Top Grossing 1956 Movies

1956’s Around The World In 80 Days

This movie page looks at The Top Grossing Movies of 1956.   Currently when you type in the search words….”Top Grossing Movies of 1956″ you do not get much information.   So in an effort to get more information out there…we have decided to unlock our 1956 movie database vault and share the information we have collected over the years.

To make this list a movie had to be made in 1956 (as listed on IMDB.com).  Obviously many movies made in 1955 earned box office dollars in 1956.  On the other side many movies made in 1956 made money in 1957 and later.  This page will looks at 152 Top Grossing Movies of 1956.  The movies are listed in a massive table that shows who starred in the movie, had much the movie grossed when it was released and how that gross means in today’s money.

Obviously this is not all of the 1956 movies…..but since our website is dynamic, ever time we add a 1956 movie….it will automatically be added to this page.

The Ten Commandments (1956) is one of the biggest box office hits of all-time.

Our UMR Top 50 of 1956

Top Grossing Movies of 1956 Can Be Sorted 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Column One gives title of movie and in some cases a link to the trailer
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1956 by the stars or in some cases the director of the movie.
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1956 by domestic actual box office grosses (in millions)
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1956 by domestic adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1956 by critic and audience rating
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1956 by Oscar wins and Oscar nominations
  • Sort Top Grossing Movies of 1956 by it’s Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score
James Dean in 1956’s Giant

1956 Box Office Grosses – Adjusted World Wide

The top 25 earners in World Wide Box Office for 1956

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

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38 thoughts on “Top Grossing 1956 Movies”

    1. Hey Bobby….it did come out in 1956….but I do not have a reliable source to calculate the box office gross….which makes it hard to include….maybe one day I will have it….and will be sure to include Godzilla on this page.

      Reply

  3. Hi

    I’ve always enjoyed watching The Ten Commandments, fantastic cast, although Heston’s make up towards the end was a bit dodgy. I think it would have been worthy of winning best film. Certainly over Around The World. Although it did give Nivin’s career a real shot in the arm. One movie I really love was The Man Who Never Was. One of those British War movies made in the 50’s. The Searchers was probably the best movie of 56 and one of Wayne’s best performances. High Society is another favourite, especially the duet scene between Crosby and Sinatra. I haven’t seen Giant so I can’t comment but Friendly Persuasion and Carousel I think were pretty dull.
    I recently seen The Court Jester, arguably Danny Kay’s best movie. Oh and of course The King and I, another worthy Oscar winner. Another interesting page, thanks.
    Interesting to see the worldwide figures, I don’t see Around the World mentioned on the list?

    Reply

    1. Hey Chris….good breakdown on numerous 1956 movies. I used to get so confused about the Best Picture Oscar winner for this year….getting it mixed up with Heston’s other epic 1950s movie Ben-Hur. Around the World in 80 Days had all the good press to help it win the big award.

      Yet another High Society fan…..I thought it was ok….but not nearly as entertaining as The Philadelphia Story. I agree The Searchers might be the best of the bunch…even though it did not even get a Best Picture Oscar nomination.

      Yul Brynner had an awesome year for sure….with The King And I being only one of his three movies in the UMR Top 10….thinking only Sidney Poitier in 1967 can make the same claim.

      Yep…no worldwide grosses for Around the World in 80 days. Thanks for the feedback and the visit…always appreciated.

      Reply

  4. Hi Cogerson,
    Great job on rolling out these 1950s annual pages. I think I did not comment since 1950, but I have been following with interest. I find particularly interesting the fact that there was such a spike in box office returns in 1954. As your pages show, since the peak box office year of 1946, there was a gradual reduction in adjusted films grosses, which probably reached its lowest point in 1952. For example, I have counted from your charts the number of films of each year between 1946 and 1956 that grossed at least $200 million in adjusted numbers:

    1946: 33(!)
    1947: 21
    1948: 9
    1949: 8
    1950: 6
    1951: 8
    1952: 5
    1953: 8
    1954: 25
    1955: 19
    1956: 17

