This movie page looks at 1949 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 1949 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 1949 movies in our database.
To make this list a movie had to be made in 1949. Obviously many movies made in 1948 earned box office dollars in 1949. On the other side many movies made in 1949 made money in 1950 and later. This page will looks at 147 1949 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 1949 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 1949
1949 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 1949 Top Box Office Movies by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie. Use the search box to find your favorites like Bob Hope or John Wayne.
- Sort 1949 Top Box Office Movies by domestic actual box office grosses
- Sort 1949 Top Box Office Movies by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort 1949 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 1949 Top Box Office Movies received.
- Sort 1949 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.
Source 1: Eddie Mannix MGM Ledgers
Source 2: C.J. Tevlin RKO Ledgers
Source 3: Variety Magazines –
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
UMR Yearly Reviews
- 1937 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Snow White & Seven Dwarfs
- 1938 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? The Adventures of Robin Hood
- 1939 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Gone With The Wind
- 1940 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Rebecca
- 1941 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? How Green Was My Valley
- 1942 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Mrs. Miniver
- 1943 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? The Song of Bernadette
- 1944 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Double Indemnity
- 1945 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? The Lost Weekend
- 1946 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? The Best Years of Our Lives
- 1947 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Gentleman’s Agreement
- 1948 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? The Red Shoes
- 1949 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Battleground
- 1952 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Greatest Show On Earth
- 1959 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Ben-Hur
- 1976 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Rocky
- 2011 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? The Help
- 2012 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Argo
- 2013 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? Gravity
- 2014 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? American Sniper
- 2015 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? The Martian
- 2016 Movies Ranked Best to Worst Our movie of the year? La La Land
I’ve seen just 23 of the 147 films listed here, not a good score. Favorites include – Adams Rib, A Connecticut Yankee, Mighty Joe Young, On the Town, Samson and Delilah, Sands of Iwo Jima, Twelve O’Clock High and White Heat.
Btw the biggest film of 1949 – Samson and Delilah – is missing from your list. I know it had a wider release in 1950 but it did premiere in New York City in December 1949.
Good to see White Heat topping the critics chart.
There are 41 films from 1949 in my film collection –
Abbott and Costello meet the Killer
Adam’s Rib
Adventures of Ichabod and Mr.Toad
Africa Screams
All the Kings Men
Barkleys of Broadway
Battleground
Big Steal ,The
Border Incident
Bribe ,The
Champion
Colorado Territory
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Criss Cross
Fighting Kentuckian ,The
Fighting Man of the Plains
I Was a Male War Bride
In the Good Old Summertime
Inspector General
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Knock on any Door
Love Happy
Malaya
Man on the Eiffel Tower ,The
Mighty Joe Young
Montana
My Friend Irma
Neptune’s Daughter
On the Town
Prince of Foxes
Samson and Delilah
Sands of Iwo Jima
Set-Up ,The
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
South of St. Louis
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Tarzan’s Magic Fountain
Tension
Twelve O’Clock High
Whirlpool
White Heat
Good work as always Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve
1. Hmmmm….I will have to check out Samson and figure out why he is not here. Thanks for the catch.
2. I have seen all of your favorites with the exception of Conn. Yankee. Even better I liked them all as well.
3. Thanks for your list….I need one of those lists on my 1940s decade page….lol.
4. As always thanks for everything,
Hello Bruce,
I’m sorry not to have posted much lately, but I’m very caught right now. I wanted to congratulate you on your excellent work on the classic years. You really got a good pace.
In France the biggest success of this list was Third Man. It was really a very big success attracting 5.7 million spectators in theaters. Iwo Jima, I Was A Male War Bride, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. And Twelve O’Clock High were also successful.
I have not seen many movies on this list, but I loved Male War Bride, Third Man and Yellow Ribbon.
Hey Laurent…no problem. Trust me I understand the time crunch perfectly. Thanks for the stats on Third Man…I can easily see that being popular in France. Thanks for the comment.
Wow, these annual pages are coming out with increasing speed, good job! Several great films here, The Third Man, The Heiress, Twelve O’Clock High and A Letter to Three Wives are among my favorites. And it seems each year brought to major stardom a new legend – Gregory Peck in 1944, Burt Lancaster in 1946, Robert Mitchum in 1947, Montgomery Clift in 1948 – and now in 1949, it was Kirk Douglas’ turn to give a star-making performance in The Champion.
