This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekly box office in the United States during 1974 per Variety. The data was based on grosses from 20 to 24 key cities and therefore, the gross quoted may not be the total that the film grossed nationally in the week.

Number-one films

# Week ending Film Gross Notes Ref
1 January 2, 1974 Papillon $1,463,300 Papillon reached number one in its second week of release [1]
2 January 9, 1974 The Exorcist $1,007,800 The Exorcist reached number one in its second week of release [2]
3 January 16, 1974 $1,365,500 [3]
4 January 23, 1974 $1,532,611 [4]
5 January 30, 1974 $1,535,896 [5]
6 February 6, 1974 $1,589,500 [6]
7 February 13, 1974 $1,369,500 [7]
8 February 20, 1974 $1,506,188 [8]
9 February 27, 1974 $1,312,000 [9]
10 March 6, 1974 $1,182,600 [10]
11 March 13, 1974 $1,012,100 [11]
12 March 20, 1974 $835,200 [12]
13 March 27, 1974 $743,283 [13]
14 April 3, 1974 The Sting $1,332,300 The Sting reached number one in its 14th week on the chart [14]
15 April 10, 1974 $1,585,100 [15]
16 April 17, 1974 Blazing Saddles $1,233,700 Blazing Saddles reached number one in its tenth week of release [16]
17 April 24, 1974 The Sting $1,145,900 The Sting returned to number one in its 17th week on the chart [17]
18 May 1, 1974 $1,032,900 [18]
19 May 8, 1974 $853,300 [19]
20 May 15, 1974 $815,000 [20]
21 May 22, 1974 $725,500 [21]
22 May 29, 1974 The Great Gatsby $1,044,438 The Great Gatsby reached number one in its ninth week on the chart [22]
23 June 5, 1974 The Sting $759,700 The Sting returned to number one in its 23rd week on the chart [23]
24 June 12, 1974 The Poseidon Adventure (reissue) $575,500 [24]
25 June 19, 1974 The Lords of Flatbush $612,000 The Lords of Flatbush reached number one in its seventh week on the chart [25]
26 June 26, 1974 The Exorcist $4,061,300 The Exorcist returned to number one in its 26th week of release. First film to gross over $4 million in a week in the cities sampled [26]
27 July 3, 1974 $2,547,437 [27]
28 July 10, 1974 $1,542,825 [28]
29 July 17, 1974 Herbie Rides Again $860,200 Herbie Rides Again reached number one in its sixth week on the chart [29]
30 July 24, 1974 Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry $869,202 Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry reached number one in its ninth week on the chart [30]
31 July 31, 1974 For Pete's Sake $1,015,150 For Pete's Sake reached number one in its fifth week on the chart [31]
32 August 7, 1974 $661,500 [32]
33 August 14, 1974 Return of the Dragon $1,168,500 Return of the Dragon reached number one in its third week on the chart [33]
34 August 21, 1974 That's Entertainment! $1,307,900 That's Entertainment! reached number one in its 14th week on the chart [34]
35 August 28, 1974 Chinatown $1,272,000 Chinatown reached number one in its tenth week on the chart [35]
36 September 4, 1974 $1,175,900 [36]
37 September 11, 1974 That's Entertainment! $781,150 That's Entertainment! returned to number one in its 17th week on the chart [37]
38 September 18, 1974 $524,350 [38]
39 September 25, 1974 Macon County Line $458,000 Macon County Line reached number one in its twelfth week on the chart [39]
40 October 2, 1974 The Longest Yard $513,630 The Longest Yard reached number one in its sixth week on the chart [40]
41 October 9, 1974 Cabaret (reissue) $1,345,000 [41]
42 October 16, 1974 $687,000 [42]
43 October 23, 1974 Airport 1975 $903,934 [43]
44 October 30, 1974 The Longest Yard $905,854 The Longest Yard returned to number one in its tenth week on the chart [44]
45 November 6, 1974 $926,200 [45]
46 November 13, 1974 $816,500 [46]
47 November 20, 1974 The Trial of Billy Jack $2,390,000 [47]
48 November 27, 1974 $2,026,000 [48]
49 December 4, 1974 $1,268,200 [49]
50 December 11, 1974 Death Wish $693,951 Death Wish reached number one in its twentieth week on the chart [50]
51 December 18, 1974 $600,900 [51]
52 December 25, 1974 The Godfather Part II $1,450,135 The Godfather Part II reached number one in its second week of release [52]

Highest-grossing films

Highest-grossing films of 1974 by calendar year gross based on the cities covered by Variety for the weekly charts.[nb 1][53][54]

