Films of 1988
by jacob_wollner | created - 30 Jul 2019 | updated - 7 months ago | PublicThis is a list films from 1988 including popular, festival favorites, and award season nominees. Let me know if any should be added.
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1. Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A Southern California girl befriends three furry aliens after their spaceship lands in her swimming pool.
Director: Julien Temple | Stars: Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans
Votes: 25,227 | Gross: $3.92M
2. Poltergeist III (1988)
PG-13 | 98 min | Horror, Thriller
Carol Anne is staying with her aunt in a high-rise building, where the supernatural forces haunting her make their return.
Director: Gary Sherman | Stars: Heather O'Rourke, Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, Zelda Rubinstein
Votes: 20,481 | Gross: $14.11M
3. Sweet Hearts Dance (1988)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Long-married high school sweethearts (Don Johnson, Susan Sarandon) get itchy when their friends experience new love.
Director: Robert Greenwald | Stars: Don Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels, Elizabeth Perkins
Votes: 979 | Gross: $3.79M
4. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988 TV Movie)
PG | 100 min | Drama, War
A full-length adaptation, originally staged as a play, of the court-martial segment from the novel "The Caine Mutiny".
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Eric Bogosian, Jeff Daniels, Brad Davis, Peter Gallagher
Votes: 733
5. Heartbreak Hotel (1988)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A teen tries to set up a band at his school, when his mother, who was a big fan of Elvis Presley, gets in a wreck. He and his band members decide to kidnap Elvis to meet her.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: David Keith, Tuesday Weld, Charlie Schlatter, Angela Goethals
Votes: 1,533 | Gross: $5.51M
6. Moving (1988)
R | 89 min | Comedy
Arlo accepts what seems to him to be a dream promotion to Idaho. He soon discovers, however, that moving has its own share of problems.
Director: Alan Metter | Stars: Richard Pryor, Beverly Todd, Stacey Dash, Raphael Harris
Votes: 6,342 | Gross: $10.82M
7. Maniac Cop (1988)
R | 85 min | Action, Crime, Horror
A killer dressed in a police uniform begins murdering innocent people on the streets of New York City.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree
Votes: 20,212 | Gross: $0.67M
8. Punchline (1988)
R | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A medical school dropout and a housewife/mom try to make it as stand-up comedians. They become friends and help each other out at an NYC comedy club.
Director: David Seltzer | Stars: Sally Field, Tom Hanks, John Goodman, Mark Rydell
Votes: 9,267 | Gross: $21.03M
9. Twins (1988)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Crime
A physically perfect but innocent man goes in search of his long-lost twin brother, who is short, a womanizer, and small-time crook.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb
Votes: 137,352 | Gross: $111.94M
10. High Spirits (1988)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy, Fantasy
When a hotelier attempts to fill the chronic vacancies at his castle by launching an advertising campaign that falsely portrays the property as haunted, two actual ghosts show up and end up falling for two guests.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Daryl Hannah, Steve Guttenberg, Donal McCann
Votes: 10,691 | Gross: $8.58M
11. Pumpkinhead (1988)
R | 86 min | Fantasy, Horror
After a tragic accident, a man conjures up a towering, vengeful demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy a group of unsuspecting teenagers.
Director: Stan Winston | Stars: Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John D'Aquino, Kimberly Ross
Votes: 27,844 | Gross: $4.39M
12. Cocktail (1988)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue, Lisa Banes
Votes: 91,927 | Gross: $78.22M
13. Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988)
PG | 98 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Crazy old Professor Gangreen has developed a way to make tomatoes look human for a second invasion.
Director: John De Bello | Stars: Anthony Starke, George Clooney, Karen M. Waldron, Steve Lundquist
Votes: 7,672
14. Moon Over Parador (1988)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Romance
A U.S. actor gets a gig in South American Parador. When the dictator dies, he's forced to play him for real and gets his mistress. Can they change Parador?
Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Jonathan Winters
Votes: 6,750 | Gross: $11.44M
15. The Dead Pool (1988)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan must stop a sick secret contest to murder various San Francisco celebrities, with himself being one of the targets.
Director: Buddy Van Horn | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, Evan C. Kim
Votes: 48,998 | Gross: $37.90M
16. Baja Oklahoma (1988 TV Movie)
105 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Dan Jenkins co-wrote the screenplay based on his novel of the same name about Juanita, a barmaid in Ft. Worth, Texas, who wants to be a country-western songwriter.
Director: Bobby Roth | Stars: Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Coyote, Swoosie Kurtz, Anthony Zerbe
Votes: 409
17. Coming to America (1988)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Romance
An extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais, Feather
Votes: 223,678 | Gross: $128.15M
18. Shakedown (1988)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A legal aid attorney and renegade cop team up to stop a corrupt cop.
