Market Charts > 1961 > Movie Chart

North America (US and Canada) Domestic Movie Chart for 1961

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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 1961 for an overview of all movies released in 1961.

Top Grossing Movies of 1961

RankMovieRelease
Date		DistributorGenre1961 GrossTickets Sold
1 101 Dalmatians Jan 25, 1961 Walt Disney Adventure $102,399,701 148,405,363
2 West Side Story Oct 18, 1961 Musical $43,700,000 63,333,333
3 The Guns of Naverone Jun 22, 1961 Adventure $28,900,000 41,884,057
4 El Cid Dec 14, 1961 $26,600,000 38,550,724
5 The Absent Minded Professor Mar 16, 1961 Walt Disney Comedy $25,381,407 36,784,647
6 The Parent Trap Jun 21, 1961 Comedy $25,150,385 36,449,833
7 La Dolce Vita Apr 19, 1961 Comedy $19,500,000 28,260,869
8 Lover Come Back Dec 20, 1961 Universal Romantic Comedy $16,937,969 24,547,781
9 Gone with the Wind Dec 15, 1939 MGM Drama $14,888,889 21,578,100
10 King of Kings Oct 30, 1961 MGM Drama $14,483,352 20,990,365
11 Come September Aug 9, 1961 Universal $12,710,696 18,421,298
12 Flower Drum Song Nov 9, 1961 Universal $10,738,117 15,562,488
13 Blue Hawaii Nov 22, 1961 Paramount Pictures Musical $10,440,453 15,131,091
14 Babes in Toyland Dec 14, 1961 Walt Disney Musical $10,218,316 14,809,153
15 Judgment at Nuremberg Dec 19, 1961 Drama $10,000,000 14,492,753
16 Return to Peyton Place May 5, 1961 Drama $9,996,178 14,487,214
17 Fanny Jun 28, 1961 $9,996,178 14,487,214
18 Breakfast at Tiffany's Oct 5, 1961 Paramount Pictures Romantic Comedy $9,551,904 13,843,339
19 The Misfits Feb 1, 1961 United Artists $8,200,000 11,884,057
20 The Hustler Sep 25, 1961 $7,600,000 11,014,492
21 Pocketful of Miracles Dec 19, 1961 United Artists $5,000,000 7,246,376
Total Gross of All Movies$422,393,545
Total Tickets Sold612,164,547

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.