Rank Title Studio Playing weeks[nb 2] Gross ($)
1. The Exorcist Warner Bros. 1,522 31,541,887
2. The Sting Universal 2,099 26,380,982
3. Papillon Allied Artists 2,024 14,732,236
4. Serpico Paramount 1,312 10,287,816
5. American Graffiti Universal 1,321 9,526,412
6. That's Entertainment! United Artists 842 9,368,447
7. Blazing Saddles Warner Bros. 1,197 9,234,062
8. Chinatown Paramount 994 8,570,732
9. The Longest Yard Paramount 1,037 7,604,614
10. The Great Gatsby Paramount 848 7,443,580
11. The Trial of Billy Jack Taylor-Laughlin 854 6,789,030
12. Vanishing Wilderness Pacific International Enterprises 367 6,117,307
13. Death Wish Paramount 611 6,089,607
14. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 20th Century Fox 878 6,025,067
15. For Pete's Sake Columbia 820 5,856,767
16. Sleeper United Artists 811 5,852,424
17. Uptown Saturday Night Warner Bros. 444 5,413,089
18. Airport 1975 Universal 394 5,390,607
19. Magnum Force Warner Bros. 534 5,309,704
20. Mame Warner Bros. 364 4,955,672
21. Herbie Rides Again Buena Vista 477 4,769,028
22. Earthquake Universal 153 4,535,053
23. The Way We Were Columbia 943 4,489,653
24. Buck and the Preacher 20th Century Fox 685 4,234,429
25. Return of the Dragon Bryanston 398 4,223,269

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Variety noted that the total grosses that they collated represented about one-third of total U.S. grosses as defined by the US Department of Commerce. The grosses of the top 25 films represented 47% of the total grosses collated. Variety noted that the grosses they reported were based on mostly first-run theatres in major metropolitan markets and that the performance of films from distributors such as Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures and American International Pictures, which sought out smaller markets and subsequent run marketing strategies for their films, were not fully reflected in their charts.
  2. ^ Playing weeks represent one film in one theatre for one week

References

  1. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 16, 1974. p. 15.
  2. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 16, 1974. p. 9.
  3. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 23, 1974. p. 9.
  4. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 30, 1974. p. 9.
  5. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 6, 1974. p. 12.
  6. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 13, 1974. p. 15.
  7. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 20, 1974. p. 9.
  8. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 27, 1974. p. 9.
  9. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 6, 1974. p. 14.
  10. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 13, 1974. p. 10.
  11. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 20, 1974. p. 10.
  12. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 27, 1974. p. 9.
  13. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 3, 1974. p. 9.
  14. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 10, 1974. p. 9.
  15. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 17, 1974. p. 9.
  16. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 24, 1974. p. 12.
  17. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 1, 1974. p. 12.
  18. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 8, 1974. p. 15.
  19. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 15, 1974. p. 15.
  20. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 22, 1974. p. 9.
  21. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 29, 1974. p. 9.
  22. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 5, 1974. p. 9.
  23. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 12, 1974. p. 9.
  24. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 19, 1974. p. 9.
  25. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 26, 1974. p. 9.
  26. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 3, 1974. p. 9.
  27. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 10, 1974. p. 9.
  28. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 17, 1974. p. 9.
  29. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 24, 1974. p. 14.
  30. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 31, 1974. p. 9.
  31. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 7, 1974. p. 9.
  32. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 14, 1974. p. 10.
  33. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 21, 1974. p. 11.
  34. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 28, 1974. p. 14.
  35. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 4, 1974. p. 11.
  36. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 11, 1974. p. 12.
  37. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 18, 1974. p. 9.
  38. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 25, 1974. p. 10.
  39. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 2, 1974. p. 9.
  40. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 9, 1974. p. 9.
  41. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 16, 1974. p. 9.
  42. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 23, 1974. p. 25.
  43. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 30, 1974. p. 9.
  44. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 6, 1974. p. 9. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  45. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 13, 1974. p. 11.
  46. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 20, 1974. p. 9.
  47. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 27, 1974. p. 9.
  48. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 4, 1974. p. 9.
  49. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 11, 1974. p. 12.
  50. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 18, 1974. p. 9. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  51. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 25, 1974. p. 10.
  52. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 1, 1975. p. 9.
  53. ^ Silverman, Syd (May 7, 1975). "Variety Chart Summary For 1974". Variety. p. 133.
  54. ^ "Top 25 In '74 Zoomed 10%; 'Exorcist,' 'Sting' Paced This Field". Variety. May 7, 1975. p. 133.

Chronology

Preceded by1973 1974 Succeeded by1975
Categories