While I did not comment on 1948, I did notice a significant drop in box office numbers as compared to previous years and now I see this continues in 1949. Television is of course blamed for the downward trend in box office attendance through the 1950s and 1960s – but could this explain the drop in 1948 and 1949? National TV broadcasting started in 1947, but I would think the number of people owning TV sets in the late 1940s was still fairly small.
Hey Phil. I stepped up the production of the remaining 1940 years so I could do a massive 1940s decade page…which is now complete. Good point about each year of the 1940s bringing a new legend. Hard to believe that Kirk Douglas’ break out year was 68 years ago….and even nicer is the fact that he is still around.
Yep the cash cow for movie theaters was starting to go dry. I think parents having to stay home and take care of those baby boomers certainly did not help the movie business.
Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks Bruce, I’m seeing the 1940s decade page now. Strange that I missed it yesterday, but congratulations for your first decade!
Hey Phil….not surprised you did not see it….it was pretty well hidden until this morning. Somehow Rocco found it the other day….granted I am still tweaking it….as a 1300 movie table is not easy to steer….lol.
I saw I Was a Male War Bride at the Regency Revival theater in NYC in 1979, don’t remember the other half of the double bill on that one. These are the 131 1949 films I have seen since November 1992 when I hit number 8000. Key is title, studio, stars when I used to list them, date seen and source (TV channels, cable and over the air (numbered ones), tape or DVD). Dates for serials are when I completed them.
ADAM AND EVELYN (U.K.) 1949 UNI STEWART GRANGER JEAN SIMMONS 12/16 2008 TCM
ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD (CARTOON) 1949 RKO XXX XXX 10/31 1994 DIS
ADVENTURES OF SIR GALAHAD 1949 COL 12/26 1995 TAPE (serial)
ALL OVER THE TOWN (U.K.) 1949 EL SARAH CHURCHILL NORMAN WOOLAND 1/17 2007 TCM
AND BABY MAKES THREE 1949 COL ROBERT YOUNG BARBARA HALE 5/26 2007 TCM
ANGEL WITH THE TRUMPET (U.K.) 1949 KORDA EILEEN HERLIE NORMAN WOOLAND 8/19 1996 55
ANNA LUCASTA 1949 COL PAULETTE GODDARD WILLIAM BISHOP 8/5 1993 AMC
ANY NUMBER CAN PLAY 1949 MGM CLARK GABLE ALEXIS SMITH 2/7 1993 TNT
ASTONISHED HEART (U.K.) 1949 UNI NOEL COWARD CELIA JOHNSON 11/5 2008 TCM
BAD BOY 1949 AA AUDIE MURPHY LLOYD NOLAN 9/13 2011 TCM
BANDITS OF EL DORADO 1949 COL CHARLES STARRETT 10/2 2000 WEST
BATTLEGROUND 1949 MGM VAN JOHNSON JOHN HODIAK 5/27 1996 TNT
BELLE OF OLD MEXICO 1949 REP XXX XXX 12/25 1996 TAPE
BIG SOMBRERO 1949 COL GENE AUTRY 10/23 1994 AMC
BLACK MAGIC 1949 UA ORSON WELLES AKIM TAMIROFF 7/14 2008 TCM
BLAZING TRAIL 1949 COL CHARLES STARRETT 1/10 2001 WEST
BOSTON BLACKIE’S CHINESE VENTURE 1949 COL CHESTER MORRIS 9/24 2007 TCM
