This movie page looks at 1943 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 1943 it is very very frustrating. Over the years, we have researched and collected information on over 33,000 movies. So we figured we would show all the 1943 movies in our database.
To make this list a movie had to be made in 1943. Obviously many movies made in 1942 earned box office dollars in 1943. On the other side many movies made in 1943 made money in 1943 and later. This page will looks at 123 1943 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 1943 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 1943
1943 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 1943 Top Box Office Movies by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie.
- Sort 1943 Top Box Office Movies by domestic actual box office grosses (in millions)
- Sort 1943 Top Box Office Movies by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort 1943 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 1943 Top Box Office Movies received.
- Sort 1943 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.
My Main Sources
Source 1: Eddie Mannix MGM Ledgers
Source 2: C.J. Tevlin RKO Ledgers
Source 3: Variety Magazine – January 6th 1943
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
But Wait…Do You Want More Stats?….Well We Have More Stats For You….Adjusted Worldwide Grosses on 43 1943 Movies
- Action in the North Atlantic (1943) $277.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Air Force (1943) $331.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Background to Danger (1943) $139.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Bataan (1943) $250.50 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Behind The Rising Sun (1943) $224.40 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Best Foot Forward (1943) $216.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Cabin In The Sky (1943) $157.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Constant Nymph, The (1943) $282.50 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Cross of Lorraine, The (1943) $100.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Destination Tokyo (1943) $367.80 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943) $62.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) $280.50 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Edge of Darkness (1943) $294.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Fallen Sparrow, The (1943) $138.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Forever And A Day (1943) $156.30 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Girl Crazy (1943) $280.80 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Government Girl (1943) $157.60 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- ‘Gung Ho!’: The Story of Carlson’s Makin Island Raiders (1943) $193.50
- Guy Named Joe, A (1943) $402.60 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Human Comedy, The (1943) $306.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- I Dood It (1943) $173.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Lady Takes a Chance, A (1943) $227.60 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Lassie Come Home (1943) $362.80 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Madame Curie (1943) $370.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Man From Down Under, The (1943) $85.60 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- More the Merrier, The (1943) $211.50 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Mr. Lucky (1943) $291.40 North Star (1943) $244.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Northern Pursuit (1943) $260.60 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Old Acquaintance (1943) $293.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Pilot #5 (1943) $77.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Presenting Lily Mars (1943) $260.90 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Princess O’Rourke (1943) $248.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Sky’s The Limit, The (1943) $175.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan Triumphs (1943) $213.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tarzan’s Desert Mystery (1943) $160.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Tender Comrade (1943) $212.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) $290.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- They Got Me Covered (1943) $269.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- This is the Army (1943) $854.40 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Thousands Cheer (1943) $472.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Watch on the Rhine (1943) $271.50 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- We’ve Never Been Licked (1943) $96.10 million in adjusted worldwide gross
- Youngest Profession, The (1943) $124.30 million in adjusted worldwide gross
Box Office Grosses From The Awesome Research From Mike
A Scream in the Night $3,500.00 Lon Chaney Jr. John Ince
Adventure in Iraq $142,250.00 Ruth Ford John Loder
Adventures of a Rookie $398,200.00 Margaret Landry Wally Brown
Alaska Highway $244,050.00 Jean Parker Richard Arlen
All by Myself $221,100.00 Rosemary Lane Patric Knowles
Always a Bridesmaid $329,650.00 Grace McDonald Patric Knowles
Appointment in Berlin $298,058.00 Marguerite Chapman George Sanders
Arizona Trail $650.00 Janet Shaw Tex Ritter
Around the World $498,900.00 Joan Davis Mischa Auer
Bar 20 $2,275.00 Robert Mitchum William Boyd
Beyond the Last Frontier $550.00 Robert Mitchum Eddie Dew
Black Market Rustlers $1,394.00 Evelyn Finley Ray Corrigan
Blazing Frontier $600.00 Marjorie Manners Buster Crabbe
Bomber’s Moon $415,250.00 Annabella George Montgomery
Bordertown Gun Fighters $388.00 Anne Jeffreys Bill Elliott
Boss of Rawhide $650.00 Nell O’Day Dave O’Brien
California Joe $600.00 Helen Talbot Don ‘Red’ Barry
Calling Dr. Death $184,720.00 Patricia Morison Lon Chaney, Jr.
