1986 Movies, Best to Worst
by J_Frank_Parnell | created - 25 Mar 2023 | updated - 1 week ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Stand by Me (1986)
R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell
Votes: 441,759 | Gross: $52.29M
10/10*
2. Aliens (1986)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser
Votes: 763,321 | Gross: $85.16M
10/10*
3. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 201,990 | Gross: $40.46M
10/10*
4. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.
Director: Frank Oz | Stars: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Levi Stubbs
Votes: 86,413 | Gross: $38.75M
10/10
5. Platoon (1986)
R | 120 min | Drama, War
Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David
Votes: 439,640 | Gross: $138.53M
10/10*
6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy
A popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones
Votes: 386,579 | Gross: $70.14M
10/10*
7. Labyrinth (1986)
PG | 101 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Sixteen-year-old Sarah must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother when he is taken by the Goblin King.
Director: Jim Henson | Stars: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson
Votes: 149,627 | Gross: $12.73M
10/10*
8. Cobra (1986)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far-reaching plans.
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni, Andrew Robinson
Votes: 79,640 | Gross: $49.04M
10/10* (possibly the most criminally-under-rated movie on IMDb. An artwork of indescribable beauty, like a Botticelli or Degas or Matisse. The purest, most distilled essence of 1986, and a heart-rending triumph of the human spirit)
9. The Name of the Rose (1986)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An intellectually nonconformist friar investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Helmut Qualtinger, Elya Baskin
Votes: 117,284 | Gross: $7.15M
9/10*
10. Down by Law (1986)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
Votes: 55,304 | Gross: $1.44M
9/10
11. Sid and Nancy (1986)
R | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman, Debby Bishop
Votes: 34,695 | Gross: $2.83M
9/10
12. Castle in the Sky (1986)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Votes: 182,421
9/10
13. A Better Tomorrow (1986)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Emily Chu
Votes: 25,469
9/10
14. The Mosquito Coast (1986)
PG | 117 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
An inventor spurns his city life and moves his family into the jungles of Central America to make a utopia.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix, Jadrien Steele
Votes: 31,211 | Gross: $14.30M
8/10*
15. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Unrated | 83 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles, Mary Demas
Votes: 40,463 | Gross: $0.61M
8/10
16. River's Edge (1986)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
Director: Tim Hunter | Stars: Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck
Votes: 20,700 | Gross: $4.60M
8/10*
17. When the Wind Blows (1986)
16+ | 84 min | Animation, Drama, War
A naive elderly British rural couple survive the initial onslaught of a nuclear war.
Director: Jimmy T. Murakami | Stars: Peggy Ashcroft, John Mills, Robin Houston, James Russell
Votes: 12,652 | Gross: $0.01M
8/10*
18. From Beyond (1986)
R | 85 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A group of scientists have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorel, Ken Foree
Votes: 30,772 | Gross: $1.26M
7/10*
19. The Mission (1986)
PG | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Eighteenth-century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn
Votes: 65,707 | Gross: $17.22M
7/10*
20. Short Circuit (1986)
PG | 98 min | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
Number 5 of a group of experimental robots in a lab is electrocuted, suddenly becomes intelligent, and escapes.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton
Votes: 66,359 | Gross: $40.70M
7/10*
21. Fist of the North Star (1986)
Not Rated | 110 min | Animation, Action, Drama
In a post-nuclear hellscape, a master of the deadly martial art "Hokuto Shinken" allies with two kids and an expert in "Nanto Suicho-Ken" to battle the tyrants who kidnapped his lover.
Director: Toyoo Ashida | Stars: Akira Kamiya, Yuriko Yamamoto, Kenji Utsumi, Chikao Ôtsuka
Votes: 7,293
7/10*
22. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
PG | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.
Director: Leonard Nimoy | Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan
Votes: 91,500 | Gross: $109.71M
7/10
23. The Color of Money (1986)
R | 119 min | Drama, Sport
Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver
Votes: 93,288 | Gross: $52.29M
7/10
24. Salvador (1986)
R | 122 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: James Woods, Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage
Votes: 23,161
7/10
25. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
PG-13 | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong
Votes: 154,054 | Gross: $11.10M
6/10
26. Night of the Creeps (1986)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Alien brain parasites, entering humans through the mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie. Some teenagers start to fight against them.
Director: Fred Dekker | Stars: Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow
Votes: 26,126 | Gross: $0.59M
7/10*
27. Malcolm (1986)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy, Crime, Sci-Fi
A socially awkward and mechanically gifted man becomes involved in a quirky and unconventional crime.
