Pat Benatar is a legend in the music industry, with some of music’s evergreen songs. Born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953, Benatar is an American rock musician and songwriter who dominated airwaves in the 80s and 90s. Benatar is also a four-time Grammy Award winner, receiving nine total nominations. Having multi-platinum and several platinum albums, Benatar sold over 35 million albums worldwide. In November 2022, Benatar was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame.
Benatar’s music has shown to be cross-generational, as some have been featured in several film and television productions. Although her name may not be popular with non-Rock music audiences, many would recognize parts of her songs as they’ve been used as soundtracks in popular movies. Beginning from selected movies in the early 80s to the 2020s, these are the top uses of Pat Benatar songs in movies.
8. An Officer and A Gentleman (1982) – “Treat Me Right”
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) is one of Hollywood’s classic movies. The award-winning movie stood out for its commercial success, as well as its incredible track listing of songs. Pat Benatar’s “Treat Me Right” was one of the movie’s iconic songs. An Officer and a Gentleman grossed $190 million on a $6–7 million production budget. The movie starred Richard Gere as its main protagonist Aviation Officer Candidate (AOC) Zack Mayo, and Debra Winger as Paula Pokrifki.
7. The Legend of Billie Jean (1985) – “Invincible”
Pat Benatar’s “Invincible” was the theme song for the 1985 Matthew Robbins’ drama The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). “Invincible” is Pat Benatar’s lead single from her sixth studio album, Seven the Hard Way. The song was nominated for a Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock and number 10 on US Billboard Hot 100.
6. The Italian Job (2003) – “Heartbreaker”
Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” plays in the background as Charlie Crocker (Mark Wahlberg) explains to Stella Bridgerton (Charlize Theron) who and what Handsome Rob (Jason Statham) does and brings to the team. The all-star cast helped make the movie, The Italian Job (2003) a critical and commercial success. Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” is from the singer’s debut album, In the Heat of the Night (1979).
5. 13 Going On 30 (2004) – “Love is A Battlefield”
13 Going on 30 (2004) is one of Hollywood’s fantasy romantic comedy classics of the 2000s. The movie stars Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink – a 13-year-old girl whose wish comes true, and wakes up as a 30-year-old. Mark Ruffalo plays her grown-up former best friend, Matty Flamhaff, who later becomes her husband.
Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” plays during the slumber party hosted by Jenna Rink with her buildings’ teenage friend and her friends. The girls dance along to the song after Jenna tells them a love story about Matty, then have goosebumps afterward. “Love is a Battlefield” was released as a single from Pat Benatar’s fifth studio album, Live from Earth (1983).
4. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) – “We Belong”
Will Ferrell’s movies are known for taking inspirational songs and putting them in the strangest places. Ferrell’s movies are always what they are – comedies! Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” begins playing as Ricky (Will Ferrell) and Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) race to the finish line after ditching their destroyed race cars. Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” was a lead single from her sixth studio album, Tropico (1984). Another use of the song was in an end-credit scene in 2018 Deadpool 2.
3. Shrek Forever After (2010) – “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
As a computer-animated film, it’s no surprise the creator has one of the characters singing Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” rather than have it play as a background song in Shrek Forever After (2010). After the Witches captured Shrek and put him in a carriage ridden by Donkey, Donkey sings the song immediately after he’s whipped by one of the witches. The song’s lyrics coincide with the camera shot showing the mountain’s dilapidated Far Away sign. “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” is Pat Benatar’s second released single from her second album, Crimes of Passion (1980).
2. Nobody (2021) – “Heartbreaker”
Nobody (2021) is an action thriller that stars Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell. It follows the life of its protagonist, Hutch, who returns to his assassin’s ways after his house gets robbed. Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” is played twice in the movie. The most significant scene is when Hutch gets pursued by the Russian boss and his foot soldiers. As Hutch tries to escape them, the song plays for two minutes in the background of the chase scenes. Audiences can briefly hear the song as Hutch’s neighbor drives away in his vintage car that Hutch eventually steals.
1. The Lost City (2022) – “Shadows of the Night”
Pat Benatar’s “Shadows of the Night” played for about 36 seconds after Jack (Brad Pitt) and Alan (Channing Tatum) rescued Loretta (Sandra Bullock) from Abigail’s (Daniel Radcliffe) island compound in The Lost City (2022). The song cues in just as the duo wheels Loretta out of the compound with a car exploding behind them. Pat Benatar‘s “Shadow of the Night” version was released as a lead single from her fourth studio album, Get Nervous (1982).Grammy Award
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