1996 Top-Grossing Movies (Inflation-Adjusted Dollars)

Note: This chart ranks movies by the amount they earned during 1996. It includes movies released in previous years that earned money during 1996. For example, a movie released over Thanksgiving in 1995 will most likely earn money in 1995 and 1996.

To see the top movies released in 1996 (ranked by their total cumulative gross across all years), click the “Released in 1996” button below.

Inflation-adjusted figures are based on ticket sale estimates.

← 1995

Show Actuals Released in 1996

1997 →

Rank	Movie	Release Date	Distributor	Genre	1996 Gross Infl. adj.	Tickets Sold
1	Independence Day	Jul 2, 1996	20th Century Fox	Adventure	$828,457,984	69,269,062
2	Twister	May 10, 1996	Warner Bros.	Action	$659,650,318	55,154,708
3	Mission: Impossible	May 21, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Action	$489,715,692	40,946,128
4	The Rock	Jun 7, 1996	Walt Disney	Action	$362,776,324	30,332,468
5	Ransom	Nov 8, 1996	Walt Disney	Action	$349,550,228	29,226,607
6	The Nutty Professor	Jun 28, 1996	Universal	Comedy	$348,555,581	29,143,443
7	The Birdcage	Mar 8, 1996	MGM	Comedy	$335,693,261	28,067,998
8	101 Dalmatians	Nov 27, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$329,564,992	27,555,601
9	A Time to Kill	Jul 24, 1996	Warner Bros.	Drama	$294,308,019	24,607,693
10	The First Wives Club	Sep 20, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$283,224,738	23,680,998
11	Phenomenon	Jul 5, 1996	Walt Disney	Drama	$282,870,579	23,651,386
12	Eraser	Jun 21, 1996	Warner Bros.	Action	$274,093,874	22,917,547
13	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Jun 21, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$270,963,950	22,655,848
14	Star Trek: First Contact	Nov 22, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$241,331,461	20,178,215
15	Space Jam	Nov 15, 1996	Warner Bros.	Adventure	$231,196,801	19,330,836
16	Jerry Maguire	Dec 13, 1996	Sony Pictures	Drama	$225,503,162	18,854,779
17	Mr. Holland’s Opus	Dec 29, 1995	Walt Disney	Drama	$223,102,132	18,654,024
18	Broken Arrow	Feb 9, 1996	20th Century Fox	Action	$191,159,757	15,983,257
19	The Cable Guy	Jun 14, 1996	Sony Pictures	Black Comedy	$163,003,151	13,629,026
20	Courage Under Fire	Jul 12, 1996	20th Century Fox	Drama	$159,656,216	13,349,181
21	Jack	Aug 9, 1996	Walt Disney	Drama	$158,440,933	13,247,569
22	Jingle All the Way	Nov 22, 1996	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$154,813,065	12,944,236
23	12 Monkeys	Dec 27, 1995	Universal	Drama	$153,797,845	12,859,351
24	Executive Decision	Mar 15, 1996	Warner Bros.	Thriller/Suspense	$153,367,225	12,823,346
25	Primal Fear	Apr 5, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$151,728,654	12,686,342
26	Beavis and Butt-Head Do Ameri…	Dec 20, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$146,650,695	12,261,763
27	Tin Cup	Aug 16, 1996	Warner Bros.	Romantic Comedy	$145,724,179	12,184,295
28	Sleepers	Oct 18, 1996	Warner Bros.	Drama	$143,125,071	11,966,979
29	Michael	Dec 25, 1996	New Line	Comedy	$142,690,820	11,930,670
30	Dragonheart	May 31, 1996	Universal	Adventure	$138,986,781	11,620,968
31	Up Close & Personal	Mar 1, 1996	Walt Disney	Drama	$138,123,932	11,548,823
32	Romeo+Juliet	Nov 1, 1996	20th Century Fox	Drama	$121,219,730	10,135,428
33	Jumanji	Dec 15, 1995	Sony Pictures	Adventure	$115,296,762	9,640,197
34	Toy Story	Nov 22, 1995	Walt Disney	Adventure	$112,694,618	9,422,626
35	The Mirror Has Two Faces	Nov 15, 1996	Sony Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$110,312,365	9,223,441
36	Grumpier Old Men	Dec 22, 1995	Warner Bros.	Romantic Comedy	$110,267,387	9,219,681
37	Dead Man Walking	Dec 29, 1995	Gramercy	Drama	$106,236,976	8,882,690
38	Scream	Dec 20, 1996	Miramax	Horror	$105,880,714	8,852,902
39	The Preacher’s Wife	Dec 13, 1996	Walt Disney	Drama	$104,622,706	8,747,717
40	Sense and Sensibility	Dec 11, 1995	Sony Pictures	Drama	$104,523,040	8,739,384
41	Happy Gilmore	Feb 16, 1996	Universal	Comedy	$104,452,471	8,733,484
42	The Ghost and the Darkness	Oct 11, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Action	$102,229,266	8,547,597
43	A Thin Line Between Love & Ha…	Apr 3, 1996	New Line	Black Comedy	$94,363,623	7,889,935
44	Set It Off	Nov 6, 1996	New Line	Drama	$93,729,224	7,836,891
45	Muppet Treasure Island	Feb 16, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$92,885,882	7,766,378
