So recently I have been getting some subtle (and some not so subtle) hints from my wife that my office needed some attention. A quick look around my office showed 37 movie books from 7 different libraries. 37? Yep… I had checked out 37 books…most from the colleges around me. The beauty of the College of William and Mary (the wife is getting her masters degree there) and Old Dominion University (oldest daughter is getting her masters degree there) libraries is they let their students keep the books for an entire year. That long check out time has helped make my collection of library books really grow.
Before sending most of the library books back…I figured I should write down all the box office information I had found in the books, but had not used. After writing down box office information on 3 or 4 movies…I came up with a better idea. Why not put all of these movies in one massive table…and put the information on the internet. That would accomplish two things: (a) It would keep the box office numbers from going into a notebook that I am sure I would misplace in the future and (b) It will get the box office information out there right now! Somebody in the world could be researching the film careers of Leatrice Joy and Rod La Rocque….and this page could be exactly what they are looking for.
In the end I found 128 movies that have not been used in any of my movie pages. The good news was I found two Myrna Loy movies and one Gary Cooper movie that I had missed. Those movies will be added to their pages very soon. After entering all of these movies into the table….I turned my attention to organizing my office. 3 hours later and my office is looking pretty good and more importantly the wife is happy. The car is now loaded with many library books…and tomorrow I will try not to get too misty eyed when the time comes to send the books back….sniff…sniff…they were such good and helpful books.
Movie Box Office Grosses: 1925 through 1931
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort movies by year the movie was made
- Sort movies by stars of the movies
- Sort movies by actual domestic box office grosses
- Sort movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort movies by tickets sold
- Use the sort and search buttons to make this table very interactive.
| Movie # | Movie (Year) | Year | Star of Movie | Box Office Domestic Actual (mils.) | Box Office Domestic Adjusted (mils.) | Tickets Sold (mils.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 Million Frenchmen | 1931 | John Halliday | $1.19 | $47.60 | 5.6 | |
| A Blonde for a Night | 1928 | Harrison Ford | $0.44 | $11.00 | 1.3 | |
| A Ship Comes In | 1928 | Louise Dresser | $0.60 | $14.80 | 1.8 | |
| Alias Jimmy Valentine | 1928 | Lionel Barrymore | $2.64 | $65.40 | 7.8 | |
| Almost Human | 1927 | Vera Reynolds | $0.46 | $12.20 | 1.4 | |
| Bachelor Brides | 1926 | Rod La Rocque | $0.60 | $16.80 | 2.0 | |
| Beau Ideal | 1931 | Loretta Young | $1.15 | $46.30 | 5.5 | |
| Big Boy | 1930 | Al Jolson | $1.34 | $56.70 | 6.7 | |
