Top Grossing Movies of 1954

Marlon Brando in 1954’s On The Waterfront

This movie page looks at The Top Grossing Movies of 1954.   Currently when you type in the search words….”Top Grossing Movies of 1954″ you do not get much information.  Wikipedia provides 10 movies.  The Numbers.com provides 10 movies.  Stats-a-mania offers up 7 movies.   UMR.com is the 10th search result as it offers up our Jerry Lewis UMR Page.  So in an effort to get more information out there…we have decided to unlock our 1954 movie database vault and share the information we have collected over the years.

To make this list a movie had to be made in 1954 (as listed on IMDB.com).  Obviously many movies made in 1953 earned box office dollars in 19543.  On the other side many movies made in 1954 made money in 1955 and later.  This page will looks at 148 Top Grossing Movies of 1954.  The movies are listed in a massive table that shows who starred in the movie, had much the movie grossed when it was released and how that gross means in today’s money.

Obviously this is not all of the 1954 movies…..but since our website is dynamic, ever time we add a 1953 movie….it will automatically be added to this page.

1954’s The Caine Mutiny

Top Grossing Movies of 1954 Can Be Sorted 6 Ways In This Table

Our UMR Top 50 of 1954

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

  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1954 by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie.
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1954 by domestic actual box office grosses (in millions)
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1954 by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1954 by critic and audience rating
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1954 by Oscar wins and Oscar nominations
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1954 by it’s Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score
James Stewart and Grace Kelly in 1954’s Rear Window

1954 Box Office Grosses – Adjusted World Wide

The top 25 earners in World Wide Box Office for 1954

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35 thoughts on “Top Grossing Movies of 1954”

  1. Hi Bruce,
    I’ve got a question, regarding Rear Window, which is #2 with 26 mill in j’54 dollars but the adjusted gross doesn’t seem to jive compared to the number 1 and 3 pictures… am I missing something?
    Thanks, Rick

    Reply

    1. Hey Rick…earlier today I was playing around with Rear Window in my database (answering another comment)……and I move the release year to 1968 (it’s second major release)…..and I forgot to switch it back to 1954…..but thanks to your heads up….it is fixed and should make sense again. Thanks for the catch.

      Reply

  2. 1954 was probably the most successful year for the movies of the 1950s. Personal favorites: The Caine Mutiny, Rear Window, Johnny Guitar, The Seven Samurai, Dial M for Murder, On the Waterfront and The Country Girl. Hmm.. just realized that’s 3 with Grace Kelly. This was her year!

    Reply

  3. Hi Mr, Cogerson,

    I have a question.
    Was there movie called “Dragnet” released starring Jack Webb in 1954.
    According to IMDB it had rentals of 4,750,000.
    Should that also be included on this list.

    Thx

    Mike

    Reply

    1. Hey Mike…the movie listed here are only the ones in my database. So far…I have not had a reason to include (though your comment now gives me reason) Dragnet in my database. A quick look….shows some difference between what Variety is reporting…..and what my other sources are saying….I will have to do some deeper research to see which number we should use. Variety is reporting Dragnet as the 12th biggest hit of 1954. Good catch.

      Reply

  4. HI BRUCE: YOUR 1954 REVIEW – MY PART 2
    1 I am keenly looking forward to the remaining 4 Annual Review pages for the 1950s which will then have provided us with a clean sweep of such Reviews from 1936 until 1959, which is the major part of the sound classic era of the cinema which movie historians say ended in 1962.

    2 I am now busy transferring all of the new and updated stats to my database and in doing so I noticed noticed of course that courtesy of your excellent sorter button Desiree was the joint 14th greatest box office hit of 1954 with a massive gross of $242 million beating even the critically acclaimed On the Waterfront and the ever-popular Martin and Lewis films

    3 Yet Desiree was the film where Brando played Napoleon, a performance that “nobody was interested in” according to one of the many critiques from Joel that you have handed down for our enlightenment. On the face of it therefore Joel seemed to think that “somebody” began at hit No 13 as a bottom line and by that token Waterfront and Martin & Lewis were also of interest to “nobody”

    4 However it was possibly not even such a calculated pronouncement because Joel may have considered that his own subjective and arbitrary opinions overrode all else and was maybe happy to be completely dismissive of audiences preferences and may even have been totally ignorant of them

    5 That would not surprise me because I have often seen critics arrogantly or perhaps stupidly castigate as a “flop” movies which they don’t like but which have been successful at the box office.

    6 However what does surprise me is that a normally highly analytical and observant person like yourself, especially as you are exceptionally familiar with box office stats can buy into such sweeping statements from a man like Hirschhorn who is apparently prone to much self-opinionated hyperbole. For my own part I have been gradually coming to the conclusion the more I see of Joel’s utterances that he was possibly a mountebank and perhaps no fitting “role model” for an intelligent and highly informed site such as yours. However you are the Master here.

    Reply

    1. Hey Bob
      1. Well that total is now done to three….1956, 1957 and 1958….as 1955 is now finished and published. 153 1955 movies for your viewing pleasure.
      2. Desire was a hit..but then again everything Brando touched in the 1950s was massive.
      3. When I shared Joel’s thoughts on Brando….I never said I agreed with him. I would say….many times you agree with his thoughts….just the huge differences with Wayne and Brando…..has you only seeing red…lol.
      4. Good feedback as always.

      Reply

      1. HI BRUCE

        Don’t tell the Duke or Laddie that I “see RED” or they’ll disown me as a fan!

        Glad to see that your getting back to your old knockout form

        Reply

  5. 1 HI BRUCE I am delighted with this 1954 review because that was probably the first year of my life when I started to become familiar with movies in a comprehensive manner. In 1953 for example I had never before heard of Brando and thought that the Duke was somebody from the cowboy comics. Indeed seeing Martin & Lewis’ Living it Up reminds me that it was Christmas Day 1954 that I visited 3 separate cinemas Living it Up being one of the films showing.

    2 Other films at the top of your table about which everybody seemed to be talking back then are Caine Mutiny, Rear Window, 20,000 leagues Under Sea, & Brides for 7 Brothers and of course White Christmas. Many 1954 films we possibly wouldn’t have seen over here though until 1955 – Rear Window [US release Sept 54] and White Christmas itself [American release 19 Oct 54]. However Living it Up got its American release in the summer of 1954 [23 July] and I can pinpoint its 1954 viewing here because as said it was one of my 3 Xmas day movies that year.

    3 Fine spread of the Waterfront taxi scene and every time you see clips or stills of that marvellous scene it’s hard to credit that sadly there was enormous bickering and much ill feeling behind the making of it.

    4 As I’ve said your Annual Reviews with their actual as well as adjusted grosses and WW figures thrown in for good measure are of enormous help to me with the many personal stats exercises that I conduct. Indeed I am so pleased with a fair number of them that I am thinking of sending Steve copies as a joint Xmas present from both of us given that your stats are the foundation for them! I may not agree with you about Gloria being a star but certainly within your own sphere YOU are one. No argument there.

    Reply

    1. Hey Bob
      1. Thanks for checking out our 1954 movie page.
      2. Hopefully our 1955 page will be done soon.
      3. Nice look back on your early movie going days…..I figured you became aware of Brando by the time you learned to walk…..lol. Only three Xmas movies?
      4. Glad you like the On the Waterfront picture….it is easily one of the most famous movies from that year
      5. I think Steve would enjoy that Xmas present…lol. Thanks for the kind words.

      Reply

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