1968 in film

Last updated October 16, 2025

The year 1968 in film involved some significant events, most notably with the release of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey , as well as two highly successful musical films, Funny Girl and Oliver! , the former earning Barbra Streisand the Academy Award for Best Actress (an honour she shared with Katharine Hepburn for her role in The Lion in Winter ) and the latter winning both the Best Picture and Best Director awards.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1968 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1968
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Funny Girl	Columbia	$24,900,000^[1]
2	2001: A Space Odyssey	MGM	$21,500,000^[1]
3	The Odd Couple	Paramount	$20,000,000^[1]
4	Bullitt	Warner Bros.	$19,000,000^[1]
5	Oliver!	Columbia	$16,800,000^[1]
6	Planet of the Apes	20th Century Fox	$15,000,000^[1]
7	Rosemary's Baby	Paramount	$15,000,000^[1]
8	Romeo and Juliet	Paramount	$14,500,000^[1]
9	Yours, Mine and Ours	United Artists	$11,500,000^[1]
10	The Lion in Winter	AVCO Embassy	$10,006,000^[2]

Events

November 1 – The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.

Awards

Category/Organization	26th Golden Globe Awards February 24, 1969		41st Academy Awards April 14, 1969	22nd BAFTA Awards April 14, 1969
Category/Organization	Drama	Comedy or Musical	41st Academy Awards April 14, 1969	22nd BAFTA Awards April 14, 1969
Best Film	The Lion in Winter	Oliver!		The Graduate
Best Director	Paul Newman Rachel, Rachel		Carol Reed Oliver!	Mike Nichols The Graduate
Best Actor	Peter O'Toole The Lion in Winter	Ron Moody Oliver!	Cliff Robertson Charly	Spencer Tracy Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Best Actress	Joanne Woodward Rachel, Rachel	Barbra Streisand Funny Girl	Katharine Hepburn The Lion in Winter Barbra Streisand Funny Girl	Katharine Hepburn Guess Who's Coming to Dinner The Lion in Winter
Best Supporting Actor	Daniel Massey Star		Jack Albertson The Subject Was Roses	Ian Holm The Bofors Gun
Best Supporting Actress	Ruth Gordon Rosemary's Baby			Billie Whitelaw Twisted Nerve Charlie Bubbles
Best Screenplay, Adapted	Stirling Silliphant Charly		James Goldman The Lion in Winter	Buck Henry and Calder Willingham The Graduate
Best Screenplay, Original	Stirling Silliphant Charly		Mel Brooks The Producers	Buck Henry and Calder Willingham The Graduate
Best Original Score	Alex North The Shoes of the Fisherman		John Barry The Lion in Winter Johnny Green Oliver!	John Barry The Lion in Winter
Best Original Song	"The Windmills of Your Mind" The Thomas Crown Affair			N/A
Best Foreign Language Film	War and Peace			N/A

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): canceled due to events of May 1968

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: Ratlos (Artists under the Big Top: Perplexed), directed by Alexander Kluge, West Germany

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Ole dole doff (Who Saw Him Die?), directed by Jan Troell, Sweden