    In exploring this a bit further, I noticed that in 1954, the ratio of adjusted gross to actual gross was actually higher than the ratios for the early 1950s. This seemed strange to me as usually, the ratio gets smaller each year as actual gross gets closer adjusted gross. In other words, as long as there is some inflation, there should be less difference between the actual and adjusted numbers as one moves forward. As I could not believe that you would make such a humongous mistake, I searched some information on US ticket prices in the 1950s, and it indeed appears that there was a significant reduction in average ticket prices in 1954 and that prices only got back to their early 50s level by around 1960. So, assuming this is the reason for the reduction in the ratio, then it all made sense. This led me to wonder if the increased in box office returns from 1954 were precisely due to the fact that the reduction in ticket prices resulted in many more people going to the movies and if this was a purposeful effort from movie theaters to get people away from their TV sets.

    This phenomenon has probably been researched and I’m sure I’m not discovering any-thing new here, but there may be a lesson for today’s movie theaters. With the average ticket price in my Canadian neighborhood being around $12 (about $9 US), one has to think twice about taking the family to the movies these days on a modest budget!

    Anyway, favorite films from 1956 for me are: The Ten Commandments (never get tired of it), The Searchers, Moby Dick, Bus Stop and Lust for Life. Not as great, but interesting to note for Robert Wagner’s darkest and most memorable film performance: A Kiss Before Dying.

    Reply

  5. These are the 119 (back in triple digits ) 1956 films I’ve seen between December 1992 when I hit film 8000 and December 2016. Other 1956 epics like Around the World in 80 Days and The Ten Commandments both of which. I saw in the early 70’s when they were re-issued prior to their network TV debuts and others like Godzilla, Dance with Me Henry were seen on TV. Key below is title, studio, stars when I listed them, date seen and source whether VHS, DVD or TV channel.

