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.
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
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
PART 5 OF 11
The Silent Witness $238,566.00 Greta Nissen Lionel Atwill
The Wiser Sex $237,750.00 Claudette Colbert Melvyn Douglas
No More Orchids $236,750.00 Carole Lombard Walter Connolly
White Zombie $232,633.00 Madge Bellamy Béla Lugosi
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood $231,800.00 June Clyde George Sidney
Young America $230,150.00 Doris Kenyon Spencer Tracy
Young Bride/Love Starved $228,400.00 Helen Twelvetrees Eric Linden
Street of Women $226,150.00 Kay Francis Roland Young
Night World $224,750.00 Mae Clarke Lew Ayres
Jewel Robbery $224,350.00 Kay Francis William Powell
Week Ends Only $223,233.00 Joan Bennett Ben Lyon
Madison Square Garden $222,417.00 Marian Nixon Jack Oakie
Freaks $219,983.00 Leila Hyams Wallace Ford
Thirteen Women $217,400.00 Irene Dunne Ricardo Cortez
Bachelor’s Affairs $216,300.00 Joan Marsh Adolphe Menjou
Rackety Rax $216,217.00 Greta Nissen Victor McLaglen
Divorce in the Family $215,825.00 Lois Wilson Jackie Cooper
The Big Drive $214,950.00 *(documentaty) *
The Most Dangerous Game $214,850.00 Fay Wray Joel McCrea
Carnival Boat $214,750.00 Ginger Rogers William Boyd
The Old Dark House $214,475.00 Lilian Bond Boris Karloff
Miss Pinkerton $212,917.00 Joan Blondell George Brent
Girl of the Rio $208,700.00 Dolores del Río Leo Carrillo
Scandal for Sale $206,325.00 Rose Hobart Charles Bickford
False Faces $204,450.00 Peggy Shannon Lowell Sherman
The Purchase Price $203,300.00 Barbara Stanwyck George Brent
The Man Called Back $202,733.00 Doris Kenyon Conrad Nagel
A Woman Commands $199,000.00 Pola Negri Roland Young
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain $196,900.00 Ann Dvorak Lee Tracy
This Reckless Age $196,500.00 Peggy Shannon Charles “Buddy” Rogers
Kongo $194,750.00 Lupe Velez Walter Huston
Strangers of the Evening $189,925.00 Zasu Pitts Lucien Littlefield
Cheaters at Play $182,463.00 Charlotte Greenwood Thomas Meighan
Doomed Battalion $182,450.00 Tala Birell Luis Trenker
The Night Club Lady $181,700.00 Mayo Methot Adolphe Menjou
Is My Face Red? $181,075.00 Helen Twelvetrees Ricardo Cortez
The Last Mile $178,642.00 Louise Carter Howard Phillips
The Woman from Monte Carlo $177,700.00 Lil Dagover Walter Huston
The Age of Consent $177,233.00 Dorothy Wilson Richard Cromwell
Me and My Gal $177,225.00 Joan Bennett Spencer Tracy
Week-End Marriage $175,450.00 Loretta Young Norman Foster
New Morals for Old $175,150.00 Margaret Perry Robert Young
Tom Brown of Culver $174,925.00 Betty Blythe Tom Brown
The Final Edition $172,300.00 Mae Clarke Pat O’Brien
The Penguin Pool Murder $172,025.00 Edna May Oliver Robert Armstrong
Handle with Care $163,275.00 Boots Mallory James Dunn
The Painted Woman $161,317.00 Peggy Shannon Spencer Tracy
They Call It Sin $159,787.00 Loretta Young George Brent
The Big Timer $155,550.00 Constance Cummings Ben Lyon
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
PART 4 OF 11
Under Cover Man $293,000.00 Nancy Carroll George Raft
Two Against the World $291,000.00 Constance Bennett Neil Hamilton
Skyscraper Souls $290,900.00 Maureen O’Sullivan Warren William
War Correspondent $286,250.00 Lila Lee Jack Holt
Attorney for the Defense $285,200.00 Evelyn Brent Edmund Lowe
American Madness $284,900.00 Kay Johnson Walter Huston
Murders in the Rue Morgue $283,800.00 Sidney Fox Bela Lugosi
Hotel Continental $282,400.00 Peggy Shannon Theodore von Eltz
The Crash $282,250.00 Ruth Chatterton George Brent
Faithless $281,650.00 Tallulah Bankhead Robert Montgomery
Guilty as Hell $281,633.00 Adrienne Ames Edmund Lowe
Devil’s Lottery $281,550.00 Elissa Landi Victor McLaglen
The Mask of Fu Manchu $281,125.00 Karen Morley Boris Karloff
Hat Check Girl $281,000.00 Sally Eilers Ben Lyon
Once in a Lifetime $278,416.00 Sidney Fox Jack Oakie
Tiger Shark $278,275.00 Zita Johann Edward G. Robinson
Evenings for Sale $275,200.00 Sari Maritza Herbert Marshall
The Half-Naked Truth $274,950.00 Lupe Vélez Lee Tracy
After Tomorrow $274,038.00 Marian Nixon Charles Farrell
The Strange Case of Clara Deane $270,925.00 Wynne Gibson Pat O’Brien
Fast Life $268,950.00 Madge Evans William Haines
Island of Lost Souls $267,900.00 Leila Hyams Charles Laughton
Stepping Sisters $267,800.00 Louise Dresser William Collier Sr.