Calling Wild Bill Elliott $167.00 Anne Jeffreys Bill Elliott
Campus Rhythm $104,725.00 Gale Storm Johnny Downs
Canyon City $600.00 Helen Talbot Don ‘Red’ Barry
Captive Wild Woman $211,350.00 Evelyn Ankers John Carradine
Cinderella Swings It $179,700.00 Gloria Warren Guy Kibbee
Colt Comrades $1,850.00 Robert Mitchum William Boyd
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher Gale Storm Edgar Kennedy
Cowboy Commandos $866.00 Evelyn Finley Ray Corrigan
Cowboy in Manhattan $303,538.00 Frances Langford Robert Paige
Crime Doctor $303,200.00 Margaret Lindsay Warner Baxter
Danger! Women at Work $106,310.00 Patsy Kelly-10 Addison Randall
Dangerous Blondes $267,950.00 Evelyn Keyes Allyn Joslyn
Days of Old Cheyenne $4,320.00 Lynn Merrick Don ‘Red’ Barry
Dead Men Walk $92,125.00 Mary Carlisle George Zucco
Death Valley Manhunt $1,575.00 Anne Jeffreys Bill Elliott
Death Valley Rangers $5,500.00 Linda Brent Ken Maynard
Devil Riders $2,000.00 Patti McCarty Buster Crabbe
Doughboys in Ireland $261,700.00 Robert Mitchum Kenny Baker
False Colors $2,700.00 Robert Mitchum William Boyd
False Faces $138,137.00 Veda Ann Borg Stanley Ridges
Fighting Frontier $15,716.00 Ann Summers Tim Holt
Fired Wife $318,200.00 Diana Barrymore Robert Paige
Follies Girl $101,475.00 Wendy Barrie Gordon Oliver
Footlight Glamour $381,400.00 Penny Singleton Arthur Lake
Frontier Badmen $318,233.00 Anne Gwynne Robert Paige
Frontier Law $1,300.00 Jennifer Holt Russell Hayden
Gals, Incorporated $288,361.00 Harriet Hilliard Leon Errol
Gangway for Tomorrow $396,850.00 Robert Ryan John Carradine
Get Going $229,000.00 Grace McDonald Robert Paige
Gildersleeve on Broadway $232,250.00 Billie Burke Harold Peary
Gildersleeve’s Bad Day $224,850.00 Jane Darwell Harold Peary
Girls in Chains $22,438.00 Arline Judge Roger Clark
Good Luck, Mr. Yates $244,100.00 Claire Trevor Jess Barker
Good Morning, Judge $314,770.00 Louise Allbritton Dennis O’Keefe
Harvest Melody $76,150.00 Rosemary Lane Johnny Downs
Headin’ for God’s Country $30,775.00 Virginia Dale William Lundigan
Henry Aldrich Haunts a House $301,200.00 Olive Blakeney Jimmy Lydon
Henry Aldrich Swings It $459,075.00 Olive Blakeney Jimmy Lydon
Here Comes Elmer $95,900.00 Dale Evans Al Pearce
Here Comes Kelly $113,125.00 Joan Woodbury Eddie Quillan
Hi Diddle Diddle $537,000.00 Martha Scott Adolphe Menjou
Hitler’s Madman $421,500.00 Patricia Morison John Carradine
Hi’ya, Sailor $221,925.00 Elyse Knox Donald Woods
Honeymoon Lodge $386,300.00 Harriet Hilliard David Bruce
I Escaped from the Gestapo $62,100.00 John Carradine Dean Jagger
Is Everybody Happy? $226,200.00 Nan Wynn Ted Lewis
