1932 Top Box Office Movies

This movie page looks at 1932 Top Box Office Movies.  Finding box office information for movies made in the 1930s and 1940s is extremely difficult.   For somebody looking for box office information on 1932 it is very very frustrating.  Over the years, we have researched and collected information on over 36,000 movies.  So we figured we would show all the 1932 movies in our database.

To make this list a movie had to be made in 1932.  Obviously many movies made in 1931 earned box office dollars in 1932.  On the other side many movies made in 1932 made money in 1933 and later.  This page will looks at 132 1932 Top Box Office Movies.  The movies are listed in a massive table that lets you rank the movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.

The following massive table only includes the movies made in 1932 that are in our database.  Since we are constantly adding new movies to our database….this page will quickly become obsolete.  We will try and update this page on a regular basis.

1932’s Grand Hotel

Our UMR Top 50 of 1932

1932 Top Box Office Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort 1932 Top Box Office Movies by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie.
  • Sort 1932 Top Box Office Movies by domestic actual box office grosses
  • Sort 1932 Top Box Office Movies by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
  • Sort 1932 Top Box Office Movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each 1932 Top Box Office Movies received.
  • Sort 1932 Top Box Office Movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking Score (UMR).  Our UMR score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.

Top earners in 1932 for Adjusted USA Box Office:

My Main Sources

Source 1: Eddie Mannix MGM Ledgers

Source 2: C.J. Tevlin RKO Ledgers

Source 3: William Schaefer Warner Brothers Ledgers

Source 4: Year In Review Variety Editions

Source 5: Grand Design: Hollywood As A Modern Business Enterprise 1930-1942 by Tino Balio

Source 6: Twentieth Century-Fox A Corporate and Financial History by Aubrey Solomon

Source 7:  Wikipedia

Source 8:  IMDb.com

Source 9:  “Revenue sharing and the coming of sound” by H. Mark Glancy

Source 10: Hollywood Power Stats by Christopher Reynolds

1932 Box Office Grosses – Adjusted World Wide

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34 thoughts on “1932 Top Box Office Movies”

    1. Hey Anonymous… I moved Prestige to the 1931 page….it will show up on the next complete website update. We are currently working on moving our database….so it might be a few days before we activate that update….as we are working on getting some “bugs” in the works…but Ann Harding will be listed as a star of the movie…good catch….it is greatly appreciated.

      Reply

    1. Hey Sidney…I changed Animal Kingdom to The Animal Kingdom…..I did list Leslie Howard and Myrna Loy as the stars….as I do not have a Ann Harding page yet….and I tend to list ones that have an UMR page. Good catch as always.

      Reply

      1. Hey Sidney….while I was in the 1932 folder….I added lots of the missing co-stars to the page…and included an adjusted worldwide box office table as well….now the page is massive…but up to date.

        Reply

  3. To mention Myrna Loy in the performers’ column and before Jeanette MacDonald is incorrect and highly misleading as the stars of the film are Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette both of whom are billed alone above the title and yet Maurice is not mentioned in the performers’ column. It is very disconcerting to see this once objective and careful site increasingly descending into subjectivity and probable self-indulgence and in so doing straying from what is correct and sensible.

    “You are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts” [Fox News]

    Reply

    1. Hey Mister Impartiality…..just moved MacDonald to the first spot and Loy to the second part…we don’t have a Chevalier page….so Loy gets the top spot….if you notice the column title says “UMR Co-Star Links”….not Stars of the Movie. Thanks for noticing the MacDonald snub.

      Reply

      1. HI BRUCE

        1 Thanks for the explanations but I feel that matters would be clearer if your relevant column emphasised that you were listing only those stars with a Cogerson page though even then your viewers would have incomplete information and some might regard it is self-indulgence to airbrush out performers whom you personally haven’t profiled.

        2 Adding to the confusion is of course your practice of lumping together for the same credit stars of varying status and/or input to a movie so that one is never sure where you are drawing the line between a “star” like MacDonald and a “co-star” like Loy as the latter term is often used to denote on one occasion stars of equal contribution to a movie as well as on another occasion a star who has a more minor role/is of the lesser status.

        3 All YOURS TRULY can do in the matter though is keep his fingers crossed.that he doesn’t come across a “co-star links column” where Old Cantankerous is not being given his due – that would be the last straw! .

