1976 in film explained
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
See also: List of 1976 box office number-one films in the United States. The top ten 1976 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1976| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
|---|
| 1 | Rocky | United Artists | $55,900,000[1] |
|---|
| 2 | A Star Is Born | Warner Bros. | $37,100,000 |
|---|
| 3 | King Kong | Paramount | $36,900,000 |
|---|
| 4 | Silver Streak | 20th Century Fox | $30,018,000[2] |
|---|
| 5 | All the President's Men | Warner Bros. | $30,000,000 |
|---|
| 6 | The Omen | 20th Century Fox | $28,500,000 |
|---|
| 7 | The Bad News Bears | Paramount | $24,800,000 |
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| 8 | The Enforcer | Warner Bros. | $24,000,000 |
|---|
| 9 | In Search of Noah's Ark | | $23,800,000 |
|---|
| 10 | Midway | | $21,610,435 | |
|---|
Events
- January – Paramount Pictures sets up a separate motion picture division and names David V. Picker as president.[3]
- March 22 – Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film. In one of the most lucrative business decisions in film history, Lucas declines his directing fee of $500,000 in exchange for complete ownership of merchandising and sequel rights.
- April 1 – The Rocky Horror Picture Show is officially re-released as a midnight movie at the Waverly Theater (Now the IFC Center) in Greenwich Village in New York City, starting through the run and still being shown in there all around the world.[4]
- April 9 – Alfred Hitchcock's last film, Family Plot, is released.
- August 11 – John Wayne appears in his final film, The Shootist.
- August 26 – Alan Ladd Jr. is promoted from head of worldwide production to president of 20th Century Fox's film division.
- November 15 – Michael Eisner is brought in as president and CEO of Paramount Pictures.
- November 21 – Rocky, the first in the film series opens. It becomes the highest-grossing film released in the year and goes on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- December 5 – Bound for Glory debuts and is the first motion picture in which inventor/operator Garrett Brown used his new Steadicam for filming moving scenes,[5] although its use had already been seen in Marathon Man and Rocky which were filmed later but released earlier.
- December 17 - King Kong opens to the year's highest opening weekend gross and overall box office success.
Awards
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese, United States
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson, directed by Robert Altman, United States
1976 films
By country/region
By genre/medium
Births
- January 2 – Paz Vega, Spanish actress
- January 4 - August Diehl, German actor
- January 6
- January 7 - Tyron Leitso, Canadian actor
- January 8 - Jenny Lewis, American singer-songwriter, musician and actress
- January 13 – Michael Peña, American actor
- January 15 - Dorian Missick, American actor
- January 18 - Derek Richardson, American actor
- January 20 - Wayne Bastrup, American actor and musician
- January 21 – Lars Eidinger, German film, television and stage actor
- January 27
- January 28 – Lee Ingleby, English film, television and stage actor
- January 31 - Paul Scheer, American actor, comedian
- February 3
- Isla Fisher, Australian actress
- Tim Heidecker, American comedian, writer, director, actor and musician
- February 5
- February 8 - Sharon Duncan-Brewster, British actress
- February 9 – Charlie Day, American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, director and musician
- February 10 - Keeley Hawes, English actress
- February 11 – Brice Beckham, American actor
- February 14 - Erica Leerhsen, American actress
- February 23
- February 25 – Rashida Jones, American actress, director, writer, and producer
- February 28 - Ali Larter, American actress and model
- February 29 - Ja Rule, American rapper and actor
- March 8 – Freddie Prinze Jr., American actor, voice actor, writer and producer
- March 13 – Danny Masterson, American actor and DJ
- March 14
- March 16 – Paul Schneider, American actor
- March 21 – Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress, singer and writer
- March 22 – Reese Witherspoon, American actress, producer, and entrepreneur
- March 23
- March 25 - Domenick Lombardozzi, American actor
- March 26 – Amy Smart, American actress
- March 27 - Craig Wayans, American writer, producer and actor
- April 1
- April 5 – Sterling K. Brown, American actor
- April 6 - Candace Cameron Bure, American actress, producer, author, and talk show panelist
- April 13
- April 15 – Susan Ward, American actress and model
- April 16 - Lukas Haas, American actor
- April 17 - Maïwenn, French actress and filmmaker
- April 18 - Kevin Rankin, American actor
- April 20 – Joey Lawrence, American actor
- April 23 – Gabriel Damon, American actor
- April 26
- April 27 – Sally Hawkins, English actress
- April 28 - Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, Native American actor
- May 1
- May 5
- May 14 - Martine McCutcheon, English actress and singer
- May 22 – Külli Teetamm, Estonian actress
- May 25
- May 26 - Stephen Curry, Australian comedian and actor
- May 28 - Liam O'Brien, American voice actor, writer and director
- May 29 – Yûsuke Iseya, Japanese actor
- May 30 – Omri Katz, American retired actor
- May 31 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor
- June 4 - Damion Poitier, American actor and stuntman
- June 6 - Jonathan Nolan, British-American screenwriter, producer and director
- June 8 - Eion Bailey, American actor
- June 10 - Simon Fenton, English actor
- June 17 - Scott Adkins, British actor, producer and martial artist
- June 18
- June 19 - Ryan Hurst, American actor
- June 21 - Dan Scanlon, American animator, storyboard artist, director and screenwriter
- June 27
- June 28 - Lorraine Stanley, English actress
- June 29
- July 1 - Thomas Sadoski, American actor
- July 3 - Andrea Barber, American actress and comedian
- July 5
- July 6 - Bashir Salahuddin, American actor, writer and comedian
- July 7 - Hamish Linklater, American actor
- July 9 – Fred Savage, American actor
- July 10 - Adrian Grenier, American actor, producer and director
- July 15
- July 17 - Dagmara Dominczyk, Polish-American actress
- July 18 – Elsa Pataky, Spanish-Australian actress
- July 19
- July 31 – Mela Lee, American voice actress
- August 2 – Sam Worthington, Australian actor
- August 6
- August 9
- August 16 - Kinga Philipps, Polish-American actress
- August 23 - Scott Caan, American actor, director and writer
- August 24 - Alex O'Loughlin, Australian actor, director and writer
- August 25 – Alexander Skarsgard, Swedish actor
- August 26 – Mike Colter, American actor
- August 27 – Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress, model and voice artist
- August 30 - Lillo Brancato, American actor
- September 3 – Vivek Oberoi, Indian actor
- September 5 – Carice van Houten, Dutch actress and singer
- September 6
- September 7 - Oliver Hudson, American actor
- September 9
- September 13 - Colin Trevorrow, American filmmaker
- September 18 - Denis Ménochet, French actor
- September 20
- September 22 - Sala Baker, New Zealand actress and stuntman
- September 24 - Matthew Gravelle, Welsh actor
- September 26 – Kersti Heinloo, Estonian actress
- October 1 - Danielle Bisutti, American actress and singer
- October 3 – Seann William Scott, American actor, comedian and producer
- October 4 – Alicia Silverstone, American actress
- October 6 - Brett Gelman, American actor and comedian
- October 9
- Sam Riegel, American voice actor, director and writer
- Nick Swardson, American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter and producer
- October 11 - Emily Deschanel, American actress
- October 14 - Chang Chen, Taiwanese actor
- October 16 - Gil Kenan, British-American filmmaker
- October 20 – Dan Fogler, American actor, comedian and writer
- October 21 – Andrew Scott, Irish actor
- October 23 – Ryan Reynolds, Canadian actor and film producer
- October 26 - Florence Kasumba, Ugandan-born German actress
- October 31 – Piper Perabo, American actress
- November 1 - Chad Lindberg, American actor
- November 5 - Sebastian Arcelus, American actor
- November 7 - Melyssa Ade, Canadian actress