| Billy the Kid | 1930 | Wallace Beery | $2.18 | $92.00 | 10.9 | |
| Bought! | 1931 | Constance Bennett | $1.77 | $71.00 | 8.4 | |
| Braveheart | 1925 | Rod La Rocque | $0.95 | $29.60 | 3.5 | |
| Check and Double Check | 1930 | Amos & Andy | $5.39 | $227.10 | 26.9 | |
| Chicago | 1927 | Phyllis Haver | $1.68 | $44.20 | 5.2 | |
| Children of Pleasure | 1930 | Judith Wood | $0.80 | $33.70 | 4.0 | |
| Corporal Kate | 1926 | Vera Reynolds | $0.54 | $15.10 | 1.8 | |
| Cracked Nuts | 1931 | Boris Karloff | $1.49 | $60.00 | 7.1 | |
| Desert Nights | 1929 | John Gilbert | $1.88 | $45.40 | 5.4 | |
| Dixiana | 1930 | Bert Wheeler | $1.54 | $64.80 | 7.7 | |
| Don Juan | 1926 | John Barrymore | $5.27 | $148.20 | 17.6 | |
| Dress Parade | 1927 | William Boyd | $0.93 | $24.50 | 2.9 | |
| Everything's Rosie | 1931 | Anita Louise | $0.61 | $24.30 | 2.9 | |
| Eve's Leaves | 1926 | Leatrice Joy | $0.64 | $18.00 | 2.1 | |
| Fighting Love | 1927 | Jetta Goudal | $0.35 | $9.10 | 1.1 | |
| Footlights and Fools | 1929 | Colleen Moore | $1.93 | $46.40 | 5.5 | |
| For Alimony Only | 1926 | Leatrice Joy | $0.49 | $13.70 | 1.6 | |
| General Crack | 1930 | John Barrymore | $2.83 | $119.20 | 14.1 | |
| Gentleman's Fate | 1931 | John Gilbert | $1.11 | $44.50 | 5.3 | |
| Gigolo | 1926 | Rod La Rocque | $0.80 | $22.40 | 2.7 | |
| Glorious Betsy | 1928 | Dolores Costello | $2.72 | $67.40 | 8.0 | |
| God's Gift to Women | 1931 | Joan Blondell | $0.44 | $17.80 | 2.1 | |
| Gold Diggers of Broadway | 1929 | Conway Tearle | $8.12 | $195.50 | 23.2 | |
| Half Shot at Sunrise | 1930 | Bert Wheeler | $2.01 | $84.70 | 10.0 | |
| Hell's Highroad | 1925 | Leatrice Joy | $0.81 | $25.30 | 3.0 | |
| Her Man o' War | 1926 | William Boyd | $0.61 | $17.20 | 2.0 | |
| His Dog | 1927 | Joseph Schildkraut | $0.55 | $14.50 | 1.7 | |
| His Glorious Night | 1929 | Lionel Barrymore | $1.88 | $45.30 | 5.4 | |
| Hit The Deck | 1929 | Jack Oakie | $3.13 | $75.40 | 8.9 | |
| Hold 'Em Yale | 1928 | Rod La Rocque | $1.00 | $24.80 | 2.9 | |
| Hold Everything | 1930 | Joe E. Brown | $3.13 | $132.00 | 15.7 | |
| Hook Line and Sinker | 1930 | Bert Wheeler | $1.83 | $77.20 | 9.2 | |
| Kismet | 1930 | Loretta Young | $0.97 | $40.90 | 4.8 | |
| Kiss Me Again | 1930 | Walter Pidgeon | $0.68 | $27.30 | 3.2 | |
| Let 'Er Go Gallegher | 1928 | Harrison Ford | $0.51 | $12.80 | 1.5 | |
| Lights of New York | 1928 | Helene Costello | $3.87 | $95.90 | 11.4 | |
| Lilac Time | 1928 | Gary Cooper | $5.58 | $138.40 | 16.4 | |
| Lovin' the Ladies | 1930 | Richard Dix | $1.14 | $48.00 | 5.7 | |
| Madame X | 1929 | Lionel Barrymore | $2.92 | $70.40 | 8.4 | |
| Made for Love | 1926 | Leatrice Joy | $0.59 | $16.60 | 2.0 | |
| Mammy | 1930 | Al Jolson | $2.43 | $102.30 | 12.1 | |
| Man-Made Women | 1928 | H.B. Warner | $0.51 | $12.60 | 1.5 | |
| Marianne | 1929 | Marion Davies | $2.22 | $53.50 | 6.3 | |
| Midnight Madness | 1928 | Clive Brook | $0.46 | $11.40 | 1.3 | |
| Moby Dick | 1930 | John Barrymore | $1.78 | $75.10 | 8.9 | |
