According to Variety, the show-business newspaper, these were the top rental films of the `80s in the U.S. and Canada as of Jan. 11, 1989 (rentals being the portion of box-office income returned to the film`s distributor):
1. ”E.T.,” $228,618,939 (1982)
2. ”Return of the Jedi,” $168,002,414 (1983)
3. ”The Empire Strikes Back,” $141,600,000 (1980)
4. ”Ghostbusters,” $130,211,324 (1984)
5. ”Raiders of the Lost Ark,” $115,598,000 (1981)
6. ”Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” $109,000,000 (1984)
7. ”Beverly Hills Cop,” $108,000,000 (1984)
8. ”Back to the Future,” $104,408,738 (1985)
9. ”Tootsie,” $96,292,736 (1982)
10. ”Three Men and a Baby,” $81,313,000 (1987)
Rental figures aren`t yet available for 1989 releases (many of which, of course, are still making money), though, on the basis of raw box-office income, at least two 1989 films seem likely to make the list: ”Batman,”
which had taken in $245,893,177 as of Oct. 4, and ”Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” at $194,179,299 as of Oct. 4. The standard rule of thumb holds that rentals amount to 50 percent of total box-office income.
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