        Reply

  4. These are the 141 1932 films I have seen since December 1992 when I saw my # 8000 film through the end of 2017. Key is film, studio, stars if I listed, date seen and source (TV channel, DVD, tape).

    AIR MAIL 1932 UNI RALPH BELLAMY GLORIA STUART 8/9 1999 AMC
    ALIAS THE DOCTOR 1932 FN NORMAN FOSTER RICHARD BARTHELMESS 10/15 2003 TCM
    ANIMAL KINGDOM 1932 RKO ANNE HARDING LESLIE HOWARD 7/27 1999 TCM
    ARE YOU LISTENING? 1932 MGM 3/5 2014 TCM
    ARSENE LUPIN 1932 MGM JOHN BARRYMORE LIONEL BARRYMORE 10/24 1999 TCM
    BEAUTY PARLOR 1932 CHESTERFIELD XXX XXX 10/16 1994 CUNY
    BEHIND THE MASK 1932 COL JACK HOLT CONSTANCE CUMMINGS 9/21 2011 TCM
    BIG CITY BLUES 1932 WB JOAN BLONDELL HUMPHREY BOGART 10/14 1999 TCM
    BIG STAMPEDE 1932 WB JOHN WAYNE 5/29 1994 TNT
    BIG TIMER 1932 COL BEN LYON CONSTANCE CUMMINGS 12/17 2007 TCM
    BILL OF DIVORCEMENT 1932 RKO JOHN BARRYMORE KATHARINE HEPBURN 5/12 1997 AMC
    BLESSED EVENT 1932 WB LEE TRACY DICK POWELL 10/17 2000 TCM
    BROADWAY TO CHEYENNE 1932 MONO REX BELL GABBY HAYES 3/24 2011 DVD
    BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK 1932 MGM ROBERT MONTGOMERY C. AUBREY SMITH 3/13 2004 TCM
    BY WHOSE HAND 1932 COL BEN LYON 1/13 2007 TCM
    CENTRAL PARK 1932 FN JOAN BLONDELL 3/6 2015 TCM
    CHANDU THE MAGICIAN 1932 FOX EDMUND LOWE BELA LUGOSI 8/16 2000 FXM
    COME ON DANGER 1932 RKO TOM KEENE JULIA HAYDEN 7/21 2014 TCM
    COWBOY COUNSELOR 1932 ALLIED 12/29 2015 DVD
    CRASH 1932 FN GEORGE BRENT RUTH CHATTERTON 9/19 2006 TCM
    CRASHIN’ BROADWAY 1932 MON REX BELL 11/21 2017 DVD
    CROOKED CIRCLE 1932 SONO ART – WW XXX XXX 6/3 2010 DVD
    CROONER 1932 FN KEN MURRAY DAVID MANNERS 1/21 2010 TCM
    CYNARA 1932 UA RONALD COLMAN KAY FRANCIS 2/10 1993 AMC
    DARK HORSE 1932 FN WARREN WILLIAM BETTE DAVIS 9/4 2008 TCM
    DIVORCE IN THE FAMILY 1932 MGM JACKIE COOPER CONRAD NAGEL 9/16 2003 TCM
    DOWN TO EARTH 1932 FOX WILL ROGERS IRENE RICH 12/30 2010 TCM
    DOWNSTAIRS 1932 MGM JOHN GILBERT VIRGINIA BRUCE 11/11 2001 TCM
    END OF THE TRAIL 1932 COL TIM MCCOY XXX 10/26 2000 WEST
    EXPERT, THE 1932 WB CHIC SALE LOIS WILSON 9/12 2011 TCM
    FAITHLESS 1932 MGM TALLULAH BANKHEAD ROBERT MONTGOMERY 5/21 2003 TCM
    FAMOUS FERGUSON CASE 1932 FN JOAN BLONDELL LESLIE FENTON 8/1 2012 TCM
    FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE 1932 COL TIM MCCOY XXX 7/25 2011 TCM
    FINAL EDITION 1932 COL PAT O’BRIEN MAE CLARKE 7/10 2009 TCM
    FLESH 1932 MGM KAREN MORLEY WALLACE BEERY 6/3 2000 TCM
    FORTY-NINERS 1932 FREUTER TOM TYLER 3/9 2017 DVD
