1974 in film explained
The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
See also: List of 1974 box office number-one films in the United States. The top ten 1974 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1974| Rank | Title | Distributor(s) | Domestic rentals |
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| 1 | The Towering Inferno | 20th Century Fox / Warner Bros. | $50,000,000[1] |
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| 2 | Blazing Saddles | Warner Bros. | $45,200,000 |
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| 3 | Young Frankenstein | 20th Century Fox | $38,800,000 |
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| 4 | Earthquake | Universal | $36,300,000 |
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| 5 | The Trial of Billy Jack | Warner Bros. | $31,100,000[2] |
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| 6 | The Godfather Part II | Paramount | $30,700,000 |
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| 7 | Airport 1975 | Universal Pictures | $25,800,000 |
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| 8 | The Longest Yard | Paramount | $23,000,000 |
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| 9 | Death Wish | $22,000,000[3] |
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| 10 | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | Sunn Classic | $21,895,000[4] | |
|---|
Events
- February 7 – Blazing Saddles is released in the United States.
- May 28 - Joseph E. Levine, the founder of Embassy Pictures, resigns as president.
- June 20 – Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski and featured Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, is released to worldwide critical acclaim.
- November 1 – Technicolor ceases its legendary dye-transfer printing process.
- November 8 – Frank Yablans announces his resignation as president of Paramount Pictures with effect from January 5, 1975 following Barry Diller earlier becoming chairman and chief executive office.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with big fanfare, including That's Entertainment!, a retrospective documentary celebrating its prestigious musicals (e.g. The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, Meet Me in St. Louis, Gigi, An American in Paris, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers).
- October–December – Three "disaster films" are released in three consecutive months: Airport 1975, Earthquake, and The Towering Inferno respectively. All were box office successes.
- Kevin Costner made his film debut in Sizzle Beach, U.S.A., although the film was not released until 1986.
Awards
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
The Conversation, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, United States
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, directed by Ted Kotcheff, Canada
1974 films
By country/region
By genre/medium
Births
- January 1 – Jennifer Podemski, Canadian actress
- January 5 – Daisy Bates, English actress
- January 10
- January 14 - Kevin Durand, Canadian actor
- January 16 - Johnny Trí Nguyễn, Vietnamese–American actor
- January 18 - Maulik Pancholy, American actor
- January 19 - Natassia Malthe, Norwegian actress and model
- January 21 - Vincent Laresca, American actor
- January 24 – Ed Helms, American actor and comedian
- January 28 - Ty Olsson, Canadian actor
- January 30
- February 4 – Urmila Matondkar, Indian actress
- February 8
- February 9
- February 10
- February 11 - Isaiah Mustafa, American actor
- February 12 - Lisa Brenner, American actress
- February 15
- Miranda July (née Grossinger), American filmmaker, performance artist and fiction writer
- Gina Lynn, American former pornographic actress
- February 16 – Mahershala Ali, American actor and rapper
- February 17
- February 18 – Nadine Labaki, Lebanese actress, director and activist
- February 25 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (d. 1993)
- March 5
- Kevin Connolly, American actor and director
- Matt Lucas, English actor, comedian, writer and television presenter
- Eva Mendes, American actress
- March 7
- March 8
- March 14 - Etan Cohen, Israeli-American screenwriter and director