BRAND OF FEAR 1949 MONO JIMMY WAKELY TOM LONDON 7/16 2011 TCM
BROTHERS IN THE SADDLE 1949 RKO TIM HOLT RICHARD MARTIN 6/13 2001 TCM
BRUCE GENTRY 1949 COL 3/14 2012 DVD (serial)
CALAMITY JANE AND SAM BASS 1949 UNI YVONNE DE CARLO HOWARD DUFF 5/9 1995 AMC
CALL OF THE FOREST 1949 LIP ROBERT LOWERY 3/30 1997 21
CINDERELLA (CARTOON) 1949 RKO XXX XXX 2/16 1997 DIS
CONSPIRATOR (U.K.) 1949 MGM ROBERT TAYLOR ELIZABETH TAYLOR 11/16 1998 TCM
COVER UP 1949 UA WILLIAM BENDIX DENNIS O’KEEFE 1/14 2011 TCM
COWBOY AND THE INDIANS 1949 COL GENE AUTRY SHEILA RYAN 4/3 2003 WEST
CRIME DOCTOR’S DIARY 1949 COL WARNER BAXTER 3/13 2000 MYST
CROOKED WAY 1949 UA JOHN PAYNE ELLEN DREW 3/7 2014 TCM
DANCING IN THE DARK 1949 FOX WILLIAM POWELL BETSY DRAKE 12/4 2001 FXM
DANGEROUS PROFESSION 1949 RKO PAT O’BRIEN GEORGE RAFT 8/8 1993 AMC
DESERT VIGILANTE 1949 COL CHARLES STARRETT 2/29 2004 WEST
DEVIL’S SLEEP 1949 SCREEN ATTRACTIONS XXX XXX 1/8 2010 DVD
DOCTOR AND THE GIRL 1949 MGM GLENN FORD CHARLES COBURN 1/27 2011 TCM
DOWN DAKOTA WAY 1949 REP ROY ROGERS DALE EVANS 7/5 2000 WEST
EASY LIVING 1949 RKO VICTOR MATURE LUCILLE BALL 1/17 1994 AMC
FAMILY HONEYMOON 1949 UNI CLAUDETTE COLBERT FRED MACMURRAY 2/8 1995 AMC
FAN, THE 1949 FOX JEANNE CRAIN MADELEINE CARROLL 3/9 2006 FXM
FEUDIN’ RHYTHM 1949 COL 3/11 2014 WEST
FLAXY MARTIN 1949 WB VIRGINIA MAYO ZACHARY SCOTT 12/2 1999 TCM
FORBIDDEN STREET (U.K.) 1949 FOX MAUREEN O’HARA DANA ANDREWS 4/15 2000 FXM
GAY AMIGO 1949 UA DUNCAN RENALDO 11/27 2009 DVD
GIGI (FR.) 1949 SPALLER INTL. XXX XXX 7/5 2010 TCM
GIRL FROM JONES BEACH 1949 WB RONALD REAGAN 2/8 2000 TCM
GUN SMUGGLERS 1949 RKO TIM HOLT MARTHA HYER 6/12 2001 TCM
HASTY HEART 1949 WB RONALD REAGAN PATRICIA NEAL 5/15 1998 AMC
HELLFIRE 1949 REP BILL ELLIOTT MARIE WINDSOR 3/8 2000 WEST
HIDDEN ROOM (U.K.) 1949 EL ROBERT NEWTON SALLY GRAY 1/7 1996 21
HOME IN SAN ANTONE 1949 COL 8/30 2014 WEST
HOMICIDE 1949 WB ROBERT DOUGLAS ROBERT ALDA 5/25 2002 TCM
HOMICIDE FOR THREE 1949 REP AUDREY LONG 12/6 1992 7
HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET 1949 WB WAYNE MORRIS JANIS PAIGE 1/18 2003 TCM
HUGGETS ABROAD (U.K.) 1949 JACK WARNER SUSAN SHAW 1/23 2012 TCM
I SHOT JESSE JAMES 1949 LIP JOHN IRELAND PRESTON FOSTER 10/30 1999 IFC
INTRUDER IN THE DUST 1949 MGM DAVID BRIAN 9/15 1993 TNT
IT’S A GREAT FEELING 1949 WB JACK CARSON DORIS DAY 4/11 1999 TCM
JIGSAW 1949 UA FRANCHOT TONE JEAN WALLACE 3/5 1995 21
KID FROM CLEVELAND 1949 REP GEORGE BRENT LYNN BARI 3/27 1997 AMC
KISS IN THE DARK 1949 WB JANE WYMAN DAVID NIVEN 1/4 1993 TNT
KISSING BANDIT 1949 MGM FRANK SINATRA KATHRYN GRAYSON 11/11 1992 TNT
KNOCK ON ANY DOOR 1949 COL HUMPHREY BOGART JOHN DEREK 1/3 1999 MMAX
LADIES OF THE CHORUS 1949 COL ADELE JERGENS 12/17 1999 AMC
LADY GAMBLES 1949 UNI BARBARA STANWYCK ROBERT PRESTON 7/31 1994 AMC
LADY TAKES A SAILOR 1949 WB JANE WYMAN DENNIS MORGAN 8/15 1998 TCM
