baby	Buena Vista	$167,780,960
2	Fatal Attraction	Paramount	$156,645,693
3	Beverly Hills Cop II	Paramount	$153,665,036
4	Good Morning, Vietnam	Buena Vista	$123,922,370
5	Moonstruck	MGM	$80,640,528
6	The Untouchables	Paramount	$76,270,454
7	The Secret of My Success	Universal	$66,995,000
8	Stakeout	Buena Vista	$65,673,233
9	Lethal Weapon	Warner Bros.	$65,207,127
10	The Witches of Eastwick	Warner Bros.	$63,766,510

Events

January 31 – The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records.
February - Blue Sky Studios is founded by Chris Wedge.
May 23 – {Starlog Salutes STAR WARS} is held in Los Angeles, California, the first officially sponsored Star Wars convention to commemorate the franchise's 10th anniversary.
June 29 – The James Bond franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary and premieres its 15th film, The Living Daylights.
July 17 – Walt Disney's classic masterpiece Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is re-released worldwide for its 50th anniversary.
1987 – Paramount Pictures launches a new on-screen logo to celebrate the company's 75th anniversary, a variant used until 1989, and the standard variant of this logo was used from 1989 to 2002.

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: The Last Emperor - Hemdale, Columbia

Best Director: Bernardo Bertolucci - The Last Emperor

Best Actor: Michael Douglas - Wall Street

Best Actress: Cher - Moonstruck

Best Supporting Actor: Sean Connery - The Untouchables

Best Supporting Actress: Olympia Dukakis - Moonstruck

Best Foreign Language Film: Babette's Feast (Babettes Gæstebud), directed by Gabriel Axel, Denmark

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: The Last Emperor

Best Actor: Michael Douglas – Wall Street

Best Actress: Sally Kirkland – Anna

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: Hope and Glory

Best Actor: Robin Williams – Good Morning, Vietnam

Best Actress: Cher – Moonstruck

Other

Best Director: Bernardo Bertolucci – The Last Emperor

Best Foreign Language Film: My Life as a Dog, Sweden

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

Under the Sun of Satan (Sous le soleil de Satan), directed by Maurice Pialat, France

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Au revoir les enfants (Goodbye, Children), directed by Louis Malle, France / W. Germany

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Tema (1979) (The Theme), directed by Gleb Panfilov, USSR

