This page looks at the 1946 Top Box Office Movies. World War II ended in 1945 and as the soldiers returned home…they did two things….one they made lots of babies and two they went to lots of movies. 1946 was the peak of people going to movies. In 1946 an average of 90 million admissions were sold on a weekly basis. That 90 million represented almost 60% of the population of the United States. As a comparison, we can look at our current movie going habits…weekly admissions are now roughly 27 million and represent 10% of the population.
This page will look at the biggest box office hits during the biggest box office year ever.I thought when I came up with this idea of doing the biggest box office hits of 1946 that it would be an easy movie page to write. I already had the January 8th 1947 Variety magazine that listed the Top 60 hits of the year so I figured I could knock out the movie page in a few hours….boy was I wrong. The first thing I noticed was that many of top box office hits of 1946 were actually made in 1945.
The second thing I noticed was many of the top box office hits of 1947 were really made in 1946. The third thing I noticed was many of the Oscar® nominated and Oscar® winning films did not make the Variety Top Box Office charts. The final thing I noticed was an issue with foreign films…it sometimes took years after a foreign movie was made for it to make it to North America….the best example of this is Henry V…it was made in 1944 yet it took 2 years to reach North America.
Here is how I came up with the 113 movies on the Ultimate Movie Rankings list…..any box office hit on the Variety lists made in 1946 or was released for the first time in 1946 in North America made the list , and any movie that got an Oscar® nomination or Oscar® win for the 1946 year made the list.
Our UMR Top 50 of 1946
1946 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 by the stars of the 1946 Top Box Office Movies.
- Sort 1946 Top Box Office Movies by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort 1946 Top Box Office Movies by domestic yearly box office rank
- Sort 1946 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 1946 Top Box Office Movies received.
- Sort 1946 Top Box Office Movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About 1946 Top Box Office Movies
1. The five films that received Oscar® nominations for Best Picture were: The Best Years of Our Lives, Henry V, It’s A Wonderful Life, The Razor’s Edge and The Yearling….the winner was The Best Years of Our Lives.
2. Disabled veteran Harold Russell actually won two Oscars® for his performance in The Best Years of Our Lives….one for Best Supporting Actor and a Special Award for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans.
3. Other Oscar® acting winners in 1946 were Frederic March as Best Actor for Best Years of Our Lives, Olivia de Havilland as Best Actress for To Each His Own, and Anne Baxter as Best Supporting Actress for The Razor’s Edge.
4. The biggest Oscar® snubs in 1946? I vote three movies/performances…..#1 Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious should have either gotten a Best Picture nomination or a Best Director nomination. 2.Henry Fonda in My Darling Clementine gave one of his greatest screen performances in that movie…… and finally 3. Myrna Loy in The Best Years of Our Lives. During Loy’s long and successful career she never got an Oscar® nomination…this would have been the perfect movie to right that wrong.
5. According to Variety the Top Box Office Movie Stars of 1946 were: #1 Bing Crosby, #2 Ingrid Bergman. #3 Fred Astaire, #4 Dorothy Lamour and #5 Gregory Peck.
6. Actors/actresses that made their screen debuts in 1946: Burt Lancaster (The Killers #28), Kirk Douglas (The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers #22), Alec Guinness (Great Expectations #36), Dean Martin and Natalie Wood.
7. Two famous entertainers who passed away in 1946….W.C. Fields and H.G. Wells.
8. Currently a successful box office mark to cross is 100 million... in 2011 thirty movies crossed $100 million, in 2012 thirty-one movies crossed that mark, in 2013 thirty-five got there and in 2014 thirty-three did it. In 1946…when looking at adjusted box office numbers…..an incredible 65 movies would have crossed $100 million.
1946 Box Office Grosses – Adjusted World Wide
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
PART 4 OF 5
Here is the data on the year 1946.
Box office gross data is is estimated .
