List of 1970 box office number-one films in the United States

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This is a list of films which have placed number one at the weekly box office in the United States during 1970 per Variety . The data was based on grosses from 20 to 24 key cities and therefore, the gross quoted may not be the total that the film grossed nationally in the week.

Contents

Number-one films

†This implies the highest-grossing movie of the year. [1]
#Week endingFilmGrossNotesRef
1January 7, 1970 On Her Majesty's Secret Service $1,209,000 [2]
2January 14, 1970$614,700 [3]
3January 21, 1970 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid $500,489Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid returned to number one after 17 weeks of release [4]
4January 28, 1970$384,598 [5]
5February 4, 1970 The Secret of Santa Vittoria $401,500The Secret of Santa Vittoria reached number one in its 16th week of release [6]
6February 11, 1970 Funny Girl $795,000Funny Girl returned to number one after 73 weeks of release [7]
7February 18, 1970$596,000 [8]
8February 25, 1970$729,500 [9]
9March 4, 1970$480,750 [10]
10March 11, 1970 Cactus Flower $936,200Cactus Flower reached number one in its 12th week of release [11]
11March 18, 1970$660,500 [12]
12March 25, 1970 Airport †$741,500Airport reached number one in its third week of release [13]
13April 1, 1970$747,400 [14]
14April 8, 1970 Marooned $758,000Marooned reached number one in its 17th week of release [15]
15April 15, 1970Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid/ The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (double bill)$650,000 [16]
16April 22, 1970$553,000 [17]
17April 29, 1970Airport †$502,500Airport returned to number one after 8 weeks of release [18]
18May 6, 1970$426,500 [19]
19May 13, 1970 The Liberation of L.B. Jones $532,400The Liberation of L.B. Jones reached number one in its eighth week of release [20]
20May 20, 1970Airport †$409,250Airport returned to number one after 11 weeks of release [21]
21May 27, 1970$400,000 [22]
22June 3, 1970 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice $1,064,100Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice reached number one in its 34th week of release [23]
23June 10, 1970$914,100 [24]
24June 17, 1970 A Man Called Horse $549,500A Man Called Horse reached number one in its eighth week of release [25]
25June 24, 1970 Jenny $380,000Jenny reached number one in its 26th week of release [26]
26July 1, 1970Airport †$1,015,000Airport returned to number one after 17 weeks of release [27]
27July 8, 1970 Beneath the Planet of the Apes $863,500Beneath the Planet of the Apes reached number one in its sixth week of release [28]
28July 15, 1970Airport †$631,600Airport returned to number one after 19 weeks of release [29]
29July 22, 1970 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls $707,000Beyond the Valley of the Dolls reached number one in its fifth week of release [30]
30July 29, 1970 Patton $500,600Patton reached number one in its 25th week of release [31]
31August 5, 1970 Z $540,000Z reached number one its 34th week of release [32]
32August 12, 1970 The Out-of-Towners $550,237The Out-of-Towners reached number one in its 11th week on release [33]
33August 19, 1970 Getting Straight $589,400Getting Straight reached number one in its 14th week of release [34]
34August 26, 1970 Woodstock $746,500Woodstock reached number one in its 22nd week of release [35]
35September 2, 1970Getting Straight$568,500Getting Straight returned to number one in its 16th week of release [36]
36September 9, 1970 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever $741,500On a Clear Day You Can See Forever reached number one in its twelfth week of release [37]
37September 16, 1970$415,100 [38]
38September 23, 1970 MASH $463,100MASH reached number one in its 34th week of release [39]
39September 30, 1970$371,700 [40]
40October 7, 1970 Hello, Dolly! $345,000Hello, Dolly! reached number one in its 42nd week of release [41]
41October 14, 1970 The Bird with the Crystal Plumage $727,200The Bird with the Crystal Plumage reached number one in its twelfth week of release [42]
42October 21, 1970 C.C. and Company $532,000 [43]
43October 28, 1970 The Professionals / In Cold Blood (reissues double bill)$334,490 [44]
44November 4, 1970 Trog / Taste the Blood of Dracula (double bill)$300,000 [45]
45November 11, 1970 Sunflower $308,000Sunflower reached number one in its seventh week of release [46]
46November 18, 1970 Five Easy Pieces $382,314Five Easy Pieces reached number one in its ninth week of release [47]
47November 25, 1970 Lovers and Other Strangers $521,200Lovers and Other Strangers reached number one in its 15th week of release [48]
48December 2, 1970 Scrooge $604,100Scrooge reached number one in its fourth week of release [49]
49December 9, 1970Lovers and Other Strangers$515,900Lovers and Other Strangers returned to number one in its 17th week of release [50]
50December 16, 1970Scrooge$475,800Scrooge returned to number one in its sixth week of release [51]
51December 23, 1970$555,500 [52]
52December 30, 1970 Love Story $983,770Love Story reached number one in its second week of release. For the weekend ending December 27, 1970, Love Story grossed $2,363,767 from all markets in the United States and Canada. [53] [54]

Highest-grossing films

Highest-grossing films of 1970 by calendar year gross based on the cities covered by Variety for the weekly charts. [nb 1] [55] [56]

RankTitleStudioPlaying weeks [nb 2] Gross ($)Rank on 1970 rental chart [1]
1. Airport Universal 62912,378,2591
2. MASH 20th Century Fox 93212,186,9062
3. Patton 20th Century Fox8329,327,6363
4. Hello, Dolly! 20th Century Fox7399,078,3386
5. Z C59287,919,47814
6. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Columbia 7487,160,5064
7. Woodstock Warner Bros. 5367,108,6005
8. Catch-22 Paramount 3915,982,4908
9. Cactus Flower Columbia4865,167,0437
10. Lovers and Other Strangers CRC 4784,496,60834
11. Cotton Comes to Harlem United Artists 3034,458,40122
12. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [nb 3] 20th Century Fox7174,413,816N/A [nb 4]
13. The Out-of-Towners Paramount2864,411,68313
14. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? CRC4684,317,83515
15. Getting Straight Columbia4514,298,71223
16. Midnight Cowboy United Artists5514,036,491N/A [nb 5]
17. Paint Your Wagon Paramount4443,919,143N/A [nb 6]
18. Beneath the Planet of the Apes 20th Century Fox3313,822,16112
19. Funny Girl Columbia3433,800,202N/A [nb 7]
20. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever Paramount3363,737,76029
21. Joe Cannon 3713,553,28342
22. Marooned Columbia3273,370,83333
23. The Adventurers Paramount3383,292,31011
24. Darling Lili Paramount1843,226,80237
25. The Boys in the Band National General Pictures 4363,216,38036

Highest-grossing films of 1970 by rental in the United States and Canada accruing to the distributor to the end of 1970 (not total receipts as listed above for a selection of cities and includes rentals from December 1969). [1]

RankTitleStudioDirectorProducerRental ($)
1. Airport Universal George Seaton Ross Hunter 37,650,796
2. MASH 20th Century Fox Robert Altman Ingo Preminger 22,000,000
3. Patton 20th Century Fox Franklin J. Schaffner Frank McCarthy 21,000,000
4. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Columbia Paul Mazursky Larry Tucker 13,900,000 *
5. Woodstock Warner Bros. Michael Wadleigh Bob Maurice13,500,000
6. Hello, