1977 in film explained

The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

See also: List of 1977 box office number-one films in the United States. The top ten 1977 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1977
Rank	Title	Distributor	Box-office gross
1	Star Wars	20th Century Fox	$221,280,994^[1] ^[2]
2	Smokey and the Bandit	Universal	$126,737,428^[3]
3	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Columbia	$116,395,460^[4]
4	Saturday Night Fever	Paramount	$94,213,184^[5]
5	The Goodbye Girl	Warner Bros.	$83,700,000^[6]
6	A Bridge Too Far	United Artists	$50,750,000^[7]
7	The Deep	Columbia	$47,346,365^[8]
8	The Spy Who Loved Me	United Artists	$46,838,673^[9]
9	Oh, God!	Warner Bros.	$41,687,243^[10]
10	Annie Hall	United Artists	$38,251,425^[11]

Events

February 23 – During a press conference at Sardi's in Manhattan, it is officially announced that Christopher Reeve will be playing the role of Superman.
March 28 – At the 49th Academy Awards, Rocky picks up the Academy Award for Best Picture. Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, and Beatrice Straight all win Oscars for their performances in Network for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, while Jason Robards wins for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in All the President's Men. He will win again the following year, becoming the only person to win two consecutive Best Supporting Actor awards.
May 25 – Star Wars opens in theatres and becomes the highest-grossing film of the year. The film revolutionises the use of special effects in film and television production. It also embraces the notion of omitting any sort of opening credits sequence. Lucas, told by the Directors Guild of America that he must have an opening credits sequence, instead distributes the film independently, sans the opening credits. The film's release is often considered one of the most important events in film history.
June 22 – Walt Disney Productions releases The Rescuers, which brings back an interest in animation that had been lost to both filmgoers and critics throughout the beginning of the 1970s.^[12]
November 16 – Close Encounters of the Third Kind opens to widespread critical acclaim and massive box office success, becoming one of the top-grossing films to date and cementing Steven Spielberg's status as one of the most talented and profitable film directors of all time.
December 5 – The Solar System, produced and directed by Thomas G. Smith for Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, is released.^[13] It led to the producer hiring Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), a company producing visual effects for films such as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films.

Awards

Category/Organization	35th Golden Globe Awards January 28, 1978		31st BAFTA Awards March 16, 1978	50th Academy Awards April 3, 1978
Category/Organization	width=200	Drama !	31st BAFTA Awards March 16, 1978	50th Academy Awards April 3, 1978	Musical or Comedy
Best Film	The Turning Point	The Goodbye Girl	Annie Hall
Best Director	Herbert Ross The Turning Point		Woody Allen Annie Hall
Best Actor	Richard Burton Equus	Richard Dreyfuss The Goodbye Girl	Peter Finch Network	Richard Dreyfuss The Goodbye Girl
Best Actress	Jane Fonda Julia	Diane Keaton Annie Hall Marsha Mason The Goodbye Girl	Diane Keaton Annie Hall
Best Supporting Actor	Peter Firth Equus		Edward Fox A Bridge Too Far	Jason Robards Julia
Best Supporting Actress	Vanessa Redgrave Julia		Jenny Agutter Equus	Vanessa Redgrave Julia
Best Screenplay, Adapted	Neil Simon The Goodbye Girl		Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman Annie Hall	Alvin Sargent Julia
Best Screenplay, Original	Neil Simon The Goodbye Girl		Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman Annie Hall	Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman Annie Hall
Best Original Score	John Williams Star Wars		John Addison A Bridge Too Far	John Williams Star Wars Jonathan Tunick A Little Night Music
Best Original Song	"You Light Up My Life" You Light Up My Life		N/A	"You Light Up My Life" You Light Up My Life
Best Foreign Language Film	A Special Day		N/A	Madame Rosa

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

Father and Master (Padre padrone), directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Italy

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

The Ascent (Voskhozhdeniye), directed by Larisa Shepitko, USSR

1977 films

By country/region

By genre/medium

List of action films of 1977
List of animated feature films of 1977
List of avant-garde films of 1977
List of comedy films of 1977
List of drama films of 1977
List of horror films of 1977
List of science fiction films of 1977
List of thriller films of 1977
List of western films of 1977

