List of 1932 box office number-one films in the United States

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This is a list of films which placed number one at the box office in the United States during 1932.

Contents

Number-one films

The monthly results are based on the receipts of over 100 theaters in 20-31 key cities reported by Motion Picture Herald weekly.

MonthTitleRef
January Emma [1] [2]
February Hell Divers [2] [3] [4]
March One Hour with You [5]
April Tarzan the Ape Man [6]
May Grand Hotel [7]
June As You Desire Me [8]
July Bring 'Em Back Alive
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 		[9]
August Horse Feathers [10]
SeptemberGrand Hotel [11]
October Smilin' Through [12]
November Red Dust [13]
December Prosperity [14]

Weekly high-grossers

This is list of the highest grossing films per week based on Variety 's monthly summary of a sample of over 100 theaters in up to 27 key cities. The grosses do not represent the amount that a film grossed nationally that week (nor necessarily in all theaters in all key cities that Variety reported weekly). Variety did not declare a number one for the week and therefore other high-grossers are also listed. Their monthly compilation also excluded some roadshow theatrical release grosses, for example, Grand Hotel in May.

Date [15] TitleGrossOther high grossing filmsRef
January 2 Ladies of the Big House $348,300 Mata Hari $291,600; Delicious $254,100; Strictly Dishonorable $210,700 [16] [17]
January 9 Mata Hari $211,700 This Reckless Age $136,300; Emma $133,700; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde $104,000 [16]
January 16 Dance Team $278,700 Two Kinds of Women (1932 film) $244,100; Mata Hari $145,900; Hell Divers $133,700 [16]
January 23 Union Depot $167,000Emma $146,900; No One Man $127,100; Charlie Chan's Chance $102,000 [16]
January 30 High Pressure $135,971 Tomorrow and Tomorrow $127,500; No One Man $116,500; Hell Divers $115,628; Mata Hari $111,500; Lovers Courageous $108,700 [18]
February 6 Tomorrow and Tomorrow $183,000Hell Divers $133,000; Prestige $96,800; The Silent Witness $90,600 [19] [20]
February 13 Wayward $130,000 Arrowsmith $120,900; Business and Pleasure $97,100; Murders in the Rue Morgue $95,800 [19]
February 20 Lady with a Past $158,800 Shanghai Express $134,200; She Wanted a Millionaire $118,900; Fireman, Save My Child $97,200 [19]
February 27 Broken Lullaby $213,900Shanghai Express $109,600; Fireman, Save My Child $99,000 [19]
March 5 Strangers in Love $189,400 Arsène Lupin $127,000 [21]
March 12 Arsène Lupin $168,500 The Lost Squadron $146,800; Dancers in the Dark $138,030; The Beast of the City $113,600 [21]
March 19 Dancers in the Dark $151,700 Polly of the Circus $108,300; Hotel Continental $100,900 [21]
March 26 Alias the Doctor $240,200 One Hour with You $202,200; Tarzan the Ape Man $189,200 [21]
April 2 Tarzan the Ape Man $193,500One Hour with You $190,300; Shopworn $137,300 [22]
April 9$120,600 The Misleading Lady $97,300 [22]
April 16 This Is the Night $129,400Tarzan $125,500 [22]
April 23 The Miracle Man $100,000The Misleading Lady $84,400; Sky Bride $78,900; The Wet Parade $78,000 [22]
April 30TBD
May 7 Letty Lynton $194,500 The World and the Flesh $170,000 [23]
May 14$140,300 Sinners in the Sun $123,500; The Rich Are Always with Us $103,200; State's Attorney $102,000 [23]
May 21 The Rich Are Always with Us $107,200Letty Lynton $98,900 [23]
May 28 Huddle $139,600 As You Desire Me $128,400 [23]
June 4 As You Desire Me $229,100 Strangers of the Evening $71,400; Man About Town $62,500; The Strange Love of Molly Louvain $61,800; Society Girl $61,600 [24]
June 11 Merrily We Go to Hell $293,400Society Girl $108,500; As You Desire Me $89,700 [24]
June 18 Thunder Below $242,700 Week Ends Only $105,800; Merrily We Go to Hell $80,000 [24] [25]
June 25 The Man from Yesterday $174,100 Red-Headed Woman $102,300; Bring 'Em Back Alive $80,000; Bachelor's Affairs $77,000 [24] [26]
July 2 Make Me a Star $215,050Red-Headed Woman $107,600; Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm $100,400; Bring 'Em Back Alive $97,500 [27] [28]
July 9 Red-Headed Woman $187,800 Million Dollar Legs $107,900 [27] [29]
July 16 Lady and Gent $147,100 Unashamed $88,500; The Washington Masquerade $79,100 [27]
July 23 Madame Racketeer $130,200The Washington Masquerade $92,200 [27]
July 30TBD
August 6 The First Year $246,300 The Washington Masquerade $104,100 [30]
August 13 Guilty as Hell $200,600 Skyscraper Souls $109,900; The First Year $107,100 [30]
August 20 American Madness $95,400 Devil and the Deep $93,400; Guilty as Hell $74,800; Skyscraper Souls $71,000; [30]
August 27 Horse Feathers $184,700 Speak Easily $91,400; Blondie of the Follies $71,600 [30]
September 3 Back Street $101,000 The Night Club Lady $100,700; Bird of Paradise $83,000 [31]
September 10 Down to Earth $170,300 70,000 Witnesses $160,400; Blondie of the Follies $155,700; Love Me Tonight $133,900 [31]
September 17 Blondie of the Follies $113,500Bird of Paradise $83,200; 70,000 Witnesses $75,800 [31]
September 24 Grand Hotel $209,800 The Night of June 13 $194,100 [31]
October 1 Blonde Venus $213,900Grand Hotel $195,800 [32]
October 8 The Phantom President $157,500 Pack Up Your Troubles $114,600; Blonde Venus $86,600 [32]
October 15$172,200 Smilin' Through $107,800 [32]
October 22 Smilin' Through $183,700 The Phantom of Crestwood $149,400; The Big Broadcast $129,600 [32]
October 29 Six Hours to Live $144,700Smilin' Through $117,500; Big Broadcast $104,400 [33]
November 5 Red Dust $140,000 Night After Night $105,900 [33]
November 12$257,000 Hot Saturday $96,100 [33]
November 19 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang $188,700 Evenings for Sale $88,500; Sherlock Holmes $84,200; Air Mail $82,900 [33]
November 26 Prosperity $166,900 The Conquerors $120,700; Tess of the Storm Country $89,700 [34]
December 3$163,100 Call Her Savage ; $126,250; If I Had a Million $103,200; Tess of the Storm Country $101,100 [34]
December 10 Under-Cover Man $75,700 Evenings for Sale $74,500 [34]
December 17 Flesh $150,900 [34]
December 24TBD [34]

