This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekly box office in the United States during 1952 per Varietys weekly National Boxoffice Survey. The results are based on a sample of 20-25 key cities and therefore, any box office amounts quoted may not be the total that the film grossed nationally in the week.
| Week ending | Film | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quo Vadis | ||||
| 2 | I'll See You in My Dreams | I'll See You in My Dreams reached number one in its fifth week of release. | [1] | ||
| 3 | Quo Vadis | Quo Vadis earned $255,000 from 9 key cities in its ninth week of release. | [2] | ||
| 4 | [3] | ||||
| 5 | Quo Vadis grossed $260,000 from the cities sampled. | [4] | |||
| 6 | Quo Vadis grossed $200,000 from the cities sampled. | [5] | |||
| 7 | Sailor Beware | [6] | |||
| 8 | Quo Vadis | Quo Vadis returned to number one in its 14th week of release. | [7] | ||
| 9 | The Greatest Show on Earth | The Greatest Show on Earth grossed $390,000 from 9 key cities. | [8] | ||
| 10 | [9] | ||||
| 11 | [10] | ||||
| 12 | The Greatest Show on Earth grossed $502,000 from the cities sampled. | [11] | |||
| 13 | [12] | ||||
| 14 | The Greatest Show on Earth grossed $230,000 from the cities sampled. | [13] | |||
| 15 | The Battle at Apache Pass | [14] | |||
| 16 | Singin' in the Rain | [15] | |||
| 17 | Singin' in the Rain With a Song in My Heart | Both Singin' in the Rain and With a Song in My Heart tied for first place. | [16] | ||
| 18 | Singin' in the Rain | Singin' in the Rain grossed $240,000 from the cities sampled. | [17] | ||
| 19 | The African Queen | The African Queen reached number one in its 11th week of release. | [18] | ||
| 20 | Belles on Their Toes | Belles on Their Toes reached number one in its second week of release. | [19] | ||
| 21 | Red Ball Express | [20] | |||
| 22 | Skirts Ahoy! | [21] | |||
| 23 | [22] | ||||
| 24 | [23] | ||||
| 25 | About Face | About Face reached number one in its 16th week of release. | [24] | ||
| 26 | Pat and Mike | Pat and Mike reached number one in its second week of release. | [25] | ||
| 27 | Scaramouche | [26] | |||
| 28 | The Story of Robin Hood | The Story of Robin Hood reached number one in its second week of release. | [27] | ||
| 29 | Lovely to Look At | Lovely to Look At reached number one in its second week of release. | [28] | ||
| 30 | Jumping Jacks | Jumping Jacks reached number one in its sixth week of release. | [29] | ||
| 31 | [30] | ||||
| 32 | [31] | ||||
| 33 | High Noon | High Noon reached number one in its third week of release. | [32] | ||
| 34 | Affair in Trinidad | Affair in Trinidad reached number one in its third week of release. | [33] | ||
| 35 | The World in His Arms | [34] | |||
| 36 | What Price Glory | What Price Glory reached number one in its sixth week of release. | [35] | ||
| 37 | Son of Paleface | Son of Paleface reached number one in its eighth week of release. | [36] | ||
| 38 | The Merry Widow | The Merry Widow reached number one in its second week of release. | [37] | ||
| 39 | The Quiet Man | The Quiet Man reached number one in its fifth week of release. | [38] | ||
| 40 | Ivanhoe | Ivanhoe reached number one in its ninth week of release. | [39] | ||
| 41 | [40] | ||||
| 42 | Ivanhoe grossed $460,000 from the cities sampled. | [41] | |||
| 43 | Ivanhoe grossed $429,000 from the cities sampled. | [42] | |||
| 44 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | [43] | |||
| 45 | [44] | ||||
| 46 | [45] | ||||
| 47 | [46] | ||||
| 48 | [47] | ||||
| 49 | The Iron Mistress | The Iron Mistress reached number one in its second week of release. | [48] | ||
| 50 | Because of You | [49] | |||
| 51 | The Thief | The Thief reached number one in its tenth week of release. | [50] | ||
| 52 | Because of You | Because of You returned to number one in its third week of release. | [51] | ||
| 53 | Million Dollar Mermaid | Million Dollar Mermaid reached number one in its fourth week of release. | [52] |
The highest-grossing films during the calendar year based on theatrical rentals were as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Rental[53] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Paramount Pictures | $12,000,000 |
| 2 | Quo Vadis | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $10,500,000 |
| 3 | Ivanhoe | $7,000,000 | |
| 4 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | 20th Century Fox | $6,500,000 |
| 5 | Sailor Beware | Paramount Pictures | $4,300,000 |
| 6 | The African Queen | United Artists | $4,000,000 |
| 7 | Jumping Jacks | Paramount Pictures | $4,000,000 |
| 8 | High Noon | United Artists | $3,400,000 |
| 9 | Son of Paleface | Paramount Pictures | $3,400,000 |
| 10 | Singin' in the Rain | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $3,300,000 |