1965 Top Box Office Movies

Finding box office information for movies made before 1980 is not an easy task.   For somebody looking for box office information on 1965 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 1965 movies in our database.

To make this list a movie had to be made in 1965.  This page will looks at 132 1965 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.    This only represents about 25% of the movies made in 1965….but should cover the top box office movies.

The Sound of Music (1965)

Our UMR Top 50 of 1965

1965 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 1965 Top Box Office Movies by movie titles and movie trailers
  • Sort 1965 Top Box Office Movies by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie.
  • Sort 1965 Top Box Office Movies by stars of the movie
  • Sort 1965 Top Box Office Movies by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort 1965 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 each 1965 Top Box Office Movies received and how many Oscar® wins each 1965 Top Box Office Movies received.
  • Sort 1965 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.
 
The Cincinati Kid (1965)

Top earners in 1965 for Adjusted USA Box Office:

(Visited 1 times)

35 thoughts on “1965 Top Box Office Movies”

  1. Top ticket sellers is the number #1 top box office draw. Dana Andrews 8 films in 1965, never would have thought. The numbers are dwindling as I get more modern. Saw Sound of Music in 1967 and Beach Blanket Bingo, Ski Party, The Family Jewels with Jerry Lewis , and The Outlaws is Coming with the Three Stooges, Harum Scarum, and Tickle Me (both with Elvis) years ago on TV. Went to That Darn Cat as a kid and Help! with the Beatles which my mother took me too and she hated them. Anyway since the end of 1992 through the end of 2017 I have only seen 78 1965 films. Oh went to Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines in the theater and when I was a kid I thought The Great Race was one of the greatest movies made. Walked out of The Greatest Story Ever Told at intermission, I wanted to play. Remember seeing The Loved One on TV back then and Thunderball on a re-issue with You Only Live Twice circa 1971. Anyway the most recent 78, key film, studio, actors if I listed, date seen and source whether it be TV channel, DVD or VHS tape.