The Box Office Champions of 1932

This is a list of the box office champions of 1932 as reported by the Motion Picture Herald in the order published although no ranking was given. [35]

TitleDistributor
Grand Hotel MGM
Emma MGM
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Paramount
Mata Hari MGM
Delicious Fox Film
The Man Who Played God Warner Bros.
Hell Divers MGM
One Hour with You Paramount
Shanghai Express Paramount
Arrowsmith United Artists
Shopworn Columbia
Business and Pleasure Fox Film
Tarzan the Ape Man MGM
Bring 'Em Back Alive RKO
Frankenstein Universal

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Box Office Champions for January". Motion Picture Herald. February 20, 1932. p. 20 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 "The Box Office Champions for February". Motion Picture Herald. March 19, 1932. p. 24 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. February 20, 1932. pp. 39–48 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. March 5, 1932. pp. 52–60 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ↑ "March Box Office Champions". Motion Picture Herald. April 23, 1932. p. 22 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ "April Box Office Champions". Motion Picture Herald. May 21, 1932. p. 86 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ "The Box Office Champions for May". Motion Picture Herald. June 18, 1932. p. 20 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ↑ "Box Office Champions for the Month of June". Motion Picture Herald. July 23, 1932. p. 40 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ "Box Office Champions for July". Motion Picture Herald. August 20, 1932. p. 22 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ↑ "The Box Office Champions for August". Motion Picture Herald. September 17, 1932. p. 24 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ "The Box Office Champions for September". Motion Picture Herald. October 22, 1932. p. 32 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ↑ "The October Box Office Champions". Motion Picture Herald. November 19, 1932. p. 20 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ↑ "The Box Office Champions for November". Motion Picture Herald. December 17, 1932. p. 20 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ↑ "The Box Office Champions for December". Motion Picture Herald. January 21, 1933. p. 12 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ↑ The dates reported by Variety in this table refer to the Saturday near the start of the period that the grosses are reported for. Motion Picture Herald report similar grosses by theater for the week ending the following Saturday. For example, the grosses reported by Variety for January 2, 1932 often match the grosses reported by Motion Picture Herald for the week ending January 9, 1932.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for January". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. February 16, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  17. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. January 16, 1932. p. 25 – via Internet Archive.
  18. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. February 13, 1932. pp. 39–48 – via Internet Archive. Week ended February 6
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for February". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. March 15, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. February 20, 1932. p. 39 – via Internet Archive.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for March". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. April 19, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for April". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. May 10, 1932. p. 23 – via Internet Archive.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for May". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. June 14, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  24. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for June". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. July 12, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  25. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. July 2, 1932. p. 55 – via Internet Archive.
  26. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. July 9, 1932. p. 42 – via Internet Archive.
  27. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for July". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. August 16, 1932. p. 8 – via Internet Archive.
  28. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. July 16, 1932. p. 55 – via Internet Archive.
  29. ↑ "Theatre Receipts". Motion Picture Herald. July 23, 1932. p. 57 – via Internet Archive.
  30. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for August". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. September 20, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  31. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for September". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. October 4, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  32. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for October". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. November 1, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  33. 1 2 3 4 "Comparative Grosses for November". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. November 29, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 "Comparative Grosses for December". Variety. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. December 27, 1932. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  35. ↑ "The Box Office Champions of 1932". Motion Picture Herald. January 21, 1933. p. 8 – via Internet Archive.

Chronology

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