John Fredrick Parker
Donor
So I was looking at Wikipedia pages on the biggest US domestic box office successes of each year, when I noticed some things: first, that 1964 had two films topping $100 million, seemingly for the first time since Gone with the Wind (or at least WWII), followed by 1965 including not only that but (for a time) the highest grossing film ever. As I looked deeper, it struck me that 1961 seems to be a turning point in the history of the box office, not only for seeming to have the highest grossing film since GWTW at the time, but for the films overall; even the fifth highest grossing film that year did better than most that came before, and after the following year it no film in the top five did worse than about $25 million.
So what do you guys think; am I on to something? If so, what accounts for this growth in the 1960's; rising ticket prices, baby boomers, a changing industry, or something else? Below are the numbers I'm talking about:
Top Films by Year (red include re-releases)
1945
1. The Bells of St. Mary's - $8,500,000
2. Spellbound - $7,775,000
3. Leave Her to Heaven - $6,505,000
4. Mildred Pierce - $5,638,000
5. Anchors Aweigh - $4,779,000
1946
1. Song of the South* - $29,229,000
2. The Best Years of Our Lives $11,300,000
2. Duel in the Sun Selznick - $7,600,000
5. Blue Skies - $5,700,000
1947
1. Unconquered Paramount Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard $6,100,000
2. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
The Egg and I RKO
Universal Cary Grant, Shirley Temple
Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray $5,500,000
3. Mother Wore Tights 20th Century Fox Betty Grable, Dan Dailey $5,250,000
4. Life With Father Warner Bros. William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor $5,057,000
5. Green Dolphin Street MGM Lana Turner, Donna Reed $5,000,000
1948
1. The Red Shoes Eagle-Lion Moira Shearer $5,000,000
2. The Three Musketeers MGM Lana Turner, Gene Kelly $4,507,000
3. Red River United Artists John Wayne, Montgomery Clift $4,500,000
4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Warner Bros. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston $4,307,000
5. When My Baby Smiles at Me 20th Century Fox Betty Grable, Dan Dailey $4,200,000
1949
1. Samson and Delilah Paramount Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury $28,800,000[2]
2. Battleground MGM Van Johnson, John Hodiak $5,051,000
3. Jolson Sings Again
Sands of Iwo Jima Columbia
Republic Larry Parks
John Wayne $5,000,000
5. I Was a Male War Bride 20th Century Fox Cary Grant, Ann Sheridan $4,100,000
1950
1. Cinderella* Disney Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley $141,087,000
2. King Solomon's Mines MGM Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger $5,586,000
3. Annie Get Your Gun MGM Betty Hutton, Howard Keel $4,919,000
4. Sunset Boulevard Paramount Gloria Swanson, William Holden $4,425,000
5. Father of the Bride MGM Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor $4,115,000
1951
1. Quo Vadis MGM Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov, Leo Genn, Patricia Laffan, Finlay Currie $11,902,000
2. Alice in Wonderland* Disney Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Jerry Colonna, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Verna Felton, J. Pat O'Malley, Heather Angel $7,196,000
3. Show Boat MGM Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ava Gardner, William Warfield, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Agnes Moorehead $5,533,000
4. A Streetcar Named Desire Warner Brothers Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Kim Hunter $4,800,000
5. David and Bathsheba Fox Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward $4,720,000
1952
1. The Greatest Show on Earth Paramount Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Gloria Grahame $14,000,000
2. The Bad and the Beautiful MGM Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Dick Powell, Gloria Grahame $8,500,000
3. The Snows of Kilimanjaro Fox Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner $6,700,000
4. Ivanhoe MGM Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor $6,258,000
5. Singin' in the Rain MGM Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen $6,000,000
1953
1. The Robe Twentieth Century Fox Henry Koster Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie, Jay Robinson, Dean Jagger $17,500,000
2. From Here to Eternity Columbia Pictures Fred Zinneman Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, George Reeves $12,500,000
3. Shane Paramount Pictures George Stevens Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan $8,000,000
