Best Movies of 1982
The 40 most popular movies released in 1982, most watched first, with a vote floor so obscure titles do not crowd out the ones people remember.
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40 titles · updated 2nd October 2026
1.Blade Runner(1982)
7.9Science FictionDramaThriller
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
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2.First Blood(1982)
7.5ActionThrillerDrama
When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
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4.E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial(1982)
7.5AdventureScience FictionFamily
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.
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5.Conan the Barbarian(1982)
6.8AdventureFantasyAction
A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the…
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6.The Secret of NIMH(1982)
7.4AdventureAnimationDrama
A widowed field mouse must move her family -- including an ailing son -- to escape a farmer's plow. Aided by a crow and a pack of superintelligent, escaped lab rats, the brave mother struggles to transplant her home to firmer ground.
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7.Friday the 13th Part III(1982)
5.9Horror
An idyllic summer turns into a nightmare of unspeakable terror for yet another group of naïve friends. Ignoring Camp Crystal Lake's bloody legacy, one by one they fall victim to the maniacal Jason, who stalks them at every turn...
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8.The King of Comedy(1982)
7.8DramaComedy
Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.
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11.Poltergeist(1982)
7.2Horror
The Freelings' suburban home becomes the center of paranormal activity that opens a portal to the 'other side'. With help, they must cross over to get their daughter back.
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12.An Officer and a Gentleman(1982)
7.0DramaRomance
Zack Mayo is an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he arrives at training camp for his 13-week officer's course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill Sergeant Emil Foley. Mayo is an excellent cadet, but a little cold around the heart, so Foley rides him mercilessly, sensing that the…
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13.Fast Times at Ridgemont High(1982)
6.8ComedyRomanceDrama
A group of Southern-California high school students ignore their studies in favor of indulging in their teenage distractions.
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14.Halloween III: Season of the Witch(1982)
5.3HorrorScience FictionMystery
After a terrified toy salesman is mysteriously attacked and brought to the hospital clutching the year's most popular Halloween mask, Dr. Daniel Challis sets out to investigate the strange events and finds himself thrust into a nightmarish conspiracy.
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15.Tron(1982)
6.6Science FictionActionAdventure
When brilliant video game maker Flynn hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer, he is beamed inside an astonishing digital world and becomes part of the very game he is designing. In his mission through cyberspace, Flynn matches wits with a maniacal Master Control Program and teams up with Tron, a security measure…
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16.The Dark Crystal(1982)
7.2AdventureFamilyFantasy
On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.
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17.Sophie's Choice(1982)
7.3DramaRomanceWar
Stingo, a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie and her lover Nathan, he learns that she is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship…
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18.Airplane II: The Sequel(1982)
6.1Comedy
A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the sun, and man-with-a-past Ted Striker must save the day and get the shuttle back on track – again – all the while trying to patch up his relationship with Elaine.
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19.Gandhi(1982)
7.6DramaHistory
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people…
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20.Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan(1982)
7.5ActionAdventureScience Fiction
The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.
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21.Evil Under the Sun(1982)
6.9ThrillerCrimeMystery
An opulent beach resort provides a scenic background to this amusing whodunit as Poirot attempts to uncover the nefarious evildoer behind the strangling of a notorious stage star.
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22.Firefox(1982)
6.1Science FictionActionThriller
The Soviets have developed a revolutionary new jet fighter, called 'Firefox'. Worried that the jet will be used as a first-strike weapon—as there are rumours that it is undetectable by radar—the British send ex-Vietnam War pilot, Mitchell Gant on a covert mission into the Soviet Union to steal the Firefox.
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23.The Entity(1982)
6.9HorrorMysteryThriller
A single mom is raped by an invisible force. Her psychiatrist believes the experience stems from childhood trauma, while she knows something supernatural is at play.
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24.Pink Floyd: The Wall(1982)
8.0MusicDrama
A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
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25.The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas(1982)
6.3Comedy
When a Conservative TV crusader threatens to shut down beloved brothel The Chicken Ranch, proprietress Miss Mona Stangley and her girls won't go down without a fight.
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26.The Last Unicorn(1982)
7.3FantasyAnimationFamily
A unicorn learns from a riddle-speaking butterfly that she is supposedly the last of her kind, all the others having been herded away by the monstrous Red Bull. The unicorn sets out to discover the truth behind the butterfly's words. She is eventually joined on her quest by Schmendrick, a second-rate magician, and…
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27.The Verdict(1982)
7.5Drama
Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit by serving it to Galvin on a silver platter—all parties are willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, Galvin…
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28.Amityville II: The Possession(1982)
5.7Horror
Anthony and Dolores Montelli, along with their four children, move into their dream house in Amityville and are immediately plagued by a string of paranormal experiences. When the abusive Anthony wrongly places the blame on the children, Dolores recruits a local Catholic priest to exorcise the house.
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29.Cat People(1982)
6.1FantasyHorror
After years of separation, Irena Gallier and her minister brother, Paul, reunite in New Orleans. When zoologists capture a wild panther, Irena is drawn to the cat – and zoo curator Oliver to her. Soon, Paul will have to reveal the family secret: that when sexually aroused, they revert into predatory jungle cats.
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31.Grease 2(1982)
5.3ComedyMusicRomance
It's 1961, two years after the original Grease gang graduated, and there's a new crop of seniors and new members of the coolest cliques on campus, the Pink Ladies and T-Birds. Michael Carrington is the new kid in school - but he's been branded a brainiac. Can he fix up an old motorcycle, don a leather jacket, avoid a…
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32.Death Wish II(1982)
6.2ActionCrimeDrama
Paul Kersey is again a vigilante trying to find five punks who murdered his housekeeper and daughter in Los Angeles.
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34.Victor/Victoria(1982)
7.3MusicComedyRomance
A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.
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35.Night Shift(1982)
6.1Comedy
A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the "one great idea" for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbor complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests…
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36.The Beastmaster(1982)
6.3FantasyAdventureAction
Dar, the son of a king, is hunted by a priest after his birth and grows up in another family. When he becomes a grown man, his new father is murdered by savages and he discovers that he has the ability to communicate with animals, which leads him on a quest for revenge against his father's killers.
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37.Paradise(1982)
6.0RomanceAdventure
After their caravan is attacked and their respective families butchered by Arab marauders, teenagers David and Sarah flee across the desert. But the desert is filled with danger from the elements, animals and the unwholesome appetite of the Jackal, a sheik who wants Sarah for himself. However, the desert also holds…
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38.Annie(1982)
6.5ComedyDramaFamily
An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan, Annie believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks decides to let an orphan live at his home to promote his image, Annie is selected. While Annie gets accustomed to living in Warbucks' mansion, she still longs…
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39.Class of 1984(1982)
6.4ActionCrimeDrama
Andy is a new teacher at an inner city high school that is unlike any he has seen before. There are metal detectors at the front door and the place is basically run by a tough kid named Peter Stegman. Soon, Andy and Stegman become enemies and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.
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40.Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid(1982)
6.6ComedyMysteryCrime
Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are…
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