| My Friend from India | 1927 | Franklin Pangborn | $0.43 | $11.30 | 1.3 | |
| My Man | 1928 | Fanny Brice | $3.66 | $90.80 | 10.8 | |
| New Moon | 1930 | Adolphe Menjou | $1.56 | $65.90 | 7.8 | |
| No No Nanette | 1930 | Zasu Pitts | $2.58 | $108.80 | 12.9 | |
| Noah's Ark | 1928 | Myrna Loy | $4.56 | $113.00 | 13.4 | |
| Nobody's Widow | 1927 | Leatrice Joy | $0.44 | $11.60 | 1.4 | |
| Oh Kay! | 1928 | Colleen Moore | $1.58 | $39.30 | 4.7 | |
| Old San Francisco | 1927 | Dolores Costello | $1.62 | $42.60 | 5.1 | |
| On Trial | 1928 | Jason Robards, Sr. | $3.63 | $90.00 | 10.7 | |
| On with the Show! | 1929 | Joe E. Brown | $5.56 | $134.00 | 15.9 | |
| Red Dice | 1926 | Rod La Rocque | $0.64 | $18.00 | 2.1 | |
| Redemption | 1930 | John Gilbert | $1.22 | $51.60 | 6.1 | |
| Rio Rita | 1929 | Bert Wheeler | $5.67 | $136.60 | 16.2 | |
| Risky Business | 1926 | Alan Hale | $0.44 | $12.40 | 1.5 | |
| Sally | 1929 | Joe E. Brown | $3.89 | $93.80 | 11.1 | |
| Say It with Songs | 1929 | Al Jolson | $5.51 | $132.70 | 15.7 | |
| Seven Keys to Baldpate | 1929 | Richard Dix | $1.40 | $33.60 | 4.0 | |
| Silence | 1926 | H.B. Warner | $0.98 | $27.40 | 3.3 | |
| Sit Tight | 1930 | Joe E. Brown | $1.87 | $75.10 | 8.9 | |
| Skyscraper | 1928 | William Boyd | $0.94 | $23.20 | 2.8 | |
| Smiling Irish Eyes | 1929 | Colleen Moore | $1.96 | $47.20 | 5.6 | |
| So Long Letty | 1929 | Charlotte Greenwood | $1.30 | $31.20 | 3.7 | |
| Son of the Gods | 1930 | Constance Bennett | $3.29 | $138.60 | 16.4 | |
| Sonny Boy | 1929 | Edward Everett Horton | $2.68 | $64.50 | 7.6 | |
| Stand and Deliver | 1928 | Rod La Rocque | $0.71 | $17.70 | 2.1 | |
| Street Girl | 1929 | Jack Oakie | $2.58 | $62.00 | 7.4 | |
| Sunny | 1930 | Marilyn Miller | $1.65 | $69.60 | 8.3 | |
| Sunny Side Up | 1926 | Donald Crisp | $0.53 | $14.80 | 1.8 | |
| Svengali | 1930 | John Barrymore | $1.06 | $42.60 | 5.1 | |
| Synthetic Sin | 1929 | Colleen Moore | $1.58 | $38.20 | 4.5 | |
| Tenderloin | 1928 | Conrad Nagel | $2.96 | $73.50 | 8.7 | |
| Tenth Avenue | 1928 | Phyllis Haver | $0.78 | $19.30 | 2.3 | |
| The Angel of Broadway | 1927 | Leatrice Joy | $0.55 | $14.40 | 1.7 | |
| The Better 'Ole | 1926 | Syd Chaplin | $3.47 | $97.60 | 11.6 | |
| The Big House | 1930 | Robert Montgomery | $3.94 | $165.90 | 19.7 | |
| The Blue Danube | 1928 | Leatrice Joy | $0.90 | $22.30 | 2.7 | |
| The Case of Sergeant Grischa | 1930 | Jean Hersholt | $1.25 | $52.80 | 6.3 | |
| The Clinging Vine | 1926 | Leatrice Joy | $0.56 | $15.70 | 1.9 | |
| The Coming of Amos | 1925 | Rod La Rocque | $0.87 | $27.10 | 3.2 | |
| The Cop | 1928 | William Boyd | $1.01 | $25.00 | 3.0 | |
| The Country Doctor | 1927 | Rudolph Schildkraut | $1.03 | $27.20 | 3.2 | |
| The Cruise of the Jasper B | 1926 | Rod La Rocque | $0.43 | $12.20 | 1.4 | |
| The Cuckoos | 1930 | Bert Wheeler | $2.04 | $85.90 | 10.2 | |
| The Fighting Eagle | 1927 | Rod La Rocque | $1.17 | $30.70 | 3.6 | |
| The First Auto | 1927 | William Demarest | $0.59 | $15.50 | 1.8 | |
| The Flying Fleet | 1929 | Ramon Novarro | $2.01 | $48.30 | 5.7 | |