Madame Racketeer $267,525.00 Alison Skipworth Richard Bennett
Doctor X $267,250.00 Fay Wray Lee Tracy
The Match King $266,700.00 Lili Damita Warren William
Panama Flo $266,500.00 Helen Twelvetrees Robert Armstrong
The Dark Horse $263,875.00 Bette Davis Warren William
Careless Lady $263,525.00 Joan Bennett John Boles
Okay, America! $262,825.00 Maureen O’Sullivan Lew Ayres
Hot Saturday $262,225.00 Nancy Carroll Cary Grant
Mädchen in Uniform $261,850.00 Emilia Unda *
The Devil Is Driving $261,225.00 Wynne Gibson Edmund Lowe
Westward Passage $260,075.00 Ann Harding Laurence Olivier
Chandu the Magician $258,725.00 Irene Ware Edmund Lowe
Congorilla $258,450.00 *(documentary) *
The Mummy $257,800.00 Zita Johann Boris Karloff
Lawyer Man $257,100.00 Joan Blondell William Powell
Love Is a Racket $256,633.00 Ann Dvorak Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Air Mail $256,100.00 Gloria Stuart Ralph Bellamy
Downstairs $254,000.00 Virginia Bruce John Gilbert
Roar of the Dragon $251,900.00 Gwili Andre Richard Dix
It’s Tough to Be Famous $250,925.00 Mary Brian Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
A Passport to Hell $250,100.00 Elissa Landi Paul Lukas
The Broken Wing $249,950.00 Lupe Velez Leo Carrillo
Behind the Mask $246,650.00 Constance Cummings Jack Holt
The Impatient Maiden $245,800.00 Mae Clarke Lew Ayres
The Woman in Room 13 $244,975.00 Elissa Landi Ralph Bellamy
They Just Had to Get Married $238,667.00 Zasu Pitts Slim Summerville
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
PART 3 OF 11
State’s Attorney $367,500.00 Helen Twelvetrees John Barrymore
But the Flesh Is Weak $367,075.00 Nora Gregor Robert Montgomery
So Big $366,300.00 Barbara Stanwyck George Brent
Down to Earth $365,175.00 Dorothy Jordan Will Rogers
Frisco Jenny $364,334.00 Ruth Chatterton Louis Calhern
Devil and the Deep $361,508.00 Tallulah Bankhead Gary Cooper
Winner Takes All $359,250.00 Marian Nixon James Cagney
Million Dollar Legs $357,669.00 Lyda Roberti Jack Oakie
Night Court $357,458.00 Anita Page Phillips Holmes
Speak Easily $352,200.00 Thelma Todd Buster Keaton
The Man from Yesterday $348,977.00 Claudette Colbert Clive Brooke
Silver Dollar $347,675.00 Bebe Daniels Edward G. Robinson
Wayward $347,525.00 Nancy Carroll Richard Arlen
Disorderly Conduct $347,438.00 Sally Eilers Spencer Tracy
Tess of the Storm Country $347,300.00 Janet Gaynor Charles Farrell
This Is the Night $347,025.00 Lili Damita Charles Ruggles
Mr. Robinson Crusoe $346,750.00 Maria Alba Douglas Fairbanks
Madame Butterfly $345,463.00 Sylvia Sidney Cary Grant
Two Seconds $344,750.00 Vivienne Osborne Edward G. Robinson
Pack Up Your Troubles $343,050.00 Mary Carr Laurel & Hardy
The Trial of Vivienne Ware $342,200.00 Joan Bennett Donald Cook
Washington Merry-Go-Round $341,783.00 Constance Cummings Lee Tracy
Symphony of Six Million $337,200.00 Irene Dunne Ricardo Cortez
The All-American $333,700.00 Gloria Stuart Richard Arlen
The Son-Daughter $331,950.00 Helen Hayes Ramon Novarro
Charlie Chan’s Chance $330,650.00 Marian Nixon Warner Oland
Man About Town $329,733.00 Karen Morley Warner Baxter
Life Begins $327,050.00 Loretta Young Eric Linden
Rockabye $326,900.00 Constance Bennett Joel McCrea
Sky Devils $326,900.00 Ann Dvorak Spencer Tracy
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm $326,683.00 Marian Nixon Ralph Bellamy
Night After Night $326,467.00 Constance Cummings George Raft
The Conquerors $324,200.00 Ann Harding Richard Dix
Society Girl $323,950.00 Peggy Shannon James Dunn
Presitge $322,525.00 Ann Harding Adolphe Menjou
Lady and Gent $322,152.00 Wynne Gibson George Bancroft
You Said a Mouthful $321,125.00 Ginger Rogers Joe E. Brown
