Want to know the best Doris Day movies? How about the worst Doris Day movies? Curious about Doris Day’s box office grosses or which Doris Day movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Doris Day movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place ….. because we have all of that information.
Every April 3rd, my wife and Doris Day (1922-2019) share birthdays (with Marlon Brando and Eddie Murphy as well). Doris Day will turned 91 this year and she is still going strong…..as is my wife. Doris Day began her career as a big band singer in 1939. Her popularity began to rise after her first hit recording, Sentimental Journey in 1945. Four years later, Day started her movie career with the movie Romance on the High Seas. She would become one of the biggest movies stars of all time.
Her IMDb page shows 41 acting credits from 1948-1973. This page will rank 39 Doris Day movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Her television appearances were not were not included in the rankings.
Doris Day Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Doris Day Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In The Following Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Column one – the link will take you to that movie’s trailer
- Sort by Doris Day’s co-stars of her movies.
- Sort Doris Day movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Doris Day movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Doris Day 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 Doris Day movie received.
- Sort Doris Day movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | Pillow Talk (1959) AA Best Actress Nom |
Rock Hudson & Tony Randall |
22.20 | 399.4 | 399.40 | 6 | 83 | 05 / 01 | 98.8 | |
| 2 | The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) | James Stewart & Directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
11.70 | 229.6 | 229.60 | 21 | 81 | 01 / 01 | 98.0 | |
| 3 | Lover Come Back (1961) | Rock Hudson | 24.30 | 353.8 | 353.80 | 7 | 79 | 01 / 00 | 97.3 | |
| 4 | Love Me or Leave Me (1955) | James Cagney | 11.50 | 239.0 | 333.60 | 23 | 69 | 06 / 01 | 96.5 | |
| 5 | The Thrill of It All (1963) | James Garner | 15.70 | 197.0 | 197.00 | 14 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 95.7 | |
| 5 | That Touch of Mink (1962) | Cary Grant | 24.30 | 349.1 | 349.10 | 5 | 69 | 03 / 00 | 95.5 | |
| 7 | Move Over, Darling (1963) | James Garner | 17.40 | 218.5 | 218.50 | 9 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 95.0 | |
| 9 | On Moonlight Bay (1951) | Gordon MacRae | 7.80 | 168.7 | 229.80 | 18 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 94.6 | |
| 10 | Young at Heart (1954) | Frank Sinatra | 7.10 | 167.4 | 167.40 | 42 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 94.1 | |
| 9 | Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) | David Niven | 15.20 | 236.9 | 321.70 | 11 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 94.0 | |
| 11 | The Pajama Game (1957) | John Raitt | 7.70 | 147.5 | 219.90 | 26 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 91.8 | |
| 12 | Midnight Lace (1960) | Myrna Loy & Rex Harrison |
10.00 | 156.2 | 156.20 | 22 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 91.8 | |
| 13 | Calamity Jane (1953) | Howard Keel | 7.60 | 136.1 | 204.50 | 30 | 73 | 03 / 01 | 91.2 | |
| 14 | Teacher's Pet (1958) | Clark Gable | 7.70 | 138.6 | 191.00 | 28 | 73 | 02 / 00 | 90.8 | |
| 15 | Send Me No Flowers (1964) | Rock Hudson | 12.90 | 147.4 | 147.40 | 15 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 90.8 | |
| 16 | Romance on the High Seas (1948) | Jack Carson | 5.80 | 156.0 | 228.70 | 54 | 63 | 02 / 00 | 89.3 | |
| 17 | Tea for Two (1950) | Gordon MacRae | 6.60 | 149.0 | 234.30 | 26 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 88.6 | |
| 18 | I'll See You in My Dreams (1951) | Danny Thomas | 7.00 | 150.2 | 196.90 | 30 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 86.6 | |
| 19 | Lullaby of Broadway (1951) | Gene Nelson | 6.00 | 129.5 | 190.00 | 39 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 86.4 | |
| 20 | The West Point Story (1950) | James Cagney | 6.10 | 137.7 | 185.40 | 39 | 61 | 01 / 00 | 86.1 | |
| 21 | April in Paris (1952) | Ray Bolger | 7.60 | 149.7 | 193.80 | 21 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 85.7 | |
| 22 | My Dream Is Yours (1949) | Jack Carson | 5.50 | 138.9 | 190.90 | 47 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 85.5 | |