- March 15 - Renoly Santiago, Puerto Rican actor, singer and writer
- March 21 - Rhys Darby, New Zealand actor, comedian and voice actor
- March 23 - Randall Park, American actor, comedian and writer
- March 24 – Alyson Hannigan, American actress
- March 25 - Laz Alonso, American actor
- March 31
- April 2 - Harold Hunter, American professional skateboarder and actor (d. 2006)
- April 10 - Omar Metwally, American actor
- April 11 - David Banner, American rapper and actor
- April 12 - Marley Shelton, American actress
- April 15
- April 18 - Edgar Wright, English filmmaker
- April 21
- April 24 – Jennifer Paz, Filipino actress
- April 26 – Ivana Miličević, American actress
- April 28 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress
- May 2 - Matt Berry, English actor, voice actor, comedian, writer and musician
- May 3 - Joseph Kosinski, American filmmaker
- May 7 – Breckin Meyer, American actor, voice actor, writer and producer
- May 10 - Craig Hall, New Zealand actor
- May 11 – Benoît Magimel, French actor
- May 14 - Carla Jimenez, American actress
- May 15 – Russell Hornsby, American actor
- May 21 – Fairuza Balk, American actress
- May 22 – Sean Gunn, American actor
- May 23 - Jewel, American singer-songwriter and actress
- May 24 - Dash Mihok, American actor and director
- May 25 - Maria Fernanda Cândido, Brazilian actress and television presenter
- June 2 - Leah Cairns, Canadian actress
- June 6 - Danny Strong, American actor, writer, director and producer
- June 11 - Lenny Jacobson, American actor
- June 12
- Jared Bush, American screenwriter, producer and director
- Jason Mewes, American actor, comedian, film producer and podcaster
- June 13 - Brande Roderick, American model and actress
- June 14 - Phillip Rhys, English actor and filmmaker
- June 16 - Joseph May, British-born Canadian-American actor
- June 20 – Lenin M. Sivam, Sri Lankan-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- June 23 – Joel Edgerton, Australian actor
- June 25
- June 28 - Kirsty Mitchell, Scottish actress
- July 1 - Jonathan Roumie, American actor
- July 3 - Corey Reynolds, American actor
- July 4 - Mick Wingert, American voice actor
- July 8 – Tami Erin, American actress
- July 10 - Imelda May, Irish actress and singer
- July 16 - Robinne Lee, American actress
- July 20 - Simon Rex, American actor, rapper and comedian
- July 22
- July 29 - Josh Radnor, American actor and filmmaker
- July 30 – Hilary Swank, American actress
- July 31
- August 2 - Angie Cepeda, Colombian actress
- August 5 – Kajol, Indian actress
- August 7 – Michael Shannon, American actor
- August 8 - Enzo Cilenti, English actor
- August 10 - Craig Kirkwood, American former actor
- August 11 - Chris Messina, American actor, director, writer and producer
- August 14 - Tomer Sisley, Israeli-French actor and comedian
- August 15 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress and model
- August 20
- August 23 – Ray Park, Scottish actor and stuntman
- August 31 - Marc Webb, American music video director and filmmaker
- September 1 - Burn Gorman, English actor and musician
- September 4 - Nona Gaye, American singer and retired actress
- September 5 - Romina Yan, Argentine actress, screenwriter and singer (d. 2010)
- September 6
- September 7 - Noah Huntley, English actor
- September 10 – Ryan Phillippe, American actor
- September 11 - Ben Best, American actor, writer, musician and producer (d. 2021)
- September 18 - Xzibit, American rapper, actor and broadcaster
- September 19
- September 30 - Ashley Hamilton, American actor, comedian and singer-songwriter
- October 1 - Sherri Saum, American actress
- October 2 - Michelle Krusiec, American actress, writer and producer
- October 6
- October 7 - Numan Acar, Turkish-German actor and producer
- October 17
- October 20 – Brian Limond, Scottish comedian, actor and writer
- October 28
- Michael Dougherty, American director, screenwriter, producer and animator
- Jake Kasdan, American filmmaker and actor
- Joaquin Phoenix, American actor
- October 31
- November 2 - Nelly, American actor, rapper and singer
- November 4 – Matthew Rhys, Welsh actor
- November 7 - Carl Steven, American child actor (d. 2011)