Swamp Fire $293,375.00 Virginia Grey Johnny Weissmuller
Sweetheart of Sigma Chi $229,550.00 Elyse Knox Phil Regan
Swell Guy $417,500.00 Ann Blyth Sonny Tufts
Swing Parade of 1946 $218,375.00 Gale Storm Phil Regan
Talk About a Lady $143,750.00 Jinx Falkenburg Forrest Tucker
Tangier $242,300.00 Maria Montez Robert Paige
Tars and Spars $248,100.00 Janet Blair Alfred Drake
Terror Trail $500.00 Barbara Pepper Charles Starrett
That Brennan Girl $213,350.00 Mona Freeman James Dunn
That Texas Jamboree $9,918.00 Jeff Donnell Ken Curtis
The Bamboo Blonde $344,600.00 Frances Langford Ralph Edwards
The Beast with Five Fingers $286,250.00 Andrea King Robert Alda
The Brute Man $65,675.00 Jan Wiley Rondo Hatton
The Caravan Trail $28,100.00 Jean Carlin Eddie Dean
The Cat Creeps $129,100.00 Lois Collier Noah Beery Jr.
The Catman of Paris $74,725.00 Lenore Aubert Carl Esmond
The Chase $571,150.00 Michele Morgan Robert Cummings
The Cockeyed Miracle $466,400.00 Audrey Totter Frank Morgan
The Dark Horse $172,100.00 Ann Savage Phillip Terry
The Desert Horseman $525.00 Adele Roberts Charles Starrett
The Devil’s Mask $95,708.00 Anita Louise Jim Bannon
The Devil’s Playground $52,350.00 Elaine Riley William Boyd
The Fabulous Suzanne $118,075.00 Barbara Britton Rudy Vallee
The Face of Marble $29,850.00 Claudia Drake John Carradine
The Falcon’s Adventure $444,850.00 Madge Meredith Tom Conway
The Falcon’s Alibi $336,200.00 Rita Corday Tom Conway
The Fighting Frontiersman $4,750.00 Helen Mowery Charles Starrett
The Flying Serpent $13,950.00 Hope Kramer George Zucco
The French Key $121,100.00 Evelyn Ankers Albert Dekker
The Gay Cavalier $82,968.00 Ramsay Ames Gilbert Roland
The Genius and the Nightingale $10,100.00 Maria Cebotari Rossano Brazzi
The Gentleman Misbehaves $88,225.00 Osa Massen Bob Haymes
The Glass Alibi $74,925.00 Anne Gwynne Paul Kelly
The Inner Circle $105,850.00 Adele Mara Warren Douglas
The Invisible Informer $48,800.00 Linda Stirling William Henry
The Last Crooked Mile $128,550.00 Ann Savage Don ‘Red’ Barry
The Madonna’s Secret $116,000.00 Gail Patrick Francis Lederer
The Magnificent Rogue $151,500.00 Lynne Roberts Warren Douglas
The Man from Morocco $28,000.00 Margaretta Scott Anton Walbrook
The Mask of Diijon $47,775.00 Jeanne Bates Erich von Stroheim
The Missing Lady $85,325.00 Barbara Read Kane Richmond
The Mysterious Mr. Valentine $189,700.00 Linda Stirling William Henry
The Notorious Lone Wolf $145,900.00 Janis Carter Gerald Mohr
The Overlanders $39,100.00 Daphne Campbell Chips Rafferty
The Pilgrim Lady $80,750.00 Lynne Roberts Warren Douglas
The Rake’s Progress/Notorious Gentleman $42,300.00 Lilli Palmer Rex Harrison
The Return of Monte Cristo $356,200.00 Barbara Britton Louis Hayward
The Return of Rusty $118,500.00 Barbara Woodell Ted Donaldson
The Secret of the Whistler $177,175.00 Leslie Brooks Richard Dix
The Shadow Returns $76,750.00 Barbara Read Kane Richmond
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
PART 3 OF 5
Here is the data on the year 1946.
Box office gross data is is estimated .