4. How to Marry a Millionaire Twentieth Century Fox Jean Negulesco Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, William Powell, Cameron Mitchell, Rory Calhoun $7,500,000
5. Peter Pan RKO / Walt Disney Productions / Walt Disney Feature Animation Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Paul Collins, Tommy Luske, Heather Angel, Bill Thompson, Margaret Kerry, Corinne Orr, Robert Ellis, Jeffery Silver, Jonny McGovern, Stuffy Singer, Tony Butala $7,000,000
1954
1. White Christmas Paramount Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger $30,000,000[1]
2. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Walt Disney Pictures Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Peter Lorre $28,200,000[2]
3. Rear Window Paramount James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr $27,559,601[3]
4. Demetrius and the Gladiators 20th Century Fox Victor Mature, Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine $26,000,000[4]
5. The Caine Mutiny Columbia Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson, José Ferrer, Robert Francis, E. G. Marshall $21,800,000[5]
1955
1. Cinerama Holiday Cinerama Productions $10,000,000
2. Mister Roberts Warner Bros. Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon $8,500,000
3. Battle Cry Warner Bros. Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, James Whitmore, Mona Freeman $8,000,000
4. Oklahoma! RKO Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Gloria Grahame, Eddie Albert $7,100,000
5. Guys and Dolls MGM Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine $6,900,000
1956
1. The Ten Commandments Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek Paramount $43,000,000
2. Around the World in 80 Days David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine United Artists $23,120,000
3. Giant Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean Warner Bros. $14,000,000
4. War and Peace Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda Paramount $12,500,000
5. The King and I Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner 20th Century Fox $9,000,000
1957
1. The Bridge on the River Kwai William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa Columbia $17,195,000
2. Peyton Place Lana Turner, Hope Lange 20th Century Fox $16,100,000
3. Sayonara Marlon Brando, Red Buttons Warner Brothers $10,500,000
4. Old Yeller* Walt Disney Productions $10,050,000
5. Raintree County Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, Lee Marvin MGM $5,963,000
1958
1. South Pacific 20th Century Fox Joshua Logan Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr, Ray Walston, Juanita Hall, France Nuyen, Russ Brown $16,300,000[1]
2. Auntie Mame Warner Bros. Pictures Morton DaCosta Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne, Roger Smith, Peggy Cass $9,100,000[1]
3. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Richard Brooks Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Judith Anderson, Jack Carson, Madeleine Sherwood $7,800,000[1]
4. No Time for Sergeants Warner Bros. Pictures Mervyn LeRoy Andy Griffith, Myron McCormick, Murray Hamilton, Nick Adams, Don Knotts $7,500,000[1]
5. Gigi Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Vincente Minnelli Leslie Caron, Louis Jordan, Hermione Gingold, Maurice Chevalier, Isabel Jeans, Eva Gabor, Jacques Bergerac $6,700,000[1]
1959
1. Ben-Hur MGM Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Jack Hawkins $36.992 m
2. Sleeping Beauty* Disney Mary Costa, Eleanor Audley, Bill Shirley, Verna Felton $21.998 m
3. North by Northwest MGM Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason $12.703 m
4. Some Like It Hot United Artists Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon $10.128 m
5. Pillow Talk Universal Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall $9.670 m
1960
1. Spartacus Universal Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin $14,000,000[1]
2. Psycho Paramount Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, Janet Leigh $9,100,000[1]
3. Exodus United Artists Paul Newman, Ralph Richardson, Eva Marie Saint, Sal Mineo, Jill Haworth, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, John Derek $8,500,000[1]
4. Swiss Family Robinson Walt Disney Productions John Mills, Dorothy McGuire $7,900,000[1]
5. The Alamo United Artists John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Chill Wills $7,900,000[1]
1961
1. West Side Story United Artists Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Russ Tamblyn, Simon Oakland $43,656,822[1]