1968 films

By genre/medium

Short film series

Births

January 1 - Tom DeSanto, American producer and screenwriter
January 2
- Cuba Gooding Jr., American actor
- Evan Parke, Jamaican-born American actor
January 5 - Carrie Ann Inaba, American actress and singer
January 6 – John Singleton, American director and writer (d. 2019)
January 9 – Joey Lauren Adams, American actress
January 12
- Farrah Forke, American actress (d. 2022)
- Rachael Harris, American actor and comedian
January 14 – LL Cool J, American rapper, actor
January 15
- Rosanne Sorrentino, American former child actress
- Chad Lowe, American actor
January 17 - Louis Lombardi, American actor
January 18 - David Ayer, American filmmaker
January 19 – Matt Hill, Canadian actor, voice actor, comedian
January 20 - Chris Miller, American voice actor, animator, director, screenwriter and storyboard artist
January 22 - Frank Leboeuf, French actor
January 29 – Edward Burns, American actor and producer
January 31 - Matt King, English actor, DJ and comedian
February 1 – Pauly Shore, American actor
February 6 - The Lady of Rage, American rapper, singer and actress
February 8 - Gary Coleman, American actor and comedian (d. 2010)
February 12
- Josh Brolin, American actor
- Chynna Phillips, American singer and actress
February 13 - Kelly Hu, American actress, voice artist, former fashion model and beauty queen
February 14
- Alicia Borrachero, Spanish actress
- Phil Lewis, American actor, comedian and director
February 15 - Robert Schwentke, German director and screenwriter
February 18 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
February 21 - Patrick Gallagher, Canadian actor
February 24 - Mitch Hedberg, American stand-up comedian (d. 2005)
March 2 – Daniel Craig, British actor
March 4 – Patsy Kensit, English actress
March 6 - Moira Kelly, American actress
March 12
- Aaron Eckhart, American actor
- Jason Lively, American actor
March 14 - James Frain, English actor
March 15 - Sean Bridgers, American actor, screenwriter and producer
March 18 - Juan Carlos Vellido, Spanish actor
March 20
- Jaime Cardriche, American actor (d. 2000)
- Lawrence Makoare, New Zealand actor of Māori descent
March 21 - Greg Ellis, English actor
March 23 - Abigail Cruttenden, English actress
March 26 - Max Perlich, American actor
March 29
- Sabrina Impacciatore, Italian actress
- Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress and singer
March 30
- Donna D'Errico, American actress
- Celine Dion, Canadian singer
- Roland Kickinger, Austrian actor and bodybuilder
April 3 - Charlotte Coleman, English actress (d. 2001)
April 8
- Patricia Arquette, American actress
- Shawn Fonteno, American actor and rapper
April 10 - Orlando Jones, American stand-up comedian and actor
April 11 - Dimitri Diatchenko, American actor (d. 2020)
April 12 - Alicia Coppola, American actress
April 13 - Andrew Pleavin, English actor
April 14 – Anthony Michael Hall, American actor
April 16 - John Gatins, American screenwriter, director and actor
April 17 - Adam McKay, American director, producer, screenwriter and comedian
April 18
- Mary Birdsong, American actress, comedian, writer and singer
- David Hewlett, British-born Canadian actor, writer and director
April 19 – Ashley Judd, American actress
April 22 - Piera Coppola, American voice actress
April 23 – Chris Williams, Canadian-American animator, director, screenwriter and voice actor
April 24
- Aidan Gillen, Irish actor
- Stacy Haiduk, American actress
April 29 - Jürgen Vogel, German actor and producer
May 3 – Amy Ryan, American actress
May 6 - Paul Bazely, English actor
May 7 - Traci Lords, American actress and singer
May 10 - Adrian Scarborough, English actor
May 11 - Jeffrey Donovan, American actor
May 12 - Tony Hawk, American actor and professional skateboarder
May 16 - Stephen Mangan, English actor, comedian and presenter
May 19 - Kyle Eastwood, American film composer
May 20 – Timothy Olyphant, American actor
May 21 - Tom Goodman-Hill, English actor