    2000 MANIACS 1965 XXX 11/2 2008 TCM
    24 HOURS TO KILL (U.K.) 1965 SEVEN ARTS MICKEY ROONEY LEX BARKER 1/29 2014 TCM
    AGENT 8 3/4 (U.K.) 1965 CONTINENTAL DIRK BOGARDE SYLVIA KOSCINA 1/25 2012 TCM
    BEACH GIRLS AND THE MONSTER 1965 U.S. FILMS JON HALL 11/17 2002 AMC
    BEDFORD INCIDENT 1965 COL RICHARD WIDMARK SIDNEY POITIER 8/19 1993 TNT
    BLACK SPURS 1965 PAR 8/27 2015 MOVIES
    BLOODY PIT OF HORROR (IT.) 1965 PACEMAKER XXX XXX 12/23 2009 DVD
    BOEING BOEING 1965 PAR TONY CURTIS JERRY LEWIS 7/20 1997 9
    BRIGAND OF KADAHAR (U.K.) 1965 COL RONALD LEWIS OLIVER REED 4/25 1993 TNT
    BUFFALO BILL (IT-FR-W.GER) 1965 GORDON SCOTT MARIA BREGA 11/30 2013 DVD
    CENTA MI CORAZON (MEX.) 1965 FILMAX 9/17 2013 DVD
    CHANGE PARTNERS (U.K.) 1965 ANGLO AMALGAMATED 5/14 2016 DVD
    COAST OF SKELETONS (U.K.) 1965 SEVEN ARTS RICHARD TODD DALE ROBERTSON 1/29 2002 ACTN
    DARK INTRUDER 1965 UNI LESLIE NIELSEN GILBERT GREEN 7/27 2009 DVD
    DARLING (U.K.) 1965 EMB JULIE CHRISTIE LAURENCE HARVEY 10/1 1996 BRAVO
    DEAD MAN’S CHEST (U.K.) 1965 ANGLO AMALGAMATED 12/10 2016 DVD
    DEAR BRIGITTE 1965 FOX JAMES STEWART 11/25 1994 AMC
    DIE MONSTER DIE 1965 AIP BORIS KARLOFF NICK ADAMS 6/19 1998 AMC
    DR. TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS (U.K.) 1965 PAR PETER CUSHING CHRISTOPHER LEE 11/29 1996 SCI
    EMBALMER, THE (IT.) 1965 EUROPIX XXX XXX 2/14 2010 DVD
    GAME FOR THREE LOSERS (U.K.) 1965 ANGLO AMALGAMATED 5/8 2016 DVD
    GENGHIS KHAN 1965 COL OMAR SHARIF STEPHEN BOYD 2/18 1994 TNT
    GHOST, THE (IT.) 1965 MAGNA REL. 4/13 2013 DVD
    GO GO BIG BEAT (U.K.) 1965 ELDORADO XXX XXX 12/28 1994 TAPE
    GOLDSTEIN 1965 ALTURA FILMS LTD. XXX XXX 12/16 2011 TCM
    HEROES OF TELEMARK (U.K.) 1965 COL KIRK DOUGLAS RICHARD HARRIS 9/16 2004 TRUE
    HUMAN DUPLICATORS 1965 AA GEORGE NADER 2/14 1995 COM
    HYSTERIA (U.K.) 1965 MGM XXX XXX 6/1 2008 TCM
    INVADERS FROM SPACE (JAP-MTV) 1965 8/11 2012 DVD
    JOHNNY WEST (IT-SP) 1965 905 CORP. XXX XXX 2/18 1996 55
    JOY IN THE MORNING 1965 MGM RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN YVETTE MIMIEUX 11/15 1993 TNT
    KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE (IT-EGY) 1965 ABC FILMS MARK FOREST MIMMA PALMARA 5/19 2009 DVD
    KING RAT 1965 COL GEORGE SEGAL TOM COURTNEY 10/1 1998 MAX
    KNACK…AND HOW TO GET IT (U.K.) 1965 UA RITA TUSHINGHAM 12/31 1995 13
    LIFE AT THE TOP (U.K.) 1965 ROYAL FILMS LAURENCE HARVEY JEAN SIMMONS 6/29 2011 TCM
    LORD JIM (U.K.) 1965 COL PETER O’TOOLE JAMES MASON 3/13 1993 TNT
    MAJOR DUNDEE 1965 COL CHARLTON HESTON RICHARD HARRIS 2/16 1994 TBS
    MICKEY ONE 1965 COL WARREN BEATTY ALEXANDRA STEWART 3/31 1993 TNT
    MONSTER A GO-GO 1965 B &L XXX XXX 9/30 1994 COM
    MUDHONEY 1965 EVE XXX XXX 10/21 2006 TCM
    MURDER MOST FOUL (U.K.) 1965 MGM MARGARET RUTHERFORD 11/25 2003 TCM
    NIGHT WALKER 1965 UNI BARBARA STANWYCK ROBERT TAYLOR 4/27 1997 SCI
    NIGHTMARE CASTLE (IT.) 1965 AA BARBARA STEELE 5/7 1996 31
    ONCE A THIEF 1965 MGM ALAIN DELON ANN-MARGRET 11/19 1998 TCM
    OPERATION CIA 1965 AA BURT REYNOLDS 7/12 2000 ACTN
    OTHELLO (U.K.) 1965 WB LAURENCE OLIVIER MAGGIE SMITH 4/13 2013 TCM
    RAMPAGE AT APACHE WELLS (W.GER-YUGO) 1965 COL STEWART GRANGER 12/7 1993 TNT
    RAPTURE 1965 INTL. CLASSICS MELVYN DOUGLAS 10/15 1997 FLIX
    RED LINE 7000 1965 PAR JAMES CAAN 7/2 1997 AMC
    RELENTLESS 4 (IT.) 1965 MGM XXX XXX 1/30 2006 WEST
    REPULSION (U.K.) 1965 ROYAL FILMS CATHERINE DENEUVE IAN HENDRY 1/24 1995 BRAVO
    REQUIEM FOR A SECRET AGENT (W.GER-IT-SP.) 1965 CPT (TV) STEWART GRANGER 2/20 1997 55
    RETURN FROM THE ASHES 1965 WB INGRID THULIN MAXIMILIAN SCHELL 6/9 2002 MYST
    SANDS OF THE KALAHARI (U.K.) 1965 PAR STUART WHITMAN STANLEY BAKER 3/7 1993 TNT
    SECRET OF MY SUCCESS (U.K.) 1965 MGM JAMES BOOTH SHIRLEY JONES 7/28 2002 TCM
    SHIP OF FOOLS 1965 COL VIVIEN LEIGH SIMONE SIGNORET 12/19 1998 MMAX
    SIGNPOST TO MURDER 1965 MGM JOANNE WOODWARD STUART WHITMAN 6/27 2006 TCM
    SIMON OF THE DESERT (MEX.) 1965 ALTURA XXX XXX 7/15 2007 TCM
    SITUATION HOPELESS, BUT NOT SERIOUS 1965 PAR ALEC GUINNESS MICHAEL CONNORS 4/9 1994 AMC
    SNOW DEVILS (IT.) 1965 GOLD KEY XXX XXX 3/26 1995 TNT
    SON OF A GUNFIGHTER 1965 MGM RUSS TAMBLYN KIERON MOORE 12/31 1994 TNT
    SPACEFLIGHT IC-1 (U.K.) 1965 FOX BILL WILLIAMS 6/4 2000 FXM
    STRANGLER’S LOCK (U.K.) 1965 ANGLO AMALGAMATED 8/15 2016 DVD
    STUDY IN TERROR (U.K.) 1965 COL DONALD HOUSTON 8/17 2003 MYST
    SYNANON 1965 COL EDMOND O’BRIEN CHUCK CONNORS 11/20 1993 TNT
    THAT FUNNY FEELING 1965 UNI BOBBY DARIN SANDRA DEE 11/1 1993 FAM
    THE COLLECTOR (U.K.) 1965 COL TERENCE STAMP SAMANTHA EGGAR 7/21 2001 MYST
    THE HILL (U.K.) 1965 MGM SEAN CONNERY 8/16 1999 TCM
    THE REWARD 1965 FOX MAX VON SYDOW YVETTE MIMIEUX 4/11 2004 FXM
    THESE ARE THE DAMNED (U.K.) 1965 COL 1/18 2014 TCM
    THEY RAN FOR THEIR LIVES 1965 COL JOHN PAYNE 6/22 1993 TNT
    THIRD DAY 1965 WB GEORGE PEPPARD ELIZABETH ASHLEY 2/10 2001 ACTN
    TO TRAP A SPY 1965 MGM ROBERT VAUGHN 11/6 2007 TCM
    TRUTH ABOUT SPRING 1965 UNI HAYLEY MILLS JOHN MILLS 4/4 1994 A & E
    VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET 1965 AIP 5/15 2012 DVD
    WAR OF THE PLANETS (IT.) 1965 MGM XXX XXX 1/27 2003 TCM
    WOMAN WHO WOULDN’T DIE (U.K.) 1965 WB 10/18 2016 TCM
    YOUNG DILLINGER 1965 AA NICK ADAMS 5/24 1997 HIS