| 21 | By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) | Gordon MacRae | 5.70 | 102.7 | 143.90 | 53 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 85.0 | |
| 24 | Young Man with a Horn (1950) | Kirk Douglas | 4.70 | 105.3 | 149.00 | 64 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 84.9 | |
| 25 | The Glass Bottom Boat (1966) | Rod Taylor | 11.50 | 112.7 | 112.70 | 25 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 82.1 | |
| 26 | It's a Great Feeling (1949) | Jack Carson | 5.70 | 143.4 | 188.90 | 42 | 51 | 01 / 00 | 82.1 | |
| 27 | With Six You Get Eggroll (1968) | Brian Keith | 14.30 | 117.6 | 117.60 | 26 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 81.2 | |
| 28 | Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) | Jimmy Durante | 7.10 | 102.7 | 164.30 | 36 | 61 | 01 / 00 | 80.4 | |
| 29 | Do Not Disturb (1965) | Rod Taylor | 10.40 | 110.0 | 110.00 | 22 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 80.0 | |
| 30 | Storm Warning (1950) | Ginger Rogers & Ronald Reagan |
3.60 | 80.2 | 80.20 | 93 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 78.7 | |
| 31 | The Winning Team (1952) | Ronald Reagan | 4.00 | 78.3 | 87.40 | 86 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 75.8 | |
| 32 | It Happened To Jane (1959) | Jack Lemmon | 4.90 | 87.3 | 87.30 | 51 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 75.4 | |
| 33 | Lucky Me (1954) | Robert Cummings | 4.60 | 108.9 | 168.10 | 62 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 75.2 | |
| 34 | Starlift (1951) | Gordon MacRae | 4.80 | 104.4 | 141.80 | 64 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 73.9 | |
| 35 | The Tunnel of Love (1958) | Richard Widmark | 5.00 | 89.8 | 138.10 | 50 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 73.0 | |
| 36 | Julie (1956) | Louis Jordan | 4.00 | 79.2 | 145.60 | 77 | 54 | 02 / 00 | 68.6 | |
| 37 | Caprice (1967) | Richard Harris | 5.00 | 44.5 | 44.50 | 50 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 46.7 | |
| 39 | Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) | Robert Morse | 10.00 | 82.3 | 82.30 | 37 | 41 | 00 / 00 | 45.6 | |
| 38 | The Ballad of Josie (1967) | Peter Graves | 1.30 | 11.8 | 11.80 | 126 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 41.7 |
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Doris Day Table
- Twenty-three Doris Day movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 58.97% of her movies listed. Pillow Talk (1959) was her biggest hit.
- An average Doris Day movie grossed $117.40 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 28 of Doris Day’s movies are rated as good movies…or 71.79% of her movies. Pillow Talk (1959) was her highest rated movie while Caprice (1967) was her lowest rated movie.
- Thirteen Doris Day movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 33.33% of her movies.
- Four Doris Day movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 10.25% of her movies.
- A “good movie” Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score is 60.00. 30 Doris Day movies scored higher that average…. or 76.92% of her movies. Pillow Talk (1959) got the the highest UMR Score while Where Were You When The Lights Went Out (1968) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Doris Day
1. Doris Day (1924-) was born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2. At the suggestion of orchestra leader, Barney Rapp, she adopted the stage surname Day. He got Day from the fact that he admired her rendition of the song “Day After Day”.
3. During the location filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), when she saw how camels, goats and other “animal extras” in a marketplace scene were being treated. From that day she began her lifelong commitment to preventing animal abuse.
4. Doris Day was nominated for one acting Oscar® nomination…1959’s Pillow Talk.
5. Doris Day was nominated for five acting Golden Globe® nominations…1958’s The Tunnel of Love, 1959’s Pillow Talk, 1960’s Midnight Lace, 1962’s Billy Rose’s Jumbo and 1963’s Move Over Darling.
6. During the peak of her movie career (1959-1964), she was named the number one movie star…. four times.
7. Doris Day has often said Calamity Jane (1953) as her personal favorite of the 39 films she appeared in.
8. Doris Day briefly dated Ronald Reagan.
9. Doris Day was the first choice to play Mrs. Robinson in 1967’s The Graduate.
10 Doris Day She has two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One for music career and one for movie career.
