Most Popular Movies 1961
This chart shows the 1961 movie releases that have attracted the most interest on The Numbers web site over the past 24 hours. A share of 100 corresponds to 1 percent of the total views for all 1961 releases.
See also: Domestic Release Schedule for 1961 - Top 1961 Worldwide
| Most Popular Overall | 1962 → |
1
| La Notte |
| Director: Michelangelo Antonioni |
| Lead Roles: Marcello Mastroianni as Giovanni Pontano, Jeanne Moreau as Lidia, Monica Vitti as Valentina Gherardini |
| Initial Theatrical Release: January 24, 1961 (Limited) (Italy) |
| Keywords: Writing and Writers, Infidelity, Terminal Illness, Medical and Hospitals, Nightclub, Jazz |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Drama, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $39,236 |
|
International BO: $3,859 |
Synopsis
A talented but callow novelist enjoys the acclaim afforded his just-published novel, while his marriage to a well-to-do Milanese woman deteriorates. As she grieves for a dying friend she once loved, he is both bemused by and attracted to the advances of other women, particularly the ravishing daughter of a potential new benefactor. An empty evening of visiting decrepit neighborhoods, exotic nightclubs, and a swanky villa party leads to a final confrontation, which reveals the somber truth that love does not always conquer all.
2
| The Misfits |
| Director: John Huston |
| Initial Theatrical Release: February 1, 1961 (Wide) by United Artists |
| Keywords: Romance, Divorcée Romance, May / December Romance, Directing Yourself, Posthumous Release |
|
Domestic BO: $8,200,000 |
3
| La Dolce Vita |
| Director: Federico Fellini |
| Initial Theatrical Release: April 19, 1961 (Wide) |
| Keywords: Comedy Drama, Prologue, Segments, Epilogue, Ensemble, Romance, Relationships Gone Wrong, Drug Overdose, Religious |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $19,500,000 |
|
International BO: $170,304 |
4
| The Hustler |
| Lead Roles: Paul Newman as Eddie Felson |
| Initial Theatrical Release: September 25, 1961 (Wide) |
| Keywords: Gambling, Confidence Men |
|
Domestic BO: $7,600,000 |
5
| The Absent Minded Professor |
| Director: Robert Stevenson |
| Initial Theatrical Release: March 16, 1961 (Wide) by Walt Disney |
| Keywords: Family Comedy, Research Scientist, Scientific Experiment Gone Awry, Romance, Relationships Gone Wrong |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Science Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $25,381,407 |
6
| Paris nous appartient |
| Director: Jacques Rivette |
| Initial Theatrical Release: December 13, 1961 (Limited) (France) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Thriller/Suspense, Live Action, Historical Fiction |
7
| West Side Story |
| Director: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins |
| Lead Roles: Natalie Wood as Maria, Richard Beymer as Tony |
| Initial Theatrical Release: October 18, 1961 (Wide) |
| Keywords: Gangs, Romantic Musical, 1950s, Set in New York City, Set in New York, Modern Adaptation, Romeo and Juliet Romance |
| Classification: Based on Play, Musical, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $43,700,000 |
|
International BO: $3,896,274 |
8
| Flower Drum Song |
| Initial Theatrical Release: November 9, 1961 (Wide) by Universal |
|
Domestic BO: $10,738,117 |
9
| Pocketful of Miracles |
| Director: Frank Capra |
| Initial Theatrical Release: December 19, 1961 (Wide) by United Artists |
|
Domestic BO: $5,000,000 |
10
| Victim |
| Director: Basil Dearden |
| Initial Theatrical Release: August 31, 1961 (Limited) (United Kingdom) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Thriller/Suspense, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
International BO: $25,564 |
11
| A Woman is a Woman |
| Director: Jean-Luc Godard |
| Initial Theatrical Release: September 6, 1961 (Wide), released as Une femme est une femme (France) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Comedy, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $99,658 |
|
International BO: $710 |
12
| Viva L’Italia |
| Director: Roberto Rossellini |
| Initial Theatrical Release: February 2, 1961 (Wide) (Italy) |
| Keywords: Direct-to-Video |
| Classification: Based on Real Life Events, Documentary, Live Action, Factual |
13
| Lover Come Back |
| Initial Theatrical Release: December 20, 1961 (Wide) by Universal |
| Keywords: Romance |
| Classification: Romantic Comedy |
|
Domestic BO: $16,937,969 |
14
| Yojimbo |
| Director: Akira Kurosawa |
| Initial Theatrical Release: September 13, 1961 (Wide) by Seneca International, released as Yojimbo the Bodyguard |
| Keywords: Foreign Language |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Action, Live Action, Historical Fiction |
|
International BO: $3,611 |
15
| Pickpocket |
| Director: Robert Bresson |
| Initial Theatrical Release: January 2, 1961 (Wide), released as O Carteirista (Portugal) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Drama, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
International BO: $3,580 |
16
| King of Kings |
| Director: Nicholas Ray |
| Initial Theatrical Release: October 30, 1961 (Wide) by MGM |
| Keywords: Faith-Based Drama, Faith-Based Film, Bible Epic |
| Classification: Based on Real Life Events, Drama, Live Action, Factual |
|
Domestic BO: $14,483,352 |
17
| A Thunder of Drums |
| Initial Theatrical Release: September 26, 1961 (Limited) by MGM |
| Classification: Western |
18
-Thumbnail.jpg)
| The Curse of the Werewolf |
| Director: Terence Fisher |
| Lead Roles: Clifford Evans as Don Alfredo Corledo, Yvonne Romain as Servant Girl |
| Initial Theatrical Release: June 7, 1961 (Limited) by Universal |
| Keywords: Werewolf |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Horror, Live Action, Science Fiction |
19
| Come September |
| Initial Theatrical Release: August 9, 1961 (Wide) by Universal |
|
Domestic BO: $12,710,696 |
20
| Master of the World |
| Director: William Witney |
| Initial Theatrical Release: September 11, 1961 (Wide) (Sweden) |
| Keywords: Prologue, In a Plane, War, Mad Scientist, Visual Effects |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Adventure, Live Action, Science Fiction |
21
-Thumbnail.jpg)
| The Secret Ways |
| Director: Phil Karlson |
| Lead Roles: Richard Widmark |
| Initial Theatrical Release: April 30, 1961 (Limited) by Universal |
| Classification: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story, Adventure, Live Action, Historical Fiction |
22
| Narayama bushiko |
| Initial Theatrical Release: June 19, 1961 (Limited), released as The Ballad of Narayama |
23
| Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide |
| Director: Vittorio Cottafavi |
| Initial Theatrical Release: August 19, 1961 (Limited) (Italy) |
| Classification: Adventure, Live Action, Fantasy |
24
| Blue Hawaii |
| Director: Norman Taurog |
| Lead Roles: Elvis Presley as Chad Gates |
| Initial Theatrical Release: November 22, 1961 (Wide) by Paramount Pictures |
| Keywords: Romantic Musical, Romance, Unrequited Love, Set in Hawaii, Fired |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Musical, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |
|
Domestic BO: $10,440,453 |
25
| The Young Savages |
| Director: John Frankenheimer |
| Initial Theatrical Release: May 24, 1961 (Limited) |
| Classification: Original Screenplay, Drama, Live Action, Contemporary Fiction |