| The Forbidden Woman | 1927 | Jetta Goudal | $0.99 | $26.10 | 3.1 | |
| The Jazz Singer | 1927 | Al Jolson | $6.85 | $180.60 | 21.4 | |
| The Lash | 1930 | Richard Barthelmess | $1.74 | $73.30 | 8.7 | |
| The Last Flight | 1930 | Richard Barthelmess | $1.20 | $48.10 | 5.7 | |
| The Leopard Lady | 1928 | Alan Hale | $0.66 | $16.30 | 1.9 | |
| The Life of the Party | 1930 | Winnie Lightner | $2.11 | $88.80 | 10.5 | |
| The Lion and the Mouse | 1928 | Lionel Barrymore | $2.90 | $71.80 | 8.5 | |
| The Main Event | 1927 | Vera Reynolds | $0.67 | $17.80 | 2.1 | |
| The Man from Blankley's | 1930 | John Barrymore | $0.96 | $40.30 | 4.8 | |
| The Missing Link | 1927 | Tom McGuire | $1.48 | $38.90 | 4.6 | |
| The Pagan | 1929 | Ramon Novarro | $2.28 | $54.90 | 6.5 | |
| The Rogue Song | 1930 | Laurel & Hardy | $2.54 | $106.90 | 12.7 | |
| The Show of Shows | 1929 | John Barrymore | $4.02 | $96.90 | 11.5 | |
| The Singing Fool | 1928 | Al Jolson | $12.74 | $315.80 | 37.5 | |
| The Terror | 1928 | Edward Everett Horton | $4.07 | $100.90 | 12.0 | |
| The Trail of '98 | 1928 | Harry Carey | $2.80 | $69.30 | 8.2 | |
| The Unholy Three | 1930 | Lon Chaney | $2.20 | $92.90 | 11 | |
| The Vagabond Lover | 1929 | Marie Dressler | $2.14 | $51.60 | 6.1 | |
| The Wedding Song | 1925 | Leatrice Joy | $0.75 | $23.60 | 2.8 | |
| The Wise Wife | 1927 | Phyllis Haver | $0.53 | $13.90 | 1.7 | |
| The Wreck of the Hesperus | 1927 | Alan Hale | $0.93 | $24.40 | 2.9 | |
| The Yankee Clipper | 1927 | William Boyd | $1.00 | $26.40 | 3.1 | |
| Three Faces East | 1926 | Clive Brook | $1.14 | $32.10 | 3.8 | |
| Trader Horn | 1931 | Harry Carey | $4.86 | $195.00 | 23.1 | |
| Under a Texas Moon | 1930 | Myrna Loy | $2.05 | $86.50 | 10.3 | |
| Viennese Nights | 1930 | Walter Pidgeon | $1.06 | $44.50 | 5.3 | |
| Walking Back | 1928 | Richard Walling | $0.57 | $14.00 | 1.7 | |
| When A Man Loves | 1927 | John Barrymore | $2.54 | $67.00 | 7.9 | |
| Young April | 1926 | Donald Crisp | $0.68 | $19.00 | 2.3 |
Leatrice Joy and Rod La Rocque rock. Ok maybe I have not heard of them. But intersting stuff anyway.
Very funny Simpo87….I liked your comment…it made me smile. Thanks for stopping by.
Another interesting list Bruce. At first glance I was wondering why you’d left out some famous films like Frankenstein and All Quiet on the Western Front and than I read the top bit and everything was clear. 🙂
Never ever heard of Check and Double Check, was it really that successful? So I checked and double checked and discovered that it was an all black musical, the reviews were not kind, and it was more popular than The Jazz Singer or Trader Horn? Can’t be, can it?
I’ve seen just 4 of the 128 films you’ve listed here – Noah’s Ark, The Unholy Three, Trader Horn and The Jazz Singer and they’re all in my collection too.
Of the rest I would like to see Don Juan and Moby Dick, both starring John Barrymore.
Good work Bruce though some of those figures may be typographical errors in those old library books. Voted Up.