For one of the best Doris Day pages out there….check out The Magic of Doris Day.
Steve Lensman’s Doris Day You Tube Video
Our Doris Day Box Office Only Page.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Golden Globes® are the registered trademark and service mark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.
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Oh! The Deadwood Stage is a-rollin’ on over the plains,
With the curtains flappin’ and the driver slappin’ the reins.
Beautiful sky! A wonderful day!
Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away!
One of my favourite musicals, Calamity Jane.
I thought I had commented on this one Bruce, it must have slipped me by. It happens. 🙂
I’ve seen just seven of her movies, must have seen a lot more when I was young just can’t remember the titles.
Love Me or Leave Me was very good, with James Cagney.
The Man Who Knew Too Much, 4th on your moviescore but that wasn’t a typical Doris Day movie.
My two faves are the Hichcock and Calamity Jane…
Now where was I? Oh yes
Take me back to the Black Hills
The Black Hills of Dakota
To the beautiful Indian country
That I[STOP IT STEVE!]
Hey Steve thanks for checking out my Doris Day hub. I am guessing that the reason you never commented on this hub was the fact that it was tagged a duplicate and it took almost a month to get it straight with hubpages.
Well your 7 movies trumps my 5 movies and I think we both lose out to Flora who lists her 10 favorites…so she has seen at least 10….I have seen 2 of the 5 movies since I wrote the hub….Love Me or Leave Me and Pillow Talk.
I think I have seen more of her movies since my mom used to watch her movies all the time, I am can not remember which ones I watch when I was a kid. I will have to check out Calamity Jane. Thanks for checking out the movie page it is as always greatly appreciated.
I am probably one Doris Day’s biggest fans in India. In the last year or so, I have bought nearly 20 movies of hers. She is so very adorable. Both my wife and I enjoy most of her movies. Her facial expressions whether happy or sad are simply amazing. Some of the songs she sings are like “Its Magic” and “Secret love” are among my favorite love songs. God Bless you Doris.
Hey Savio Carvalho…thanks for checking out my Doris Day hub…hopefully you found lots of information on her movie career in this hub. My mom is also a huge fan of hers and she likes the same songs you mentioned..I agree that she was an awesome actress.
Hey cogerson! Great hub on Doris Day! Very informative and fun facts!!!
Hey Sunshine625….I greatly appreciate you checking out this pulse hub…she might not have made a movie in 40 years….but she is still alive and kicking.
@Cogerson…Great stuff, as usual. One can tell you love doing this, and we love reading it!
You’d think Doris would have gotten more than one nomination in her hey-day, being the top star of that 1959-1964 period, and 11th all-time box office performer.
I loved the cute-sy cleverness of Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back. Rock and Tony Randall were great in those, too. But in The Man Who Knew Too Much, we saw a multi-talented star hit the nail on the head.
Hey Barbsbitsnpieces….it seems when I was growing up almost every movie my mom watched had Doris Day in the movie…especially her romantic comedies with Rock Hudson and James Garner. Since writing this hub ….I finally saw Love Me or Leave Me…a different role for her but she is great in the movie…but I am surprised she did not got a nomination for that role…they gave me to Cagney…but not her? It is a shame she stopped making movies when she was so young. As always thanks for the great comment.
Hi, again.
Here are my ten favourite Doris Day movies in alphabetical order. You will notice not all are comedies or musical comedies. Of course there is Hitchcock included. You may be surprised that as a Widmark fan I’ve not included Tunnel of Love. She was great, but it was not his best.
Calamity Jane
The Glass Bottom Boat
Julie-this is a freaky thriller.Jourdan is frightening
Love Me or Leave Me
lover Come Back
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Pajama Game
Pillow Talk-my favourite of the three with Rock
Please Don’t Eat The Daisies
That Touch of Mink
Hey Flora….I will have to add Mr. Richard Widmark to my list of actor’s to do for you….he had a very very long career. As for Day….nice list of movies you have included… I must admit…until this hub I had never heard of Julie….I will have to check it out….I love Cary Grant….but some reason I have not been a huge fan of That Touch of Mink….I always think they could have come up with a better story for these two great actors…as always thanks for your comments.