1946 Top Box Office Movies

1946 22222
James Stewart in It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

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.

Harold Russell in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Harold Russell in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

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

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.

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94 thoughts on “1946 Top Box Office Movies

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

    1. 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.

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