Murder in the Music Hall $154,150.00 Vera Ralston William Marshall
Murder Is My Business $78,700.00 Cheryl Walker Hugh Beaumont
My Dog Shep $50,100.00 Sarah Padden Tom Neal
My Pal Trigger $116,950.00 Dale Evans Roy Rogers
Mysterious Intruder $151,575.00 Nina Vale Richard Dix
‘Neath Canadian Skies $23,150.00 Inez Cooper Russell Hayden
Night Editor $193,575.00 Janis Carter William Gargan
Night Train to Memphis $52,400.00 Adele Mara Roy Acuff
North of the Border $40,300.00 Inez Cooper Russell Hayden
One Exciting Week $113,550.00 Arlene Harris Al Pearce
Out California Way $48,400.00 Lorna Gray Monte Hale
Partners in Time $155,550.00 Pamela Blake Chester Lauck
Passkey to Danger $118,425.00 Stephanie Bachelor Kane Richmond
Personality Kid $111,000.00 Anita Louise Michael Duane
Plainsman and the Lady $204,350.00 Vera Ralston Bill Elliott
Portrait of a Woman $11,310.00 Thérèse Dorny Ettore Cella
Portrait of a Woman $700.00 Françoise Rosay Claude Dauphin
Queen for a Night $1,700.00 Gurli Lemon-Bernhard Gösta Kjellertz
Queen of Burlesque $74,800.00 Evelyn Ankers Carleton G. Young
Rainbow Over Texas $47,100.00 Dale Evans Roy Rogers
Rendezvous 24 $141,275.00 Maria Palmer William Gargan
Rendezvous with Annie $227,650.00 Faye Marlowe Eddie Albert
Renegade Girl $82,250.00 Ann Savage Alan Curtis
Renegades $442,075.00 Evelyn Keyes Willard Parker
Riverboat Rhythm $310,650.00 Joan Newton Leon Errol
Roaring Rangers $4,750.00 Adele Roberts Charles Starrett
Roll on Texas Moon $17,900.00 Dale Evans Roy Rogers
Rolling Home $85,675.00 Jean Parker Russell Hayden
Romance of the West $43,950.00 Joan Barton Eddie Dean
Rome Open City $8,000.00 Anna Magnani Aldo Fabrizi
She Wolf of London $100,850.00 June Lockhart Don Porter
She Wrote the Book $242,150.00 Joan Davis Jack Oakie
Sherlock Holmes Dressed to Kill $192,850.00 Patricia Morison Basil Rathbone
Sherlock Holmes Terror by Night $172,550.00 Renee Godfrey Basil Rathbone
Sing While You Dance $118,300.00 Ellen Drew Bob Haymes
Singin’ in the Corn $76,050.00 Judy Canova Allen Jenkins
Singing on the Trail $45,750.00 Jeff Donnell Ken Curtis
Sioux City Sue $21,750.00 Lynne Roberts Gene Autry
Sirocco $2,800.00 Viviane Romance Louis Jouvet
Slightly Scandalous $186,000.00 Sheila Ryan Frederick Brady
Smooth as Silk $117,250.00 Virginia Grey Kent Taylor
So Dark the Night $123,250.00 Micheline Cheirel Steven Geray
Song of Arizona $40,800.00 Dale Evans Roy Rogers
Song of the Sierras $3,500.00 Jean Carlin Jimmy Wakely
South of Monterey $51,075.00 Marjorie Riordan Gilbert Roland
Specter of the Rose $3,750.00 Judith Anderson Michael Chekhov
Spook Busters $106,375.00 Tanis Chandler Leo Gorcey
Stars Over Texas $10,000.00 Shirley Patterson Eddie Dean
Step by Step $277,250.00 Anne Jeffreys Lawrence Tierney
Stormy Waters/Remorques $5,300.00 Madeleine Renaud Jean Gabin
Strange Conquest $99,400.00 Jane Wyatt Lowell Gilmore
Strange Impersonation $111,225.00 Brenda Marshall William Gargan
Strange Journey $105,400.00 Osa Massen Paul Kelly
Strange Triangle $150,775.00 Signe Hasso Preston Foster
Strange Voyage $126,400.00 Elena Verdugo Eddie Albert
Strangler of the Swamp $14,000.00 Rosemary La Planche Robert Barrat
Sun Valley Cyclone $2,000.00 Alice Fleming Bill Elliott
Susie Steps Out $143,250.00 Nita Hunter David Bruce
Suspense $268,050.00 Belita Barry Sullivan
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
PART 2 OF 5
Here is the data on the year 1946.
Box office gross data is is estimated .