Director: James Glickenhaus | Stars: Peter Weller, Sam Elliott, Richard Brooks, Jude Ciccolella
Votes: 3,921 | Gross: $10.07M
19. Action Jackson (1988)
R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Vengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power-hungry auto magnate who is systematically eliminating his competition.
Director: Craig R. Baxley | Stars: Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone
Votes: 12,616 | Gross: $20.26M
20. Deadbeat at Dawn (1988)
Not Rated | 80 min | Action, Crime, Horror
One last job separates the leader of the Ravens gang from an early retirement. When he finds his girlfriend beaten to death by members of a rival gang, he seeks revenge, knowing that he may be dead by dawn. Will more blood bring her back?
Director: Jim Van Bebber | Stars: Paul Harper, Jim Van Bebber, Megan Murphy, Ric Walker
Votes: 2,686
21. Cocoon: The Return (1988)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Mystery
The seniors return to Earth to visit their relatives. Will they all decide to go back to the planet where no one grows old, or will they be tempted to stay back on Earth?
Director: Daniel Petrie | Stars: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Courteney Cox, Hume Cronyn
Votes: 17,339 | Gross: $18.92M
22. Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988)
G | 72 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Daffy Duck opens a detective agency for the supernatural along side his Looney Toon buddies.
Directors: Greg Ford, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Terry Lennon, Robert McKimson, Maurice Noble | Stars: Mel Blanc, Mel Tormé, Roy Firestone, B.J. Ward
Votes: 2,672
23. I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
R | 88 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
In this parody of blaxploitation movies, a black hero wannabe reunites former black heroes from the 70s to help him get revenge on Mr. Big.
Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans | Stars: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bernie Casey, Antonio Fargas, Steve James
Votes: 14,987 | Gross: $13.03M
24. D.O.A. (1988)
R | 96 min | Mystery, Thriller
A college professor's day: his top student allegedly commits suicide, his wife presents him with divorce papers and he overnights in a freshman girl's dorm. The next day: more murders around him. Will he find the killer in time?
Directors: Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, Charlotte Rampling, Daniel Stern
Votes: 10,968 | Gross: $12.71M
25. Fright Night Part 2 (1988)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
"Fright Night Part 2" is a sequel to "link=tt0089175]". Charley Brewster and the horror host Peter Vincent must face more vampires, out for revenge.
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace | Stars: William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Traci Lind, Julie Carmen
Votes: 14,244 | Gross: $2.98M
26. The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Horror
When an archaeologist uncovers a strange skull in a foreign land, the residents of a nearby town begin to disappear, leading to further inexplicable occurrences.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg, Peter Capaldi
Votes: 15,113 | Gross: $1.19M
27. Phantasm II (1988)
R | 97 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
Mike, now released from a psychiatric hospital, meets with Reggie, and discover his dreams (the events of the original film) are real, and they both journey to find and stop the evil Tall Man from his grim work.
Director: Don Coscarelli | Stars: James Le Gros, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Paula Irvine
Votes: 16,767 | Gross: $7.28M
28. Some Girls (1988)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Michael flies up to French Canada to visit his girlfriend and her wacky family. She doesn't love him anymore, the grandma mistakes him for her late husband, the sister appears naked and makes advances, the dad likes to be naked as well.
Director: Michael Hoffman | Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Connelly, Sheila Kelley, Lance Edwards
Votes: 3,865 | Gross: $0.40M
29. Red Heat (1988)
R | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O'Ross
Votes: 76,105 | Gross: $34.99M
30. Waxwork (1988)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Horror
A wax museum owner uses his horror exhibits to unleash evil on the world.
Director: Anthony Hickox | Stars: Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Jennifer Bassey, Joe Baker
Votes: 14,042 | Gross: $0.81M
31. Dadah Is Death (1988 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 180 min | Drama
On 9th of November 1983 two Australians, Kevin Barlow and Geoff Chambers were arrested at Penang Airport in Malaysia carrying 179 grams of heroin, a crime which in Malaysia carries a ... See full summary »
Director: Jerry London | Stars: Julie Christie, Hugo Weaving, John Polson, Sarah Jessica Parker
Votes: 192
32. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988)
162 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Despite knowing that their respective families are bitter enemies, Raj and Rashmi fall in love with each other and decide to elope.
Director: Mansoor Khan | Stars: Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla, Goga Kapoor, Dalip Tahil
Votes: 11,315
33. As Tears Go By (1988)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Alex Man
Votes: 12,511 | Gross: $0.01M
34. Dragons Forever (1988)
TV-14 | 102 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
Three successful Hong Kong lawyers are hired by a chemical company of questionable ethics and must eventually make a difficult decision when their employer's motives become clear.
Directors: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Corey Yuen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Biao Yuen, Pauline Yeung
Votes: 9,352
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