LARAMIE 1949 COL CHARLES STARRETT 6/4 2002 WEST
LAST DAYS OF DOLWYN (U.K.) 1949 LOPERT EDITH EVANS EMLYN WILLIAMS 9/29 1996 21
LAW OF THE WEST 1949 MONO JOHNNY MACK BROWN 4/29 2010 DVD
LONE WOLF AND HIS LADY 1949 COL RON RANDELL 10/29 2007 TCM
LOST BOUNDARIES 1949 FC MEL FERRER BEATRICE PEARSON 5/21 2006 TCM
LOST TRIBE 1949 COL JOHNNY WEISSMULLER 10/19 1997 AMC
MASKED RAIDERS 1949 RKO TIM HOLT MARJORIE LORD 5/9 2001 TCM
MASSACRE RIVER 1949 AA GUY MADISON RORY CALHOUN 7/21 1993 TNT
MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND 1949 COL LUCILLE BALL WILLIAM HOLDEN 8/5 2007 TCM
MOTHER IS A FRESHMAN 1949 FOX LORETTA YOUNG VAN JOHNSON 3/18 1999 MMAX
MR. BELVEDERE GOES TO COLLEGE 1949 FOX CLIFTON WEBB SHIRLEY TEMPLE 12/8 2002 FXM
MR. SOFT TOUCH 1949 COL GLENN FORD EVELYN KEYES 8/8 2009 TCM
NEVER FEAR 1949 EL 4/7 2016 TCM
NIGHT UNTO NIGHT 1949 WB RONALD REAGAN VIVECA LINDFORS 12/29 1999 TCM
ONE LAST FLING 1949 WB ZACHARY SCOTT ALEXIS SMITH 5/3 2000 TCM
OUTCASTS OF THE TRAIL 1949 REP XXX XXX 3/16 2000 WEST
OUTLAW COUNTRY 1949 SG XXX XXX 9/10 1995 TAPE
OUTPOST IN MOROCCO 1949 UA GEORGE RAFT MARIE WINDSOR 6/4 1994 A & E
PASSIONATE FRIENDS (U.K.) 1949 UNI ANN TODD TREVOR HOWARD 7/5 2011 TCM
PINKY 1949 FOX JEANNE CRAIN ETHEL BARRYMORE 6/1 1994 7
POET’S PUB (U.K.) 1949 GFD DEREK BOND RONA ANDERSON 1/18 2007 TCM
RANGE JUSTICE 1949 MONO JOHNNY MACK BROWN 4/6 2010 DVD
RANGER OF CHEROKEE STRIP 1949 REP MONTE HALE XXX 1/14 2004 WEST
RED DANUBE 1949 MGM WALTER PIDGEON PETER LAWFORD 10/12 1998 TCM
RED LIGHT 1949 UA GEORGE RAFT VIRGINIA MAYO 5/24 2011 TCM
RED, HOT AND BLUE 1949 PAR BETTY HUTTON VICTOR MATURE 6/16 1993 AMC
REIGN OF TERROR 1949 EL ROBERT CUMMINGS ARLENE DAHL 1/18 2006 TCM
RIDERS IN THE SKY 1949 COL GENE AUTRY 9/29 2003 WEST
RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING PINES 1949 COL GENE AUTRY 7/5 1994 CUNY
RIM OF THE CANYON 1949 COL GENE AUTRY 3/8 2004 WEST
ROCKING HORSE WINNER (U.K.) 1949 UNI VALERIE HOBSON 6/29 1994 BRAVO
ROSEANNA MCCOY 1949 RKO FARLEY GRANGER JOAN EVANS 11/4 2008 TCM
RUN FOR YOUR MONEY (U.K.) 1949 UNI DONALD HOUSTON 12/25 1992 21
RUSTY SAVES A LIFE 1949 COL TED DONALDSON GLORIA HENRY 6/25 2007 TCM
RUSTY’S BIRTHDAY 1949 COL XXX XXX 7/3 2007 TCM
SCENE OF THE CRIME 1949 MGM VAN JOHNSON GLORIA DE HAVEN 9/9 1998 TCM
SECRET GARDEN 1949 MGM MARGARET O’BRIEN DEAN STOCKWELL 5/12 1996 21
SECRET OF ST. IVES 1949 COL RICHARD NEY VANESSA BROWN 6/1 2009 TCM
SHOCKPROOF 1949 COL CORNEL WILDE 10/12 2008 TCM
SLIGHTLY FRENCH 1949 COL DOROTHY LAMOUR DON AMECHE 4/9 2010 TCM
SON OF A BADMAN 1949 SG XXX XXX 7/3 1995 TAPE
SON OF BILLY THE KID 1949 SG 4/25 2014 DVD
SONS OF NEW MEXICO 1949 COL GENE AUTRY 2/6 2003 WEST
SPECIAL AGENT 1949 PAR WILLIAM EYTHE 2/19 1996 TAPE
SPIDER AND THE FLY (U.K.) 1949 UNI ERIC PORTMAN GUY ROLFE 11/18 2008 TCM
STAGECOACH KID 1949 RKO TIM HOLT 12/29 1992 AMC
STAMPEDE 1949 AA ROD CAMERON GALE STORM 12/4 1993 TNT
