This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekly box office in the United States during 1953 per Variety's weekly National Boxoffice Survey. The results are based on a sample of 20-25 key cities and therefore, any box office amounts quoted may not be the total that the film grossed nationally in the week.
# | Week ending | Film | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | January 7, 1953 | Million Dollar Mermaid | [1] | |
2 | January 14, 1953 | [1] | ||
3 | January 21, 1953 | Above and Beyond | Above and Beyond reached number one in its ninth week of release. | [2] |
4 | January 28, 1953 | The Bad and the Beautiful | The Bad and the Beautiful reached number one in its second week of release. | [3] |
5 | February 4, 1953 | [4] | ||
6 | February 11, 1953 | [5] | ||
7 | February 18, 1953 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan earned $270,000 from 5 key cities in its second week of release. | [6] |
8 | February 25, 1953 | Peter Pan grossed $400,000 from the cities sampled. | [7] | |
9 | March 4, 1953 | [8] | ||
10 | March 11, 1953 | [9] | ||
11 | March 18, 1953 | [10] | ||
12 | March 25, 1953 | Come Back, Little Sheba | Come Back, Little Sheba reached number one in its 13th week of release. | [11] |
13 | April 1, 1953 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan returned to number one in its eighth week of release. | [12] |
14 | April 8, 1953 | Call Me Madam | Call Me Madam reached number one in its fifth week of release. | [13] |
15 | April 15, 1953 | Salome | Salome reached number one in its third week of release. | [14] |
16 | April 22, 1953 | [15] | ||
17 | April 29, 1953 | House of Wax | [16] | |
18 | May 6, 1953 | House of Wax grossed $690,000 from 20 key cities. | [17] | |
19 | May 13, 1953 | House of Wax grossed $563,000 from 21 key cities. | [18] | |
20 | May 20, 1953 | [19] | ||
21 | May 27, 1953 | [20] | ||
22 | June 3, 1953 | Young Bess | Young Bess grossed $400,000 from 22 key cities. | [21] |
23 | June 10, 1953 | Fort Ti | Fort Ti reached number one in its second week of release. | [22] |
24 | June 17, 1953 | It Came from Outer Space | It Came from Outer Space reached number one in its second week of release. | [23] |
25 | June 24, 1953 | [24] | ||
26 | July 1, 1953 | The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms | The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms reached number one in its third week of release. | [25] |
27 | July 8, 1953 | Dangerous When Wet | [26] | |
28 | July 15, 1953 | The Charge at Feather River | [27] | |
29 | July 22, 1953 | [28] | ||
30 | July 29, 1953 | Second Chance | Second Chance reached number one in its second week of release. | [29] |
31 | August 5, 1953 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes reached number one in its third week of release. | [30] |
32 | August 12, 1953 | The Band Wagon | [31] | |
33 | August 19, 1953 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes returned to number one in its fifth week of release. | [32] |
34 | August 26, 1953 | [33] | ||
35 | September 2, 1953 | From Here to Eternity | From Here to Eternity reached number one in its fourth week of release. | [34] |
36 | September 9, 1953 | From Here to Eternity grossed $460,000 from 9 key cities. | [35] | |
37 | September 16, 1953 | [36] | ||
38 | September 23, 1953 | [37] | ||
39 | September 30, 1953 | The Robe | The Robe earned $499,000 from 4 key cities in its second week of release. | [38] |
40 | October 7, 1953 | The Robe grossed $813,000 from 11 key cities. | [39] | |
41 | October 14, 1953 | The Robe grossed $1,026,000 from 16 key cities, which was a record for any film gross during a week. | [40] | |
42 | October 21, 1953 | The Robe grossed $896,000 from 17 key cities. | [41] | |
43 | October 28, 1953 | The Robe grossed $923,000 from 21 key cities. | [42] | |
44 | November 4, 1953 | [43] | ||
45 | November 11, 1953 | The Robe grossed more than $730,000 from the cities sampled. | [44] | |
46 | November 18, 1953 | [45] | ||
47 | November 25, 1953 | [46] | ||
48 | December 2, 1953 | How to Marry a Millionaire | How to Marry a Millionaire reached number one in its fourth week of release. | [47] |
49 | December 9, 1953 | [48] | ||
50 | December 16, 1953 | How to Marry a Millionaire grossed $265,000 from 16 key cities. | [49] | |
51 | December 23, 1953 | This Is Cinerama | [50] | |
52 | December 30, 1953 | Easy to Love | [51] |
The highest-grossing films during the calendar year based on theatrical rentals were as follows:
Rank | Title | Distributor | Rental [52] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | The Robe | 20th Century Fox | $20-30,000,000 |
2 | From Here to Eternity | Columbia Pictures | $12,500,000 |
3 | Shane | Paramount Pictures | $8,000,000 |
4 | How to Marry a Millionaire | 20th Century Fox | $7,500,000 |
5 | Peter Pan | RKO Pictures | $7,000,000 |
6 | Hans Christian Andersen | RKO Pictures | $6,000,000 |
7 | House of Wax | Warner Bros. | $5,500,000 |
8 | Mogambo | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $5,200,000 |
9 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | 20th Century Fox | $5,100,000 |
10 | Moulin Rouge | United Artists | $5,000,000 |