1,553 films on the site were released in 1983, and 90 have enough critic or audience ratings to be ranked. The Right Stuff tops the list, ahead of Son of the White Mare and Gandhi. The biggest hit was Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi with $482.5M worldwide, and Gandhi won Best Picture at the 1983 Oscars.
The Right Stuff is the best-rated film of 1983, with a rank value of 87/100 from critics and audiences, ahead of Son of the White Mare (83/100). Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
#1 of 90 Best-rated film of 1983
1983 Adventure Biography Drama 3h 13m English
91 Metascore $21.2M worldwide
Directed by Philip Kaufman
The Right Stuff earned $21.2M worldwide; the year's biggest hit, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, earned $482.5M.
About The Right StuffSon of the White Mare and Gandhi follow The Right Stuff. Drama is the most common genre in the top 25 (16 films). Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
1983 · Animation, Adventure · 1h 26m
Dir. Marcell Jankovics No Echo Score: ranked 83/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Biography, Drama · 3h 11m
Dir. Richard Attenborough No Echo Score: ranked 80/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Comedy · 2h 12m
No Echo Score: ranked 77/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Comedy, Family · 1h 34m
No Echo Score: ranked 77/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 51m
Dir. Bill Forsyth No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 49m
Dir. Martin Scorsese No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Comedy, Musical · 1h 47m
No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Sci-Fi, Thriller · 1h 54m
Dir. John Badham No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Horror · 2h 4m
Dir. Andrzej Zulawski No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Music · 1h 32m
Dir. Bruce Beresford No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Biography, Drama · 1h 53m
Dir. Jonathan Kaplan No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Horror · 1h 25m
Dir. Sam Raimi No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 38m
Dir. Paul Brickman No Echo Score: ranked 73/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 43m
Dir. David Cronenberg No Echo Score: ranked 72/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, War · 2h 8m
Dir. Roger Spottiswoode No Echo Score: ranked 71/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Sci-Fi, Drama · 1h 30m
Dir. Lynne Littman No Echo Score: ranked 70/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Biography, Drama · 2h 11m
Dir. Mike Nichols No Echo Score: ranked 70/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Comedy · 1h 58m
Dir. John Landis No Echo Score: ranked 69/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Comedy · 1h 47m
Dir. Alan Johnson No Echo Score: ranked 69/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 52m
Dir. Wilford Leach No Echo Score: ranked 69/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Mystery, Thriller · 1h 35m
Dir. Jack Clayton No Echo Score: ranked 68/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama · 1h 34m
Dir. Francis Ford Coppola No Echo Score: ranked 68/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Romance · 1h 55m
Dir. Peter Weir No Echo Score: ranked 68/100 on critics & audiences
1983 · Drama, Sport · 1h 31m
No Echo Score: ranked 67/100 on critics & audiences
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi earned $482.5M worldwide, ahead of Terms of Endearment ($108.4M). The top 10 took $1.2B together; 147 films released in 1983 have a box office record here. Grosses that look like data errors are left out.
#1 $482.5M worldwide Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi $316.6M domestic · Action #2 $108.4M worldwide Terms of Endearment $108.4M domestic · Drama 
#3 $92.9M worldwide Flashdance $92.9M domestic · Drama #4 $90.4M worldwide Trading Places $90.4M domestic · Comedy 
#5 $88M worldwide Jaws 3-D $45.5M domestic · Adventure 
#6 $80.3M worldwide Superman III $60M domestic · Action #7 $79.6M worldwide WarGames $79.6M domestic · Sci-Fi 
#8 $67.9M worldwide Octopussy $67.9M domestic · Action 
#9 $67.6M worldwide Sudden Impact $67.6M domestic · Action 
#10 $66.4M worldwide Scarface $46M domestic · Drama Gandhi leads with 13 wins from 34 nominations, then Terms of Endearment with 6 wins. Gandhi won Best Picture at the 1983 Oscars. In all, 34 films released in 1983 have award nominations on the site, with 46 wins between them.
The highest-ranked 1983 film of 12 genres, from Adventure (The Right Stuff) to Fantasy (The Dead Zone). Each film appears once, under its first genre that is still free.
The Right Stuff 91 Metascore Son of the White Mare 90 Metascore Gandhi 79 Metascore Terms of Endearment 79 Metascore A Christmas Story 77 Metascore The King of Comedy 73 Metascore The Meaning of Life 72 Metascore WarGames 77 Metascore Possession 75 Metascore Tender Mercies 76 Metascore Heart Like a Wheel 74 Metascore The Dead Zone 69 Metascore December was the busiest month of 1983 with 139 releases; its best-rated film is Silkwood. January shows 332 because films whose exact release day is unknown are stored on January 1.
42% of 1983's films with a known language are in English (642). French comes next with 127 films, out of 50 languages in all.
A best-of page for each of 55 years, from 1900 to 2026 (so far). Before 1980 there is one page per decade, for its first year (1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970); from 1980 every year has its own.
Quick answers about 1983's best-rated films, biggest hits and awards, from the lists above.
The Right Stuff is the best-rated film of 1983 on What's After the Movie, with a rank value of 87/100 from critics and audiences. Son of the White Mare is second and Gandhi third. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
About The Right StuffStar Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi earned $482.5M worldwide, the most of any 1983 release on the site. Terms of Endearment follows with $108.4M.
1983 box officeGandhi (1983) won Best Picture at the 1983 Academy Awards.
GandhiGandhi has the best award record of the 1983 releases on the site: 13 wins from 34 nominations.
1984 awards seasonThe site lists 1,553 films released in 1983. 90 of them are ranked, and December had the most releases with a known day (139).
Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases). Only feature films count (60 minutes or longer, no concert recordings), and a film needs enough ratings, box office or award attention to be ranked.
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