Births

January 1 - Jerry Yan, Taiwanese actor, model and singer
January 6 – Genevieve O'Reilly, Irish actress
January 7 – Dustin Diamond, American actor (d. 2021)
January 8 – Amber Benson, American actress
January 11 – Devin Ratray, American actor, producer and writer
January 12 – Piolo Pascual, Filipino actor^[14]
January 13 – Orlando Bloom, English actor^[15]
January 14 – Ruco Chan, Hong Kong actor
January 15 – Ronald Zehrfeld, German actor
January 17 – Leigh Whannell, Australian screenwriter, actor, producer and director
January 19
- Rob Delaney, American comedian, actor and writer
- Taliesin Jaffe, American voice actor
January 28
- Zhao Tao, Chinese actress
- Joey Fatone, American singer and actor
January 29 – Justin Hartley, American actor
January 31
- Bobby Moynihan, American actor, comedian and writer
- Kerry Washington, American actress
February 6 - Josh Stewart, American actor
February 9 – A. J. Buckley, Irish-Canadian actor
February 16 – Paul Brittain, American actor and comedian
February 17 – Isaac Kappy, American actor and musician (d. 2019)
February 18
- Ike Barinholtz, American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer
- Kristoffer Polaha, American actor
February 21 – Cyrine Abdelnour, Lebanese actress, and model
February 24
- Libero De Rienzo, Italian actor (d. 2021)
- Kate Mulvany, Australian actress, playwright and screenwriter
February 26 – James Wan, Australian director, producer and screenwriter
February 27 – Ji Sung, South Korean actor
March 2 – Heather McComb, American actress
March 8 – James Van Der Beek, American actor
March 9 – Lydia Mackay, American voice actress
March 15 – Brian Tee, Japanese-born American actor
March 19
- Jorma Taccone, American comedian, director, actor and writer
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach, American actor
March 22 – Anabel Rodríguez Ríos, Venezuelan film director and screenwriter^[16]
March 23
- Daniel Espinosa, Swedish director
- Joanna Page, Welsh actress and producer
- Edwin Siu, Hong Kong actor and singer
- Clayton Watson, Australian producer, actor, writer and director
March 24
- Olivia Burnette, American actress
- Jessica Chastain, American actress
March 25 – Édgar Ramírez, Venezuelan actor
March 28 – Annie Wersching, American actress (d. 2023)
April 2 – Michael Fassbender, Irish-German actor
April 3 – Alice Lowe, English actress, writer and comedian
April 8 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
April 10 – Stephanie Sheh, American voice actress
April 14
- Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress
- Rob McElhenney, American actor, writer, and producer
April 16 – Tameka Empson, English actress
April 19 – Bryan Spears, American film and television producer^[17]
April 20 – Robert Wilfort, English actor
April 23
- John Cena, American professional wrestler and actor
- Eric Edelstein, American actor
- John Oliver, British-American comedian, producer, actor and television host
- Kal Penn, American actor
April 24 – Eric Balfour, American actor and singer
April 25 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress
April 26
- Tom Welling, American actor
- McKenzie Westmore, American actress and singer
May 2 – Jenna von Oÿ, American actress
May 3 – Jeffrey Garcia, American actor and stand-up comedian
May 5 – Virginie Efira, Belgian-French actress
May 10 – Todd Lowe, American actor
May 12
- Michael Jelenic, American animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, producer and director
- Rachel Wilson, Canadian actress
May 13 – Samantha Morton, English actress
May 14 – Jacky Ido, Burkinabé-born French actor
May 15 – Ben Whitehead, English actor, voice artist and read-in artist
May 16
- Lynn Collins, American actress
- Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress
- Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer
May 18 – Evan Helmuth, American actor (d. 2017)
May 19 – Kelly Sheridan, Canadian voice actress
May 20 – Matt Czuchry, American actor
May 23
- Caroline Amiguet, French actress
- Richard Ayoade, British comedian, actor, filmmaker, writer, author and television presenter
- Heather Wahlquist, American actress
May 25 - Julian Bailey, Canadian actor
May 27 – Anna Maxwell Martin, British actress
May 31 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
June 1 – Danielle Harris, American actress
June 2 – Zachary Quinto, American actor
June 5 – Liza Weil, American actress
June 14 – Sullivan Stapleton, Australian actor
June 22
- Bernadette Heerwagen, German actress
