The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.
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Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
editThe top ten 1976 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocky | United Artists | $55,900,000[1] |
| 2 | A Star Is Born | Warner Bros. | $37,100,000[1] |
| 3 | King Kong | Paramount | $36,900,000[1] |
| 4 | Silver Streak | 20th Century Fox | $30,018,000[2] |
| 5 | All the President's Men | Warner Bros. | $30,000,000[1] |
| 6 | The Omen | 20th Century Fox | $28,500,000[1] |
| 7 | The Bad News Bears | Paramount | $24,800,000[1] |
| 8 | The Enforcer | Warner Bros. | $24,000,000[1] |
| 9 | In Search of Noah's Ark | Sunn Classic | $23,800,000[1] |
| 10 | Midway | Universal | $21,610,435[2] |
Events
edit- January – Paramount Pictures sets up a separate motion picture division and names David V. Picker as president.[3]
- March 22 – Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film. In one of the most lucrative business decisions in film history, Lucas declines his directing fee of $500,000 in exchange for complete ownership of merchandising and sequel rights.
- April 1 – The Rocky Horror Picture Show is officially re-released as a midnight movie at the Waverly Theater (Now the IFC Center) in Greenwich Village in New York City, starting through the run and still being shown in there as of 2013[update] all around the world.[4]
- April 9 – Alfred Hitchcock's last film, Family Plot, is released.
- August 11 – John Wayne appears in his final film, The Shootist.
- August 26 – Alan Ladd Jr. is promoted from head of worldwide production to president of 20th Century Fox's film division.
- November 15 – Michael Eisner is brought in as president and CEO of Paramount Pictures.
- November 21 – Rocky, the first in the film series opens. It becomes the highest-grossing film released in the year and goes on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- December 5 – Bound for Glory debuts and is the first motion picture in which inventor/operator Garrett Brown used his new Steadicam for filming moving scenes,[5] although its use had already been seen in Marathon Man and Rocky which were filmed later but released earlier.
- December 17 - King Kong opens to the year's highest opening weekend gross and overall box office success.
Awards
editPalme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
- Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese, United States
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
- Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson, directed by Robert Altman, United States
1976 films
editBy country/region
edit- List of American films of 1976
- List of Argentine films of 1976
- List of Australian films of 1976
- List of Bangladeshi films of 1976
- List of British films of 1976
- List of Canadian films of 1976
- List of French films of 1976
- List of Hong Kong films of 1976
- List of Indian films of 1976
- List of Japanese films of 1976
- List of Mexican films of 1976
- List of Pakistani films of 1976
- List of South Korean films of 1976
- List of Soviet films of 1976
- List of Spanish films of 1976
By genre/medium
editBirths
editUnknown - Coralie Fargeat, French film director and screenwriter
- January 2 – Paz Vega, Spanish actress
- January 4 - August Diehl, German actor
- January 6
- Johnny Yong Bosch, American actor, voice actor
- Danny Pintauro, American actor
- January 7 - Tyron Leitso, Canadian actor
- January 8 - Jenny Lewis, American singer-songwriter, musician and actress
- January 13
- Alice Winocour, French screenwriter and director
- Michael Peña, American actor
- January 15 - Dorian Missick, American actor
- January 18 - Derek Richardson, American actor
- January 20 - Wayne Bastrup, American actor and musician
