| 100% | STAND | 5 | With 35-Across, 1961 solo hit by Ben E. King featured in a 1986 movie |
| 32% | QUARTERTO | 9 | With 16-Across, title time in a 1961 #1 hit by Gary U.S. Bonds |
| 32% | ARIANA | 6 | With 35-Across, "Problem" singer featured on three songs in Billboard's top 10 during a week in 2014 |
| 32% | THEREGOESMY | 11 | With 22-Across, 1959 hit cowritten and sung by Ben E. King (1938-2015) with 39-Across: 3 wds. |
| 32% | STANDBYME | 9 | 1961 Ben E. King's hit song |
| 31% | ABBA | 4 | Band whose songs are featured in a hit 2001 musical and 2018 movie |
| 31% | THEDRIFTERS | 11 | Group that Ben E. King sang with before going solo: 2 wds. |
| 29% | CRAZY | 5 | "___ in Love," a hit song by Beyonce featuring her husband Jay-Z |
| 28% | BENEKING | 8 | Singer with the 1961 and 1986 hit "Stand by Me": 3 wds. |
| 28% | CHAINEDTO | 9 | With 35-Across, 2017 Katy Perry hit featuring Skip Marley: 2 wds. |
| 28% | TONIGHT | 7 | "Can You Feel the Love ___," a hit by Elton John, featured in "The Lion King" |
| 28% | FIREWALKER | 10 | 1986 Chuck Norris movie featuring Louis Gossett Jr. about a treasure quest in Central America |
| 28% | JOHNNY | 6 | With 35-Across, third in a series of five TV personalities (1962-92) |
| 28% | STANDBYME | 9 | Ben E. King, 1961 (+25) |
| 27% | MONDAY | 6 | "Manic" time in a 1986 hit |
| 27% | DONJOHNSON | 10 | "Miami Vice" star who had a top 10 hit with "Heartbeat" in 1986: 2 wds. |
| 27% | MICHELLE | 8 | With 35-Across, a member of Destiny's Child, or an actress in "Brokeback Mountain" |
| 27% | SARA | 4 | Title girl in a 1986 Starship hit |
| 27% | JENNIFER | 8 | With 35-Across, actress who starred in both the "Hunger Games" and "X-Men" movie franchises |
| 27% | ICE | 3 | With 43-Across, animated movie featuring a mammoth named Manny |
| 26% | VLADIMIR | 8 | With 35-Across, outfielder with over 1,000 hits for one team in each league (Expos and Angels) |
| 26% | OVERDRIVE | 9 | 1986 movie directed by Stephen King: Maximum __ |
| 26% | THEHANGOVER | 11 | Movie about three friends getting drunk and wasted in Las Vegas, featuring a cameo by the boxer Mike Tyson: 2 wds. |
| 26% | KWAI | 4 | River in a 1957 hit movie |
| 26% | DARKOFTHEMOON | 13 | First book in a series of novels by John Sandford featuring 46-Across (4 wds.) |
| 26% | LOVEBUG | 7 | 30-Across hit song with a video inspired by "The Notebook" |
| 26% | TOPGUN | 6 | 1986 movie in which Tom Cruise played a maverick |
| 26% | BOMP | 4 | Nonsense word repeated in a 1961 hit |
| 26% | SUE | 3 | "Runaround" girl in a 1961 Dion hit |
| 26% | NONO | 4 | Talking in a movie theater, e.g. |