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan
      1. Don’t worry….you are still a movie watching machine…even if your numbers are going down.
      2. Your tally is still the highest of the people commenting their tallies.
      3. Awesome lists as always…..I am now about 40 movies behind at Letterboxd…..everytime I see your detailed lists…I say to myself…”Quit slacking off…get to work”…lol.
      4. Love the memories you shared….so The Great Race was the greatest movie ever made?…Well I can not throw rocks….little Cogerson thought Gus the Disney football playing kicking mule movie was the best movie that I had ever seen…lol.
      5. Dana Andrews was a movie MAKING machine in 1965….8 movies is like what they did in the 1930s when they were contract players.
      Thanks for the feedback.

      Reply

      1. I unfortunately must say Gus was one of the first VHS tapes I bought, saw it back in 1976 when it came out and I saw maybe 13 films that year. I have seen Gus 5 times.

        For trivia the first videotape I bought was a Toni Basil (of Mickey fame) collection of 7 music videos. I think it’s called Word of Mouth.

        Reply

    2. This is not the right list. These are movies Made in 1965! Bit it does not mean they were in cinema that year! Many of those movies were in cinema the following year!
      For example, dr. Zhivago with was released december 31 1965, runned only in cinema for one Day in 1965. The box Office nr.1 of 1965 was Mary Poppins, Made in 1964.
      Followed by the sound of music in its first year of succes!

      Reply

      1. Hey Bart van Os. I agree with you that some of these movies earned most of their money in other years than 1965. We have every year from 1928 to 2019 ranked. To avoid confusion…we decided to go with the year most publications like IMDb, Box Office Mojo and Variety go with. In our database we list the release date….one day we will have a place to list the release date. So basically we have decided to go with the majority of people when it comes to putting these movies in their yearly categore. Essentially…Gone With The Wind was the movie that set the mold for the rest of the movies. Gone With The Wind is considered to be the best movie of 1939, which is considered to be the best year for movies. Yet…..it only played in a handful of theaters in 1939. It made the bulk of it’s money in 1940 and 1941. If we put Gone With The Wind in our 1940 page…people would constantly be having issues with that. So we put it in 1939….and all the movies that followed GWTW’s path went the same route on our UMR yearly pages. It is not perfect…but we had to decide which way to go almost 10 years ago. Thanks for the visit and the thoughtful comment.

