1932 Top Box Office Movies

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.

1932’s Grand Hotel

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

1932 Box Office Grosses – Adjusted World Wide

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34 thoughts on “1932 Top Box Office Movies

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

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