6 Hours to Live $315,150.00 Miriam Jordan Warner Baxter
Unashamed $311,517.00 Helen Twelvetrees Robert Young
The Phantom of Crestwood $308,762.00 Karen Morley Ricardo Cortez
The Rainbow Trail $308,617.00 Cecilia Parker George O’Brien
The Tenderfoot $307,033.00 Ginger Rogers Joe E. Brown
20,000 Years in Sing Sing $302,934.00 Bette Davis Spencer Tracy
Too Busy to Work $300,400.00 Marian Nixon Will Rogers
Play Girl $300,075.00 Loretta Young Norman Foster
Ladies of the Jury $299,550.00 Edna May Oliver Ken Murray
Hold ‘Em Jail $298,100.00 Edna May Oliver Wheeler & Woolsey
Sherlock Holmes $295,725.00 Miriam Jordan Clive Brook
Man Wanted/A Dangerous Brunette $294,000.00 Kay Francis David Manners
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
PART 2 OF 11
The Big Broadcast $499,125.00 Leila Hyams Bing Crosby
Bird of Paradise $483,290.00 Dolores del Río Joel McCrea
70,000 Witnesses $477,550.00 Dorothy Jordan Phillips Holmes
Lovers Courageous $477,333.00 Madge Evans Robert Montgomery
Back Street $474,600.00 Irene Dunne John Boles
No Man of Her Own $470,950.00 Carole Lombard Clark Gable
Fireman, Save My Child $469,850.00 Evalyn Knapp Joe E. Brown
Polly of the Circus $463,216.00 Marion Davies Clark Gable
Huddle/The Glory and the Girl $452,150.00 Madge Evans Ramon Novarro
The Wet Parade $449,038.00 Dorothy Jordan Lewis Stone
Girl Crazy $443,799.00 Dorothy Lee Wheeler & Woolsey
High Pressure $438,075.00 Evelyn Brent William Powell
Business and Pleasure $436,000.00 Jetta Goudal Will Rogers
The Miracle Man $434,200.00 Sylvia Sidney Chester Morris
The Mouthpiece $431,108.00 Sidney Fox Warren William
Dancers in the Dark $428,810.00 Miriam Hopkins Jack Oakie
Sky Bride $426,100.00 Virginia Bruce Richard Arlen
The Rich Are Always with Us $424,200.00 Ruth Chatterton George Brent
The Washington Masquerade $422,742.00 Karen Morley Lionel Barrymore
Misleading Lady $418,400.00 Claudette Colbert Edmund Lowe
Three on a Match $415,868.00 Joan Blondell Warren William
The Beast of the City $408,300.00 Jean Harlow Walter Huston
Make Me a Star $408,098.00 Joan Blondell Stuart Erwin
Cynara $407,150.00 Kay Francis Ronald Colman
The Night of June 13th $393,800.00 Frances Dee Clive Brook
The World and the Flesh $393,575.00 Miriam Hopkins George Bancroft
A Bill of Divorcement $389,350.00 Billie Burke John Barrymore
What Price Hollywood? $385,817.00 Constance Bennett Lowell Sherman
Call Her Savage $385,350.00 Clara Bow Gilbert Roland
The Greeks Had a Word for Them $385,250.00 Joan Blondell David Manners
Amateur Daddy $384,725.00 Marian Nixon Warner Baxter
Sinners in the Sun $384,383.00 Carole Lombard Chester Morris
Movie Crazy $383,600.00 Constance Cummings Harold Lloyd
No One Man $383,025.00 Carole Lombard Ricardo Cortez
The Passionate Plumber $382,900.00 Irene Purcell Buster Keaton
She Wanted a Millionaire $382,375.00 Joan Bennett Spencer Tracy
Are You Listening? $382,175.00 Karen Morley William Haines
Shopworn $381,825.00 Barbara Stanwyck Regis Toomey
If I Had a Million $381,400.00 Alison Skipworth Gary Cooper
Forbidden $379,575.00 Barbara Stanwyck Adolphe Menjou
One Way Passage $379,550.00 Kay Francis William Powell
Blessed Event $378,417.00 Mary Brian Lee Tracy
Trouble in Paradise $378,250.00 Miriam Hopkins Herbert Marshall
The Cabin in the Cotton $378,000.00 Bette Davis Richard Barthelmess
Thunder Below $376,674.00 Tallulah Bankhead Charles Bickford
Flesh $375,200.00 Karen Morley Wallace Beery
The Phantom President $373,350.00 Claudette Colbert George M. Cohan
When a Feller Needs a Friend $369,200.00 Dorothy Peterson Jackie Cooper
A Successful Calamity $368,550.00 Mary Astor George Arliss
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
Here is 1932 box office estimated data.