    AMBASSADOR’S DAUGHTER 1956 UA OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND MYRNA LOY 6/26 2007 TCM
    BABY AND THE BATTLESHIP (U.K.) 1956 DCA JOHN MILLS RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH 1/9 1994 21
    BABY DOLL 1956 WB KARL MALDEN CARROLL BAKER 12/27 1992 A & E
    BACK FROM ETERNITY 1956 RKO ROBERT RYAN ANITA EKBERG 6/12 2002 TCM
    BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN 1956 UA GUY MADISON PATRICIA MEDINA 8/17 1996 TNT
    BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE 1956 FOX GORDON MACRAE ERNEST BORGNINE 3/18 2000 MMAX
    BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL 1956 FOX ROBERT WAGNER TERRY MOORE 1/2 1993 AMC
    BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT 1956 RKO DANA ANDREWS JOAN FONTAINE 12/11 2000 TCM
    BLACK SLEEP 1956 UA BASIL RATHBONE 10/15 1994 TNT
    BLACK WHIP 1956 FOX HUGH MARLOWE COLEEN GRAY 3/25 2000 WEST
    BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL 1956 COLUMBIA 10/27 2016 DVD (serial, the last American one)
    BOSS, THE 1956 UA JOHN PAYNE DON AVEDON 6/20 2012 TCM
    BRAVE ONE 1956 RKO XXX XXX 2/11 1996 AMC
    BROKEN STAR 1956 UA HOWARD DUFF LITA BARON 3/26 2007 TCM
    BURNING HILLS 1956 WB TAB HUNTER NATALIE WOOD 8/20 1996 TNT
    CATERED AFFAIR 1956 MGM BETTE DAVIS ERNEST BORGNINE 1/19 1999 TCM
    CHA CHA CHA BOOM 1956 COL XXX XXX 4/15 2008 TCM
    COMANCHE 1956 UA DANA ANDREWS 1/14 1995 TNT
    CRIME AGAINST JOE 1956 UA JULIE LONDON JOHN BROMFIELD 7/23 2008 TCM
    CRIME IN THE STREETS 1956 AA JOHN CASSAVETES SAL MINEO 1/10 2011 TCM
    DAKOTA INCIDENT 1956 REP LINDA DARNELL DALE ROBERTSON 6/29 2000 WEST
    DAVY CROCKETT AND THE RIVER PIRATES 1956 BV FESS PARKER BUDDY EBSEN 7/5 1994 DIS
    DAY OF FURY 1956 UNI DALE ROBERTSON MARA CORDAY 8/21 1994 AMC
    DEATH OF A SCOUNDREL 1956 RKO GEORGE SANDERS YVONNE DE CARLO 4/27 2010 TCM
    DIAMOND HUNTERS (FR-MEX.) 1956 SIMONE SIGNORET 6/12 1995 55
    EDDY DUCHIN STORY 1956 COL TYRONE POWER KIM NOVAK 10/1 1994 TNT
    ESCAPE FROM THE IRON CURTAIN (U.K.) 1956 E.J. FANCY THEODORE BIKEL 5/2 2012 TCM
    EVERYTHING BUT THE TRUTH 1956 UNI MAUREEN O’HARA JOHN FORSYTHE 8/6 1994 AMC
    FEMALE JUNGLE 1956 AIP LAWRENCE TIERNEY 7/11 1994 TAPE
    FINGER OF GUILT (U.K.) 1956 RKO RICHARD BASEHART MARY MURPHY 5/3 2004 TCM
    FIRE MAIDENS FROM OUTER SPACE (U.K.) 1956 EROS ANTHONY DEXTER SUSAN SHAW 5/19 1994 COM
    FLIGHT TO HONG KONG 1956 UA RORY CALHOUN BARBARA RUSH 8/30 1999 TCM
    FOREIGN INTRIGUE 1956 UA ROBERT MITCHUM 9/15 2002 TCM
    FRENCH CAN CAN (FR.) 1956 UMPO 4/13 2015 TCM
    FRONTIER GAMBLER 1956 AFD JIM DAVIS 4/5 2000 WEST
    FURY AT GUNSIGHT PASS 1956 COL DAVID BRIAN NEVILLE BRAND 3/4 2000 WEST
    GHOST TOWN 1956 UA KENT TAYLOR JOHN SMITH 9/21 2008 TCM
    GIRL HE LEFT BEHIND 1956 WB TAB HUNTER NATALIE WOOD 6/30 1996 FAM
    GLORY 1956 RKO MARGARET O’BRIEN 6/24 1993 TNT
    GREAT AMERICAN PASTIME 1956 MGM TOM EWELL ANNE FRANCIS 7/29 2003 TCM
    GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE 1956 BV FESS PARKER JEFFREY HUNTER 6/4 1995 DIS
    GUN BROTHERS 1956 UA BUSTER CRABBE NEVILLE BRAND 6/29 1993 TNT
    HELL IN KOREA (U.K.) 1956 DCA STEPHEN BOYD RONALD LEWIS 6/26 2010 TCM
    HILDA CRANE 1956 FOX JEAN SIMMONS GUY MADISON 3/19 2000 LOVE
    I KILLED WILD BILL HICKOK 1956 WHEELER COMP JOHN FORBES HELEN WESTCOTT 11/20 2013 DVD
    INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN 1956 AA LON CHANEY JR. 3/14 1993 TNT
    KENTUCKY RIFLE 1956 HOWCO XXX XXX 10/9 1994 55
    KETTLES IN THE OZARKS 1956 UNI XXX XXX 12/24 1996 TAPE
    KILLER IS LOOSE 1956 UA JOSEPH COTTEN RHONDA FLEMING 7/11 1999 TCM
    KING AND FOUR QUEENS 1956 UA CLARK GABLE ELEANOR PARKER 2/2 1994 TNT
    LAST FRONTIER 1956 COL VICTOR MATURE GUY MADISON 6/30 1993 TNT
    LONE RANGER 1956 WB CLAYTON MOORE 7/31 1999 AMC
    LOVERS AND LOLLIPOPS 1956 TRANS LUX XXX XXX 6/19 1997 AMC
    MAN FROM DEL RIO 1956 UA ANTHONY QUINN KATY JURADO 4/22 1999 TCM
    MAN IN THE ROAD (U.K.) 1956 REP DEREK FARR ELLA RAINES 9/9 2010 TCM
    MAN IN THE VAULT 1956 RKO WILLIAM CAMPBELL BARRY KROEGER 6/16 2007 TCM
