The 10 Highest Grossing Movies of 1990
Universal Pictures
We’re flashing back to the year that kickstarted the nineties, and looking at the highest grossing movies of 1990…
10) Kindergarten Cop
Arnie goes back to school in this 1990 comedy. A dangerous drug dealer intends to kill his ex wife and kidnap his son. The best chance of stopping him? For Officer John Gimble (Arnold Schwartzenegger) to go undercover as the kid’s teacher.
Worldwide box office: $202,000,000
9) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Fans of the heroes in a hard shell had been waiting impatiently for a live action version, following the huge success of the comics and the 1987 cartoon. In 1990, they finally got what they were waiting for with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. It was generally well received. It’s sequels? Not so much.
Worldwide box office: $202,000,000
8) Presumed Innocent
Harrison Ford stars as Rozat Sabich – a lawyer who cheats on his wife with a woman who is soon raped and murdered, leaving him the prime suspect.
Worldwide box office: $221,300,000
7) Die Hard 2
John McClane is back and ready to take down more bad guys in this sequel to the 1988 blockbuster. It’s Christmas Eve, and McClane has arrived at the airport to collect his wife, only to discover that the place has been overtaken by criminals who have the ability to crash planes into the runway. Can McClane bring them down?
Worldwide box office: $239,813,888
6) Back to the Future Part III
In the concluding installment to the time-hopping trilogy, Marty must travel back in time to 1885 to stop the Doc from getting shot by outlaw Mad Dog Tannen. Back to the Future Part III should be a simple rescue mission – but when do things ever go to plan?
Worldwide box office: $244,087,268
5) Total Recall
A favourite among Arnie fans, this sci fi action thriller sees Quaid visit a centre to have memories of a vacation to Mars implanted in his head. But when he starts having startling visions, he must visit the planet for real. Or is that just part of the memory he had implanted?
Worldwide box office: $261,400,000
4) Dances with Wolves
Set during the 1860s, Dances with Wolves follows Lt. John Dunbar (played by Kevin Costner), who arrives at the western frontier, eager to assist. He ends up stationed alone at a distant outpost, and slowly befriends the neighbouring Sioux tribe; eventually helping to defend their village from Pawnees and the US cavalry.
Worldwide box office: $424,208,805
3) Pretty Woman
Businessman Edward Lewis (Richard Gewre) is just about to depart on a business trip on which he hopes to take over a shipping company. Unluckily, his girlfriend dumps him, and he accidentally ends up in a red light district where he encounters Vivian (Julia Roberts), a prostitute, who he ends up hiring to play his girlfriend on the business trip. Romance soon blossoms.
Worldwide box office: $432,566,361
2) Home Alone
A fresh-faced McCaulay Culkin stars in this classic Christmas caper. When Kevin McCallister accidentally gets left Home Alone whilst his family travels to Paris for a holiday, he soon finds himself having to defend the house against a hapless pair of burglars with a series of ingenious and miraculously non-lethal booby traps.
Worldwide box office: $476,684,675
1) Ghost
Not long after Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and his girlfriend Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) move into their newly renovated apartment, Sam is killed during a mugging, and becomes a ghost. He witnesses the man who killed him breaking into the apartment where Molly still lives, searching for something, and employs the help of a clairvoyant (Whoopi Goldberg) to help warn her that something sinister is going on.
Worldwide box office: $517,600,000
There you have it – the 10 highest grossing movies from the year 1990!