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.
| Week ending | Film | Gross | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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 | $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] | ||
| 3 | $926,100 | [4] | |||
| 4 | $892,200 | [5] | |||
| 5 | $815,900 | [6] | |||
| 6 | The Owl and the Pussycat | $1,051,428 | The Owl and the Pussycat reached number one in its 14th week of release | [7] | |
| 7 | Love Story | $1,191,227 | Love Story returned to number one in its ninth week of release | [8] | |
| 8 | $908,800 | [9] | |||
| 9 | $821,500 | [10] | |||
| 10 | $673,300 | [11] | |||
| 11 | $634,600 | [12] | |||
| 12 | $599,100 | [13] | |||
| 13 | Husbands | $556,000 | Husbands reached number one in its 16th week of release | [14] | |
| 14 | A New Leaf | $535,950 | A New Leaf reached number one in its fourth week of release | [15] | |
| 15 | Cold Turkey | $715,833 | Cold Turkey reached number one in its tenth week of release | [16] | |
| 16 | Patton/MASH (double bill) | $740,421 | [17] | ||
| 17 | $567,500 | [18] | |||
| 18 | $373,100 | [19] | |||
| 19 | Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice/Cactus Flower (double bill) | $340,000 | [20] | ||
| 20 | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song | $357,500 | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song reached number one in its seventh week on the chart | [21] | |
| 21 | $421,000 | [22] | |||
| 22 | A New Leaf | $778,100 | A New Leaf returned to number one in its 12th week on the chart | [23] | |
| 23 | Gimme Shelter | $283,027 | Gimme Shelter reached number one in its 21st week on the chart | [24] | |
| 24 | Lawrence of Arabia (reissue) | $549,500 | Lawrence of Arabia reissue reached number one in its 14th week on the chart | [25] | |
| 25 | $255,000 | [26] | |||
| 26 | 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 | $1,116,951 | [28] | |||
| 28 | $672,207 | [29] | |||
| 29 | Summer of '42 | $666,435 | Summer of '42 reached number one in its 13th week on the chart | [30] | |
| 30 | Willard | $1,329,970 | Willard reached number one in its sixth week on the chart | [31] | |
| 31 | $755,500 | [32] | |||
| 32 | Klute | $596,000 | Klute reached number one in its seventh week on the chart | [33] | |
| 33 | The Andromeda Strain | $479,000 | The Andromeda Strain reached number one in its 20th week on the chart | [34] | |
| 34 | The Anderson Tapes | $654,200 | The Anderson Tapes reached number one in its tenth week on the chart | [35] | |
| 35 | The Omega Man | $500,000 | The Omega Man reached number one in its fifth week on the chart | [36] | |
| 36 | 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 | $283,000 | [38] | |||
| 38 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | $343,652 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller reached number one in its eleventh week on the chart | [39] | |
| 39 | The Stewardesses | $450,070 | The Stewardesses reached number one in its 43rd week on the chart | [40] | |
| 40 | $526,216 | [41] | |||
| 41 | $454,700 | [42] | |||
| 42 | The Omega Man | $500,000 | The Omega Man returned to number one in its tenth week on the chart | [43] | |
| 43 | The Organization | $646,500 | [44] | ||
| 44 | $473,600 | [45] | |||
| 45 | Cry Uncle! | $502,500 | Cry Uncle! reached number one in its twelfth week on the chart | [46] | |
| 46 | The French Connection | $489,600 | The French Connection reached number one in its sixth week on the chart | [47] | |
| 47 | $776,050 | [48] | |||
| 48 | $914,700 | [49] | |||
| 49 | $628,078 | [50] | |||
| 50 | $508,207 | [51] | |||
| 51 | 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 | $2,033,500 | [54] | |||
Highest-grossing films of 1971 by calendar year gross based on the cities covered by Variety for the weekly charts.[55] [56]
| Rank | Title | Studio | Playing weeks | Gross ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 |