This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekly box office in the United States during 1971 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. The weekly chart was based on the first-run situations in the top 10 markets plus an additional 12 to 14 cities of lesser size.
Number-one films
edit# | Week ending | Film | Gross | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | January 6, 1971 | Love Story | $800,400 | For the weekend ending January 3, 1971, Love Story grossed $2,493,167 from all markets in the United States and Canada. | [1][2] |
2 | January 13, 1971 | $910,500 | For the weekend ending January 10, 1971, Love Story grossed $2,405,809 from all markets in the United States and Canada. | [3][2] | |
3 | January 20, 1971 | $926,100 | [4] | ||
4 | January 27, 1971 | $892,200 | [5] | ||
5 | February 3, 1971 | $815,900 | [6] | ||
6 | February 10, 1971 | The Owl and the Pussycat | $1,051,428 | The Owl and the Pussycat reached number one in its 14th week of release | [7] |
7 | February 17, 1971 | Love Story | $1,191,227 | Love Story returned to number one in its ninth week of release | [8] |
8 | February 24, 1971 | $908,800 | [9] | ||
9 | March 3, 1971 | $821,500 | [10] | ||
10 | March 10, 1971 | $673,300 | [11] | ||
11 | March 17, 1971 | $634,600 | [12] | ||
12 | March 24, 1971 | $599,100 | [13] | ||
13 | March 31, 1971 | Husbands | $556,000 | Husbands reached number one in its 16th week of release | [14] |
14 | April 7, 1971 | A New Leaf | $535,950 | A New Leaf reached number one in its fourth week of release | [15] |
15 | April 14, 1971 | Cold Turkey | $715,833 | Cold Turkey reached number one in its tenth week of release | [16] |
16 | April 21, 1971 | Patton/MASH (double bill) | $740,421 | [17] | |
17 | April 28, 1971 | $567,500 | [18] | ||
18 | May 5, 1971 | $373,100 | [19] | ||
19 | May 12, 1971 | Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice/Cactus Flower (double bill) | $340,000 | [20] | |
20 | May 19, 1971 | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song | $357,500 | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song reached number one in its seventh week on the chart | [21] |
21 | May 26, 1971 | $421,000 | [22] | ||
22 | June 2, 1971 | A New Leaf | $778,100 | A New Leaf returned to number one in its 12th week on the chart | [23] |
23 | June 9, 1971 | Gimme Shelter | $283,027 | Gimme Shelter reached number one in its 21st week on the chart | [24] |
24 | June 16, 1971 | Lawrence of Arabia (reissue) | $549,500 | Lawrence of Arabia reissue reached number one in its 14th week on the chart | [25] |
25 | June 23, 1971 | $255,000 | [26] | ||
26 | June 30, 1971 | Love Story | $2,242,900 | Love Story returned to number one after 28 weeks of release. First film to gross over $2 million in a week in the cities sampled | [27] |
27 | July 7, 1971 | $1,116,951 | [28] | ||
28 | July 14, 1971 | $672,207 | [29] | ||
29 | July 21, 1971 | Summer of '42 | $666,435 | Summer of '42 reached number one in its 13th week on the chart | [30] |
30 | July 28, 1971 | Willard | $1,329,970 | Willard reached number one in its sixth week on the chart | [31] |
31 | August 4, 1971 | $755,500 | [32] | ||
32 | August 11, 1971 | Klute | $596,000 | Klute reached number one in its seventh week on the chart | [33] |
33 | August 18, 1971 | The Andromeda Strain | $479,000 | The Andromeda Strain reached number one in its 20th week on the chart | [34] |
34 | August 25, 1971 | The Anderson Tapes | $654,200 | The Anderson Tapes reached number one in its tenth week on the chart | [35] |
35 | September 1, 1971 | The Omega Man | $500,000 | The Omega Man reached number one in its fifth week on the chart | [36] |
36 | September 8, 1971 | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song | $387,000 | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song returned to number one in its 19th week on the chart | [37] |
37 | September 15, 1971 | $283,000 | [38] | ||
38 | September 22, 1971 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | $343,652 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller reached number one in its eleventh week on the chart | [39] |
39 | September 29, 1971 | The Stewardesses | $450,070 | The Stewardesses reached number one in its 43rd week on the chart | [40] |
40 | October 6, 1971 | $526,216 | [41] | ||
41 | October 13, 1971 | $454,700 | [42] | ||
42 | October 20, 1971 | The Omega Man | $500,000 | The Omega Man returned to number one in its tenth week on the chart | [43] |
43 | October 27, 1971 | The Organization | $646,500 | [44] | |
44 | November 3, 1971 | $473,600 | [45] | ||
45 | November 10, 1971 | Cry Uncle! | $502,500 | Cry Uncle! reached number one in its twelfth week on the chart | [46] |
46 | November 17, 1971 | The French Connection | $489,600 | The French Connection reached number one in its sixth week on the chart | [47] |
47 | November 24, 1971 | $776,050 | [48] | ||
48 | December 1, 1971 | $914,700 | [49] | ||
49 | December 8, 1971 | $628,078 | [50] | ||
50 | December 15, 1971 | $508,207 | [51] | ||
51 | December 22, 1971 | Diamonds Are Forever | $1,521,800 | For the weekend ending December 19, 1971, Diamonds Are Forever grossed $1,569,249 from all markets in the United States and Canada. | [52][53] |
52 | December 29, 1971 | $2,033,500 | [54] |
Highest-grossing films
editHighest-grossing films of 1971 by calendar year gross based on the cities covered by Variety for the weekly charts.[nb 1][55][56]