2. The Guns of Navarone Columbia Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, David Niven, Stanley Baker, Irene Papas, James Darren, Gia Scala $28,900,000[2]
3. El Cid Allied Artists Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren $26,600,000[3]
4. The Absent-Minded Professor Walt Disney Productions Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliot Reid, Ed Wynn $25,381,407[4]
5. The Parent Trap Walt Disney Productions Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith $25,150,385[5]
1962
1. Lawrence of Arabia* Columbia Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, José Ferrer, Alec Guinness $44,824,144[1]
2. The Longest Day 20th Century Fox John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, Richard Burton $39,100,000[2]
3. In Search of the Castaways Disney Hayley Mills, Maurice Chevalier $21,745,500[3]
4. That Touch of Mink Universal International Cary Grant, Doris Day $17,648,927[4]
5. The Music Man Warner Bros. Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Ron Howard, Buddy Hackett, Paul Ford $14,953,846[5]
1963
1. Cleopatra 20th Century Fox Joseph L. Mankiewicz Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, Martin Landau $57,777,778[1]
2. How the West Was Won Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Cinerama Henry Hathaway, John Ford, George Marshall James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Carroll Baker, Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Preston, Karl Malden, George Peppard, Agnes Moorehead, Lee J. Cobb, John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Walter Brennan, Thelma Ritter, Brigid Bazlen, Harry Morgan, Carolyn Jones $46,500,000[2]
3. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World United Artists Stanley Kramer Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Ethel Merman, Buddy Hackett, Terry-Thomas, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Dorothy Provine, Phil Silvers, Edie Adams, Dick Shawn, Peter Falk, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Jimmy Durante $46,332,858[3]
4. Tom Jones United Artists Tony Richardson Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, David Tomlinson $37,600,000[4]
5. Irma la Douce United Artists / The Mirisch Corporation Billy Wilder Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine $25,246,588[5]
1964
1. Goldfinger* United Artists Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, Honor Blackman, Harold Sakata $124,900,000[1]
2. Mary Poppins* Disney Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke $102,272,727[2]
3. My Fair Lady* Warner Bros. Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison $72,000,000[3]
4. The Carpetbaggers Paramount George Peppard, Carroll Baker, Alan Ladd, Elizabeth Ashley $28,409,547[4]
5. From Russia with Love United Artists Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya $24,796,765[5]
1965
1. The Sound of Music* 20th Century Fox Robert Wise Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charmian Carr, Nicholas Hammond, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, Kym Karath, Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Eleanor Parker, Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon, Daniel Truhitte, Ben Wright $163,214,286[1]
2. Doctor Zhivago* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer David Lean Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, Geraldine Chaplin, Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson, Tom Courtenay, Siobhán McKenna, Rita Tushingham $111,721,910[2]
3. Thunderball United Artists Terence Young Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, Desmond Llewelyn, Bernard Lee $63,595,658[3]
4. Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines 20th Century Fox Ken Annakin Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, James Fox, Terry-Thomas, Robert Morley, Alberto Sordi, Gert Fröbe, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Irina Demick, Red Skelton, Yujiro Ishihara, Karl Michael Vogler, Dame Flora Robson, Sam Wanamaker, Gordon Jackson $31,111,111[4]
5. That Darn Cat! Walt Disney Productions Robert Stevenson Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall, Neville Brand, Frank Gorshin, Grayson Hall, Elsa Lanchester, William Demarest, Ed Wynn $28,068,222[5]
1966
1. The Bible: In the Beginning... 20th Century Fox Michael Parks, Richard Harris, John Huston, George C. Scott, Ava Gardner, Stephen Boyd, Peter O'Toole $34,900,023[1]
2. Hawaii United Artists Julie Andrews, Max von Sydow, Richard Harris, Gene Hackman, Jocelyne LaGarde $34,562,222[2]
3. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Warner Bros. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis $33,736,689[3]
4. The Sand Pebbles 20th Century Fox Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Candice Bergen, Richard Crenna, Marayat Andriane, Mako $30,017,647[4]
5. A Man For All Seasons Columbia Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, John Hurt $28,350,000[5]
1967
1. The Graduate AVCO Embassy / United Artists Mike Nichols Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Murray Hamilton, Elizabeth Wilson, Norman Fell $104,901,839[2]
2. The Jungle Book Walt Disney Productions / Walt Disney Feature Animation Wolfgang Reitherman Bruce Reitherman, Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Sanders, Louis Prima, Darleen Carr, Verna Felton, J. Pat O'Malley $73,741,048[3]
3. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Columbia Pictures Stanley Kramer Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton, Beah Richards, Roy Glenn, Cecil Kellaway, Isabel Sanford $56,666,667[4]
4. Bonnie and Clyde Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Arthur Penn Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Wilder $50,700,000[5]
5. The Dirty Dozen Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Robert Aldrich Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker $45,300,000[6]
1968
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Stanley Kubrick Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Douglas Rain $56,700,000[1]
2. Funny Girl Columbia Pictures William Wyler Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon $52,000,000[2]
3. The Love Bug Walt Disney Productions Robert Stevenson Dean Jones, Michele Lee, David Tomlinson, Buddy Hackett $51,264,000[3]
4. The Odd Couple Paramount Pictures Gene Saks Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Herb Edelman $44,527,234[4]
5. Bullitt Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Peter Yates Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset $42,300,873[5]
1969
1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 20th Century Fox Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross $102,308,889[1]
2. Midnight Cowboy United Artists Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman $44,785,053[2]
3. Easy Rider Columbia Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson $41,728,598[3]
4. Hello, Dolly! 20th Century Fox Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford $33,208,099[4]
5. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Columbia Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Dyan Cannon, Elliott Gould $31,897,253[5]
1970
1. Love Story Paramount Pictures $106,397,186[1]
2. Airport Universal Studios $100,489,151[2]
3. MASH 20th Century Fox Film Corporation $67,300,000[3]
4. Patton 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation $61,749,765[4]
5. Woodstock Warner Bros. Pictures $50,000,000[5]
1971
1. Fiddler on the Roof United Artists $75,600,000[1]
2. The French Connection 20th Century Fox $51,700,000[2]
3. Diamonds Are Forever United Artists $43,819,547[3]
4. Dirty Harry Warner Bros. $35,976,000[4]
5. Billy Jack Warner Bros. $32,500,000[5]
1972
1. The Godfather Paramount Pictures $133,698,921[1]
2. The Poseidon Adventure 20th Century Fox $93,300,000[2]
3. What's Up, Doc? Warner Bros. $66,000,000[3]
4. Behind the Green Door Mitchell Brothers Film Group $50,000,000[4]
5. Deliverance Warner Bros. $46,122,355[5]
1973
1. The Sting Universal Pictures $156,000,000[1]
2. The Exorcist Warner Bros. $128,000,000[2]
3. American Graffiti Universal Pictures $96,300,000[3]
4. Papillon Allied Artists Pictures $53,267,000[4]
5. The Way We Were Columbia Pictures $45,000,000[5]
1974
1. Blazing Saddles Warner Bros. $119,500,000[1]
2. The Towering Inferno 20th Century Fox / Warner Bros. $116,000,000[2]
3. The Trial of Billy Jack Warner Bros. $89,000,000[3]
4. Young Frankenstein 20th Century Fox $86,273,333[4]
5. Earthquake Universal Pictures $79,666,653[5]
1975
1. Jaws Universal Pictures $260,000,000[1]
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show 20th Century Fox $112,892,319[2]
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest United Artists $108,981,275[3]
4. Dog Day Afternoon Warner Bros. $50,000,000[4]
5. Shampoo Columbia Pictures $49,407,734[5]
1976
1. Rocky United Artists Pictures $117,235,147[1]
2. To Fly! National Air and Space Museum $86,600,000[2]
3. A Star Is Born Warner Bros. Pictures $80,000,000[3]
4. All the President's Men Warner Bros. Pictures $70,600,000[4]
5. The Omen 20th Century Fox Film Corporation $60,922,980[5]
1977
1. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Lucasfilm / 20th Century Fox $307,263,857[1]