- November 9 - Ryo Kase, Japanese actor
- November 10 – Simone Singh, Indian actress
- November 11 – Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
- November 14
- November 16 – Chloë Sevigny, American actress
- November 17 – Leslie Bibb, American actress and model
- November 21 – Tiit Sukk, Estonian actor
- November 24 - Stephen Merchant, English comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter
- November 25 - Kenneth Mitchell, Canadian actor (d. 2024)
- November 26 - Omar Chaparro, Mexican actor, comedian, television host and singer
- December 1 – Érica Rivas, Argentinian actress
- December 11 - Lisa Ortiz, American voice actress and voice director
- December 15 - P. J. Byrne, American actor
- December 17
- December 24 - Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor
- December 25 - Andrew McNee, Canadian actor
- December 27 - Masi Oka, Japanese actor, producer and digital effects artist
- December 29 - Mekhi Phifer, American actor
Deaths
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 2 | | 68 | US | Actor, Singer | |
| 3 | | 72 | Italy | Actor | |
| 14 | | 50 | UK | Actor | |
| 31 | | 94 | Poland | Producer, Studio Executive | |
| 31 | | 72 | US | Actor | |
| February | 7 | | 61 | US | Actress | |
| 11 | | 85 | Sweden | Actress | |
| 23 | | 67 | US | Actress | |
| 23 | | 79 | US | Screenwriter, Composer | |
| 27 | | 66 | Australia | Costume Designer | |
| 28 | | 38 | UK | Actress | |
| March | 3 | | 43 | US | Actress, Singer | |
| 5 | | 67 | US | Actor | |
| 7 | | 67 | Italy | Actor, Singer | |
| 8 | | 84 | US | Actress, Voice Actress | |
| 13 | | 68 | US | Actor | |
| 19 | | 58 | US | Actor | |
| 28 | | 68 | US | Songwriter | |
| 28 | | 82 | France | Actress | |
| 29 | | 71 | US | Screenwriter | |
| April | 2 | | 84 | Canada | Actor | |
| 10 | | 81 | Ireland | Actress | |
| 13 | | 71 | US | Actor | |
| 18 | | 77 | US | Actress | |
| 20 | | 30 | Germany | Actor | |
| 24 | | 78 | US | Actor | |
| 30 | | 73 | US | Actress | |
| May | 18 | | 55 | Australia | Actress | |
| 24 | | 75 | US | Composer | |
| 25 | | 91 | UK | Actor | |
| June | 6 | | 86 | US | Actress | |
| 10 | | 75 | US | Director, Screenwriter | |
| 17 | | 51 | US | Actress | |
| 28 | | 50 | US | Actor | |
| July | 13 | | 48 | US | Actor | |
| 13 | | 79 | France | Actress | |
| 27 | | 65 | Mexico | Actor | |
| 28 | | 69 | US | Actor, Narrator | |
| August | 13 | | 64 | Hungary | Actress | |
| 16 | | 55 | Ireland | Actor | |
| September | 6 | | 78 | Russia | Actress | |
| 6 | | 89 | US | Actor | |
| 14 | | 68 | US | Actress | |
| 14 | | 71 | US | Actor | |
| 18 | | 74 | UK | Actress | |
| 21 | | 56 | US | Author, Actress | |
| 21 | | 80 | US | Actor | |
| 22 | | 45 | UK | Actress | |
| 27 | | 64 | US | Screenwriter | |
| October | 13 | | 73 | US | Actor | |
| November | 7 | | 54 | Mexico | Actor | |
| 13 | | 73 | Italy | Actor, Director, Screenwriter | |
| 14 | | 70 | US | Actor | |
| 17 | | 87 | UK | Actor | |
| 25 | | 61 | US | Actress, Singer | |
| December | 4 | | 36 | US | Actor | |
| 5 | | 60 | Italy | Actor, Director, Screenwriter | |
| 10 | | 50 | US | Actor | |
| 11 | | 63 | US | Actor | |
| 15 | | 72 | Ukraine | Director, Producer | |
| 21 | | 47 | US | Actor | |
| 26 | | 80 | US | Actor | |
|
Film debuts
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Finler, Joel Waldo . 2003 . The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press . 978-1-903364-66-6 . 360–361.
- https://variety.com/1997/digital/features/rental-champs-rate-of-return-1116680329/ Rental champs: Rate of return
- Web site: Death Wish - Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo. September 28, 2023.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080614093502/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1974.shtml Top 20 Films of 1974 by Domestic Revenue
- Book: Chase's Calendar of Events 2022: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months . 15 November 2021 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-64143-504-8 . 106 . en.
- Book: Allon . Yoram . Cullen . Del . Patterson . Hannah . Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide . 2001 . Wallflower Press . 978-1-903364-21-5 . 352 . en.
