1996 Top-Grossing Movies in North America

This chart ranks movies by their total cumulative North American box office earnings for movies released in 1996. Each movie is ranked by its total gross across all years it played, not just earnings during 1996.

To see the top-grossing movies that earned money during 1996 (including movies released in previous years), click the “Earned in 1996” button below.

Worldwide Domestic International

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Earned in 1996

1997 →

Rank	Movie	Release Date	Distributor	Genre	1996 Domestic Gross	Tickets Sold
1	Independence Day	Jul 2, 1996	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$306,169,255	69,269,062
2	Twister	May 10, 1996	Warner Bros.	Action	$245,219,182	55,281,619
3	Mission: Impossible	May 21, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Action	$180,981,886	40,946,128
4	Jerry Maguire	Dec 13, 1996	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$153,952,592	34,248,981
5	Ransom	Nov 8, 1996	Walt Disney	Action	$136,492,681	30,819,433
6	101 Dalmatians	Nov 27, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$136,189,294	30,691,447
7	The Rock	Jun 7, 1996	Walt Disney	Action	$134,069,511	30,332,468
8	The Nutty Professor	Jun 28, 1996	Universal	Comedy	$128,814,019	29,145,035
9	The Birdcage	Mar 8, 1996	MGM	Comedy	$124,060,553	28,067,998
10	A Time to Kill	Jul 24, 1996	Warner Bros.	Drama	$108,766,007	24,607,693
11	The First Wives Club	Sep 20, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$105,489,203	23,859,470
12	Phenomenon	Jul 5, 1996	Walt Disney	Drama	$104,636,382	23,672,574
13	Scream	Dec 20, 1996	Miramax	Horror	$103,046,663	22,778,138
14	Eraser	Jun 21, 1996	Warner Bros.	Action	$101,295,562	22,917,547
15	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Jun 21, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$100,138,851	22,655,848
16	Michael	Dec 25, 1996	New Line	Comedy	$95,345,070	21,214,222
17	Star Trek: First Contact	Nov 22, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$92,027,888	20,796,989
18	Space Jam	Nov 15, 1996	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$90,463,534	20,424,787
19	The English Patient	Nov 15, 1996	Miramax	Drama	$78,716,374	17,384,764
20	Broken Arrow	Feb 9, 1996	20th Century Fox	Action	$70,645,997	15,983,257
21	Beavis and Butt-Head Do Ameri…	Dec 20, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$63,118,386	14,205,420
22	Jingle All the Way	Nov 22, 1996	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$60,592,389	13,680,372
23	The Cable Guy	Jun 14, 1996	Sony Pictures	Black Comedy	$60,240,295	13,629,026
24	Courage Under Fire	Jul 12, 1996	20th Century Fox	Drama	$59,003,384	13,349,181
25	Jack	Aug 9, 1996	Walt Disney	Drama	$58,617,334	13,261,311
26	Executive Decision	Mar 15, 1996	Warner Bros.	Thriller/Suspense	$56,679,192	12,823,346
27	Primal Fear	Apr 5, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$56,073,633	12,686,342
28	Tin Cup	Aug 16, 1996	Warner Bros.	Romantic Comedy	$53,854,588	12,184,295
29	Sleepers	Oct 18, 1996	Warner Bros.	Drama	$53,300,852	12,055,607
30	Dragonheart	May 31, 1996	Universal	Adventure	$51,364,680	11,620,968
31	Up Close & Personal	Mar 1, 1996	Walt Disney	Drama	$51,045,801	11,548,823
32	Evita	Dec 25, 1996	Walt Disney	Musical	$50,047,179	10,922,613
33	The Preacher’s Wife	Dec 13, 1996	Walt Disney	Drama	$48,102,795	10,803,900
34	Romeo+Juliet	Nov 1, 1996	20th Century Fox	Drama	$46,338,728	10,470,968
35	One Fine Day	Dec 20, 1996	20th Century Fox	Romantic Comedy	$46,169,663	10,329,439
36	The Mirror Has Two Faces	Nov 15, 1996	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$41,267,469	9,332,342
37	Happy Gilmore	Feb 16, 1996	Universal	Comedy	$39,061,245	8,771,882
38	The Ghost and the Darkness	Oct 11, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Action	$38,564,422	8,718,412
39	Mars Attacks!	Dec 13, 1996	Warner Bros.	Black Comedy	$37,771,017	8,512,175
40	Set It Off	Nov 6, 1996	New Line	Drama	$36,049,108	8,144,090
41	Shine	Nov 22, 1996	Fine Line	Drama	$35,811,509	7,858,166
42	A Thin Line Between Love & Ha…	Apr 3, 1996	New Line	Black Comedy	$34,873,513	7,889,935
43	Muppet Treasure Island	Feb 16, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$34,327,391	7,766,378
44	The Truth About Cats & Dogs	Apr 26, 1996	20th Century Fox	Romantic Comedy	$34,084,531	7,711,432
45	The Long Kiss Goodnight	Oct 11, 1996	New Line	Action	$33,447,612	7,564,835
46	Striptease	Jun 28, 1996	Sony Pictures	Black Comedy	$33,109,743	7,490,892