2. Smokey and the Bandit Universal Pictures $126,737,428[2]
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind Columbia Pictures $116,395,460[3]
4. The Goodbye Girl Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Bros. / Rastar $102,000,000[4]
5. Saturday Night Fever Paramount Pictures $94,213,184[5]
So what do you guys think; am I on to something? If so, what accounts for this growth in the 1960's; rising ticket prices, baby boomers, a changing industry, or something else? Below are the numbers I'm talking about:
Top Films by Year (red include re-releases)
1945
1. The Bells of St. Mary's - $8,500,000
2. Spellbound - $7,775,000
3. Leave Her to Heaven - $6,505,000
4. Mildred Pierce - $5,638,000
5. Anchors Aweigh - $4,779,000
1946
1. Song of the South* - $29,229,000
2. The Best Years of Our Lives $11,300,000
2. Duel in the Sun Selznick - $7,600,000
5. Blue Skies - $5,700,000
1947
1. Unconquered Paramount Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard $6,100,000
2. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
The Egg and I RKO
Universal Cary Grant, Shirley Temple
Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray $5,500,000
3. Mother Wore Tights 20th Century Fox Betty Grable, Dan Dailey $5,250,000
4. Life With Father Warner Bros. William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor $5,057,000
5. Green Dolphin Street MGM Lana Turner, Donna Reed $5,000,000
1948
1. The Red Shoes Eagle-Lion Moira Shearer $5,000,000
2. The Three Musketeers MGM Lana Turner, Gene Kelly $4,507,000
3. Red River United Artists John Wayne, Montgomery Clift $4,500,000
4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Warner Bros. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston $4,307,000
5. When My Baby Smiles at Me 20th Century Fox Betty Grable, Dan Dailey $4,200,000
1949
1. Samson and Delilah Paramount Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury $28,800,000[2]
2. Battleground MGM Van Johnson, John Hodiak $5,051,000
3. Jolson Sings Again
Sands of Iwo Jima Columbia
Republic Larry Parks
John Wayne $5,000,000
5. I Was a Male War Bride 20th Century Fox Cary Grant, Ann Sheridan $4,100,000
1950
1. Cinderella* Disney Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley $141,087,000
2. King Solomon's Mines MGM Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger $5,586,000
3. Annie Get Your Gun MGM Betty Hutton, Howard Keel $4,919,000
4. Sunset Boulevard Paramount Gloria Swanson, William Holden $4,425,000
5. Father of the Bride MGM Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor $4,115,000
1951
1. Quo Vadis MGM Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov, Leo Genn, Patricia Laffan, Finlay Currie $11,902,000
2. Alice in Wonderland* Disney Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Jerry Colonna, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Verna Felton, J. Pat O'Malley, Heather Angel $7,196,000
3. Show Boat MGM Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ava Gardner, William Warfield, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Agnes Moorehead $5,533,000
4. A Streetcar Named Desire Warner Brothers Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Kim Hunter $4,800,000
5. David and Bathsheba Fox Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward $4,720,000
1952
1. The Greatest Show on Earth Paramount Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Gloria Grahame $14,000,000
2. The Bad and the Beautiful MGM Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Dick Powell, Gloria Grahame $8,500,000
3. The Snows of Kilimanjaro Fox Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner $6,700,000
4. Ivanhoe MGM Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor $6,258,000
5. Singin' in the Rain MGM Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen $6,000,000
1953
1. The Robe Twentieth Century Fox Henry Koster Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie, Jay Robinson, Dean Jagger $17,500,000
2. From Here to Eternity Columbia Pictures Fred Zinneman Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, George Reeves $12,500,000
3. Shane Paramount Pictures George Stevens Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan $8,000,000
4. How to Marry a Millionaire Twentieth Century Fox Jean Negulesco Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, William Powell, Cameron Mitchell, Rory Calhoun $7,500,000
5. Peter Pan RKO / Walt Disney Productions / Walt Disney Feature Animation Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Paul Collins, Tommy Luske, Heather Angel, Bill Thompson, Margaret Kerry, Corinne Orr, Robert Ellis, Jeffery Silver, Jonny McGovern, Stuffy Singer, Tony Butala $7,000,000