May 25 - Kevin Heffernan, American actor, writer, producer and director
May 27 - Spencer Kayden, American actress, comedian and writer
May 28 - Kylie Minogue, Australian actress and singer
June 2
- Navid Negahban, Iranian-American actor
- Nickolai Stoilov, Bulgarian-American actor and writer
June 4
- Joey Mazzarino, American actor, puppeteer, writer and director
- Scott Wolf, American actor
June 9 - Eddie Marsan, English actor
June 10 - Bill Burr, American stand-up comedian, actor and writer
June 12 - Sarah Trigger, retired British actress
June 13 – Fred Tatasciore, American voice actor
June 14 - Faizon Love, Cuban-born American actor and comedian
June 16 - James Patrick Stuart, American actor
June 17 - Mary Stein, American actress
June 19 - Kim Walker, American actress (d. 2001)
June 20
- Robert Rodriguez, American filmmaker and visual effects supervisor
- Samantha Spiro, English actress and singer
June 26 - Travis Fine, American actor, writer, director and producer
June 27 - Paul Rae, American actor
June 29 - Brian d'Arcy James, American actor and musician
July 1 - Jordi Mollà, Spanish actor, writer and filmmaker
July 5 - Michael Stuhlbarg, American actor
July 7
- Danny Jacobs, American actor and comedian
- Allen Payne, American actor
July 8 – Billy Crudup, American actor
July 11 - Conrad Vernon, American voice actor, director, writer and storyboard artist
July 15
- Eddie Griffin, American comedian and actor
- Stan Kirsch, American actor (d. 2020)
July 17 - Beth Littleford, American actress and comedian
July 18
- Grant Bowler, New-Zealand-Australian actor
- Alex Désert, American actor and musician
July 19 - William Houston, English actor
July 21 - Samuli Edelmann, Finnish actor and singer
July 23 - Shawn Levy, Canadian director, producer and actor
July 24
- Kristin Chenoweth, American actress and singer
- Troy Kotsur, American actor
- Laura Leighton, American actress
July 26 – Olivia Williams, British actress
July 27
- Cliff Curtis, New Zealand actor
- Julian McMahon, Australian-American actor (d. 2025)
July 30 - Terry Crews, American actor, comedian, activist, artist, bodybuilder and former professional football player
August 4 - Daniel Dae Kim, South Korean-American actor and producer
August 6 - Lisa Boyle, American actress
August 7 - Sophie Lee, Australian actress
August 9
- Gillian Anderson, American-British actress
- Eric Bana, Australian actor
- McG, American director and producer
August 10
- Cate Shortland, Australian screenwriter, director and writer
- Rickey Smiley, American stand-up comedian, television host and actor
August 11
- Anna Gunn, American actress
- Sophie Okonedo, British actress
August 14
- Catherine Bell, British actress and model
- Terry Notary, American actor and stunt co-ordinator/double
August 15 - Debra Messing, American actress
August 17
- Andrew Koenig, American character actor, director, editor and writer (d. 2010)
- Helen McCrory, English actress (d. 2021)
August 21 - Julian Lewis Jones, Welsh actor
August 25 - David Alan Basche, American actor
August 27 - Lisa Marie Newmyer, American actress
August 28 – Billy Boyd, Scottish actor
September 2
- Kristen Cloke, American actress
- Jonathan Goldstein, American filmmaker
September 4 – John DiMaggio, American actor and voice actor
September 5 - Glenn Fleshler, American actor
September 6 - Mark Ivanir, Israeli actor
September 7 - Camille Japy, Belgian-French actor
September 8
- Brian Huskey, American character actor, comedian and writer
- Simon J. Smith, British animator, director, visual effects artist and voice actor
September 9
- Nathan Lee Graham, American actor and singer
- Julia Sawalha, English actress
September 10 – Guy Ritchie, English director, screenwriter
September 12 - Paul F. Tompkins, American comedian, actor and writer
September 15 – Danny Nucci, American actor
September 16
- Marc Anthony, American singer-songwriter and actor
- Walt Becker, American filmmaker
September 19 – Shawn Doyle, Canadian actor