    FROM BROADWAY TO CHEYENNE 1932 MONO XXX XXX 10/2 1994 21
    GHOST VALLEY 1932 RKO XXX XXX 3/20 1993 AMC
    GIRL CRAZY 1932 RKO WHEELER & WOOLSEY 9/27 1998 TCM
    HEART OF NEW YORK 1932 WB SMITH AND DALE RUTH HALL 4/19 1999 TCM
    HELL’S HIGHWAY 1932 RKO RICHARD DIX TOM BROWN 1/20 2003 TCM
    HELL’S HOUSE 1932 CAPITAL FILM EXCH. BETTE DAVIS PAT O’BRIEN 10/13 1993 31
    HIGH PRESSURE 1932 WB WILLIAM POWELL EVELYN BRENT 2/14 1999 TCM
    HONOR OF THE MOUNTED 1932 MON 7/30 2015 DVD
    HOT SATURDAY 1932 PAR CARY GRANT NANCY CARROLL 4/18 2012 DVD
    HUDDLE 1932 MGM RAMON NOVARRO UNA MERKEL 1/30 2000 TCM
    HUMAN TARGETS 1932 BIG 4 XXX XXX 11/22 2009 DVD
    HURRICANE EXPRESS 1932 MASCOT JOHN WAYNE 5/17 1993 TAPE (serial)
    IS MY FACE RED? 1932 RKO HELEN TWELVETREES 4/7 1993 AMC
    IT’S TOUGH TO BE FAMOUS 1932 FN DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR. MARY BRIAN 4/22 2000 TCM
    KONGO 1932 MGM WALTER HUSTON LUPE VELEZ 11/1 1998 TCM
    LAW OF THE NORTH 1932 MONO XXX XXX 9/14 1995 21
    LIFE BEGINS 1932 FN LORETTA YOUNG PRESTON FOSTER 12/31 1999 TCM
    LOST SQUADRON 1932 RKO RICHARD DIX ERICH VON STROHEIM 10/16 1993 AMC
    LOVE AFFAIR 1932 COLUMBIA 2/13 2013 ANT
    LOVE IS A RACKET 1932 FN DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR. LYLE TALBOT 11/1 2000 TCM
    LOVERS COURAGEOUS 1932 MGM ROBERT MONTGOMERY MADGE EVANS 5/24 2008 TCM
    LUCKY LARRIGAN 1932 MON REX BELL 8/28 2017 DVD
    MAKE ME A STAR 1932 PAR JOAN BLONDELL 9/25 2003 TCM
    MAN WHO PLAYED GOD 1932 WB GEORGE ARLISS BETTE DAVIS 5/5 1999 TCM
    MANHATTAN PARADE 1932 WB XXX XXX 9/12 2011 TCM
    MASON OF THE MOUNTED 1932 MONO WILLIAM CODY 6/15 1997 21
    MATCH KING 1932 FN WARREN WILLIAM GLENDA FARRELL 9/8 1998 TCM
    ME AND MY GAL 1932 FOX SPENCER TRACY JOAN BENNETT 12/29 1992 13
    MEN OF AMERICA 1932 RKO WILLIAM BOYD 4/10 1993 AMC
    MERRILY WE GO TO HELL 1932 PAR SYLVIA SIDNEY FREDRIC MARCH 4/5 2012 DVD
    MIDNIGHT WARNING 1932 MAYFAIR WILLIAM BOYD CLAUDIA DELL 3/29 2010 DVD
    MISS PINKERTON 1932 FN JOAN BLONDELL GEORGE BRENT 1/25 1999 TCM
    MONSTER WALKS 1932 MAYFAIR MISCHA AUER REX LEASE 9/29 1996 21
    MOVIE CRAZY 1932 PAR HAROLD LLOYD CONSTANCE CUMMINGS 9/18 2003 TCM
    NEW MORALS FOR OLD 1932 MGM ROBERT YOUNG 12/9 2016 TCM
    NIGHT COURT 1932 MGM WALTER HUSTON LEWIS STONE 4/6 1999 TCM
    NO MORE ORCHIDS 1932 COL CAROLE LOMBARD 10/6 2010 TCM
    NUMBER SEVENTEEN (U.K.) 1932 JANUS ANNE GREY JOHN STUART 5/21 1995 21
    ONE MAN LAW 1932 COL BUCK JONES 11/29 1992 TNT
    PANAMA FLO 1932 RKO CHARLES BICKFORD ROBERT ARMSTRONG 9/6 2006 TCM
    PARTNERS 1932 RKO XXX XXX 10/26 1993 AMC