1987 films

By genre/medium

Births

January 1 – Gia Coppola, American director and screenwriter
January 2 – Shelley Hennig, American actress and model
January 5
- Fabiola Guajardo, Mexican actress and model
- Jason Mitchell, American actor
January 7 – Lyndsy Fonseca, American actress
January 8
- Cynthia Erivo, British actress
- Freddie Stroma, British actor and model
January 9 - Nicola Coughlan, Irish actress
January 12 – Naya Rivera, American actress, singer, and model (died 2020)
January 13 – Max Van Ville, American DJ, producer, and actor
January 16 – Carrie Keranen, voice actress, production manager, producer, and voice director
January 18
- Ingvild Deila, Norwegian actress
- Zane Holtz, Canadian actor and model
January 20 – Evan Peters, American actor and producer
January 30 - Valene Kane, Northern Irish actress
January 31 - Victor Ortiz, American professional boxer and actor
February 1
- Heather Morris, American actress, dancer, singer, and model
- Ronda Rousey, American professional wrestler and actress
February 4 – Lewis Tan, English actor and martial artist
February 5
- Adassa, American singer-songwriter and voice actress
- Darren Criss, American actor, singer, and songwriter
- Henry Golding, Malaysian-British actor and television host
- Raymond Lee, American actor
February 6 - Natalia Reyes, Colombian actress
February 7 – Doua Moua, American actor
February 9
- Michael B. Jordan, American actor and film producer
- Rose Leslie, Scottish actress
February 11 – Julio Torres, Salvadoran writer, comedian, and actor
February 17 – Ísis Valverde, Brazilian actress
February 20
- Cortney Palm, American actress
- Daniella Pineda, American actress
- Miles Teller, American actor
- Jay Hayden, American Actor
February 21
- Ashley Greene, actress
- Elliot Page, Canadian actor
February 28 – Michelle Horn, American actress
March 4 – Tamzin Merchant, English actress and author
March 8
- Tobe Nwigwe, American rapper, singer and actor
- Milana Vayntrub, American actress and comedian
March 9 - Bow Wow, American rapper and actor
March 10 – Ser'Darius Blain, Haitian-American actor
March 20 – Rollo Weeks, British former actor
March 24 - María Valverde, Spanish actress
March 22 – Billy Kametz, American voice actor (died 2022)
March 26 – Josh Herdman, English actor and mixed martial artist
March 28 – Jimmy Wong, American actor and musician
April 1 – Mackenzie Davis, Canadian actress, producer and model
April 3 – Rachel Bloom, American actress, comedian, writer, singer-songwriter, and producer
April 4 – Sarah Gadon, actress
April 6 - Jerrod Carmichael, American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and filmmaker
April 7 - Richard Pyros, British-Australian actor
April 9 – Jesse McCartney, actor, singer-songwriter and voice actor
April 10 – Shay Mitchell, Canadian actress and model
April 12
- Brooklyn Decker, American actress and model
- Ilana Glazer, American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer and director
April 16 - Jack Cutmore-Scott, English actor
April 18 - Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, British actress and model
April 19
- Oksana Akinshina, Russian actress
- Courtland Mead, American actor
April 20 – John Patrick Amedori, American actor and musician
April 21 - Meng'er Zhang, Chinese actress
April 27
- William Moseley, English actor
- Lachlan Buchanan. Australian Actor
April 28 – Tonia Sotiropoulou, Greek actress
May 5 – Jessie Cave, English actress and comedian
May 7 - Maya Erskine, American actress
May 8 – Aneurin Barnard, Welsh actor
May 13 – Hunter Parrish, American actor and singer
May 17 - Jayne Wisener, Northern Irish actress and singer
May 20
- Ray Chase, American voice actor
- Fra Fee, Northern Irish actor and singer
May 27 – Bella Heathcote, Australian actress and model
May 28 – Jessica Rothe, American actress
May 31 – Meredith Hagner, American actress
June 3 - Lalaine, American actress and singer-songwriter
June 6 – Daniel Logan, New Zealand-born American actor
June 11 – Jimmy O. Yang, Hong Kong-American actor, stand-up comedian and writer
June 12 - Abbey Lee, Australian actress and musician