STORY OF SEABISCUIT 1949 WB SHIRLEY TEMPLE 6/4 2001 TCM
STRANGE BARGAIN 1949 RKO MARTHA SCOTT JEFFREY LYNN 2/9 1993 AMC
STREETS OF LAREDO 1949 PAR WILLIAM HOLDEN MACDONALD CAREY 4/17 1996 AMC
SUSANNA PASS 1949 REP ROY ROGERS DALE EVANS 7/4 2000 WEST
TALE OF THE NAVAJOS (DOC.) 1949 MGM XXX XXX 4/5 2004 TCM
THAT FORSYTE WOMAN 1949 MGM ERROL FLYNN GREER GARSON 9/29 1998 TCM
THAT WONDERFUL URGE 1949 FOX TYRONE POWER GENE TIERNEY 5/1 1999 MMAX
THE THREAT 1949 RKO MICHAEL O’SHEA VIRGINIA GREY 11/6 2000 TCM
TOKYO JOE 1949 COL HUMPHREY BOGART ALEXANDER KNOX 11/22 1992 TNT
TOO LATE FOR TEARS 1949 UA 6/7 2014 DVD
TOP O’ THE MORNING 1949 PAR BING CROSBY ANN BLYTH 6/25 1998 AMC
TWO KNIGHTS FROM BROOKLYN 1949 UA WILLIAM BENDIX 1/15 2011 TCM
UNDERCOVER MAN 1949 COL GLENN FORD NINA FOCH 10/24 1993 TNT
VOTE FOR HUGGETT (U.K.) 1949 GFD 1/16 2012 TCM
WE WERE STRANGERS 1949 COL JOHN GARFIELD JENNIFER JONES 3/5 2008 TCM
WEAKER SEX (U.K.) 1949 EL CECIL PARKER 5/21 2007 TCM
WEST OF EL DORADO 1949 MONO JOHNNY MACK BROWN 12/27 2009 DVD
WESTERN RENEGADES 1949 MONO JOHNNY MACK BROWN 4/15 2010 DVD
WOMAN ON PIER 13 1949 RKO ROBERT RYAN LARAINE DAY 5/4 1994 AMC
WYOMING BANDIT 1949 REP ALLAN LANE 4/17 2004 WEST
YOUNGER BROTHERS 1949 WB WAYNE MORRIS JANIS PAIGE 6/12 1994 TNT
These are the 33 1949 films I have in my collection. If a film shows below that is not listed above then it was first viewed before November 1992.
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF
ADVENTURES OF SIR GALAHAD (serial)
BAGDAD
BANDITS OF EL DORADO
BATMAN AND ROBIN (serial)
BLONDIE HITS THE JACKPOT
BRUCE GENTRY (serial)
DESERT VIGILANTE
FEDERAL AGENTS VS. UNDERWORLD INC. (serial)
FIGHTING O’FLYNN
GAY AMIGO
IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING
IT’S A GREAT FEELING
KID FROM CLEVELAND
KISSING BANDIT
LADIES OF THE CHORUS
LAST BANDIT
LAW OF THE WEST
LOST TRIBE
MA AND PA KETTLE
ON THE TOWN
OUTLAW COUNTRY
RANGE JUSTICE
RIDERS IN THE SKY
RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING PINES
RIM OF THE CANYON
SAMSON AND DELILAH
SKY DRAGON
SON OF A BADMAN
SON OF BILLY THE KID
STREETS OF LAREDO
WEST OF EL DORADO
WESTERN RENEGADES
Hey Dan. An impressive tally and list. I have never seen a single Cary Grant movie on the big screen…so I am envious if you for seeing I was a Male War Bride in a theater. Thanks as always for sharing this information.
I have seen 47 of these movies. Others aren’t listed
My favourites of this year are:
On the Town
The Third Man
Battleground
The Set Up
I was a Male War Bride
Little Women
Adam’s Rib
A Letter to Three Wives
Twlve O’Clock High
The Heiress
Hey Flora… thanks for the visit and the comment. 47 movies puts you in second place. Way behind Dan but ahead of me and then Steve.
I have seen 7 of your Top 10..,,gotta admit even though I am a huge Grant fan…War Bride has never been a favorite of mine. Good feedback.