PART 1 OF 11
Here is the estimated domestic gross for ALL films in 1932.
The current box office data supplied, has not been adjusted to reflect this at all.
I found 50 candidates of the 529( Reissued were not used, but are in total) listed that I could use to come up with this percentage, but it is reasonable.
I found that the listed domestic gross amount is about 80% (+/-5%) of actual domestic gross for films above $90,000 in U.S. /Canada
To get the estimated domestic gross on films below $90,000.
Grand Hotel $1,885,350.00 Greta Garbo John Barrymore
One Hour with You $915,200.00 Jeanette MacDonald Maurice Chevalier
Hell Divers $885,585.00 Dorothy Jordan Clark Gable
Strange Interlude $884,864.00 Norma Shearer Clark Gable
Emma $879,300.00 Marie Dressler Richard Cromwell
Shanghai Express $848,950.00 Marlene Dietrich Clive Brook
The Kid from Spain $822,300.00 Lyda Roberti Eddie Cantor
Tarzan the Ape Man $817,900.00 Maureen O’Sullivan Johnny Weissmuller
Horse Feathers $797,383.00 Thelma Todd Marx Brothers
Smilin’ Through $776,350.00 Norma Shearer Fredric March
Scarface $761,700.00 Ann Dvorak Paul Muni
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde $754,610.00 Miriam Hopkins Fredric March
Bring ‘Em Back Alive $675,375.00 *(DOCUMENTARY) *
The Sign of the Cross $673,917.00 Claudette Colbert Fredric March
Letty Lynton $670,750.00 Joan Crawford Robert Montgomery
Red Dust $659,735.00 Jean Harlow Clark Gable
Arsène Lupin $642,333.00 Karen Morley John Barrymore
As You Desire Me $624,866.00 Greta Garbo Melvyn Douglas
The First Year $620,500.00 Janet Gaynor Charles Farrell
The Crowd Roars $613,325.00 Joan Blondell James Cagney
Prosperity $611,575.00 Marie Dressler Norman Foster
Tomorrow and Tomorrow $591,767.00 Ruth Chatterton Robert Ames
Love Me Tonight $580,250.00 Jeanette MacDonald Maurice Chevalier
Red-Headed Woman $574,467.00 Jean Harlow Chester Morris
Two Kinds of Women $570,750.00 Miriam Hopkins Phillips Holmes
The Man Who Played God $567,625.00 Bette Davis George Arliss
Rasputin and the Empress $566,850.00 Ethel Barrymore John Barrymore
A Farewell to Arms $558,885.00 Helen Hayes Gary Cooper
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang $556,350.00 Glenda Farrell Paul Muni
Blondie of the Follies $551,983.00 Marion Davies Robert Montgomery
Taxi! $549,633.00 Loretta Young James Cagney
Union Depot $543,433.00 Joan Blondell Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Dance Team $542,550.00 Sally Eilers James Dunn
Rain $542,150.00 Joan Crawford Walter Huston
Broken Lullaby/Fifth Commandment $532,575.00 Nancy Carroll Lionel Barrymore
The Animal Kingdom $527,300.00 Ann Harding Leslie Howard
Blonde Venus $514,250.00 Marlene Dietrich Herbert Marshall
Alias the Doctor $513,650.00 Marian Marsh Richard Barthelmess
The Lost Squadron $511,550.00 Mary Astor Richard Dix
The Hatchet Ma $510,550.00 Loretta Young Edward G. Robinson
Strangers in Love $509,291.00 Kay Francis Fredric March
Lady With a Past $504,200.00 Constance Bennett Ben Lyon
Merrily We Go to Hell $502,216.00 Sylvia Sidney Fredric March