June 19 - Beattie Edmondson, English actress
June 22 – Joe Dempsie, English actor
June 23 - Edward Holcroft, English actor
June 25
- Scott Terra, American former actor
- Mary Tsoni, Greek actress and singer (d. 2017)
June 26 – Valerie Pachner, Austrian actress
June 27 – Ed Westwick, English film and television actor
July 3 - Chad Broskey, American actor
July 6 – Matt O'Leary, American actor
July 7 – Julianna Guill, American actress
July 11 – Cristina Vee, American voice actress
July 15 – Jimmy Rees, Australian entertainer
July 25 – Michael Welch, American actor
July 26
- Miriam McDonald, Canadian actress
- Hallie Meyers-Shyer, American actress and filmmaker
July 27 – Mara Wilson, actress and writer
July 29 – Genesis Rodriguez, American actress and model
July 31 – Brittany Byrnes, Australian actress
August 2 - Hannah Hoekstra, Dutch actress
August 8
- Mădălina Diana Ghenea, Romanian actress
- Katie Leung, Scottish film, television, and stage actress
August 18
- Mika Boorem, American actress and filmmaker
- Óscar Catacora, Peruvian director, screenwriter and cinematographer (died 2021)
August 19 – Manny Jacinto, Canadian actor
August 21 – Cody Kasch, American actor
August 25
- Stacey Farber, Canadian actress
- Blake Lively, American actress, model, and director
- Chloe Pirrie, Scottish actress
- Liu Yifei, Chinese-American actress, singer, and model
August 30
- Johanna Braddy, American actress
- Cameron Finley, American former child actor
September 7 – Evan Rachel Wood, American actress, model, and musician
September 8
- Ray Fisher, American actor
- Wiz Khalifa, American Rapper
- Domee Shi, Chinese-Canadian animator, storyboard artist and director
September 10 - Tunji Kasim, Scottish actor
September 11
- Tyler Hoechlin, American actor
- Elizabeth Henstridge, English actress
September 14
- Jessica Brown Findlay, English actress
- Davide Tucci, Maltese-Italian actor
September 15 - Christian Cooke, English actor
September 17 – Augustus Prew, English actor
September 19 – Danielle Panabaker, American actress
September 20 – Sarah Natochenny, American voice actress
September 21 – Ryan Guzman, American actor
September 22
- Tom Felton, English actor
- Teyonah Parris, American actress
September 23 – Skylar Astin, American actor and singer
September 24
- Spencer Treat Clark, American actor
- Grey Damon, American actor
September 28 – Hilary Duff, actress, singer, songwriter, and businesswoman
September 29
- David Del Rio, American actor, director and producer
- Anaïs Demoustier, French actress
September 30 - Mahaley Patel, American actress
October 1 – Michaela Coel, British actress and screenwriter
October 9 - Melissa Villaseñor, American stand-up comedian, actress, writer and musician
October 11 - Mike Conley Jr., American Basketball Player
October 14 – Jay Pharoah, American actor and stand-up comedian
October 16 – Zhao Liying, Chinese actress
October 18 – Zac Efron, American actor and singer
October 23 - Kirby Howell-Baptiste, English actress
October 24 – Lincoln Lewis, Australian actor
November 1 - Jamie Demetriou, English comedian, actor and screenwriter
November 5 – Kevin Jonas, American singer-songwriter and actor (Jonas Brothers)
November 9 – Jennifer Holland, American actress
November 10 - Andrew Koji, British actor and martial artist
- DJ Augustin, American Basketball Player
November 11
- Melanie Liburd, British actress
- Ludi Lin, Chinese-born Canadian actor and model
November 12 – Kengo Kora, Japanese actor
November 14 – Brian Gleeson, Irish actor
November 18 – Jake Abel, American actor and singer
November 23 – Vallo Kirs, Estonian actor
November 27 – Lashana Lynch, Jamaican-British actress
November 28 – Karen Gillan, Scottish actress and filmmaker
December 1 - Sarah Snook, Australian actress
December 3 – Michael Angarano, American actor
December 4 - Orlando Brown, American actor, rapper and singer
December 6 - Idara Victor, American actress
December 8 – Aria Curzon, American actress
December 11 – Moe Dunford, Irish actor
December 16 - Hallee Hirsh, American actress
December 21 – Khris Davis, American actor
December 28 – Adam Gregory, American actor