It’s a Great Life $287,300.00 Penny Singleton Arthur Lake
Jive Junction $31,883.00 Tina Thayer Dickie Moore
Kid Dynamite $23,300.00 Pamela Blake Leo Gorcey
Klondike Kate $244,600.00 Ann Savage Tom Neal
Larceny with Music $198,925.00 Kitty Carlisle Leo Carrillo
Law of the Northwest $1,500.00 Shirley Patterson Charles Starrett
Leather Burners $2,108.00 Robert Mitchum William Boyd
Melody Parade $205,750.00 Mary Beth Hughes Eddie Quillan
Mexican Spitfire’s Blessed Event $333,725.00 Lupe Velez Leon Errol
Minesweeper $307,133.00 Jean Parker Richard Arlen
Moonlight in Vermont $319,800.00 Gloria Jean Ray Malone
Mr. Muggs Steps Out $70,960.00 Joan Marsh Leo Gorcey
Mystery Broadcast $147,925.00 Ruth Terry Frank Albertson
Mystery of the 13th Guest $76,850.00 Helen Parrish Dick Purcell
Nazty Nuisance $25,500.00 Jean Porter Bobby Watson
Nearly Eighteen $41,375.00 Gale Storm Rick Vallin
Never a Dull Moment $272,668.00 Frances Langford Ritz Brothers
Nobody’s Darling $223,025.00 Mary Lee Louis Calhern
Outlaws of Stampede Pass $870.00 Ellen Hall Johnny Mack Brown
Over My Dead Body $192,875.00 Mary Beth Hughes Milton Berle
Overland Mail Robbery $525.00 Anne Jeffreys Bill Elliott
Paris After Dark $293,050.00 Brenda Marshall George Sanders
Passport to Suez $261,175.00 Lloyd Bridges Warren William
Petticoat Larceny $340,700.00 Ruth Warrick Walter Reed
Pistol Packin’ Mama $200,800.00 Ruth Terry Robert Livingston
Prairie Chickens $243,810.00 Marjorie Woodworth Jimmy Rogers
Quiet Please, Murder $298,150.00 Gail Patrick George Sanders
Raiders of San Joaquin $727.00 Jennifer Holt Johnny Mack Brown
Redhead from Manhattan $169,370.00 Lupe Velez Michael Duane
Return of the Vampire $180,550.00 Frieda Inescort Bela Lugosi
Revenge of the Zombies $85,050.00 Gale Storm John Carradine
Riders of the Deadline $2,525.00 Robert Mitchum William Boyd
Riders of the Rio Grande $160.00 Lorraine Miller Bob Steele
Rookies in Burma $433,000.00 Joan Barclay Wally Brown
Saddles and Sagebrush $320.00 Ann Savage Russell Hayden
Sarong Girl $109,650.00 Ann Corio Tim Ryan
Seeds of Freedom $5,500.00 Aline MacMahon Aleksandr Antonov
Shantytown $235,720.00 Mary Lee John Archer
She’s for Me $208,600.00 Grace McDonald David Bruce
Silver City Raiders $600.00 Alma Carroll Russell Hayden
Silver Spurs $76,180.00 Phyllis Brooks Roy Rogers
Six Gun Gospel $1,075.00 Inna Gest Johnny Mack Brown
Sleepy Lagoon $191,525.00 Judy Canova Dennis Day
Smart Guy $71,750.00 Veda Ann Borg Rick Vallin
So This is Washington $116,575.00 Mildred Coles Chester Lauck
Son of Dracula $263,353.00 Louise Allbritton Lon Chaney, Jr.