- January 21 – Lars Eidinger, German film, television and stage actor
- January 27
- Chris Gauthier, English-born Canadian actor (d. 2024)
- Wojciech Klata, Polish actor
- January 28 – Lee Ingleby, English film, television and stage actor
- January 31 - Paul Scheer, American actor, comedian
- February 3
- Isla Fisher, Australian actress
- Tim Heidecker, American comedian, writer, director, actor and musician
- February 5
- Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
- Tony Jaa, Thai actor, martial artist, director and stuntman
- February 8 - Sharon Duncan-Brewster, British actress
- February 9 – Charlie Day, American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, director and musician
- February 10 - Keeley Hawes, English actress
- February 11 – Brice Beckham, American actor
- February 14 - Erica Leerhsen, American actress
- February 22 - Tamara Mello, American actress
- February 23
- Aaron Aziz, Singaporean actor, singer and film director
- Kelly Macdonald, Scottish actress
- February 25 – Rashida Jones, American actress, director, writer, and producer
- February 28 - Ali Larter, American actress and model
- February 29 - Ja Rule, American rapper and actor
- March 8 – Freddie Prinze Jr., American actor, voice actor, writer and producer
- March 13 – Danny Masterson, American actor and DJ
- March 14
- Daniel Gillies, New Zealand-Canadian actor, producer, director and screenwriter
- Corey Stoll, American actor
- March 16 – Paul Schneider, American actor
- March 19 - Rachel Blanchard, Canadian actress
- March 21 – Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress, singer and writer
- March 22 – Reese Witherspoon, American actress and producer
- March 23
- Michelle Monaghan, American actress
- Keri Russell, American actress
- March 25 - Domenick Lombardozzi, American actor
- March 26 – Amy Smart, American actress
- March 27 - Craig Wayans, American writer, producer and actor
- March 30 - Jessica Cauffiel, American actress and singer
- April 1
- Troy Baker, American voice actor
- David Oyelowo, English actor, producer, director
- April 5 – Sterling K. Brown, American actor
- April 6 - Candace Cameron Bure, American actress, producer, author, and talk show panelist
- April 13
- Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
- Glenn Howerton, American actor and writer
- April 15 – Susan Ward, American actress and model
- April 16 - Lukas Haas, American actor
- April 17 - Maïwenn, French actress and filmmaker
- April 18 - Kevin Rankin, American actor
- April 20 – Joey Lawrence, American actor
- April 23 – Gabriel Damon, American actor
- April 26
- Elisabet Reinsalu, Estonian actress
- Thurop Van Orman, American cartoonist, animator, voice actor, producer and director
- April 27 – Sally Hawkins, English actress
- April 28 - Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, Native American actor
- May 1
- Darius McCrary, American actor, rapper, singer and producer
- Violante Placido, Italian actress and singer
- May 5
- Dieter Brummer, Australian actor (d. 2021)
- Sage Stallone, American actor (d. 2012)
- May 12 - Daniel Newman, British actor
- May 14 - Martine McCutcheon, English actress and singer
- May 22 – Külli Teetamm, Estonian actress
- May 25
- Erinn Hayes, American actress and comedian
- Cillian Murphy, Irish actor
- Ethan Suplee, American film and television actor
- J. Michael Tatum, American voice actor
- May 26 - Stephen Curry, Australian comedian and actor
- May 28 - Liam O'Brien, American voice actor, writer and director
- May 29 – Yûsuke Iseya, Japanese actor
- May 30 – Omri Katz, American retired actor
- May 31 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor
- June 4 - Damion Poitier, American actor and stuntman
- June 6 - Jonathan Nolan, British-American screenwriter, producer and director
- June 8 - Eion Bailey, American actor
- June 10 - Simon Fenton, English actor