    PASSIONATE PLUMBER 1932 MGM BUSTER KEATON JIMMY DURANTE 9/29 2003 TCM
    PHANTOM EXPRESS 1932 MAJESTIC XXX XXX 6/16 1994 TAPE
    PHANTOM FIEND (U.K.) 1932 OLYMPIC IVOR NOVELLO ELIZABETH ALLAN 2/11 2007 DVD
    PLAY GIRL 1932 WB LORETTA YOUNG NORMAN FOSTER 7/7 2001 TCM
    PROBATION 1932 CHESTERFIELD XXX XXX 8/20 1995 TAPE
    PROSPERITY 1932 MGM MARIE DRESSLER ANITA PAGE 5/1 2005 TCM
    PURCHASE PRICE 1932 WB BARBARA STANWYCK GEORGE BRENT 4/2 2002 TCM
    RASPUTIN AND THE EMPRESS 1932 MGM JOHN BARRYMORE ETHEL BARRYMORE 4/26 1999 TCM
    RED HEADED WOMAN 1932 MGM JEAN HARLOW CHESTER MORRIS 4/27 1999 TCM
    RED-HAIRED ALIBI 1932 TOWER SHIRLEY TEMPLE GRANT WITHERS 6/9 2010 DVD
    RICH AND STRANGE (U.K.) 1932 POWERS HENRY KENDALL JOAN BARRY 6/21 1998 21
    RICH ARE ALWAYS WITH US 1932 FN RUTH CHATTERTON GEORGE BRENT 3/15 2011 TCM
    RIDE HIM, COWBOY 1932 WB JOHN WAYNE 4/10 1995 TNT
    ROADHOUSE MURDER 1932 RKO BRUCE CABOT DOROTHY JORDAN 6/12 1998 AMC
    ROAR OF THE DRAGON 1932 RKO RICHARD DIX GWILL ANDRE 7/25 2003 TCM
    SAVAGE GIRL 1932 MONARCH ROCHELLE HUDSON 7/18 2010 DVD
    SCARLET DAWN 1932 WB DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR. NANCY CARROLL 1/26 1999 TCM
    SECRETS OF THE FRENCH POLICE 1932 RKO XXX XXX 1/27 1993 AMC
    SIGN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES GREATEST CASE 1932 SONO ART WW 5/12 2014 DVD
    SINGLE HANDED SAUNDERS 1932 MONO 2/24 2016 DVD
    SKYSCRAPER SOULS 1932 MGM MAUREEN O’SULLIVAN WARREN WILLIAM 1/11 2004 TCM
    SMILIN’ THROUGH 1932 MGM NORMA SHEARER FREDRIC MARCH 9/8 1999 TCM
    SO BIG 1932 WB BARBARA STANWYCK 5/17 2000 TCM
    SON-DAUGHTER 1932 MGM HELEN HAYES RAMON NOVARRO 12/17 2002 TCM
    SOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE 1932 COL BUCK JONES 11/29 1992 TNT
    SPEAK EASILY 1932 MGM JIMMY DURANTE 7/21 2004 TCM
    SPORT PARADE 1932 RKO JOEL MCCREA MARIAN MARSH 2/10 1993 AMC
    STATE’S ATTORNEY 1932 RKO JOHN BARRYMORE HELEN TWELVETREES 2/26 2003 TCM
    STRANGE INTERLUDE 1932 MGM NORMA SHEARER CLARK GABLE 8/25 2003 TCM
    STRANGE LOVE OF MOLLY LOUVAIN 1932 FN ANN DVORAK LEE TRACY 6/14 2001 TCM
    STRANGERS OF THE EVENING 1932 TIFFANY ZASU PITTS XXX 4/4 2010 DVD
    STREET OF WOMEN 1932 WB KAY FRANCIS 1/13 2004 TCM
    SUCCESSFUL CALAMITY 1932 WB GEORGE ARLISS MARY ASTOR 1/2 2003 TCM
    TAXI 1932 WB JAMES CAGNEY LORETTA YOUNG 1/18 2002 TCM
    TEN MINUTES TO LIVE 1932 MICHEAU FILM CORP. XXX XXX 1/21 2007 DVD
    TEXAS GUN FIGHTER 1932 TIFFANY KEN MAYNARD 12/12 2013 DVD
    THE CONQUERORS 1932 RKO RICHARD DIX ANN HARDING 1/13 1993 AMC