- Denis Moschitto, German actor
June 23 - Sian Heder, American filmmaker
June 25 – Josh Braaten, American actor
June 30 – Christopher Sommers, Irish actor
July 1 – Liv Tyler, American actress
July 4 – Vesela Kazakova, Bulgarian actress
July 8 – Milo Ventimiglia, American actor
July 10
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, English actor
- Cary Joji Fukunaga, American director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer
July 12 - Steve Howey, American actor
July 13
- Ashley Scott, American actress
- Kari Wahlgren, American voice actress
July 14 - Tim Downie, English actor and writer
July 15 - Lana Parrilla, American actress
July 18 - Kelly Reilly, English actress
July 22 - Joaquim Dos Santos, Portuguese-American animator, storyboard artist, director, producer and writer
July 23 - Shane McRae, American actor
July 24
- Danny Dyer, English actor and presenter
- Michelle Buteau, American actress and comedian
July 26
- Tony Sampson, Canadian oiler, former actor and voice artist
- Rebecca St. James, Australian-American singer-songwriter and actress
July 27 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor
July 30 – Jaime Pressly, American actress
August 2
- Edward Furlong, American actor
- Artemis Pebdani, American actress
- Krzysztof Soszynski, Polish-Canadian actor and retired mixed martial artist
August 3 – Tómas Lemarquis, French-Icelandic actor
August 8 – Lindsay Sloane, American actress
August 10 – Yeşim Büber, Turkish actress
August 13 - Damian O'Hare, Irish actor
August 18 – Mizuo Peck, American actress
August 23 – Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ghanaian-British actor
August 26 - Patrick Kennedy, English actor and director
August 30
- Michael Gladis, American actor
- Elden Henson, American actor
September 3 - Chen Shu, Chinese actress and singer
September 8 – Nate Corddry, American actor and comedian
September 11 – Ludacris, American actor and rapper
September 15 – Tom Hardy, English actor
September 19 – Kyle Cease, American actor and comedian
September 25
- Divya Dutta, Indian actress
- Clea DuVall, American actress
- Joel David Moore, American character actor and director
September 27 – Michael C. Maronna, American actor
September 29 - Sasha Rionda, Mexican actress
October 3 – Hassan Johnson, American actor, model and producer
October 5 – Luke Roberts, English actor
October 7 – Brandon Quinn, American actor
October 8 – Jamie Marchi, American voice actress
October 10 - Ali Suliman, Palestinian-Israeli actor
October 11 – Matthew Bomer, American actor
October 16 – Tamara Podemski, Canadian actress
October 17 - Alimi Ballard, American actor
October 18 – Peter Sohn, American animator, voice actor, storyboard artist and director
October 19 – Jason Reitman, Canadian-American actor and filmmaker
October 20 – Sam Witwer, American actor and musician
October 26 – Jon Heder, American actor
October 29
- Jon Abrahams, American actor
- Brendan Fehr, Canadian actor
November 2 – Randy Harrison, American actor
November 3 – Greg Plitt, American fitness model and actor (d. 2015)
November 4 – Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Irish actor
November 10 – Brittany Murphy, American actress (d. 2009)
November 11 – Scoot McNairy, American actor
November 14 – Brian Dietzen, American actor
November 15 – Sean Murray, American actor
November 16 – Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress
November 19 – Reid Scott, American actor
November 21 – Michael Sorvino, American actor and producer
November 23 – Lateef Crowder dos Santos, Brazilian-American actor and stuntman
November 24 – Colin Hanks, American actor, director and producer
December 1
- Akiva Schaffer, American writer, director, actor, comedian and musician
- Nate Torrence, American comedic actor
December 5 – Armando Riesco, Puerto Rican actor
December 6 - Jefferson Hall, English actor
December 8
- Maarja Jakobson, Estonian actress
- Matthias Schoenaerts, Belgian actor
December 10 – Emmanuelle Chriqui, Canadian actress
December 15 – Geoff Stults, American actor
December 17 - Katheryn Winnick, Canadian actress
December 21
- Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine, American actress
- Kevin Miller, American voice actor, comedian and podcast host
- Gregory Siff, American writer and actor
December 24 - Michael Raymond-James, American actor
December 28
- Vanessa Ferlito, American actress
- Michael Spears, Indigenous American actor
December 30 – Lucy Punch, English actress
December 31 - Psy, South Korean singer