        Reply

  2. Thanks Bruce for continuing to move on through the 60s. I noticed that your 1965 page lists more movies than all the other 60s pages, so it’s the most comprehensive of the decade so far. Of the 40 movies on the list I have seen, I have tried to identify my top 10. It was not easy, but I think they are (in no particular order):

    The Hill
    Flight of the Phoenix
    Thunderball
    The Bedford Incident
    36 Hours
    Battle of the Bulge
    Mirage
    Those Magnificent Men…etc.
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    Operation Crossbow

    Runners-up include A Patch of Blue, The Cincinnati Kid and The Ipcress File. The Sound of Music is a movie I enjoy with family, but I would not be interested in seeing it by myself (and I probably would not admit to it if I did 🙂 ). Dr. Zhivago, like David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, is of course a great film, but I think I was too young when I first saw both of these and I never got over my memory of struggling through their punishing lengths, even though I saw them several times since. The Collector and Repulsion are two other excellent movies I liked, but too dark and spooky to actually “enjoy” watching.

    Reply

    1. Hey PhilHOF17
      1. Thanks for the visit, tally and comment.
      2. Hopefully….the movies on the yearly pages will stay in this range…128-132…but I fear that some years might go under the 100 movie mark….time will tell.
      3. Tally count….Flora 53, Steve 50, you 40 and me 38…..I thought my 38 would do better….I be wrong…lol.
      4. I have seen 8 of the 10 you listed on your favorites….only missing Mirage and Operation Crossbow….I have wanted to see Mirage for a long time…just never crossed paths with it.
      5. The Hill has a stellar performance from Sir Sean. 36 Hours is fun thriller.
      6. The Cincy Kid and Ipcress are in my Top 10…Edward G. Robinson’s performance in the Cincy Kid is amazing.
      7. Unlike Lawrence of Arabia…I have only seen Dr. Z one time…..the first time was confusing…as I put the DVD into the player and started watching the middle of the movie….as it was one of those DVDs that had the first and second half of the movie on different sides of the disk…it took about 30 minutes until I finally realized what was going on.
      8. Good point on The Collector and Repulsion…I agree with it 100%.
      Great feedback as always.

      Reply

      1. Thanks for your reply Bruce…and welcome home!

        Fun story about Dr. Z. The same happened to me once with a Robert Altman film, Shortcuts. But, since it’s a very episodic film, I didn’t realize I had watched the entire first half until I got to the end!

        Reply

  3. HI WORK HORSE

    1 I have seen 13 of the Top 20 best reviewed films in your 1965 survey and since I was a prolific filmgoer that year those that I haven’t seen I obviously didn’t want to see. For example I’ve never watched The Sound of Music and never intend to [as Cagney said about Mr Mumbles films!]

    2 A very comprehensive Annual Survey as always. You are now in the last lap of your 1930-1969 Reviews target so well done.

    2 Talking about Mr M I was pleased to see an ACTUAL gross for Morituri. You had already given us an adjusted one and I could never before locate the actual figure so I’ve now got from you the actual figures for all but a handful of Mumbles’ minor films which pleases me.

    “Morituri was worth a dozen Ship of Fools and when one looks at how poorly it was received it is no small wonder that Brando seemed to lose interest in his career for a while.” DAVID SHIPMAN from his quartet of Books The Great Movie Makers [Chaplin, Hitchcock, Olivier and Brando]

    Reply

    1. Hey Bob
      1. I have seen 15 of the Top 20 reviewed movies.
      2. Surprised that you have never seen The Sound of Music….I am not a musical fan at all….but I have seen that blockbuster numerous times.
      3. Thanks for the kind words on this yearly review.
      4. Glad to help you out with an actual gross for Morituri…..I enjoyed watching the trailer…it actually looks like it could be entertaining.
      5. Good quote from Mr. Shipman.

      Reply

  4. I have seen 53 movies from 1965.

    The highest rated film I have seen is The Sound of Music.

    The highest rated film I have NOT seen is The Sons of Katie Elder.

    The lowest rated film I have seen is Lady L at 119.

