Market Charts > 1959 > Movie Chart
North America (US and Canada) Domestic Movie Chart for 1959
Note: We only have detailed box office data from 1977 onwards. For earlier years the total box office is sometimes assigned to the release year of a movie, while the box office amount could have been earned during two or even more years.
Inflation-adjusted figures are based on ticket sale estimates.
See Movie Index 1959 for an overview of all movies released in 1959.
Top Grossing Movies of 1959
| Rank | Movie | Release Date | Distributor | Genre | 1959 Gross | Tickets Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben-Hur | Nov 18, 1959 | MGM | Adventure | $73,000,000 | 143,137,254 |
| 2 | The Shaggy Dog | Mar 19, 1959 | $29,000,000 | 56,862,745 | ||
| 3 | Some Like it Hot | Mar 29, 1959 | Romantic Comedy | $25,000,000 | 49,019,607 | |
| 4 | Operation Petticoat | Dec 5, 1959 | Romantic Comedy | $23,300,000 | 45,686,274 | |
| 5 | Pillow Talk | Jan 1, 1959 | Romantic Comedy | $18,750,000 | 36,764,705 | |
| 6 | Imitation of Life | Apr 30, 1959 | Drama | $14,000,000 | 27,450,980 | |
| 7 | North by Northwest | Jan 1, 1959 | Thriller/Suspense | $13,275,000 | 26,029,411 | |
| 8 | The Nun's Story | Jul 18, 1959 | Drama | $12,800,000 | 25,098,039 | |
| 9 | A Hole in the Head | Jul 15, 1959 | $11,000,000 | 21,568,627 | ||
| 10 | Solomon and Sheba | Jan 1, 1959 | $11,000,000 | 21,568,627 | ||
| 11 | On the Beach | Dec 17, 1959 | $11,000,000 | 21,568,627 | ||
| 12 | Journey to the Center of th… | Dec 16, 1959 | Adventure | $10,000,000 | 19,607,843 | |
| 13 | Rio Bravo | Mar 18, 1959 | Western | $5,800,000 | 11,372,549 | |
| 14 | Pork Chop Hill | May 29, 1959 | Action | $3,690,000 | 7,235,294 | |
| Total Gross of All Movies | $261,615,000 | |||||
| Total Tickets Sold | 512,970,582 | |||||
Our Theatrical Market pages are based on the Domestic Theatrical Market performance only. The Domestic Market is defined as the North American movie territory (consisting of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam).
The yearly amounts on our Theatrical Market pages are based on box office years. Each box office year starts on the first Monday of the year, so the previous year ends on the Sunday before the first Monday. For example, the "2017 box office year" started on January 2, 2017 so the "2016 box office year" ended on Sunday, January 1, 2017.