Skip to content
What's After the Movie?

Jump to
What's After the Movie?
Thriller box office · May 1979

Thriller Box Office, May 1979: Top-Grossing Releases

Last Embrace (1979) is the highest-grossing thriller movie released in May 1979, with $1.5M worldwide, ahead of Winter Kills (1979) at $1.2M and Dawn of the Dead (1979) at $159.8K. 3 thriller films released in May 1979 report a worldwide gross, $2.9M in all, 94% of it from the US & Canada.

May 1979 releases with a gross
3
combined worldwide
$2.9M
Last Embrace (1979), the #1
$1.5M
earned in the US & Canada
94%
Last Embrace (1979) movie poster #1 of 3
#1 thriller movie of May 1979

Last Embrace (1979)

1979 · Thriller, Romance

$1.5M worldwide · 54% of the chart's total

$1.5M US & Canada · 100% elsewhere · 0%
Top 3

What Were the Biggest Thriller Hits of May 1979?

Last Embrace (1979) leads with $1.5M, 54% of the total. The top 3 together took $2.9M, almost all of what the 3 films earned. Each bar splits a film's gross into the US & Canada and the rest of the world.

  1. Last Embrace (1979) movie poster Number 1
    $1.5M Last Embrace (1979)
    $1.5M US & Canada · 100% elsewhere · 0%
  2. Winter Kills (1979) movie poster Number 2
    $1.2M Winter Kills (1979)
    $1.2M US & Canada · 100% $462 elsewhere · <1%
  3. Dawn of the Dead (1979) movie poster Number 3
    $159.8K Dawn of the Dead (1979)
    No US & Canada figure reported

US & Canada (domestic) Rest of the world

The chart

Every Thriller Release of May 1979, Ranked by Worldwide Gross

Lifetime worldwide grosses in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation; domestic means the US & Canada. Films are grouped by their release date in May 1979.

  1. 1 Last Embrace (1979) movie poster
    Last Embrace (1979) May 4, 1979 · English · Thriller, Romance, Mystery $1.5M worldwide
    May 4, 1979 US and Canada: $1.5M Rest of the world: Worldwide: $1.5M
  2. 2 Winter Kills (1979) movie poster
    Winter Kills (1979) May 11, 1979 · English · Drama, Mystery, Thriller $1.2M worldwide
    May 11, 1979 US and Canada: $1.2M Rest of the world: $462 Worldwide: $1.2M
  3. 3 Dawn of the Dead (1979) movie poster
    Dawn of the Dead (1979) May 24, 1979 · English · Thriller, Horror $159.8K worldwide
    May 24, 1979 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $159.8K
By release week

Which Week of May 1979 Had the Biggest Releases?

Films released in week 18 (Apr 29–May 5) took $1.5M, led by Last Embrace (1979). Each column links to that week's chart; weeks are Sunday to Saturday.

  1. Week 18 Wk 18 Apr 29–May 5 Last Embrace (1979) $1.5M Last Embrace (1979)
  2. Week 19 Wk 19 May 6–12 Winter Kills (1979) $1.2M Winter Kills (1979)
  3. Week 20 Wk 20 May 13–19 No reported grosses – No reported grosses
  4. Week 21 Wk 21 May 20–26 Dawn of the Dead (1979) $159.8K Dawn of the Dead (1979)
  5. Week 22 Wk 22 May 27–Jun 2 No reported grosses – No reported grosses
Earlier years

How Does May 1979 Compare With May in Earlier Years?

Of these 10 years, May 1975 earned the most: $26.7M from 3 films, led by The Eiger Sanction (1975). May 1979 took $2.9M.

Month Films Worldwide Change Biggest film
May 1970 No films 0 – – –
May 1971 2 films 2 $270.4K – Wake in Fright (1971) $269.3K
May 1972 1 film · −99% 1 $1.4K −99% Images (1972) $1.4K
May 1973 2 films · −52% 2 $679 −52% Coffy (1973) $469
May 1974 No films 0 – – –
May 1975 3 films 3 $26.7M – The Eiger Sanction (1975) $14.2M
May 1976 1 film · −99% 1 $219.1K −99% Mr. Klein (1976) $219.1K
May 1977 No films 0 – – –
May 1978 1 film 1 $8.4K – Despair (1978) $8.4K
May 1979 3 films · +33901% 3 $2.9M +33901% Last Embrace (1979) $1.5M
Archive

Thriller Box Office in 1979, Month by Month

The months of 1979 with their totals: June leads with $279.9M, led by Moonraker (1979).

FAQ

Thriller Box Office May 1979: Questions & Answers

The chart's numbers in short: the #1 film, the total, the billion-dollar hits and the US & Canada share, answered from the same 3 films as the chart.

What is the highest-grossing thriller movie in May 1979?

Last Embrace (1979) leads with $1.5M worldwide, $1.5M of it in the US & Canada. Next come Winter Kills (1979) at $1.2M and Dawn of the Dead (1979) at $159.8K.

How much did thriller movies released in May 1979 earn?

3 thriller films released in May 1979 report a worldwide gross, $2.9M in all, or $952.9K per film on average.

How many thriller movies released in May 1979 made $1 billion?

None. The biggest, Last Embrace (1979), earned $1.5M.

How much of the May 1979 Thriller box office came from the US and Canada?

$2.7M of the $2.9M total, or 94%, was earned in the US & Canada (the domestic market); the rest came from other countries. 1 film of the 3 report no domestic figure.

How is the May 1979 thriller box office chart ranked and where do the numbers come from?

Films are ranked by lifetime worldwide gross in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation, and grouped by their release date in May 1979. The figures are the reported box office grosses in our database. A gross that looks misattributed, such as one figure shared by two unrelated films or a blockbuster total on an obscure title, is left out rather than shown as a fact.

How often is the May 1979 thriller box office chart updated?

Grosses change while films are in theaters and whenever a new figure is reported; this chart reads the latest numbers in our database, so an older film can still move after a re-release.