1979 in film

The top ten 1979 released films by North American gross are as follows:

• March 2 – Buena Vista release their first film since the advent of U.S. movie ratings to not be G-rated, Take Down.
• March 5 – Production begins on The Empire Strikes Back.
• March – Frank Price becomes president of Columbia Pictures.
• May 25 – Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released.
• May 31 – The Muppet Movie, Jim Henson's Muppets' first foray into the world of feature-length motion pictures, is released in United Kingdom.
• June 11 – John Wayne, a famous Western movie actor, dies at the age of 72 from stomach cancer.
• June 29 – Moonraker, the 11th film in the James Bond franchise, is released in the United States and goes on to become the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide.
• August 15 – Apocalypse Now is released to worldwide critical acclaim and box office success. Heralded as one of the greatest films ever made to this day.
• September 19 – Don Bluth and a group of fellow animators resign from The Walt Disney Company's animation department to set up a rival studio, Don Bluth Productions.
• October 3 – Producers Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan purchase the film rights of Batman from DC Comics. It would be another ten years, before a Batman feature film would be fully realized.
• November 1 – Production begins on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• December 7 – Star Trek: The Motion Picture debuts in the United States to mixed reviews but blockbuster box office, launching a film franchise that leads to 9 sequels and 3 reboots over the next 37 years. It also leads to the creation of five spin-off television series based upon Gene Roddenberry's creation.
• Allied Artists files for bankruptcy.

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, United States

The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel), directed by Volker Schlöndorff, W. Germany

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

David, directed by Peter Lilienthal, West Germany

United States unless stated

• January 1 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
• January 6 - Cristela Alonzo, American comedian, actress, writer and producer
• January 8 – Sarah Polley, Canadian actress
• January 24 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
• January 27 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
• February 2 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
• February 9 – Zhang Ziyi, Chinese actress and dancer
• February 11 – Brandy Norwood, American actress and singer
• February 13 – Mena Suvari, American actress
• February 21
  • Jordan Peele, American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer
  • Maryke Hendrikse, Bahamian-born Canadian voice actress
  • Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and singer
• March 5 - Riki Lindhome, American actress, comedian and musician
• March 9 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor
• March 10 – Danny Pudi, American actor
• March 17 - Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian actor, music producer and stand-up comedian
• March 24 – Lake Bell, American actress, director and screenwriter
• March 25 - Lee Pace, American actor
• March 28 - Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, producer, singer, film organiser and media personalities[21]
• April 4
  • Bunko Kanazawa, Japanese actress
  • Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
  • Natasha Lyonne, American actress
• April 11 – Josh Server, American actor
• April 12 – Claire Danes, American actress
• April 19 – Kate Hudson, American actress
• April 21 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
• April 23 – Jaime King, American actress
• May 7 – Yōsuke Kubozuka, Japanese actor
• May 9 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
• May 22 – Maggie Q, American actress
• May 28 – Monica Keena, American actress
• June 7 – Anna Torv, Australian actress
• June 21 – Chris Pratt, American actor
• June 24 – Mindy Kaling, American writer and actress
• June 27 – Benjamin Speed, Australian film composer
• July 3 – Ludivine Sagnier, French actress
• July 6 – Kevin Hart, American actor
• July 16 – Jayma Mays, American actress
• July 31 – B. J. Novak, American writer and actor
• August 3 – Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress
• August 6 – Dayahang Rai, Nepalese actor
• August 27 – Aaron Paul, American actor
• August 31 – Yuvan Shankar Raja, Indian film composer
• September 8 – Pink, American singer and actress
• September 11 – Ariana Richards, American actress
• October 1 – Marielle Heller, American film director
• October 4 – Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress
• October 6 – Sareh Bayat, Iranian actress
• October 8 – Kristanna Loken, American actress
• October 20 - John Krasinski, American actor and filmmmaker
• October 29 – Maya Karin, Malaysian actress
• November 19 – Barry Jenkins, American film director
• December 3 – Tiffany Haddish, American comedian and actress
• December 7 - Eric Bauza, Canadian-born American voice actor, stand-up comedian and animation artist
• December 11 – Rider Strong, American actor
• December 23 – Summer Altice, American model and actress
• December 26 – Chris Daughtry, American actor and singer
• December 29 - Diego Luna, Mexican actor, director and producer

• Rosanna Arquette – More American Graffiti
• Lorraine Bracco – Duos sur canapé
• Matt Craven – Meatballs
• Ted Danson – The Onion Field
• Keith David – Disco Godfather
• Matt Dillon – Over the Edge
• Lisa Eichhorn – Yanks
• Cary Elwes – Yesterday's Hero
• Bruce Greenwood – Bear Island
• Danny Glover – Escape from Alcatraz
• Dennis Haysbert – Scoring
• Sam J. Jones – 10
• Wayne Knight – The Wanderers
• Christine Lahti – ...And Justice for All
• Diane Lane – A Little Romance
• Hayao Miyazaki (director) – The Castle of Cagliostro
• David Paymer – The In-Laws
• Chris Penn – Charlie and the Talking Buzzard
• Jean Reno – The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting
• Mickey Rourke – 1941
• Jay O. Sanders – Starting Over
• Ricky Schroder – The Champ
• Wallace Shawn – Manhattan
• Martin Short – Lost and Found
• Timothy Spall – Quadrophenia
• Daniel Stern – Breaking Away
• Patrick Swayze – Skatetown, U.S.A.
• Christoph Waltz – Breakthrough
• Peter Weller – Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
• Ray Winstone – That Summer!
• JoBeth Williams – Kramer vs. Kramer