Top Grossing Thriller Movies in 1981
| Rank | Title | Language | Domestic | Worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | For Your Eyes Only |  EN | $54,812,802 | $54,837,696 |
| 2 | Absence of Malice | EN | $40,716,963 | $40,716,963 |
| 3 | Sharky's Machine | EN | $35,610,100 | $35,610,100 |
| 4 | Halloween II | EN | $25,533,818 | $25,533,818 |
| 5 | Body Heat | EN | $24,058,838 | $24,058,838 |
| 6 | Ghost Story | EN | $23,371,905 | $23,371,905 |
| 7 | Friday the 13th Part 2 | EN | $21,722,776 | $21,722,975 |
| 8 | Nighthawks | EN | $14,905,359 | $19,905,359 |
| 9 | Eye of the Needle | EN | $17,583,634 | $17,583,686 |
| 10 | Outland | EN | $17,374,595 | $17,374,595 |
| 11 | Scanners | EN | $14,225,876 | $14,225,876 |
| 12 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | EN | $12,376,625 | $12,383,416 |
| 13 | Blow Out | EN | $12,000,000 | $12,001,495 |
| 14 | Thief | EN | $11,492,915 | $11,495,509 |
| 15 | Rollover | EN | $10,851,261 | $10,851,261 |
| 16 | Wolfen | EN | $10,626,725 | $10,626,725 |
| 17 | The Amateur | EN | $6,892,098 | $6,892,098 |
| 18 | Eyewitness | EN | $6,400,000 | $6,400,000 |
| 19 | My Bloody Valentine | EN | $5,672,031 | $5,673,343 |
| 20 | Venom | EN | $5,229,643 | $5,229,643 |
| 21 | The Watcher in the Woods | EN | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 22 | The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper | EN | $3,702,028 | $3,702,028 |
| 23 | The Fan | EN | $3,082,096 | $3,082,096 |
| 24 | The Hand | EN | $2,447,576 | $2,447,576 |
| 25 | Sphinx | EN | $2,022,771 | $2,022,771 |
| 26 | Cutter's Way | EN | $1,729,274 | $1,752,634 |
| 27 | Night School | EN | $1,169,875 | $1,169,875 |
| 28 | Eyes of a Stranger | EN | $1,118,634 | $1,118,634 |
| 29 | Diva |  FR | $183,425 | $183,425 |
| 30 | Roar | EN | $110,048 | $110,449 |
| 31 | The Girl with the Red Hair |  NL | $39,001 | $39,001 |
| 32 | The Pit | EN | $560 | $560 |
| 33 | Road Games | EN | - | $306 |
| 34 | The Killing of Angel Street | EN | - | $297 |
| 35 | Ms. 45 | EN | - | $91 |
| 36 | An Eye for an Eye | EN | - | $17 |
| 37 | The Black Cat |  IT | - | - |
| 38 | Looker | EN | - | - |
| 39 | Enter the Ninja | EN | - | - |
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