Director: Nadia Tass | Stars: Colin Friels, John Hargreaves, Lindy Davies, Chris Haywood
Votes: 2,843 | Gross: $0.54M
6/10
28. Manhunter (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Former FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox
Votes: 80,958 | Gross: $8.62M
6/10*
29. Crossroads (1986)
R | 99 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A wannabe blues-guitar virtuoso finds an old blues player and hopes he can teach him a long-lost song by legendary musician Robert Johnson.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca, Jami Gertz, Joe Morton
Votes: 17,659 | Gross: $5.84M
5/10
30. The Golden Child (1986)
PG-13 | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A private detective specializing in missing children is charged with the task of finding a special child whom dark forces want to eliminate.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Eddie Murphy, J.L. Reate, Charles Dance, Charlotte Lewis
Votes: 59,392 | Gross: $79.82M
5/10
31. Blue Velvet (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern
Votes: 215,772 | Gross: $8.55M
5/10*
32. Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
R | 130 min | Drama, War
Hard-nosed, hard-living Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Marsha Mason, Everett McGill, Moses Gunn
Votes: 48,211 | Gross: $42.72M
5/10
33. Top Gun (1986)
PG | 109 min | Action, Drama
As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer
Votes: 502,816 | Gross: $179.80M
4/10*
34. Pretty in Pink (1986)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A poor girl must choose between the affections of dating her childhood sweetheart or a rich but sensitive playboy.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts
Votes: 88,607 | Gross: $40.47M
4/10*
35. Flight of the Navigator (1986)
PG | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
In 1978, a boy travels eight years into the future and has an adventure with an intelligent, wisecracking alien ship.
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: Joey Cramer, Paul Reubens, Cliff De Young, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 51,706 | Gross: $18.56M
4/10*
36. The Money Pit (1986)
PG | 91 min | Comedy
A young couple struggles to repair a hopelessly dilapidated house.
Director: Richard Benjamin | Stars: Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov, Maureen Stapleton
Votes: 62,258 | Gross: $37.50M
4/10*
37. Three Amigos! (1986)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Western
Three actors accept an invitation to a Mexican village to perform their onscreen bandit fighter roles, unaware that it is the real thing.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Alfonso Arau
Votes: 83,712 | Gross: $39.25M
4/10
38. Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale (1986)
PG | 71 min | Animation, Comedy
Featuring the characters from Murray Ball's "Footrot Flats". Questions will be answered as the small town of Raupo comes to life on the big screen.
Director: Murray Ball | Stars: John Clarke, Peter Rowley, Rawiri Paratene, Fiona Samuel
Votes: 1,030
4/10
39. Hoosiers (1986)
PG | 114 min | Drama, Sport
A coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana.
Director: David Anspaugh | Stars: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper, Sheb Wooley
Votes: 51,089 | Gross: $28.61M
4/10
40. Armour of God (1986)
R | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Asian Hawk (Jackie Chan) and his bumbling sidekick are sent on a quest through Europe to find a mysterious treasure held by a shadowy organization of monks.
Directors: Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang | Stars: Jackie Chan, Alan Tam, Lola Forner, Rosamund Kwan
Votes: 22,070
3/10*
41. F/X (1986)
R | 109 min | Action, Thriller
A movie special effects man is hired to fake a real-life mob killing for a witness protection plan, but finds his own life in danger.
Director: Robert Mandel | Stars: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora, Cliff De Young
Votes: 22,222 | Gross: $20.60M
3/10*
42. The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
R | 98 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A young Cro-Magnon woman is raised by Neanderthals.
Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Daryl Hannah, Pamela Reed, James Remar, Thomas G. Waites
Votes: 6,967 | Gross: $1.95M
3/10*
43. Ruthless People (1986)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Crime
A couple cheated by a vile businessman kidnaps his wife in retaliation, not knowing that their enemy is delighted that they did.
Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | Stars: Bette Midler, Danny DeVito, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater
Votes: 30,529 | Gross: $71.62M
3/10
44. Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Barry Miller, Catherine Hicks
Votes: 40,830 | Gross: $41.38M
3/10
45. Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
R | 103 min | Comedy
A rich but troubled family find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.
Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Nick Nolte, Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss, Little Richard
Votes: 20,224 | Gross: $62.13M
3/10
46. Link (1986)
R | 103 min | Horror
When a female zoology student is invited to a remote seaside mansion to assist a primatology professor with his experiments involving chimpanzees, dangerous events start to occur, all involving the intelligent 45-year-old chimp, Link.
Director: Richard Franklin | Stars: Terence Stamp, Elisabeth Shue, Steven Finch, Richard Garnett
Votes: 3,743 | Gross: $1.72M
3/10*
47. Dogs in Space (1986)
R | 103 min | Drama
Two man are the key members of a band called 'Dogs in Space' and share a house in a Melbourne suburb with a variety of young music fans and social misfits, including a college student and a transient and apparently nameless teenage girl.
Director: Richard Lowenstein | Stars: Michael Hutchence, Saskia Post, Nique Needles, Deanna Bond
Votes: 1,374
3/10*
48. Highlander (1986)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponents, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize".
Director: Russell Mulcahy | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart
Votes: 147,497 | Gross: $5.90M
3/10
49. Gung Ho (1986)
PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy, Drama
When a Japanese automobile company buys an American plant, the American liaison must mediate the clash of work attitudes between the foreign management and native labor.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt, Mimi Rogers
Votes: 13,939 | Gross: $36.61M
2/10
Tell Your Friends