September 20 - Chad Stahelski, American stuntman and director
September 22 – Megan Hollingshead, American voice actress
September 23 - Michelle Thomas, American actress (d. 1998)
September 25
- Eddie Baroo, Australian actor, screenwriter and singer
- Will Smith, American actor
September 26
- Jim Caviezel, American actor
- Ben Shenkman, American actor
September 27
- Patrick Muldoon, American actor, film producer, and musician
- Charlie Spradling, retired American actress
September 28 – Naomi Watts, British actress
September 29
- Massi Furlan, Italian-American actor and producer
- Luke Goss, English actor
October – Musola Cathrine Kaseketi, Zambian director
October 1 - Jay Underwood, American actor
October 2
- Lucy Cohu, English actress
- Curtiss Cook, American character actor
- Joey Slotnick, American actor
October 8 - Emily Procter, American actress
October 9
- Pete Docter, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer, voice actor and chief creative officer of Pixar
- James Dreyfus, English actor
October 11
- Tiffany Grant, American voice actress
- Jane Krakowski, American actress and singer
October 12
- Hugh Jackman, Australian actor
- Adam Rich, American actor (d. 2023)
October 13
- Tisha Campbell, American actress
- Alex Ferns, Scottish actor and television personality
October 16
- Randall Batinkoff, American actor
- Todd Stashwick, American actor
October 17 - Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter, musician and actor
October 19 - Yayan Ruhian, Indonesian martial artist and actor
October 22 - Jay Johnston, American actor and comedian
October 23 - Maria Darling, British voice actress
October 24 - Mark Walton, American story artist and voice actor
October 25
- Melinda McGraw, American actress
- Christopher McQuarrie, American screenwriter, director and producer
October 27 – Dileep, Indian actor
October 28 - Stephen Hunter, New Zealand actor
October 29
- John Farley, American actor and comedian
- Grayson McCouch, American actor
November 5
- Sam Rockwell, American actor
- Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Spanish-Italian actress
November 6 – Kelly Rutherford, American actress
November 8
- Bruno Gunn, American actor
- Parker Posey, American actress
November 10
- Tracy Morgan, American actor, voice actor and comedian
- Tom Papa, American actor and comedian
November 16 - James Parks, American actor
November 18
- Romany Malco, American actor and rapper
- Owen Wilson, American actor
November 19
- Mark Bonnar, Scottish actor
- Derek Drymon, American animator, writer, storyboard artist, director, comedian and producer
November 21
- Todd Farmer, American screenwriter and actor
- Sean Schemmel, American voice actor
November 23
- Brennan Brown, American actor
- Jake La Botz, American singer-songwriter and actor
November 25 - Jill Hennessy, Canadian actress and singer
November 26 - Chris Coppola, American actor and comedian
November 27 - Michael Vartan, French-American actor
December 2
- Lucy Liu, American actress
- Suzy Nakamura, American actress
December 3 – Brendan Fraser, American-Canadian actor
December 5 - Margaret Cho, American stand-up comedian, actress and musician
December 6
- Oliver Masucci, German actor
- Donnell Rawlings, American comedian, actor and radio host
December 7 – Greg Ayres, American voice actor
December 13 - Scott Stuber, American film producer
December 16 - Peter Dante, American character actor, comedian and singer
December 18
- Craig Grant, American poet and actor (d. 2021)
- Daniel Oreskes, American actor
- Casper Van Dien, American actor
- Nina Wadia, British actress and comedian
December 19
- Marcial Di Fonzo Bo, Argentine actor
- Ken Marino, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
December 20 - Joe Cornish, English comedian and filmmaker
December 22 - Dina Meyer, American actress
December 23 - Angela Jones, American actress
December 25 - Klea Scott, Panamanian-born Canadian actress
December 26 - Byron Howard, American animator, director, producer and screenwriter

