1978 in film



The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1978 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * February 1 – Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California.
 * March 1 – Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen from a Swiss cemetery three months after burial. After recovery a few weeks later, the casket is sealed in a concrete vault which is then buried in the same grave.
 * March – Leigh Brackett completes the first draft for The Empire Strikes Back, but dies only two weeks later.
 * June 4 – Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, has its world premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
 * August – Production begins on Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
 * September – George Lucas purchases Bulltail Ranch, on Lucas Valley Road, for the development of Skywalker Ranch.
 * November 17 – Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS. The special gives fans their first glimpse of Boba Fett, a character from the upcoming sequel.
 * December – Superman premieres at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC on December 10 and has a European Royal Charity Premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square in London three days later in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew.

Awards
Academy Awards:


 * Best Picture: The Deer Hunter – EMI Films/Cimino, Universal
 * Best Director: Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter
 * Best Actor: Jon Voight – Coming Home
 * Best Actress: Jane Fonda – Coming Home
 * Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken – The Deer Hunter
 * Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith – California Suite
 * Best Foreign Language Film: Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Preparez vos mouchoirs), directed by Bertrand Blier, France

Golden Globe Awards:


 * Drama:
 * Best Picture: Midnight Express
 * Best Actor: Jon Voight – Coming Home
 * Best Actress: Jane Fonda – Coming Home


 * Musical or comedy:
 * Best Picture: Heaven Can Wait
 * Best Actor: Warren Beatty – Heaven Can Wait
 * Best Actress (tie): Ellen Burstyn – Same Time, Next Year
 * Best Actress (tie): Maggie Smith – California Suite


 * Other
 * Best Director: Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter
 * Best Foreign Language Film: Autumn Sonata, Sweden

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
 * The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'Albero degli zoccoli), directed by Ermanno Olmi, Italy

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
 * Trout (Las Truchas), directed by José Luis García Sánchez, Spain
 * What Max Said (Las Palabras de Max), directed by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro, Spain

Romance films released in 1978

 * 1) Days of Heaven