    MANFISH 1956 UA JOHN BROMFIELD LON CHANEY JR. 4/5 2010 DVD
    MIRACLE IN THE RAIN 1956 WB JANE WYMAN VAN JOHNSON 7/21 1997 AMC
    MOLE PEOPLE 1956 UNI JOHN AGAR 9/4 1995 SCI
    MONTE CARLO STORY 1956 UA VITTORIO DE SICA MARLENE DIETRICH 1/4 2003 TCM
    MURDER ON APPROVAL (U.K.) 1956 RKO TOM CONWAY 1/27 2002 MYST
    NAKED HILLS 1956 AA DAVID WAYNE 1/3 1993 TNT
    ODONGO (U.K.) 1956 COL MACDONALD CAREY RHONDA FLEMING 11/18 1992 TNT
    OUR MISS BROOKS 1956 WB XXX XXX 5/15 1994 21
    PHANTOM FROM 10, 000 LEAGUES 1956 AMERICAN RELEASING KENT TAYLOR 5/2 1994 55
    PLEASE MURDER ME 1956 DCA ANGELA LANSBURY RAYMOND BURR 4/1 2007 DVD
    PORT AFRIQUE (U.K.) 1956 COL PIER ANGELI PHIL CAREY 7/30 2014 TCM
    POSTMARK FOR DANGER (U.K.) 1956 RKO TERRY MOORE ROBERT BEATTY 1/16 2003 TCM
    POWER AND THE PRIZE 1956 MGM ROBERT TAYLOR 9/27 2001 TCM
    PRICE OF FEAR 1956 UNI MERLE OBERON LEX BARKER 6/3 1995 AMC
    QUEEN OF BABYLON (IT.) 1956 FOX RHONDA FLEMING RICARDO MONTALBAN 6/5 2000 FXM
    RANSOM 1956 MGM GLENN FORD DONNA REED 11/9 1993 TNT
    RAW EDGE 1956 UNI RORY CALHOUN YVONNE DE CARLO 5/10 1995 AMC
    REACH FOR THE SKY (U.K.) 1956 RANK KENNETH MORE ALEXANDER KNOX 1/21 2012 TCM
    REBEL IN TOWN 1956 UA JOHN PAYNE RUTH ROMAN 8/22 1993 TNT
    RIDE THE HIGH IRON 1956 COL DON TAYLOR SALLY FORREST 11/3 2011 TCM
    ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK 1956 COL XXX XXX 12/3 2001 AMC
    RODAN (JAP.) 1956 DCA XXX XXX 3/31 1996 TNT
    RUMBLE ON THE DOCKS 1956 COL JAMES DARREN LAURIE CARROLL 6/8 2014 TCM
    RUNAWAY DAUGHTERS 1956 AIP ANNA STEN 2/2 2000 AMC
    RUNNING TARGET 1956 UA ARTHUR FRANZ 12/3 1994 TNT
    SAFARI (U.K.) 1956 COL VICTOR MATURE JANET LEIGH 4/17 1994 TNT
    SCREAMING EAGLES 1956 AA TOM TRYON 3/12 2000 ACTN
    SEARCH FOR BRIDEY MURPHY 1956 PAR LOUIS HAYWARD TERESA WRIGHT 2/5 1995 TAPE
    SECRET OF TREASURE MOUNTAIN 1956 COL 6/12 2015 WEST
    SECRETS OF LIFE (DOC.) 1956 BV XXX XXX 4/22 1995 DIS
    SERENADE 1956 WB MARIO LANZA JOAN FONTAINE 2/10 1996 AMC
    SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD 1956 CINERAMA REL. 11/27 2011 DVD
    SHE-CREATURE 1956 AIP CHESTER MORRIS 1/25 1995 SCI
    SHOWDOWN AT ABILENE 1956 UNI JOCK MAHONEY MARTHA HYER 3/3 1996 AMC
    SMILEY (AUSTRALIA) 1956 FOX XXX XXX 11/8 2010 FXM
    SPANISH GARDENER (U.K.) 1956 RANK DIRK BOGARDE 5/28 1994 55
    SQUARE JUNGLE 1956 UNI TONY CURTIS 5/14 1995 AMC
    STAR IN THE DUST 1956 UNI JOHN AGAR MAMIE VAN DOREN 11/15 1995 AMC
    STEEL JUNGLE 1956 WB 11/19 2014 TCM
    STORM FEAR 1956 UA CORNEL WILDE JEAN WALLACE 1/24 1994 TNT
    STRANGE ADVENTURE 1956 REP BEN COOPER 9/7 2000 MYST
    SWORD AND THE DRAGON (RUS.) 1956 VALIANT XXX XXX 7/13 1993 TAPE
    THE GUNSLINGER 1956 AIP JOHN IRELAND BEVERLY GARLAND 4/17 1994 COM
    THE PEACEMAKER 1956 UA XXX XXX 4/29 2000 WEST
    THE SHARKFIGHTERS 1956 UA VICTOR MATURE 3/13 1994 TNT
    THE WEREWOLF 1956 COL XXX XXX 12/28 1993 TNT
    THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW 1956 UNI BARBARA STANWYCK FRED MACMURRAY 7/11 1994 AMC
    THESE WILDER YEARS 1956 MGM JAMES CAGNEY BARBARA STANWYCK 11/18 2000 TCM
    THIRD KEY (U.K.) 1956 RANK JACK HAWKINS 9/30 1995 31
    THREE OUTLAWS 1956 AFD NEVILLE BRAND BRUCE BENNETT 4/18 2000 WEST
    TIME TABLE 1956 UA 5/22 2016 TCM
    TOWN LIKE ALICE (U.K.) 1956 RANK VIRGINIA MCKENNA PETER FINCH 9/21 2008 TCM
    TOY TIGER 1956 UNI JEFF CHANDLER LARAINE DAY 6/20 1994 AMC
    TWO-GUN LADY 1956 AFD PEGGIE CASTLE 1/8 2003 WEST
    UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS: THE TRUE STORY OF FLYING SAUCERS (DOC.) 1956 UA 12/28 2011 TCM
    VAGABOND KING 1956 PAR KATHRYN GRAYSON 9/8 1993 AMC
    WALK THE PROUD LAND 1956 UNI AUDIE MURPHY ANNE BANCROFT 9/17 1995 AMC
    WAR AND PEACE 1956 PAR AUDREY HEPBURN HENRY FONDA 12/22 1993 BRAVO
    WHITE SQUAW 1956 COL 3/8 2015 WEST
    WILD PARTY 1956 UA ANTHONY QUINN 4/13 1997 TMC
    WORLD WITHOUT END 1956 AA HUGH MARLOWE NANCY GATES 7/5 1994 TNT
    X: THE UNKNOWN (U.K.) 1956 WB XXX XXX 2/22 1997 AMC
    YOUNG GUNS 1956 AA RUSS TAMBLYN GLORIA TALBOTT 3/22 1993 TNT