47	Matilda	Aug 2, 1996	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$33,098,222	7,488,285
48	Daylight	Dec 6, 1996	Universal	Action	$32,908,290	7,413,877
49	Homeward Bound II: Lost in Sa…	Mar 8, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$32,709,423	7,400,321
50	Black Sheep	Feb 2, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$32,330,354	7,314,559
51	Rumble in the Bronx	Feb 23, 1996	New Line	Action	$32,281,907	7,303,598
52	Eddie	May 31, 1996	Walt Disney	Comedy	$31,369,401	7,097,149
53	Sgt. Bilko	Mar 29, 1996	Universal	Comedy	$30,356,589	6,868,006
54	James and the Giant Peach	Apr 12, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$28,921,264	6,543,272
55	The Island of Dr. Moreau	Aug 23, 1996	New Line	Horror	$27,682,712	6,263,057
56	Spy Hard	May 24, 1996	Walt Disney	Comedy	$26,936,265	6,094,177
57	Eye for an Eye	Jan 12, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$26,792,700	6,061,696
58	Harriet the Spy	Jul 10, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$26,570,048	6,011,323
59	First Kid	Aug 30, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$26,465,920	5,986,371
60	That Thing You Do!	Oct 4, 1996	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$25,857,416	5,848,609
61	From Dusk Till Dawn	Jan 19, 1996	Miramax/Dimension	Horror	$25,728,961	5,821,031
62	Down Periscope	Mar 1, 1996	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$25,723,977	5,819,904
63	Escape from L.A.	Aug 9, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Action	$25,426,861	5,752,683
64	Fly Away Home	Sep 13, 1996	Sony Pictures	Drama	$25,143,818	5,687,895
65	Kingpin	Jul 26, 1996	MGM	Comedy	$25,023,424	5,661,408
66	The Craft	May 3, 1996	Sony Pictures	Horror	$24,769,466	5,603,951
67	Fargo	Mar 8, 1996	Gramercy	Thriller/Suspense	$24,567,751	5,553,857
68	Sling Blade	Nov 20, 1996	Miramax	Drama	$24,475,416	5,333,509
69	D3: The Mighty Ducks	Oct 4, 1996	Walt Disney	Comedy	$22,936,273	5,185,475
70	The Juror	Feb 2, 1996	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$22,730,924	5,142,742
71	My Fellow Americans	Dec 20, 1996	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$22,331,846	5,016,507
72	Emma	Aug 2, 1996	Miramax	Comedy	$22,231,658	5,029,786
73	The Quest	Apr 26, 1996	Universal	Action	$21,607,190	4,888,504
74	A Very Brady Sequel	Aug 23, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$21,443,204	4,851,403
75	Chain Reaction	Aug 2, 1996	20th Century Fox	Thriller/Suspense	$21,226,204	4,802,308
76	Bulletproof	Sep 6, 1996	Universal	Action	$21,195,840	4,795,438
77	High School High	Oct 25, 1996	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$20,995,023	4,749,066
78	Fear	Apr 12, 1996	Universal	Thriller/Suspense	$20,694,623	4,682,041
79	The Glimmer Man	Oct 4, 1996	Warner Bros.	Action	$20,404,841	4,616,479
80	City Hall	Feb 16, 1996	Sony Pictures	Drama	$20,278,055	4,587,795
81	The People vs. Larry Flynt	Dec 25, 1996	Sony Pictures	Drama	$20,224,840	4,421,179
82	Multiplicity	Jul 17, 1996	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$20,133,326	4,555,051
83	Flipper	May 17, 1996	Universal	Adventure	$20,080,020	4,542,990
84	Don’t Be a Menace to South Ce…	Jan 12, 1996	Miramax	Comedy	$19,674,813	4,451,315
85	Mother	Dec 25, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$19,174,217	4,182,227
86	Bed of Roses	Jan 26, 1996	New Line	Drama	$18,972,237	4,292,361
87	Kazaam	Jul 17, 1996	Walt Disney	Comedy	$18,880,508	4,271,608
88	The Fan	Aug 16, 1996	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$18,582,965	4,204,290
89	Last Man Standing	Sep 20, 1996	New Line	Action	$18,115,927	4,098,626
90	The Crow: City of Angels	Aug 30, 1996	Miramax	Action	$17,897,671	4,049,246
91	Extreme Measures	Sep 27, 1996	Sony Pictures	Drama	$17,378,193	3,931,717
92	The Phantom	Jun 7, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Action	$17,220,599	3,896,063
93	Fled	Jul 19, 1996	MGM	Action	$17,192,205	3,889,639
94	Diabolique	Mar 22, 1996	Warner Bros.	Thriller/Suspense	$17,100,266	3,868,838
95	The Frighteners	Jul 19, 1996	Universal	Horror	$16,553,635	3,745,166
96	Trainspotting	Jul 19, 1996	Miramax	Black Comedy	$16,501,785	3,774,770
97	Supercop	Jul 26, 1996	Miramax	Action	$16,270,600	3,681,131
98	The Adventures of Pinocchio	Jul 26, 1996	New Line	Adventure	$15,382,170	3,480,128
99	Thinner	Oct 25, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Horror	$15,171,475	3,429,408
100	Flirting with Disaster	Mar 22, 1996	Miramax	Comedy	$14,853,474	3,360,514