1954
1. White Christmas Paramount Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger $30,000,000[1]
2. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Walt Disney Pictures Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Peter Lorre $28,200,000[2]
3. Rear Window Paramount James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr $27,559,601[3]
4. Demetrius and the Gladiators 20th Century Fox Victor Mature, Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine $26,000,000[4]
5. The Caine Mutiny Columbia Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson, José Ferrer, Robert Francis, E. G. Marshall $21,800,000[5]
1955
1. Cinerama Holiday Cinerama Productions $10,000,000
2. Mister Roberts Warner Bros. Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon $8,500,000
3. Battle Cry Warner Bros. Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, James Whitmore, Mona Freeman $8,000,000
4. Oklahoma! RKO Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Gloria Grahame, Eddie Albert $7,100,000
5. Guys and Dolls MGM Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine $6,900,000
1956
1. The Ten Commandments Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek Paramount $43,000,000
2. Around the World in 80 Days David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine United Artists $23,120,000
3. Giant Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean Warner Bros. $14,000,000
4. War and Peace Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda Paramount $12,500,000
5. The King and I Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner 20th Century Fox $9,000,000
1957
1. The Bridge on the River Kwai William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa Columbia $17,195,000
2. Peyton Place Lana Turner, Hope Lange 20th Century Fox $16,100,000
3. Sayonara Marlon Brando, Red Buttons Warner Brothers $10,500,000
4. Old Yeller* Walt Disney Productions $10,050,000
5. Raintree County Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, Lee Marvin MGM $5,963,000
1958
1. South Pacific 20th Century Fox Joshua Logan Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr, Ray Walston, Juanita Hall, France Nuyen, Russ Brown $16,300,000[1]
2. Auntie Mame Warner Bros. Pictures Morton DaCosta Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne, Roger Smith, Peggy Cass $9,100,000[1]
3. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Richard Brooks Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Judith Anderson, Jack Carson, Madeleine Sherwood $7,800,000[1]
4. No Time for Sergeants Warner Bros. Pictures Mervyn LeRoy Andy Griffith, Myron McCormick, Murray Hamilton, Nick Adams, Don Knotts $7,500,000[1]
5. Gigi Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Vincente Minnelli Leslie Caron, Louis Jordan, Hermione Gingold, Maurice Chevalier, Isabel Jeans, Eva Gabor, Jacques Bergerac $6,700,000[1]
1959
1. Ben-Hur MGM Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Jack Hawkins $36.992 m
2. Sleeping Beauty* Disney Mary Costa, Eleanor Audley, Bill Shirley, Verna Felton $21.998 m
3. North by Northwest MGM Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason $12.703 m
4. Some Like It Hot United Artists Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon $10.128 m
5. Pillow Talk Universal Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall $9.670 m
1960
1. Spartacus Universal Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin $14,000,000[1]
2. Psycho Paramount Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, Janet Leigh $9,100,000[1]
3. Exodus United Artists Paul Newman, Ralph Richardson, Eva Marie Saint, Sal Mineo, Jill Haworth, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, John Derek $8,500,000[1]
4. Swiss Family Robinson Walt Disney Productions John Mills, Dorothy McGuire $7,900,000[1]
5. The Alamo United Artists John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Chill Wills $7,900,000[1]
1961
1. West Side Story United Artists Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Russ Tamblyn, Simon Oakland $43,656,822[1]
2. The Guns of Navarone Columbia Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, David Niven, Stanley Baker, Irene Papas, James Darren, Gia Scala $28,900,000[2]
3. El Cid Allied Artists Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren $26,600,000[3]
4. The Absent-Minded Professor Walt Disney Productions Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliot Reid, Ed Wynn $25,381,407[4]