Deaths

January 7 - Hugo Butler, 53, Canadian screenwriter, Edison, the Man , Lassie Come Home
January 18 – John Ridgely, 58, American actor, The Big Sleep , God Is My Co-Pilot
January 25 - Virginia Maskell, 31, British actress, Only Two Can Play , Virgin Island
February 4 – Eddie Baker, 70, American actor, Oranges and Lemons , Giant
February 7 – Nick Adams, 36, American actor, Pillow Talk , Rebel Without a Cause
February 13 – Mae Marsh, 73, American actress, The Birth of a Nation , 3 Godfathers
February 20 – Anthony Asquith, 65, British director, The V.I.P.s , The Winslow Boy
March 10 – Helen Walker, 47, American actress, Impact , Call Northside 777
March 11 – Pearl Doles Bell, 84, American film scenarist, novelist and editor, Her Elephant Man
March 16 – June Collyer, 63, American actress, Hangman's House , A Face in the Fog
March 18 - Harry Kurnitz, 60, American screenwriter, Witness for the Prosecution , How to Steal a Million
March 20 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, 79, Danish director, The Passion of Joan of Arc , Gertrud
March 24 – Alice Guy-Blaché, 94, pioneer French/American filmmaker, The Pit and the Pendulum , The Great Adventure
March 30 – Bobby Driscoll, 31, American actor, Peter Pan , Treasure Island
April 5 – Lois Andrews, 44, American actress, Dixie Dugan , The Desert Hawk
April 6 – Keith Pyott, 66, English actor, Village of the Damned
April 16 – Fay Bainter, 74, American actress, Woman of the Year , The Children's Hour
April 24 – Tommy Noonan, 46, American actor, A Star is Born , Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
May 5 – Albert Dekker, 62, American actor, The Wild Bunch , Kiss Me Deadly
May 9
- Albert Lewin, 73, American director, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman , The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Marion Lorne, 84, American actress, The Graduate , Strangers on a Train
May 10 – Scotty Beckett, 38, American actor, My Favorite Wife , The Jolson Story
May 21 – Doris Lloyd, 71, British actress, Disraeli , Kind Lady
May 23 – James Burke, 81, American actor, Little Orphan Annie , The Timber Trail
May 25 – Charles K. Feldman, 64, American producer, A Streetcar Named Desire , The Seven Year Itch
May 26 - Joseph MacDonald, 62, Mexico-born American cinematographer, My Darling Clementine , The Young Lions
May 27 – Denise Legeay, 70, French actress, Happy Couple , Zigano
May 31 – Preben Uglebjerg, 37, Danish actor, Pigen og vandpytten
June 4 – Dorothy Gish, 70, American actress, The Cardinal , Orphans of the Storm
June 7 – Dan Duryea, 61, American actor, Winchester '73 , Scarlet Street
June 8 - Patricia Jessel, 47, British actress, The City of the Dead , A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
June 21 – Ingeborg Spangsfeldt, 72, Danish actress
June 24 – Tony Hancock, 44, British comedian, Call Me Genius , The Punch and Judy Man
June 29 – Hans Egede Budtz, 78, Danish actor, Nøddebo Præstegård
July 1 – Virginia Weidler, 41, American actress, The Philadelphia Story , The Women
July 12 – Antonio Pietrangeli, 49, Italian director, It Happened in Rome , The Magnificent Cuckold
July 27 – Lilian Harvey, 62, British actress and singer, Waltz of Love , Let's Live Tonight
July 30 – Alexander Hall, 74, American director, Here Comes Mr. Jordan , Little Miss Marker
August 23 – Hunt Stromberg, 74, American producer, The Thin Man , The Great Ziegfeld
August 25 – John George, 70, Ottoman-born American actor, Charley's Aunt , Don Juan
August 26 – Kay Francis, 63, American actress, Black Orchids , Little Men
August 30 – William Talman, 53, American actor, The Hitch-Hiker , Crashout
August 31 – Dennis O'Keefe, 60, American actor, T-Men , Raw Deal
September 3 – Isabel Withers, 72, American actress, Possessed , Lady of Burlesque
September 16 - Nedrick Young, 54, American screenwriter, Inherit the Wind , The Defiant Ones
September 18 – Franchot Tone, 63, American actor, The Mutiny on the Bounty , Advise & Consent
September 24 - Virginia Valli, 70, American actress, The Pleasure Garden , Evening Clothes
October 18 – Lee Tracy, 70, American actor, Dinner at Eight , The Best Man
October 29 – Pert Kelton, 61, American actress, The Music Man , Sing and Like It
October 30 – Ramon Novarro, 69, Mexican actor, Ben-Hur , Mata Hari
November 8 – Wendell Corey, 54, American actor, Rear Window , Harriet Craig
November 9 – Gerald Mohr, 54, American actor, Gilda , The Angry Red Planet
November 13 – Berthold Bartosch, 74, Bohemian filmmaker, The Idea
November 18 – Walter Wanger, 74, American producer, Cleopatra , I Want to Live!
November 20 – Helen Gardner, 84 American actress, Cleopatra
November 25 – Upton Sinclair, 90, American author and producer, There Will Be Blood , The Gnome-Mobile
December 2 – Colin Kenny, 79, Irish actor, The Adventures of Robin Hood , Captain Blood
December 4 - Archie Mayo, 77, American director, The Petrified Forest , A Night in Casablanca
December 5 – Fred Clark, 54, American actor, White Heat , Auntie Mame
December 12 – Tallulah Bankhead, 66, American actress, Lifeboat , Stage Door Canteen , Die! Die! My Darling
December 14 – Jack Rice, 75, American actor, Lady, Let's Dance , Beware of Blondie
December 15 – Dorothy Abbott, 47, American actress, South Pacific , Red, Hot and Blue
December 20 - John Steinbeck, 66, American author and screenwriter, Viva Zapata! , The Red Pony
December 28 - Harry Woods, 79, American actress, Days of Jesse James , The Ghost Rider