Rank | Title | Studio | Playing weeks[nb 2] | Gross ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Love Story | Paramount | 1,163 | 19,303,390 |
2. | Summer of '42 | Warner Bros. | 936 | 7,704,068 |
3. | Little Big Man | National General Pictures | 664 | 6,552,922 |
4. | Carnal Knowledge | Avco Embassy | 463 | 6,280,736 |
5. | The Owl and the Pussycat | Columbia | 656 | 6,046,961 |
6. | The Stewardesses | Sherpix | 522 | 5,712,562 |
7. | Ryan's Daughter | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 587 | 5,371,146 |
8. | The French Connection | 20th Century Fox | 279 | 5,009,791 |
9. | The Anderson Tapes | Columbia | 323 | 4,766,507 |
10. | A New Leaf | Paramount | 348 | 4,670,247 |
11. | Willard | CRC | 271 | 4,599,340 |
12. | Tora! Tora! Tora! | 20th Century Fox | 439 | 3,934,026 |
13. | Shaft | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 257 | 3,916,721 |
14. | Klute | Warner Bros. | 408 | 3,686,063 |
15. | Diamonds Are Forever | United Artists | 145 | 3,588,437 |
16. | Plaza Suite | Paramount | 285 | 3,525,483 |
17. | The Andromeda Strain | Universal | 333 | 3,431,440 |
18. | Five Easy Pieces | Columbia | 535 | 3,237,844 |
19. | Fiddler on the Roof | United Artists | 82 | 3,204,410 |
20. | Song of Norway | CRC | 351 | 3,130,729 |
21. | Bananas | United Artists | 396 | 3,016,073 |
22. | The Love Machine | Columbia | 244 | 3,007,834 |
23. | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song | Cinemation | 179 | 2,994,704 |
24. | Cold Turkey | United Artists | 421 | 2,857,938 |
25. | Kotch | CRC | 407 | 2,762,265 |
See also
edit- List of American films — American films by year
- Lists of box office number-one films
Notes
edit- ^ Variety noted that the total grosses that they collated represented about 30% of total US grosses as defined by the US Department of Commerce. The grosses of the top 25 films represented 37% 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 and Universal Pictures, which sought out smaller markets and subsequent run marketing strategies for their films, were not fully reflected in their charts.
- ^ Playing weeks represent one film in one theatre for one week
References
edit- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 13, 1971. p. 17.
- ^ a b "There Has Never Been A Box Office Story Like Love Story (advertisement)". Variety. January 13, 1971. p. 12.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 20, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 27, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 3, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 10, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 17, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 24, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 3, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 10, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 17, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 24, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 31, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 7, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 14, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 21, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 28, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 5, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 12, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 19, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 26, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 2, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 9, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 16, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 23, 1971. p. 14.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 30, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 7, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 14, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 21, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 28, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 4, 1971. p. 13.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 11, 1971. p. 15.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 18, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 25, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 1, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 8, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 15, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 22, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 29, 1971. p. 12.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 6, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 13, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 20, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 27, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 3, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 10, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 17, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 24, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 1, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 8, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 15, 1971. p. 11.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 22, 1971. p. 25.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 29, 1971. p. 9.
- ^ "United Artists Announces (advertisement)". Variety. December 22, 1971. pp. 26–27.
- ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 12, 1972. p. 13.
- ^ Silverman, Syd (May 3, 1972). "351 Films Above $100,000 Gross". Variety. p. 32.
- ^ "The Top 25 Films Of 1971". Variety. May 3, 1972. p. 33.