Song of Texas $100,850.00 Sheila Ryan Roy Rogers
So’s Your Uncle $153,818.00 Billie Burke Donald Woods
Spy Train $47,740.00 Catherine Craig Richard Travis
Squadron Leader X $165,725.00 Ann Dvorak Eric Portman
Submarine Alert $344,950.00 Wendy Barrie Richard Arlen
Submarine Base $37,400.00 Fifi D’Orsay John Litel
Suspected Person $18,000.00 Patricia Roc Clifford Evans
Swing Out the Blues $316,600.00 Lynn Merrick Bob Haymes
Swing Shift Maisie $581,700.00 Ann Sothern James Craig
Swingtime Johnny $332,350.00 Andrew Sisters Peter Cookson
Teen Age $50,500.00 Sylvia Stanton Herbert Heyes
Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground $1,242.00 Jennifer Holt Johnny Mack Brown
The Avenging Rider $1,575.00 Ann Summers Tim Holt
The Black Raven $7,625.00 Wanda McKay George Zucco
The Chance of a Lifetime $256,875.00 Jeanne Bates Chester Morris
The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case $254,400.00 Lynn Merrick Warner Baxter
The Deerslayer $48,050.00 Jean Parker Bruce Kellogg
The Falcon and the Co-eds $331,900.00 Jean Brooks Tom Conway
The Falcon in Danger $256,650.00 Jean Brooks Tom Conway
The Gang’s All Here $2,500.00 Alice Faye Phil Baker
The Ghost and the Guest $8,061.00 Florence Rice James Dunn
The Ghost Ship $257,368.00 Edith Barrett Richard Dix
The Girl from Monterrey $87,425.00 Armida Edgar Kennedy
The Good Fellows $249,950.00 Helen Walker Cecil Kellaway
The Great Mr. Handel $2,500.00 Elizabeth Allan Wilfrid Lawson
The Kansan $211,950.00 Jane Wyatt Richard Dix
The Leopard Man $220,100.00 Margo Dennis O’Keefe
The Lone Star Trail $825.00 Robert Mitchum Johnny Mack Brown
The Mad Ghoul $159,301.00 Evelyn Ankers David Bruce
The Man from Thunder River $695.00 Anne Jeffreys Bill Elliott
The Renegade $1,075.00 Lois Ranson Buster Crabbe
The Saint Meets the Tiger $154,025.00 Jean Gillie Hugh Sinclair
The Seventh Victim $199,850.00 Jean Brooks Tom Conway
The Spider Woman $300,400.00 Gale Sondergaard Basil Rathbone
The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler $162,768.00 Gale Sondergaard
The Stranger from Pecos $312.00 Christine McIntyre Johnny Mack Brown
The Sultan’s Daughter $132,825.00 Ann Corio Charles Butterworth
The Texas Kid $2,200.00 Shirley Patterson Johnny Mack Brown
The Underdog $8,850.00 Jan Wiley Barton MacLane
The Unknown Guest $244,800.00 Pamela Blake Victor Jory
The Vigilantes Ride $600.00 Shirley Patterson Russell Hayden
The West Side Kid $112,733.00 Dale Evans Don ‘Red’ Barry
There’s Something About a Soldier $249,750.00 Evelyn Keyes Tom Neal
They Came to Blow Up America $308,050.00 Anna Sten George Sanders
Three Russian Girls $268,450.00 Anna Sten Kent Smith
Tiger Fangs $28,860.00 June Duprez Frank Buck
Time to Kill $199,750.00 Heather Angel Lloyd Nolan
Tornado $200,193.00 Nancy Kelly Chester Morris
Trail of Terror $1,400.00 Patricia Knox Dave O’Brien
Two Señoritas from Chicago $238,524.00 Joan Davis Bob Haymes
Wagon Tracks West $883.00 Anne Jeffreys Bill Elliott
Western Cyclone $1,100.00 Marjorie Manners Buster Crabbe
Where Are Your Children? $526,900.00 Gale Storm Jackie Cooper
Whispering Footsteps $205,133.00 Rita Quigley John Hubbard
Women in Bondage $371,400.00 Gail Patrick William Henry
Yanks Ahoy $246,950.00 Marjorie Woodworth William Tracy
You Can’t Beat the Law $9,900.00 Joan Woodbury Edward Norris
You’re a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith $209,600.00 Evelyn Ankers Allan Jones
10,000,000 Views!!
YAASSS
♡°☆(ಠೆಒಠಿ)☆°♡Hi dad 🙂
Hey Sam….your attempt to be the 10 millionth visitor failed…..but thanks for your first ever comment on our website….love your Dad.