5. The Parent Trap Walt Disney Productions Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith $25,150,385[5]
1962
1. Lawrence of Arabia* Columbia Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, José Ferrer, Alec Guinness $44,824,144[1]
2. The Longest Day 20th Century Fox John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, Richard Burton $39,100,000[2]
3. In Search of the Castaways Disney Hayley Mills, Maurice Chevalier $21,745,500[3]
4. That Touch of Mink Universal International Cary Grant, Doris Day $17,648,927[4]
5. The Music Man Warner Bros. Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Ron Howard, Buddy Hackett, Paul Ford $14,953,846[5]
1963
1. Cleopatra 20th Century Fox Joseph L. Mankiewicz Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, Martin Landau $57,777,778[1]
2. How the West Was Won Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Cinerama Henry Hathaway, John Ford, George Marshall James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Carroll Baker, Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Preston, Karl Malden, George Peppard, Agnes Moorehead, Lee J. Cobb, John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Walter Brennan, Thelma Ritter, Brigid Bazlen, Harry Morgan, Carolyn Jones $46,500,000[2]
3. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World United Artists Stanley Kramer Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Ethel Merman, Buddy Hackett, Terry-Thomas, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Dorothy Provine, Phil Silvers, Edie Adams, Dick Shawn, Peter Falk, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Jimmy Durante $46,332,858[3]
4. Tom Jones United Artists Tony Richardson Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, David Tomlinson $37,600,000[4]
5. Irma la Douce United Artists / The Mirisch Corporation Billy Wilder Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine $25,246,588[5]
1964
1. Goldfinger* United Artists Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, Honor Blackman, Harold Sakata $124,900,000[1]
2. Mary Poppins* Disney Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke $102,272,727[2]
3. My Fair Lady* Warner Bros. Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison $72,000,000[3]
4. The Carpetbaggers Paramount George Peppard, Carroll Baker, Alan Ladd, Elizabeth Ashley $28,409,547[4]
5. From Russia with Love United Artists Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya $24,796,765[5]
1965
1. The Sound of Music* 20th Century Fox Robert Wise Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charmian Carr, Nicholas Hammond, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, Kym Karath, Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Eleanor Parker, Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon, Daniel Truhitte, Ben Wright $163,214,286[1]
2. Doctor Zhivago* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer David Lean Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, Geraldine Chaplin, Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson, Tom Courtenay, Siobhán McKenna, Rita Tushingham $111,721,910[2]
3. Thunderball United Artists Terence Young Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, Desmond Llewelyn, Bernard Lee $63,595,658[3]
4. Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines 20th Century Fox Ken Annakin Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, James Fox, Terry-Thomas, Robert Morley, Alberto Sordi, Gert Fröbe, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Irina Demick, Red Skelton, Yujiro Ishihara, Karl Michael Vogler, Dame Flora Robson, Sam Wanamaker, Gordon Jackson $31,111,111[4]
5. That Darn Cat! Walt Disney Productions Robert Stevenson Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall, Neville Brand, Frank Gorshin, Grayson Hall, Elsa Lanchester, William Demarest, Ed Wynn $28,068,222[5]
1966
1. The Bible: In the Beginning... 20th Century Fox Michael Parks, Richard Harris, John Huston, George C. Scott, Ava Gardner, Stephen Boyd, Peter O'Toole $34,900,023[1]
2. Hawaii United Artists Julie Andrews, Max von Sydow, Richard Harris, Gene Hackman, Jocelyne LaGarde $34,562,222[2]
3. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Warner Bros. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis $33,736,689[3]
4. The Sand Pebbles 20th Century Fox Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Candice Bergen, Richard Crenna, Marayat Andriane, Mako $30,017,647[4]
5. A Man For All Seasons Columbia Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, John Hurt $28,350,000[5]
1967