Hey Steve….I feel really good about the success of Check and Double Check….I have 5 different sources saying the same amounts for box office. Plus on every list I have that ranks movies by year…Check and Double Check ranks from a high of 4th to a low of 7th…that is on 4 different lists.
The issue could be The Jazz Singer….the box office numbers for that all-time classic are all over the place. One source has it at 3.5 million in rentals….Variety does not have it listed as a 3.0 rental. IMDb says it grossed 3.0 million …my Warner Brothers ledgers and a table from a book called “The Talkies” puts the rentals at just under 2.0 million. The rental number for The Jazz Singer is actually bigger than Check and Double Check…but movie admission prices actually dropped due to the Great Depression.
I am at 2 on the tally count…no real surprise that Flora is well ahead of us….not only have I not heard of many of these movies…but I have not heard of many of the stars. Good to know Harrison Ford was rocking back in the 1920s….almost 100 years later and he is still going strong…..lol. As always I appreciate your input.
Great idea ! I’m looking for box office for silent area, thank you very much. I’m looking for Ramon Novarro numbers, especially two movies : Prisoner of Zenda (1922) and Scaramouche (1923). Have you got this ?
Hey laurent….glad you found this page. Ultimately I hope to find a way to get all of my numbers out there….but this is an interesting look at movies from 1925-1931. Let’s see…I thought of you when I found the two Novarro movies listed here. I have two sources..that say Scaramouche was the 5th biggest hit of 1923 and earned box office rentals of 1.00 million or $4.20 million in gross back then and $147.60 million using today’s ticket prices. As for Prisoner of Zenda…I do not have much. All my sources say it was a box office hit…but on some of my charts it is never listed amongst the big winners for the year. My database has a whopping 9 movies from 1923…and Prisoner of Zenda is not one of them. 50% is not a good score….but I hope that helps.
Thank you Bruce. But you said 4.2 million for 1 million rental ? Really ?
Found a ton of information on box office rentals vs actual grosses….every year the % changed a little but over a huge amount of time the changes were massive. I used to use a multiplier of 2.2 times rental….for 1923 the multiplier is 4.2….almost twice as much. Using the yearly multiplier makes older movies more comparable with current movies. In this case Scaramouche was a Top 10 movie….which translates to $147.60.. In 2015 $147.60 would not even crack the Top 20. Since I discovered those stats I have been running some different programs that look at the different variables….and the more I research the more I like the new multipliers. Granted it is still an estimate…as the actual grosses will never ever be known. I think something that has to be considered is the fact that back then weekly movie attendance was near all time highs….while now we are near all time lows.
A good example would be Bette Davis. She was a popular star for 30 good years…my old equation gave her credit for only 15 $100 adjusted million dollar hits…the new equation gives her 24. Tom Cruise has that many $100 million winners…and his career has about half the movies. I have flipped about 23 of my pages to the new equation…and each time I do….the numbers look better than the 2.2 multiplier I used for each year.
I keep my eye open for any information on Prisoner of Zenda….thanks for the return visit.
Hi, Bruce.
This was an excellent idea to save the information. II will say at a glance that this table will help out with Barrymore and Montgomery. Was Harrison Ford really in a film that early (1928?)
At a quick glace, I’ve seen about ten movies which I can remember clearly what they are about.
Good idea!
Hey Flora
1. As always thanks for the visit and the comment.
2. I am sure I will be using this as a reference point…so I am glad I did it.
3. According to IMDb John Barrymore only had 62 credits…there are 7 of this page…I find that interesting….a possible Barrymore page seem more likely now.
4. As for your boy Lionel..that is four movies of his…actually I think there is a 5th one here too. That has to give me over 40 of his movies already in my database….thinking his page might be coming soon.
5. This Harrison Ford died in 1957…..but he did get a Hollywood Star…I imagine that has confused more than a few people….as not many people are even aware of Harrison Ford the silent film actor.
6. I have seen 2 of this movies…..most I had not even heard of before…heck I had never heard of Leatrice Joy and Rod La Rocque now I have almost 10 of their movies in my database.
7. A real page is coming soon.
Funny 1st part. Interesting 2nd part.
Thank you Stollman