- November 19 - Happy Anderson, American actor
- November 24
- November 28 - Ryan Kwanten, Australian actor and producer
- November 29
- Chadwick Boseman, American actor and playwright (d. 2020)
- Anna Faris, American actress, podcaster and writer
- December 1 - Dean O'Gorman, New Zealand actor
- December 5 - Amy Acker, American actress
- December 7 – Mark Duplass, American filmmaker, actor, writer, and musician
- December 8 – Dominic Monaghan, English actor
- December 23 - Kyle Kinane, American stand-up comedian and actor
- December 27 - Aaron Stanford, American actor
- December 28 - Joe Manganiello, American actor
- December 29
- December 31 - Chris Terrio, American screenwriter and director
Deaths
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 1 | | 88 | Germany | Actor | |
| 12 | | 85 | UK | Writer | |
| 13 | | 53 | UK | Actress | |
| 18 | | 66 | UK | Actress | |
| 23 | | 62 | France | Actor | |
| 23 | | 77 | US | Actor, Singer | |
| 29 | | 59 | UK | Actor | |
| February | 4 | | 69 | UK | Actor | |
| 11 | | 64 | US | Actor | |
| 11 | | 77 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 12 | | 37 | US | Actor | |
| 13 | | 77 | France | Singer, Actress | |
| 13 | | 64 | US | Animator | |
| 15 | | 77 | Hungary | Actress | |
| 16 | | 66 | UK | Actor | |
| 24 | | 71 | UK | Actor | |
| 26 | | 75 | UK | Actress | |
| March | 3 | | 70 | US | Actress | |
| 5 | | 69 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 14 | | 80 | US | Director, Choreographer | |
| 17 | | 69 | Italy | Director, Writer | |
| 20 | | 61 | UK | Actor | |
| 28 | | 76 | US | Actor | |
| April | 2 | | 74 | US | Actor | |
| 4 | | 53 | Cyprus | Actor | |
| 5 | | 70 | US | Director, Producer | |
| 5 | | 75 | US | Screenwriter, Producer | |
| 11 | | 59 | US | Actor | |
| 12 | | 74 | US | Actor | |
| 21 | | 75 | Russia | Director, Writer | |
| 25 | | 69 | UK | Director, Writer | |
| 26 | | 46 | Canada | Actor | |
| 26 | | 62 | UK | Actor | |
| 29 | | 63 | UK | Film Editor | |
| May | 3 | | 62 | US | Actor | |
| 7 | | 67 | US | Actor | |
| 27 | | 78 | Germany | Actress | |
| 27 | | 80 | US | Actress | |
| June | 5 | | 73 | US | Actress | |
| 6 | | 85 | Hungary | Actor | |
| 9 | | 93 | UK | Actress | |
| 10 | | 103 | US | Producer, Studio Executive | |
| 25 | | 66 | US | Songwriter | |
| 28 | | 48 | UK | Actor | |
| July | 2 | | 73 | US | Actress | |
| 7 | | 72 | US | Actor, Director | |
| 12 | | 76 | China | Cinematographer | |
| 17 | | 67 | Italy | Actress | |
| 28 | | 77 | Germany | Actress | |
| August | 2 | | 85 | Germany | Director, Writer | |
| 6 | | 64 | UK | Actor | |
| 10 | | 74 | US | Actor | |
| 17 | | 49 | US | Actor | |
| 17 | | 60 | US | Actor | |
| 18 | | 91 | Italy | Actor | |
| 28 | | 75 | UK | Actor | |
| September | 10 | | 70 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 30 | | 63 | UK | Screenwriter | |
| October | 5 | | 47 | US | Actress | |
| 14 | | 88 | UK | Actress | |
| November | 3 | | 86 | US | Actor, Technical Advisor | |
| 15 | | 72 | France | Actor | |
| 22 | | 60 | UK | Actor | |
| 28 | | 69 | US | Actress | |
| 29 | | 43 | US | Actor | |
| December | 3 | | 92 | US | Actress | |
| 8 | | 50 | US | Actress | |
| 12 | | 49 | US | Actor | |
| 20 | | 80 | UK | Actor | |
|
References
- Book: Finler, Joel Waldo . 2003 . The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press . 978-1-903364-66-6 . 360–361.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080605061602/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1976.shtml Top 20 Films of 1976 by Domestic Revenue
- News: Daily Variety. October 26, 1976. Day-By-Day News Summary, Oct. '75-Sept. '76. 208.
- http://www.visitlondon.com/events/detail/8039158 rock Horror Picture Show film booking in Feb 2011
- Web site: Steadicam 30th anniversary press release. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140430033456/http://lserv2.dtopinc.com/tiffen/staging_html/tiffen_news_Steadicam30th_Anniv.html. 2014-04-30.
- Web site: Benedict Cumberbatch . https://web.archive.org/web/20160624181006/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bc66eef1f . dead . June 24, 2016 . BFI . 8 January 2022 . en.
External links