    Question – Do you think as DVD’s disappear in stores like Target and Walmart there is a chance some recent theatrical films have skipped DVD release altogether? I’m talking hit pictures here not indies that might make a couple of grand.

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan
      1. As always…thanks for the lists that you provide….they are greatly appreciated.
      2. 119….good recovery….we will allow you to keep your movie buff membership card….lol.
      3. I am sure seeing Around the World in 80 Days and The Ten Commandments on the big screen was an amazing experience.
      4. So what did you think of These Wilder Years?…for a screen team of Cagney and Stanwyck…that is a movie that hardly ever gets any mention.
      5. As for your question….that day is coming….but it is still down the road. DVD/BluRay sales are down….but they are still in the billions. But streaming is the way of the future. So the days of going to WalMart/Best Buy/Target to buy a DVD are coming to an end. Heck….Best Buy is pretty much only displaying the newest releases….their huge DVD racks are no longer in the store.
      6. I miss going into my local BlockBusters and buying some used dvds……many of the movies in my collection came through good old BlockBuster.
      Good information.

      Reply

      1. On my system I gave These Wilder Years **1/2 stars out of 4 stars which means it falls somewhere in the middle. I really have no memories of it, they all become a blur, just part of lists. Monthly I update films I saw in theatres or on DVD (new releases only). I also log films I give ***1/2 or **** plus the occasional 1/2* or 0 *. This is for the record. Everything from 3 to 1 is listed on index cards which I manually look up if need be. As I say I’ve logged them all since 8000 but I have to refer to cards for the first 7999 and the ratings for all 22000 whatever I’ve seen is only on cards and no notes outside studio and dates seen since December 1992.

        Reply

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