1. The Graduate AVCO Embassy / United Artists Mike Nichols Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Murray Hamilton, Elizabeth Wilson, Norman Fell $104,901,839[2]
2. The Jungle Book Walt Disney Productions / Walt Disney Feature Animation Wolfgang Reitherman Bruce Reitherman, Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Sanders, Louis Prima, Darleen Carr, Verna Felton, J. Pat O'Malley $73,741,048[3]
3. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Columbia Pictures Stanley Kramer Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton, Beah Richards, Roy Glenn, Cecil Kellaway, Isabel Sanford $56,666,667[4]
4. Bonnie and Clyde Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Arthur Penn Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Wilder $50,700,000[5]
5. The Dirty Dozen Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Robert Aldrich Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker $45,300,000[6]
1968
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Stanley Kubrick Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Douglas Rain $56,700,000[1]
2. Funny Girl Columbia Pictures William Wyler Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon $52,000,000[2]
3. The Love Bug Walt Disney Productions Robert Stevenson Dean Jones, Michele Lee, David Tomlinson, Buddy Hackett $51,264,000[3]
4. The Odd Couple Paramount Pictures Gene Saks Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Herb Edelman $44,527,234[4]
5. Bullitt Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Peter Yates Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset $42,300,873[5]
1969
1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 20th Century Fox Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross $102,308,889[1]
2. Midnight Cowboy United Artists Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman $44,785,053[2]
3. Easy Rider Columbia Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson $41,728,598[3]
4. Hello, Dolly! 20th Century Fox Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford $33,208,099[4]
5. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Columbia Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Dyan Cannon, Elliott Gould $31,897,253[5]
1970
1. Love Story Paramount Pictures $106,397,186[1]
2. Airport Universal Studios $100,489,151[2]
3. MASH 20th Century Fox Film Corporation $67,300,000[3]
4. Patton 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation $61,749,765[4]
5. Woodstock Warner Bros. Pictures $50,000,000[5]
1971
1. Fiddler on the Roof United Artists $75,600,000[1]
2. The French Connection 20th Century Fox $51,700,000[2]
3. Diamonds Are Forever United Artists $43,819,547[3]
4. Dirty Harry Warner Bros. $35,976,000[4]
5. Billy Jack Warner Bros. $32,500,000[5]
1972
1. The Godfather Paramount Pictures $133,698,921[1]
2. The Poseidon Adventure 20th Century Fox $93,300,000[2]
3. What's Up, Doc? Warner Bros. $66,000,000[3]
4. Behind the Green Door Mitchell Brothers Film Group $50,000,000[4]
5. Deliverance Warner Bros. $46,122,355[5]
1973
1. The Sting Universal Pictures $156,000,000[1]
2. The Exorcist Warner Bros. $128,000,000[2]
3. American Graffiti Universal Pictures $96,300,000[3]
4. Papillon Allied Artists Pictures $53,267,000[4]
5. The Way We Were Columbia Pictures $45,000,000[5]
1974
1. Blazing Saddles Warner Bros. $119,500,000[1]
2. The Towering Inferno 20th Century Fox / Warner Bros. $116,000,000[2]
3. The Trial of Billy Jack Warner Bros. $89,000,000[3]
4. Young Frankenstein 20th Century Fox $86,273,333[4]
5. Earthquake Universal Pictures $79,666,653[5]
1975
1. Jaws Universal Pictures $260,000,000[1]
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show 20th Century Fox $112,892,319[2]
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest United Artists $108,981,275[3]
4. Dog Day Afternoon Warner Bros. $50,000,000[4]
5. Shampoo Columbia Pictures $49,407,734[5]
1976
1. Rocky United Artists Pictures $117,235,147[1]
2. To Fly! National Air and Space Museum $86,600,000[2]
3. A Star Is Born Warner Bros. Pictures $80,000,000[3]
4. All the President's Men Warner Bros. Pictures $70,600,000[4]
5. The Omen 20th Century Fox Film Corporation $60,922,980[5]
1977
1. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Lucasfilm / 20th Century Fox $307,263,857[1]
2. Smokey and the Bandit Universal Pictures $126,737,428[2]
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind Columbia Pictures $116,395,460[3]
4. The Goodbye Girl Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Bros. / Rastar $102,000,000[4]
5. Saturday Night Fever Paramount Pictures $94,213,184[5]
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