Deaths

Month	Date	Name	Age	Country	Profession	Notable films
January	3		54	US	Director
5		74	US	Actor
6		63	Ireland	Actor
12		69	France	Director, Screenwriter
14		60	UK	Actor
18		82	France	Actress, Singer
26		60	US	Actress
31		74	US	Screenwriter
February	3		76	US	Actress
17		78	Canada	Production Designer
18		71	US	Actor
22		70	US	Actress
27		46	US	Actress
28		71	US	Actor
March	8		86	US	Actor
25		79	US	Screenwriter, Director
27		41	US	Actress
April	17		86	US	Actress
19		75	Russia	Director
21		83	US	Actor, Agent
28		76	US	Actor
May	10		71	US	Actress
15		87	UK	Director, Producer
21		70	US	Actress
31		63	US	Producer, Director
June	2		45	Ireland	Actor
3		71	Italy	Director, Screenwriter
5		75	Italy/Argentina	Director, Screenwriter
13		21	UK	Actor
14		69	US	Actor
19		51	US	Actress
20		68	US	Director, Actor
July	2		67	US	Film Editor
22		70	UK	Actor
August	3		84	US	Actor
14		77	US	Screenwriter
16		42	US	Actor, Singer
17		73	US	Screenwriter, Director
19		86	US	Actor, Screenwriter
19		56	UK	Actor
21		34	US	Actor
22		59	UK	Actor
22		62	US	Director
29		54	US	Actress
31		72	US	Director
September	2		59	US	Actor
8		62	US	Actor
October	3		83	US	Director
5		67	US	Screenwriter
14		74	US	Actor, Singer
31		56	US	Actress
November	4		74	UK	Actress
9		90	US	Actress
15		84	US	Director
18		89	Belgium	Actor
25		65	US	Actor
30		93	UK	Actress, Screenwriter
30		66	UK	Screenwriter
December	4		72	US	Actress
18		79	Australia	Actor
19		73	France	Director
25		88	UK	Actor, Director, Screenwriter
26		81	US	Director
28		87	US	Actress

External links

List of 1977 films at IMDb
1977 Domestic Grosses at Box Office Mojo
List of 1977 deaths at IMDb
List of 1977 births at IMDb

Notes and References

News: Variety. 'Star Wars' B.O. History. May 17, 1999. 30.
Book: Block . Alex Ben . Wilson . Lucy Autrey . 2010 . George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success . . 978-0-06-177889-6 . 519.
Web site: Smokey and the Bandit, Box Office Information. Box Office Mojo. January 26, 2012.
Web site: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Box Office Information. Box Office Mojo. May 26, 2014.
Web site: Saturday Night Fever, Box Office Information. Box Office Mojo. May 26, 2014.
Web site: The Goodbye Girl (1977) . . April 2, 2022.
Web site: A Bridge Too Far (1977) , Box Office Information. Box Office Mojo. 2016-11-18.
Web site: The Deep, Box Office Information. Box Office Mojo. April 2, 2022.
Web site: The Spy Who Loved Me, Box Office Information. Box Office Mojo. January 26, 2012.
Web site: Oh, God!. Box Office Mojo. April 2, 2022.
Web site: Annie Hall, Box Office Information. Box Office Mojo. January 26, 2012.
Web site: Don Bluth The Disney Years: The Rescuers. cataroo.com. 3 April 2017.
Web site: 2020-02-05. Thomas G. Smith Collection. 2021-02-02. libraries.indiana.edu. en.
Web site: Philippines, Manila, Civil Registration, 1899-1984 Image Philippines, Manila, Civil Registration, 1899-1984; pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-14230-71946-62 — FamilySearch.org . . August 23, 2015.
Web site: Orlando Bloom . https://web.archive.org/web/20160528233140/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbbe788c1 . dead . May 28, 2016 . BFI . 8 January 2022 . en.
Web site: Anabel Rodríguez Ríos . 28 March 2021 . SensaCine México.
Book: Spears. Lynne. . 2008. Thomas Nelson Inc.. 9781418567354. 20.