Deaths

Month	Date	Name	Age	Country	Profession	Notable films
January	3	David Maysles	55	US	Documentarian	Gimme Shelter Grey Gardens
	9	Arthur Lake	81	US	Actor	Blondie Dance Hall
	14	Douglas Sirk	89	Germany	Director	Imitation of Life Written on the Wind
	15	Ray Bolger	83	US	Actor, Singer	The Wizard of Oz Babes in Toyland
	15	George Markstein	60	UK	Screenwriter	Robbery The Odessa File
	16	Joyce Jameson	54	US	Actress	The Apartment Death Race 2000
	27	Norman McLaren	72	UK	Animator, Director	Neighbours Pas de deux
February	1	Alessandro Blasetti	86	Italy	Director, Screenwriter	1860 The Countess of Parma
	22	David Susskind	66	US	Producer	A Raisin in the Sun Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
	23	William Rose	68	US	Screenwriter	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner The Ladykillers
	23	Esmond Knight	80	UK	Actor	Henry V The Red Shoes
	25	James Coco	56	US	Actor	Only When I Laugh Wholly Moses!
	25	John Collin	58	UK	Actor	Tess Star!
	28	Joan Greenwood	65	UK	Actress	He Found a Star The October Man
March	2	Randolph Scott	89	US	Actor	The Texans The Walking Hills
	3	Danny Kaye	74	US	Actor, Singer	White Christmas The Court Jester
	7	Henri Decaë	71	France	Cinematographer	The Boys from Brazil The 400 Blows
	7	Waldo Salt	72	US	Screenwriter	Midnight Cowboy Serpico
	21	Dean Paul Martin	35	US	Actor	Players Heart Like a Wheel
	21	Robert Preston	68	US	Actor	The Music Man Victor Victoria
	22	Morton Haack	62	US	Costume Designer	Planet of the Apes The Unsinkable Molly Brown
	27	William Bowers	71	US	Screenwriter	The Gunfighter Support Your Local Sheriff
	28	Patrick Troughton	67	UK	Actor	Jason and the Argonauts Scars of Dracula
April	6	Philip M. Jefferies	61	US	Production Designer	Grease An Officer and a Gentleman
	11	Kent Taylor	79	US	Actor	Half Past Midnight Payment on Demand
	17	Dick Shawn	63	US	Actor	The Producers It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
	19	Milt Kahl	78	US	Animator	The Jungle Book One Hundred and One Dalmatians
May	2	Michael Gover	73	UK	Actor	A Clockwork Orange Superman
	4	Paul Groesse	81	US	Art Director	Little Women In the Heat of the Night
	7	Colin Blakely	56	Ireland	Actor	A Man for All Seasons The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
	14	Rita Hayworth	68	US	Actress	Gilda The Lady from Shanghai
	21	Alejandro Rey	57	Argentina	Actor	Fun in Acapulco Moscow on the Hudson
	24	Hermione Gingold	89	UK	Actress	The Music Man Gigi
	29	Howard Shoup	83	US	Costume Designer	Cool Hand Luke The Young Philadelphians
June	1	Khwaja Ahmad Abbas	72	India	Director, Screenwriter	Mera Naam Joker Awaara
	3	Will Sampson	53	US	Actor	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest The Outlaw Josey Wales
	6	Fulton Mackay	64	UK	Actor	Local Hero Gumshoe
	8	Daniel Mandell	91	US	Film Editor	The Apartment The Best Years of Our Lives
	10	Elizabeth Hartman	43	US	Actress	A Patch of Blue The Secret of NIMH
	11	Dan Vadis	49	China	Actor	Every Which Way But Loose High Plains Drifter
	13	Geraldine Page	62	US	Actress	Sweet Bird of Youth The Trip to Bountiful
	22	Fred Astaire	88	US	Actor	Swing Time The Towering Inferno
	24	Jackie Gleason	71	US	Actor	The Hustler Smokey and the Bandit
July	1	Jerry Livingston	78	US	Songwriter	Cinderella Cat Ballou
	3	Viola Dana	90	US	Actress	That Certain Thing The Show of Shows
	5	Phil Abramson	54	US	Set Decorator	Close Encounters of the Third Kind Bullitt
	7	Hannelore Schroth	65	Germany	Actress	Sweetheart of the Gods Beloved Corinna
	12	Harold Goodwin	84	US	Actor	All Quiet on the Western Front The Wyoming Bandit
	15	Alfie Bass	71	UK	Actor	The Fearless Vampire Killers Moonraker
	17	Yūjirō Ishihara	52	Japan	Actor, Singer	Season of the Sun Crazed Fruit
	20	Richard Egan	65	US	Actor	The 300 Spartans A Summer Place
	22	Adele Comandini	89	US	Screenwriter	Three Smart Girls Christmas in Connecticut
	31	Joseph E. Levine	81	US	Producer	A Bridge Too Far The Lion in Winter
August	1	Pola Negri	90	Poland	Actress	Madame DuBarry Carmen
	17	Clarence Brown	97	US	Director	National Velvet The Yearling
	17	Shaike Ophir	58	Israel	Actor	The Policeman Blaumilch Canal
	19	Hayden Rorke	76	US	Actor	Pillow Talk The Barefoot Executive
	21	Bombolo	56	Italy	Actor	Squadra antitruffa Little Italy
	22	Ted Sherdeman	78	US	Screenwriter	Them! A Dog of Flanders
	28	John Huston	81	US	Actor, Director, Screenwriter	The Maltese Falcon The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
	29	Lee Marvin	63	US	Actor	The Dirty Dozen The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
September	1	Philip Friend	72	UK	Actor	Buccaneer's Girl The Son of Robin Hood
	4	Richard Marquand	49	UK	Director	Return of the Jedi Jagged Edge
	5	Bill Fraser	79	UK	Actor	Up Pompeii Up the Chastity Belt
	11	Lorne Greene	72	Canada	Actor	Earthquake The Buccaneer
	12	John Qualen	87	US	Actor	His Girl Friday The Grapes of Wrath
	13	Mervyn LeRoy	86	US	Director	Quo Vadis Mister Roberts
	23	Bob Fosse	60	US	Director, Screenwriter	Cabaret All That Jazz
	23	Erland Van Lidth De Jeude	34	Netherlands	Actor	The Running Man Stir Crazy
	25	Mary Astor	81	US	Actress	The Maltese Falcon Meet Me in St. Louis
	25	Emlyn Williams	81	UK	Actor, Screenwriter	The Man Who Knew Too Much The Citadel
October	2	Madeleine Carroll	81	UK	Actress	The 39 Steps Secret Agent
	21	Bob Simmons	64	UK	Stuntman	James Bond A Touch of Class
	22	Lino Ventura	68	Italy	Actor	Illustrious Corpses The Dictator's Guns
November	4	Danielle Gaubert	44	France	Actress	Flight from Ashiya Camille 2000
	5	Georges Franju	75	France	Director, Screenwriter	Judex Nuits Rouges
	11	John 'Dusty' King	78	US	Actor, Singer	The Range Busters Law of the Jungle
	23	Marcia Henderson	58	US	Actress	All I Desire Back to God's Country
	26	Morton Lowry	73	UK	Actor	How Green Was My Valley The Hound of the Baskervilles
	29	Irene Handl	85	UK	Actress	The Italian Job I'm All Right Jack
December	4	Rouben Mamoulian	90	Georgia	Director	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Mark of Zorro
	8	Fay Baker	70	US	Actress	Notorious She Devil
	14	Clinton Sundberg	84	US	Actor	Annie Get Your Gun Easter Parade
	21	Robert Paige	76	US	Actor	Son of Dracula Bye Bye Birdie
	21	Ralph Nelson	71	US	Director	Charly Lilies of the Field