Driftin’ River $800.00 Shirley Patterson Eddie Dean
Drifting Along $625.00 Lynne Carver Johnny Mack Brown
Earl Carroll Sketchbook $352,175.00 Constance Moore William Marshall
Extenuating Circumstances $11,300.00 Suzanne Dantès Michel Simon
Fear $74,360.00 Anne Gwynne Peter Cookson
Flight to Nowhere $65,025.00 Evelyn Ankers Alan Curtis
Fool’s Gold $9,000.00 Jane Randolph William Boyd
Freddie Steps Out $248,800.00 June Preisser Freddie Stewart
G.I. War Brides $135,375.00 Anna Lee James Ellison
Gallant Bess $234,750.00 * Marshall Thompson
Galloping Thunder $9,825.00 Adele Roberts Charles Starrett
Gas House Kids $67,475.00 Teala Loring Robert Lowery
Gay Blades $124,300.00 Jean Rogers Allan Lane
Genius at Work $241,000.00 Anne Jeffreys Wally Brown
Gentleman Joe Palooka $178,900.00 Elyse Knox Leon Errol
Get Along Little Zombie $1,600.00 Christine McIntyre Hugh Herbert
Ginger $22,200.00 Barbara Read Frank Albertson
God’s Country $164,150.00 Helen Gilbert Robert Lowery
Great Day $35,550.00 Flora Robson Eric Portman
Gunning for Vengeance $800.00 Marjean Neville Charles Starrett
Heading West $550.00 Doris Houck Charles Starrett
Heldorado $17,800.00 Dale Evans Roy Rogers
Her Adventurous Night $181,400.00 Helen Walker Dennis O’Keefe
Her Sister’s Secret $201,500.00 Nancy Coleman Phillip Reed
High School Hero $130,500.00 June Preisser Freddie Stewart
Home in Oklahoma $52,300.00 Dale Evans Roy Rogers
Home on the Range $17,000.00 Lorna Gray Monte Hale
Hot Cargo $144,600.00 Jean Rogers William Gargan
Hotel Reserve $28,000.00 Lucie Mannheim James Mason
House of Horrors $82,200.00 Virginia Grey Rondo Hatton
I Live in Grosvenor Square/A Yank in London $74,600.00 Anna Neagle Rex Harrison
I Ring Doorbells $79,100.00 Anne Gwynne Robert Shayne
Idea Girl $176,950.00 Julie Bishop Jess Barker
If I’m Lucky $455,667.00 Vivian Blaine Perry Como
In Fast Company $101,900.00 Jane Randolph Leo Gorcey
In Old Sacramento $282,950.00 Constance Moore Bill Elliott
Inside Job $233,050.00 Ann Rutherford Preston Foster
It’s Great to Be Young $40,000.00 Leslie Brooks Jimmy Lloyd
I’ve Always Loved You $45,000.00 Catherine McLeod Philip Dorn
Johnny Comes Flying Home $168,825.00 Faye Marlowe Richard Crane
Johnny Frenchman $18,300.00 Patricia Roc Tom Walls
Journey Together $7,000.00 Bessie Love Richard Attenborough
Junior Prom $99,125.00 June Preisser Freddie Stewart
Just Before Dawn $152,550.00 Adele Roberts Warner Baxter
Lady Chaser $35,200.00 Ann Savage Robert Lowery
Landrush $6,100.00 Doris Houck Charles Starrett
Larceny in Her Heart $84,842.00 Cheryl Walker Hugh Beaumont
Little Iodine $145,250.00 Jo Ann Marlowe Marc Cramer
Little Miss Big $127,050.00 Beverly Simmons Frank McHugh
Live Wires $76,825.00 Claudia Drake Leo Gorcey
Lone Star Moonlight $7,650.00 Joan Barton Ken Curtis
Madonna of the Seven Moons $163,800.00 Phyllis Calvert Stewart Granger
Man from Rainbow Valley $33,650.00 Lorna Gray Monte Hale
Meet Me on Broadway $186,600.00 Marjorie Reynolds Frederick Brady
Meet the Navy $12,700.00 Margaret Hurst Lionel Murton
Mr. Hex $65,325.00 Gale Robbins Leo Gorcey
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
PART 1 OF 5
Here is the data on the year 1946.
Box office gross data is is estimated .