Hey Bruce, one of my all time faves Casablanca is famously a 1942 movie, you won’t find it listed as a 1943 movie in any decent movie book. I know it competed with the films of 1943 at the Oscars and Wikipedia explains this anomaly thusly –
“Although an initial release date was anticipated for spring 1943, the film premiered at the Hollywood Theater in New York City on November 26, 1942, to coincide with the Allied invasion of North Africa and the capture of Casablanca. It went into general release on January 23, 1943, to take advantage of the Casablanca Conference, a high-level meeting in the city between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
Hey Steve. Thanks for the explanation about Casablanca. It sure makes it confusing….why could it not follow the directions that so many other movies followed successfully?….lol.
No matter what year this is, it is still an all-time great movie. 🙂
And now we come to a ‘war’ year, 1943, a time when people were flocking to the cinema in their millions to escape the grim news stories of death and destruction happening in Europe and Asia.
I’ve seen just 35 of the 108 films listed, could have been better I suppose. And without a shadow of a doubt one of my favorites has to be Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, his own personal favorite according to the man himself. Other favorites include – Phantom of the Opera, Destination Tokyo, Victory Through Air Power (Fascinating Disney animated movie on WWII), Action in the North Atlantic, Heaven Can Wait, Girl Crazy and I Walked With a Zombie.
For Whom the Bell Tolls was a huge hit, I have a good copy of it but it’s not a big favorite of mine though it looks great in Technicolor. At nearly three hours it drags, it’s about an hour too long.
Looking at my datafiles I have 44 films from 1943 in my movie collection – and I’ve seen 40 of these, so either my previous count was wrong or there are some films here not on your list.
Action in the North Atlantic
Air Force
Bataan
Crash Dive
Desperadoes
Destination Tokyo
Edge of Darkness
Five Graves to Cairo
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman (Legacy box set)
Gangs All Here ,The
Ghost Ship
Girl Crazy
Guadalcanal Diary
Gung Ho
Guy Named Joe ,A
Heaven Can Wait (Criterion)
I Walked with a Zombie
In Old Oklahoma
Journey into Fear
Lassie Come Home
Leopard Man ,The
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
More the Merrier ,The
Northern Pursuit
Outlaw ,The
Ox-Bow Incident ,The
Phantom of the Opera (1943)
Return of the Vampire
Revenge of the Zombies
Sahara
Saludos Amigos
Seventh Victim ,The
Shadow of a Doubt
Sherlock Holmes – Faces Death
Sherlock Holmes – In Washington
Sky’s the Limit ,The
Son of Dracula (Legacy Box Set)
Stage Door Canteen
Tarzan Triumphs
Tarzan’s Desert Mystery
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Victory Through Air Power
zz-Germany – Munchhausen
Looks like you’ve missed a couple of horror classics – Son of Dracula and Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman. I’m a big fan of the Universal monsters series.
Another epic movie page Bruce, good work amigo. Voted Up!
Hey Steve
1. First of all….sorry I took so long to respond to this comment. My part-time job somehow managed to turn into a full-time job….but the 6 month contract I signed comes to an end at the end of this month….so hopefully I will be able to catch up here at UMR.com.
2. Yep World War 2 was very good for the worldwide economy and movie theaters….movie admissions averaged over 90 million a week for the entire 1940s decade.
3. War movies and news reels pulled millions into theaters a week. Once the war ended and television arrived…these glory days came to a quick end.
4. Your 35 movies watched almost triples my total….but falls to Flora and gets destroyed by Dan’s total.
5. Of your favorites…I have seen Shadow of a Doubt (one of the better Hitch movies) and Destination Tokyo (Cary Grant hit)….but I have not seen any of the others you mentioned. I will have to check them out.
6. This page is just the ones that have been fully researched….I did not include the ones that I have box office grosses on but have not included in any current page. I am sure I have box office numbers on some of the ones you listed but are not on my table. You and Dan…put me to shame when it comes to listing the movies watched.
7. I do have most of the movies that I watched in theaters….thinking about condensing lots of my notes and making one long long list of movies watched in theaters. That would be movies from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s….five decades….damn I must be getting old…..lol.
As always…thanks for the visit, the comment and the tally count….always appreciated.