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1980
- May 9- "Friday the 13th" debuts in theaters as one of the longest-running, and financially-successful horror films
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1980
- May 21- "The Empire Strikes Back" releases in theaters and becomes the highest-grossing film of 1980.
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1981
- June 12-"Raiders of the Lost Ark" debuted in theaters and was the highest-grossing film of 1981.
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1981
- October 30- "Looker" debuted as the first major film to create 3D shading with a computer that produced the first-ever CGI human character
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1982
- June 4- "Star Trek ll: The Wrath of Khan" releases in theaters and was the first movie to use computer-generated images (CGI)
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1982
- June 11- "ET" was released and was the highest-grossing film of 1982. It also took home 4 Oscars out of the 9 it was nominated in.
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1983
- May 25- "Return of the Jedi" is released and was the first movie to be featured in a THX-certified auditorium. It was also the highest-grossing film of 1983
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1984
- Dec. 1- "Beverly Hills Cop" was released and was the highest-grossing film of 1984.
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1984
- May 23- "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" was the reason that PG-13 was introduced. Protests were led out because of a scene, so the Motion Picture Association of America created the rating of PG-13.
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1985
- July 3- "Back to the Future" releases as the highest-grossing film of 1985 with $210 million. It was ahead of second place by $60 million.
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1985
- Nov. 8- "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" released on November 8th and was the second highest-grossing film of 1985 and was the first vampire film to spend $1 million on special effects
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1985
- Dec. 4- Young Sherlock Holmes is released as the first movie to incorporate the first fully CGI animated photorealistic character in a full-length feature film.
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1986
- Jul. 2- Disney's "The Great Mouse Detective" was the first movie to use computer animation in an animated film.
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1986
- Aug. 17- "Luxo Jr." released and was the first fully computer-generated (CGI), computer-animated film.
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1987
- Dec. 18- "The Last Emporer" was released and was nominated for nine Oscars and won all nine. It was the first PG-13 movie to win the best picture.
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1988
- June 28- "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was released and it broke new technological ground with its remarkable blending of animated imagery and live-action human characters.
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1988
- Aug 2- Pixar's "Tin Toy" released and was the first computer animation to win an Academy Award. The Baby character in the film marked the first time that a CG character had realistic human qualities.
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1989
- June 19- "Batman" releases and was the highest-grossing film of 1989.
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1989
- Nov. 22- "Back to the Future, Part ll" releases and was the first film to accomplish interaction between the same actor on the screen as more than one character.