    THE TENDERFOOT 1932 FN JOE E. BROWN GINGER ROGERS 12/30 1999 TCM
    THEY CALL IT SIN 1932 FN LORETTA YOUNG GEORGE BRENT 12/10 2003 TCM
    THIRTEEN WOMEN 1932 RKO IRENE DUNNE MYRNA LOY 7/26 1993 AMC
    THIRTEENTH GUEST 1932 MONO GINGER ROGERS 10/29 2001 TCM
    THIS IS THE NIGHT 1932 PAR THELMA TODD 5/15 2011 TCM
    THREE WISE GIRLS 1932 COL JEAN HARLOW MAE CLARKE 7/16 2009 TCM
    TOMBSTONE CANYON 1932 SONO ART WW 11/12 2013 DVD
    TOO BUSY TO WORK 1932 FOX WILL ROGERS 12/29 2010 TCM
    TWO AGAINST THE WORLD 1932 WB CONSTANCE BENNETT NEIL HAMILTON 11/12 2003 TCM
    TWO SECONDS 1932 FN EDWARD G. ROBINSON PRESTON FOSTER 10/15 1999 TCM
    TWO-FISTED LAW 1932 COL TIM MCCOY 5/25 2015 WEST
    UNASHAMED 1932 MGM HELEN TWELVETREES ROBERT YOUNG 2/22 1999 TCM
    UNION DEPOT 1932 FN JOAN BLONDELL DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR. 2/11 2000 TCM
    VAMPYR (GER.) 1932 GENERAL FOREIGN SALES 10/8 2012 TCM
    VEILED ARISTOCRATS 1932 MICHEAUX 7/30 2016 TCM
    VIRTUE 1932 COL CAROLE LOMBARD PAT O’BRIEN 12/16 2007 TCM
    WAY BACK HOME 1932 RKO BETTE DAVIS 5/4 1999 TCM
    WEDDING REHEARSEL (U.K.) 1932 IDEAL XXX XXX 9/14 2009 TCM
    WEEKEND MARRIAGE 1932 FN LORETTA YOUNG 3/18 2008 TCM
    WESTERN CODE 1932 COL XXX XXX 6/30 2004 WEST
    WESTWARD PASSAGE 1932 RKO LAURENCE OLIVIER ANN HARDING 5/4 1993 AMC
    WET PARADE 1932 MGM WALTER HUSTON LEWIS STONE 4/7 1999 TCM
    WHEN A FELLOW NEEDS A FELLOW 1932 MGM JACKIE COOPER 9/15 2014 TCM
    WOMAN FROM MONTE CARLO 1932 FN WALTER HUSTON 12/3 2011 TCM
    WYOMING WHIRLWIND 1932 WILLIS KENT 7/15 2017 DVD
    YOU SAID A MOUTHFUL 1932 FN JOE E. BROWN GINGER ROGERS 12/1 1999 TCM
    YOUNG BRIDE 1932 RKO HELEN TWELVETREES 12/5 2012 TCM

    Reply

  5. Hello Bruce,
    Shanghai Express n°1 is a masterpiece of lights and shadows in the film and on the Dietrich face;
    Lee Garmes won an oscar if i am in a good memory and Clive Brook was so Gentleman;
    There are some photos from a ball in Berlin in 1929 with three ladies together with Dietrich smoking a cigarette in a pipe!
    Marlene before the Blue Angel, Leni Riefenstahl and Anna May Wong who is the supporting actress in shanghai three years later;
    In France Shangai was a big succès;
    I saw 18 films, my favorites are Trouble in paradise, Laurel and Hardy, Grand Hotel, Dr Jekill and Mr Hyde, Scarface , the sign of the Cross
    A very good page as usual, and very interresting and i remark some films of John Wayne at the end of the list…It was difficult for him in that time until Stagecoach…
    Pierre

    Reply

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