A Close Call for Boston Blackie $145,400.00 Lynn Merrick Chester Morris
A Guy Could Change $95,800.00 Jane Frazee Allan Lane
A Lady Surrenders $31,900.00 Margaret Lockwood Stewart Granger
A Letter for Evie $210,750.00 Marsha Hunt John Carroll
A Scandal in Paris/Thieves’ Holiday $230,300.00 Signe Hasso George Sanders
A Voice in the Night/Wanted for Murder $161,225.00 Dulcie Gray Eric Portman
Abie’s Irish Rose $192,550.00 Joanne Dru Michael Chekhov
Accomplice $57,225.00 Veda Ann Borg Richard Arlen
Affairs of Geraldine $116,450.00 Jane Withers Jimmy Lydon
Alias Mr. Twilight $53,175.00 Trudy Marshall Michael Duane
Appassionata $4,400.00 Viveca Lindfors Georg Rydeberg
Avalanche $93,000.00 Helen Mowery Bruce Cabot
Beauty and the Bandit $52,725.00 Ramsay Ames Gilbert Roland
Behind Green Lights $192,750.00 Carole Landis William Gargan
Behind the Mask $84,900.00 Barbara Read Kane Richmond
Below the Deadline $139,825.00 Ramsay Ames Warren Douglas
Betty Co-Ed $241,875.00 Jean Porter William Mason
Blonde for a Day $74,392.00 Kathryn Adams Hugh Beaumont
Blondie Knows Best $163,225.00 Penny Singleton Arthur Lake
Blondie’s Big Moment $146,650.00 Penny Singleton Arthur Lake
Blondie’s Lucky Day $222,700.00 Penny Singleton Arthur Lake
Boston Blackie and the Law $163,250.00 Trudy Marshall Chester Morris
Boston Blackie The Phantom Thief $139,550.00 Jeff Donnell Chester Morris
Bowery Bombshell $51,000.00 Teala Loring Leo Gorcey
Boys’ Ranch $259,600.00 Dorothy Patrick Jackie ‘Butch’ Jenkins
Breakfast in Hollywood $510,700.00 Bonita Granville Tom Breneman
Bringing Up Father $78,850.00 Renie Riano Joe Yule
Broken Love $10,100.00 Emma Gramatica Beniamino Gigli
Carmen $63,050.00 Viviane Romance Jean Marais
Charlie Chan Dangerous Money $94,725.00 Gloria Warren Sidney Toler
Charlie Chan Dark Alibi $150,650.00 Teala Loring Sidney Toler
Charlie Chan Shadows Over Chinatown $113,950.00 Tanis Chandler Sidney Toler
Charlie Chan The Trap $78,500.00 Tanis Chandler Sidney Toler
Child of Divorce $114,050.00 Sharyn Moffett Regis Toomey
Children of Paradise $76,600.00 Arletty Jean-Louis Barrault
Colorado Serenade $10,125.00 Mary Kenyon Eddie Dean
Cowboy Blues $10,100.00 Jeff Donnell Ken Curtis
Crime Doctor’s Man Hunt $276,200.00 Ellen Drew Warner Baxter
Crime of the Century $119,750.00 Stephanie Bachelor Michael Browne
Cuban Pete $247,075.00 Ethel Smith Desi Arnaz
Danger Woman $204,225.00 Brenda Joyce Don Porter
Dangerous Business $190,650.00 Lynn Merrick Forrest Tucker
Dangerous Millions $232,400.00 Dona Drake Kent Taylor
Dead of Night $237,250.00 Googie Withers Michael Redgrave
Deadline for Murder $175,450.00 Sheila Ryan Paul Kelly
Death Valley $46,750.00 Helen Gilbert Robert Lowery
Decoy $202,300.00 Jean Gillie Robert Armstrong
Devil Bat’s Daughter $22,075.00 Rosemary La Planche John James
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball $201,350.00 Anne Jeffreys Morgan Conway
Ding Dong Williams $214,700.00 Marcy McGuire Glen Vernon
Don Ricardo Returns $5,625.00 Lita Baron Fred Coby
Don’t Gamble with Strangers $47,250.00 Bernadene Hayes Kane Richmond
Down Missouri Way $115,050.00 Martha O’Driscoll John Carradine
so no worldwide data for The Razor’s Edge? A Shame.
Hey Joan….yep…no worldwide data for The Razor’s Edge. 20th Century-Fox has a few good sources for information, but not much on that movie…maybe one day we will uncover more information.