Film debuts

Rutanya Alda – Greetings
John Aprea – Bullitt
Eileen Atkins – Inadmissible Evidence
Tom Atkins – The Detective
Florinda Bolkan – Candy
Philip Bosco – A Lovely Way to Die
Sônia Braga – The Red Light Bandit
Wilford Brimley – Bandolero!
Don Calfa – No More Excuses
Joanna Cassidy – Bullitt
John Cleese – Interlude
Corinne Cléry – Les Poneyttes
Sam Coppola – No Way to Treat a Lady
Kenneth Cranham – Oliver!
Patti D'Arbanville – Flesh
Timothy Dalton – The Lion in Winter
Sybil Danning – Komm nur, mein liebstes Vögelein
Don Fellows – The Detective
Frederic Forrest – The Filthy Five
Allen Garfield – Greetings
Ellen Geer – Petulia
Marla Gibbs – Yours, Mine and Ours
Gerrit Graham – Greetings
Jon Gries – Will Penny
John Hallam – The Charge of the Light Brigade
Goldie Hawn – The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band
Don Henderson – A Midsummer Night's Dream
Barbara Hershey – With Six You Get Eggroll
Howard Hesseman – Petulia
Anthony Hopkins – The Lion in Winter
Bo Hopkins – Dayton's Devils
Tony Jay – Majuba: Heuwel van Duiwe
Lainie Kazan – Dayton's Devils
Stacy Keach – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Udo Kier – Shameless
Sally Kirkland – Blue
Terry Kiser – Rachel, Rachel
Ittoku Kishibe – Za taigâsu: Sekai wa bokura o matteiru
Richard Libertini – The Night They Raided Minsky's
Roger Lloyd-Pack – The Magus
Peter Maloney – Greetings
Chuck McCann – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Malcolm McDowell – if...
Chuck Norris – The Wrecking Crew
Jennifer O'Neill – For Love of Ivy
Austin Pendleton – Petulia
Barry Primus – The Brotherhood
David Proval – The Boston Strangler
Paul Reubens – The Brotherhood
Joely Richardson – The Charge of the Light Brigade
Talia Shire – The Wild Racers
Leigh Taylor-Young – I Love You, Alice B. Toklas

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story. Wallflower Press. pp. 358–359. ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6.
↑ Top 20 Films of 1968 by Domestic Revenue

External links

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[Finler-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story. Wallflower Press. pp. 358–359. ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6.

[1968DomesticRevenue-2] Top 20 Films of 1968 by Domestic Revenue

[1]

[2]