- June 17 - Scott Adkins, British actor, producer and martial artist
- June 18
- Alana de la Garza, American actress
- Blake Shelton, American singer and actor
- June 19 - Ryan Hurst, American actor
- June 21 - Dan Scanlon, American animator, storyboard artist, director and screenwriter
- June 27
- Joseph Sikora, American actor
- Wagner Moura, Brazilian actor, director and filmmaker
- June 28 - Lorraine Stanley, English actress
- June 29
- Omar Doom, American actor, musician and artist
- Bret McKenzie, New Zealand musician, comedian and actor
- July 1 - Thomas Sadoski, American actor
- July 3 - Andrea Barber, American actress and comedian
- July 5
- Jamie Elman, Canadian-American actor
- Liberty Phoenix, American former actress
- July 6 - Bashir Salahuddin, American actor, writer and comedian
- July 7 - Hamish Linklater, American actor
- July 9 – Fred Savage, American actor
- July 10 - Adrian Grenier, American actor, producer and director
- July 15
- Gabriel Iglesias, American stand-up comedian and actor
- Diane Kruger, German actress
- July 17 - Dagmara Dominczyk, Polish-American actress
- July 18 – Elsa Pataky, Spanish-Australian actress
- July 19
- Benedict Cumberbatch, English actor[6]
- Vinessa Shaw, American actress and model
- July 31 – Mela Lee, American voice actress
- August 2 – Sam Worthington, Australian actor
- August 6
- Andero Ermel, Estonian actor
- Melissa George, Australian actress
- Soleil Moon Frye, American actress and director
- August 8 - Nigél Thatch, American actor
- August 9
- Jessica Capshaw, American actress
- Audrey Tautou, French actress
- August 16 - Kinga Philipps, Polish-American actress
- August 23 - Scott Caan, American actor, director and writer
- August 24 - Alex O'Loughlin, Australian actor, director and writer
- August 25 – Alexander Skarsgard, Swedish actor
- August 26
- Mike Colter, American actor
- Byron Lawson, Canadian actor
- August 27 – Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress, model and voice artist
- August 30 - Lillo Brancato, American actor
- September 3 – Vivek Oberoi, Indian actor
- September 5 – Carice van Houten, Dutch actress and singer
- September 6
- Domenica Cameron-Scorsese, American actress
- Robin Atkin Downes, English actor and voice actor
- Naomie Harris, English actress
- September 7 - Oliver Hudson, American actor
- September 9
- Emma de Caunes, French actress
- Lúcia Moniz, Portuguese singer and actress
- September 13 - Colin Trevorrow, American filmmaker
- September 18 - Denis Ménochet, French actor
- September 20
- Jon Bernthal, American actor
- Enuka Okuma, Canadian actress
- September 21 - Eric Michael Cole, American actor, producer and editor
- September 22 - Sala Baker, New Zealand actress and stuntman
- September 24 - Matthew Gravelle, Welsh actor
- September 26 – Kersti Heinloo, Estonian actress
- October 1 - Danielle Bisutti, American actress and singer
- October 3 – Seann William Scott, American actor, comedian and producer
- October 4 – Alicia Silverstone, American actress
- October 6 - Brett Gelman, American actor and comedian
- October 9
- Sam Riegel, American voice actor, director and writer
- Nick Swardson, American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter and producer
- October 11 - Emily Deschanel, American actress
- October 14 - Chang Chen, Taiwanese actor
- October 16 - Gil Kenan, British-American filmmaker
- October 19 - Desmond Harrington, American actor
- October 20 – Dan Fogler, American actor, comedian and writer
- October 21 – Andrew Scott, Irish actor
- October 23 – Ryan Reynolds, Canadian actor and film producer
- October 26 - Florence Kasumba, Ugandan-born German actress
- October 31 – Piper Perabo, American actress
- November 1 - Chad Lindberg, American actor
- November 5 - Sebastian Arcelus, American actor