46	The Truth About Cats & Dogs	Apr 26, 1996	20th Century Fox	Romantic Comedy	$92,228,731	7,711,432
47	Mars Attacks!	Dec 13, 1996	Warner Bros.	Black Comedy	$91,449,545	7,646,283
48	The Long Kiss Goodnight	Oct 11, 1996	New Line	Action	$89,699,050	7,499,920
49	Striptease	Jun 28, 1996	Sony Pictures	Black Comedy	$89,591,069	7,490,892
50	Matilda	Aug 2, 1996	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$89,559,895	7,488,285
51	Homeward Bound II: Lost in Sa…	Mar 8, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$88,507,850	7,400,321
52	Black Sheep	Feb 2, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$87,482,134	7,314,559
53	One Fine Day	Dec 20, 1996	20th Century Fox	Romantic Comedy	$87,410,953	7,308,608
54	Rumble in the Bronx	Feb 23, 1996	New Line	Action	$87,351,042	7,303,598
55	Eddie	May 31, 1996	Walt Disney	Comedy	$84,881,909	7,097,149
56	Heat	Dec 15, 1995	Warner Bros.	Action	$83,689,378	6,997,439
57	Waiting to Exhale	Dec 22, 1995	20th Century Fox	Drama	$83,675,699	6,996,295
58	Sgt. Bilko	Mar 29, 1996	Universal	Comedy	$82,141,358	6,868,006
59	Leaving Las Vegas	Oct 27, 1995	MGM	Drama	$79,061,458	6,610,489
60	Daylight	Dec 6, 1996	Universal	Action	$78,894,478	6,596,528
61	James and the Giant Peach	Apr 12, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$78,257,538	6,543,272
62	The English Patient	Nov 15, 1996	Miramax	Drama	$75,959,735	6,351,148
63	The Island of Dr. Moreau	Aug 23, 1996	New Line	Horror	$74,906,162	6,263,057
64	Spy Hard	May 24, 1996	Walt Disney	Comedy	$72,886,364	6,094,177
65	Eye for an Eye	Jan 12, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Drama	$72,497,894	6,061,696
66	Harriet the Spy	Jul 10, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Adventure	$71,895,424	6,011,323
67	First Kid	Aug 30, 1996	Walt Disney	Adventure	$71,163,775	5,950,148
68	From Dusk Till Dawn	Jan 19, 1996	Miramax/Dimension	Horror	$69,619,542	5,821,031
69	Down Periscope	Mar 1, 1996	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$69,606,055	5,819,904
70	That Thing You Do!	Oct 4, 1996	20th Century Fox	Comedy	$69,488,003	5,810,033
71	Escape from L.A.	Aug 9, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Action	$68,802,094	5,752,683
72	Fly Away Home	Sep 13, 1996	Sony Pictures	Drama	$67,793,723	5,668,371
73	Kingpin	Jul 26, 1996	MGM	Comedy	$67,710,441	5,661,408
74	The Craft	May 3, 1996	Sony Pictures	Horror	$67,023,261	5,603,951
75	Father of the Bride Part II	Dec 8, 1995	Walt Disney	Comedy	$65,788,594	5,500,718
76	Fargo	Mar 8, 1996	Gramercy	Thriller/Suspense	$65,038,272	5,437,982
77	The Juror	Feb 2, 1996	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$61,507,206	5,142,742
78	Sabrina	Dec 15, 1995	Paramount Pictures	Romantic Comedy	$61,341,403	5,128,879
79	D3: The Mighty Ducks	Oct 4, 1996	Walt Disney	Comedy	$60,859,881	5,088,618
80	Emma	Aug 2, 1996	Miramax	Comedy	$60,156,251	5,029,786
81	The Quest	Apr 26, 1996	Universal	Action	$58,466,514	4,888,504
82	A Very Brady Sequel	Aug 23, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Comedy	$58,022,787	4,851,403
83	Chain Reaction	Aug 2, 1996	20th Century Fox	Thriller/Suspense	$57,435,611	4,802,308
84	Bulletproof	Sep 6, 1996	Universal	Action	$57,353,449	4,795,438
85	High School High	Oct 25, 1996	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$56,507,104	4,724,674
86	Fear	Apr 12, 1996	Universal	Thriller/Suspense	$55,997,215	4,682,041
87	The Glimmer Man	Oct 4, 1996	Warner Bros.	Action	$55,213,099	4,616,479
88	City Hall	Feb 16, 1996	Sony Pictures	Drama	$54,870,031	4,587,795
89	Multiplicity	Jul 17, 1996	Sony Pictures	Comedy	$54,478,412	4,555,051
90	Flipper	May 17, 1996	Universal	Adventure	$54,334,172	4,542,990
91	Don’t Be a Menace to South Ce…	Jan 12, 1996	Miramax	Comedy	$53,237,729	4,451,315
92	Bed of Roses	Jan 26, 1996	New Line	Drama	$51,336,641	4,292,361
93	Kazaam	Jul 17, 1996	Walt Disney	Comedy	$51,088,433	4,271,608
94	The Fan	Aug 16, 1996	Sony Pictures	Thriller/Suspense	$50,283,317	4,204,290
95	Last Man Standing	Sep 20, 1996	New Line	Action	$49,019,567	4,098,626
96	My Fellow Americans	Dec 20, 1996	Warner Bros.	Comedy	$48,819,797	4,081,922
97	The Crow: City of Angels	Aug 30, 1996	Miramax	Action	$48,428,992	4,049,246
98	Extreme Measures	Sep 27, 1996	Sony Pictures	Drama	$47,023,346	3,931,717
99	The Phantom	Jun 7, 1996	Paramount Pictures	Action	$46,596,915	3,896,063
100	Fled	Jul 19, 1996	MGM	Action	$46,520,084	3,889,639