I searched far and wide for lists of best 80s movies of all time. Criteria included the movies being ranked, not just listed, and generally created by groups, whether teams or committees or based on general public voting (like Ranker.com).

I was able to find 36 lists. I took the 36 lists and added all their content into a spreadsheet, noting the rank of every film. The total number was almost 2,200 including all the repeats. I experimented with different formulas, trying to balance the value of being ranked high on any list and being included on the most lists. I ended up averaging the rankings each movie got (there were 284 that were on at least 2 lists) and dividing that average by a factor of the number of lists that movie was on. The lowest score meant a high ranking average on many lists. The complete spreadsheet is attached at the bottom.

The movies that were on the most lists (out of 36) were:

  • Back to the Future (1985) – 34 lists
  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – 32 lists
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – 31 lists
  • The Breakfast Club (1985) – 29 lists
  • Ghostbusters (1984) – 28 lists
  • Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – 27 lists
  • Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) – 27 lists
  • Die Hard (1988) – 26 lists
  • The Shining (1980) – 25 lists
  • Aliens (1986) – 24 lists
  • Blade Runner (1982) – 23 lists
  • The Princess Bride (1987) – 23 lists
  • Do the Right Thing (1989) – 22 lists
  • Stand by Me (1986) – 22 lists
  • Raging Bull (1980) – 21 lists
  • The Karate Kid (1984) – 21 lists
  • Airplane! (1980) – 20 lists

Here are links to the lists I used along with dates the lists were created:

Best-80s-Movies-RankedDownload

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