1,885 films on the site were released in 1989, and 124 have enough critic or audience ratings to be ranked. My Left Foot tops the list, ahead of Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and Do the Right Thing. The biggest hit was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with $474.2M worldwide.
My Left Foot is the best-rated film of 1989, with a rank value of 92/100 from critics and audiences; Grave of the Fireflies (1988) is second with the same 92/100. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
#1 of 124 Best-rated film of 1989
1989 Biography Drama 1h 43m English
97 Metascore $14.7M worldwide
Directed by Jim Sheridan
My Left Foot earned $14.7M worldwide; the year's biggest hit, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, earned $474.2M.
About My Left FootGrave of the Fireflies (1988) and Do the Right Thing follow My Left Foot. Drama is the most common genre in the top 25 (19 films). Hayao Miyazaki has 2 films on the list. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
1989 · Animation, Drama · 1h 29m
Dir. Isao Takahata No Echo Score: ranked 92/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Comedy · 2h
Dir. Spike Lee No Echo Score: ranked 86/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Music, Documentary · 2h
Dir. Bruce Weber No Echo Score: ranked 85/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Adventure, Drama · 1h 43m
Dir. Hayao Miyazaki No Echo Score: ranked 84/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Romance · 1h 54m
Dir. Steve Kloves No Echo Score: ranked 83/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama · 1h 40m
Dir. Steven Soderbergh No Echo Score: ranked 83/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 40m
No Echo Score: ranked 82/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama · 1h 45m
Dir. Claire Denis No Echo Score: ranked 81/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Biography, Drama · 2h 25m
Dir. Oliver Stone No Echo Score: ranked 81/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama · 2h 8m
Dir. Peter Weir No Echo Score: ranked 80/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Adventure, Fantasy · 2h 5m
Dir. Hayao Miyazaki No Echo Score: ranked 80/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Comedy · 2h 4m
Dir. Ron Howard No Echo Score: ranked 80/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 50m
Dir. Mike Leigh No Echo Score: ranked 79/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 44m
No Echo Score: ranked 79/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 50m
Dir. Jim Jarmusch No Echo Score: ranked 78/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 39m
Dir. Bruce Beresford No Echo Score: ranked 78/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Action, Drama · 2h 17m
No Echo Score: ranked 77/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Thriller, Comedy · 1h 56m
No Echo Score: ranked 77/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 36m
No Echo Score: ranked 77/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Action, Sci-Fi · 2h 4m
Dir. Katsuhiro Ôtomo No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Action, Adventure · 2h 7m
Dir. Steven Spielberg No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Documentary · 1h 31m
Dir. Michael Moore No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · Drama, Crime · 1h 42m
Dir. Gus Van Sant No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences
1989 · History, Documentary · 1h 20m
Dir. Al Reinert No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade earned $474.2M worldwide, ahead of Batman ($411.6M). The top 10 took $2.8B together; 235 films released in 1989 have a box office record here. Grosses that look like data errors are left out.
#1 $474.2M worldwide Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade $197.2M domestic · Action 
#2 $411.6M worldwide Batman $251.4M domestic · Thriller 
#3 $332.9M worldwide Back to the Future Part II $119.4M domestic · Adventure 
#4 $297M worldwide Look Who's Talking $140.1M domestic · Comedy #5 $235.9M worldwide Dead Poets Society $95.9M domestic · Drama 
#6 $227.9M worldwide Lethal Weapon 2 $147.3M domestic · Action 
#7 $222.7M worldwide Honey, I Shrunk the Kids $130.7M domestic · Adventure 
#8 $215.4M worldwide Ghostbusters II $112.5M domestic · Action 
#9 $211.3M worldwide The Little Mermaid $111.5M domestic · Family #10 $161M worldwide Born on the Fourth of July $70M domestic · Biography Born on the Fourth of July leads with 5 wins from 8 nominations, then Mississippi Burning, sex, lies, and videotape and Drugstore Cowboy with 4 wins each. In all, 42 films released in 1989 have award nominations on the site, with 44 wins between them.
The highest-ranked 1989 film of 12 genres, from Biography (My Left Foot) to Thriller (The War of the Roses). Each film appears once, under its first genre that is still free.
My Left Foot 97 Metascore Grave of the Fireflies (1988) 94 Metascore Do the Right Thing 93 Metascore Let's Get Lost 85 Metascore Kiki's Delivery Service 85 Metascore The Fabulous Baker Boys 85 Metascore Say Anything... 86 Metascore Born on the Fourth of July 75 Metascore Castle in the Sky 78 Metascore Mystery Train 80 Metascore Henry V 83 Metascore The War of the Roses 80 Metascore November was the busiest month of 1989 with 169 releases; its best-rated film is My Left Foot. January shows 367 because films whose exact release day is unknown are stored on January 1.
54% of 1989's films with a known language are in English (1,013). Japanese comes next with 104 films, out of 55 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 1989's best-rated films, biggest hits and awards, from the lists above.
My Left Foot is the best-rated film of 1989 on What's After the Movie, with a rank value of 92/100 from critics and audiences. Grave of the Fireflies (1988) is second and Do the Right Thing third. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).
About My Left FootIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade earned $474.2M worldwide, the most of any 1989 release on the site. Batman follows with $411.6M.
1989 box officeBorn on the Fourth of July has the best award record of the 1989 releases on the site: 5 wins from 8 nominations.
1990 awards seasonThe site lists 1,885 films released in 1989. 124 of them are ranked, and November had the most releases with a known day (169).
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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