    These are my viewing totals by ratings:

    10/10
    19/20
    27/30
    32/40
    36/50
    39/60
    42/70
    46/80
    48/90
    52/100
    52/110
    53/120
    53/132

    My top 15 Favourites are:

    Cat Ballou
    The Sound of Music
    Dr. Zhivago
    Von Ryan’s Express
    For a Few Dollars More
    The Bedford Incident
    The Cincinnati Kid
    The Great Race
    The Ipcress File
    The Rounders
    36 Hours
    Mirage
    Operation Crossbow
    Ship of Fools
    The Money Trap

    Reply

    1. HI FLORA

      Good comprehensive post about the year 1965. I’ve seen 13 of the 15 films you list and my favourites are The Bedford Incident, Mirage and Dr Zhivago. The Money Trap was interesting as the final teaming of Glenn and Rita but they were sadly both in decline at that stage and I think that the much younger Elke Sommer was actually billed before Rita and whereas in ALL the previous Ford-Hayworth films Rita was first billed Glenn got top billed in The Money Trap. It’s hard to stop those Canadian-Spaniards from progressing!!

      Reply

      1. Thanks for the compliment, Bob and for sharing your favorite films of my list. The Money Trap I included for sentimental reasons as it was the final pairing. You are right about the billing too.

        Reply

          1. Hey Bob and Flora….The Money Trap reminds me of the little seen and known Ithaca. Ithaca was the 4th and probably last outing for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Ryan actually directs Ithaca with Hanks playing her husband. It is a remake of The Human Comedy which got Mickey Rooney a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Thanks for the visits and comments to our 1965 page.

    2. Hey Flora
      1. Your 53 barely edges out Steve’s 50…..but well ahead of my 38…..but Steve and I are closing the gap.
      2. 90% of the Top 30….and 72% of the Top 50…pretty impressive totals.
      3. I think that you have only seen about 20% of the bottom 82 movies shows the UMR scores are pretty good at pointing out quality movies.
      4. Wow…like Steve…your favorite list has much more than a Top 10…maybe 1965 is an underrated year?
      5. Of your favorites….right there with you on The Ipcress File, 36 Hours and The Cincy Kid and For a Few More Dollars….Flora calling out a western…love it!
      6. I have seen 11 of your Top 15.
      7. Thanks for the feedback….great stuff as always.

      Reply

  5. I’ve seen exactly 50 of the 132 films on the chart, more than I expected.

    I have 84 films from 1965 in my movie collection. I haven’t seen them all.

    Favorites include –

    Agony and the Ecstasy ,The
    Battle of the Bulge
    Bedford Incident ,The
    Boeing Boeing
    Cat Ballou
    Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
    Doctor Zhivago
    Face of Fu Manchu
    Flight of the Phoenix
    Girl Happy
    Great Race ,The
    Greatest Story Ever Told ,The
    Heroes of Telemark ,The
    How to Murder Your Wife
    Ipcress File ,The
    Liquidator ,The
    Major Dundee
    Operation Crossbow
    Satan Bug ,The
    She
    Shenandoah
    Skull ,The
    Sons of Katie Elder ,The
    Sound of Music ,The
    Spy Who Came in From the Cold ,The
    Study in Terror ,A
    Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
    Thunderball
    Tickle Me
    Tomb of Ligeia ,The
    War Gods of the Deep
    War Lord ,The
    zz-Italy – For a Few Dollars More
    zz-Italy – Planet of the Vampires
    zz-Italy – Wild Wild Planet
    zz-Japan – Frankenstein Conquers the World
    zz-Japan – Gamera
    zz-Japan – Monster Zero

    The Sound of Music and Doctor Zhivago were massive hits that year and the 4th Bond movie Thunderball was huge too, I think it’s still the biggest ticket seller of the franchise.

    Excellent work Bruce. Vote Up!

    Slowly but surely the yearly pages are heading towards the 1970s, my big cinema-going decade. I must have seen about 500 movies at the cinema during the 70s. Some of them multiple times.

    Reply

    1. Hey Steve
      1. 50 is a nice round number….I have seen 38 of these movies….before reading these comments I was happy with my total….now not so much.
      2. Wow that is a lot of favorite movies…..probably the most you have ever listed before.
      3. Of your favorites I also really enjoyed Thunderball, Ipcress File, Sons of Katie Elder and Flight of the Phoenix…..I also liked many of the movies on that list.
      4. Sound of Music and Doctor Zhivago are both Top 10 all time box office hits…not many years can claim have two such box office monsters.
      5. 2018 could claim it soon….if Infinity Wars explodes like expected….joining Black Panther.
      6. Yep…we are rapidly headed to the 1970s…..figure we will bridge the Box Office Mojo gap.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.