List of 1971 box office number-one films in the United States

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

# 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

Highest-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

Notes

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Playing weeks represent one film in one theatre for one week

References

  1. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 13, 1971. p. 17.
  2. ^ a b "There Has Never Been A Box Office Story Like Love Story (advertisement)". Variety. January 13, 1971. p. 12.
  3. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 20, 1971. p. 11.
  4. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 27, 1971. p. 13.
  5. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 3, 1971. p. 9.
  6. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 10, 1971. p. 13.
  7. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 17, 1971. p. 9.
  8. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. February 24, 1971. p. 9.
  9. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 3, 1971. p. 9.
  10. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 10, 1971. p. 11.
  11. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 17, 1971. p. 9.
  12. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 24, 1971. p. 11.
  13. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. March 31, 1971. p. 13.
  14. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 7, 1971. p. 13.
  15. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 14, 1971. p. 11.
  16. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 21, 1971. p. 9.
  17. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. April 28, 1971. p. 13.
  18. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 5, 1971. p. 11.
  19. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 12, 1971. p. 13.
  20. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 19, 1971. p. 9.
  21. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. May 26, 1971. p. 11.
  22. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 2, 1971. p. 11.
  23. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 9, 1971. p. 13.
  24. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 16, 1971. p. 11.
  25. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 23, 1971. p. 14.
  26. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. June 30, 1971. p. 11.
  27. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 7, 1971. p. 11.
  28. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 14, 1971. p. 11.
  29. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 21, 1971. p. 11.
  30. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. July 28, 1971. p. 11.
  31. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 4, 1971. p. 13.
  32. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 11, 1971. p. 15.
  33. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 18, 1971. p. 11.
  34. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. August 25, 1971. p. 11.
  35. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 1, 1971. p. 11.
  36. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 8, 1971. p. 11.
  37. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 15, 1971. p. 9.
  38. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 22, 1971. p. 11.
  39. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. September 29, 1971. p. 12.
  40. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 6, 1971. p. 11.
  41. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 13, 1971. p. 9.
  42. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 20, 1971. p. 11.
  43. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. October 27, 1971. p. 11.
  44. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 3, 1971. p. 11.
  45. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 10, 1971. p. 9.
  46. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 17, 1971. p. 11.
  47. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 24, 1971. p. 9.
  48. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 1, 1971. p. 9.
  49. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 8, 1971. p. 9.
  50. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 15, 1971. p. 11.
  51. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 22, 1971. p. 25.
  52. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. December 29, 1971. p. 9.
  53. ^ "United Artists Announces (advertisement)". Variety. December 22, 1971. pp. 26–27.
  54. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. January 12, 1972. p. 13.
  55. ^ Silverman, Syd (May 3, 1972). "351 Films Above $100,000 Gross". Variety. p. 32.
  56. ^ "The Top 25 Films Of 1971". Variety. May 3, 1972. p. 33.

Chronology

Preceded by 1971 Succeeded by