- November 7 - Melyssa Ade, Canadian actress
- November 19 - Happy Anderson, American actor
- November 23 - Page Kennedy, American actor and rapper
- November 24
- Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Japanese actor
- Michael Roof, American actor and comedian (d. 2009)
- November 28 - Ryan Kwanten, Australian actor and producer
- November 29
- Chadwick Boseman, American actor and playwright (d. 2020)
- Anna Faris, American actress, podcaster and writer
- December 1 - Dean O'Gorman, New Zealand actor
- December 3 - Richard Cawthorne, Australian actor
- December 5 - Amy Acker, American actress
- December 7 – Mark Duplass, American filmmaker, actor, writer, and musician
- December 8 – Dominic Monaghan, English actor
- December 16 - Mark Ashworth, English actor
- December 23 - Kyle Kinane, American stand-up comedian and actor
- December 26 - Eugene Wanangwa Khumbanyiwa, South African voice actor
- December 27 - Aaron Stanford, American actor
- December 28 - Joe Manganiello, American actor
- December 29
- Dome Karukoski, Finnish director
- Danny McBride, American actor, comedian and writer
- December 31 - Chris Terrio, American screenwriter and director
Deaths
edit| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 1 | Walter Janssen | 88 | Germany | Actor | |
| 12 | Agatha Christie | 85 | UK | Writer | ||
| 13 | Margaret Leighton | 53 | UK | Actress | ||
| 18 | Sonia Dresdel | 66 | UK | Actress | ||
| 23 | Paul Dupuis | 62 | France | Actor | ||
| 23 | Paul Robeson | 77 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
| 29 | Michael Gwynn | 59 | UK | Actor | ||
| February | 4 | Roger Livesey | 69 | UK | Actor | |
| 11 | Lee J. Cobb | 64 | US | Actor | ||
| 11 | John Twist | 77 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 12 | Sal Mineo | 37 | US | Actor | ||
| 13 | Lily Pons | 77 | France | Singer, Actress | ||
| 13 | John Lounsbery | 64 | US | Animator | ||
| 15 | Maria Corda | 77 | Hungary | Actress | ||
| 16 | Campbell Singer | 66 | UK | Actor | ||
| 24 | Peter Madden | 71 | UK | Actor | ||
| 26 | Frieda Inescort | 75 | UK | Actress | ||
| March | 3 | Doris Hill | 70 | US | Actress | |
| 5 | Charles Lederer | 69 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 14 | Busby Berkeley | 80 | US | Director, Choreographer | ||
| 17 | Luchino Visconti | 69 | Italy | Director, Writer | ||
| 20 | Michael Goodliffe | 61 | UK | Actor | ||
| 28 | Richard Arlen | 76 | US | Actor | ||
| April | 2 | Ray Teal | 74 | US | Actor | |
| 4 | George Pastell | 53 | Cyprus | Actor | ||
| 5 | Howard Hughes | 70 | US | Director, Producer | ||
| 5 | Robert Lord | 75 | US | Screenwriter, Producer | ||
| 11 | Liam Dunn | 59 | US | Actor | ||
| 12 | Paul Ford | 74 | US | Actor | ||
| 21 | Léonide Moguy | 75 | Russia | Director, Writer | ||
| 25 | Carol Reed | 69 | UK | Director, Writer | ||
| 26 | Neil McCallum | 46 | Canada | Actor | ||
| 26 | Sid James | 62 | UK | Actor | ||
| 29 | Thelma Connell | 63 | UK | Film Editor | ||
| May | 3 | David Bruce | 62 | US | Actor | |
| 7 | Alan Baxter | 67 | US | Actor | ||
| 27 | Hilde Hildebrand | 78 | Germany | Actress | ||
| 27 | Ruth McDevitt | 80 | US | Actress | ||
| June | 5 | Violet Wilkey | 73 | US | Actress | |
| 6 | Victor Varconi | 85 | Hungary | Actor | ||
| 9 | Sybil Thorndike | 93 | UK | Actress | ||
| 10 | Adolph Zukor | 103 | US | Producer, Studio Executive | ||
| 25 | Johnny Mercer | 66 | US | Songwriter | ||
| 28 | Stanley Baker | 48 | UK | Actor | ||
| July | 2 | Frances Howard | 73 | US | Actress | |
| 7 | Norman Foster | 72 | US | Actor, Director | ||
| 12 | James Wong Howe | 76 | China | Cinematographer | ||
| 17 | Rina Morelli | 67 | Italy | Actress | ||
| 28 | Lucie Mannheim | 77 | Germany | Actress | ||
| August | 2 | Fritz Lang | 85 | Germany | Director, Writer | |
| 6 | William Mervyn | 64 | UK | Actor | ||
