Terms of Endearment was made into an enormously successful motion picture in 1983. It won five academy awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Shirley MacLaine as Aurora), and Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson as Aurora's lover, Garrett Breedlove). Debra Winger, who played Emma, was nominated for Best Actress.

Although the film is substantially different from the novel, it is true to McMurtry's intent to define the relationship between a mother and daughter.