| 10 | Ray Corrigan | 74 | US | Actor | ||
| 17 | William Redfield | 49 | US | Actor | ||
| 17 | Murvyn Vye | 60 | US | Actor | ||
| 18 | Luigi Serventi | 91 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 28 | Alastair Sim | 75 | UK | Actor | ||
| September | 10 | Dalton Trumbo | 70 | US | Screenwriter | |
| 30 | Paul Dehn | 63 | UK | Screenwriter | ||
| October | 5 | Barbara Nichols | 47 | US | Actress | |
| 14 | Edith Evans | 88 | UK | Actress | ||
| November | 3 | Ramsay Hill | 86 | US | Actor, Technical Advisor | |
| 15 | Jean Gabin | 72 | France | Actor | ||
| 22 | Rupert Davies | 60 | UK | Actor | ||
| 28 | Rosalind Russell | 69 | US | Actress | ||
| 29 | Godfrey Cambridge | 43 | US | Actor | ||
| December | 3 | Mary Nash | 92 | US | Actress | |
| 8 | Cathy Downs | 50 | US | Actress | ||
| 12 | Jack Cassidy | 49 | US | Actor | ||
| 20 | Walter Fitzgerald | 80 | UK | Actor |
Film debuts
edit- Victoria Abril – Robin and Marian
- Shohreh Aghdashloo – The Chess Game of the Wind
- Dan Aykroyd – Love at First Sight
- Albert Brooks – Taxi Driver
- Dean Cain – Elmer
- Nicholas Campbell – The Omen
- Chow Yun-fat – Tou tai ren
- Cam Clarke – Baker's Hawk
- James Cromwell – Murder by Death
- Ron Dean – The Last Affair
- Michael Dorn – Rocky
- Bill Duke – Car Wash
- Joe Flaherty – Tunnel Vision
- Paul Freeman – Whose Child Am I?
- Richard Griffiths – It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet
- Mariel Hemingway – Lipstick
- Ernie Hudson – Leadbelly
- Amy Irving – Carrie
- Michael Kamen – The Next Man
- Alice Krige – Vergeet My Nie
- Jessica Lange – King Kong
- Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Spy Who Never Was
- Delroy Lindo – Find the Lady
- Mark Margolis – The Opening of Misty Beethoven
- Marc McClure – Freaky Friday
- Edie McClurg – Carrie
- Sam McMurray – The Front
- Glenn Morshower – Drive-In
- Bill Murray – Next Stop, Greenwich Village
- Lena Olin – Face to Face
- Holmes Osborne – The Student Body
- Stuart Pankin – Next Stop, Greenwich Village
- Tim Pigott-Smith – Aces High
- Mary Kay Place – Bound for Glory
- Jonathan Pryce – Voyage of the Damned
- John Ratzenberger – The Ritz
- James Rebhorn – The Yum Yum Girls
- Isabella Rossellini – A Matter of Time
- Cecilia Roth – No toquen a la nena
- Deep Roy – The Pink Panther Strikes Again
- Mercedes Ruehl – Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
- Theresa Russell – The Last Tycoon
- Helen Shaver – Shoot
- Brooke Shields – Alice, Sweet Alice
- Ron Silver – Tunnel Vision
- P.J. Soles – Carrie
- Carol Sutton – Sounder, Part 2
- Holland Taylor – The Next Man
- Tim Thomerson – Car Wash
- Charlene Tilton – Freaky Friday
- Frank Vincent – The Death Collector
- John Waters (actor) – End Play
- Tom Wilkinson – The Shadow Line
- Debra Winger – Slumber Party '57
- Keone Young – Baby Blue Marine
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story. Wallflower Press. pp. 360–361. ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6.
- ^ a b Top 20 Films of 1976 by Domestic Revenue
- ^ "Day-By-Day News Summary, Oct. '75-Sept. '76". Daily Variety. October 26, 1976. p. 208.
- ^ rock Horror Picture Show film booking in Feb 2011 Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Steadicam 30th anniversary press release". Archived from the original on 2014-04-30.
- ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch". BFI. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ Stewart, William T. (1981). International Film Necrology. New York: Garland Publishing. p. 244. ISBN 0-8240-9552-9. See also:
- Seibel, George (September 24, 1935). "Saladin Gets the Vote as Richard Makes War and Love in 'Crusades'". Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph. p. 14.
- Blum, Daniel, ed. (1962, 1982). Daniel Blum's Screen World. Cheshire, CT: Biblio & Tannen. p. 21. ISBN 0-8196-0303-1.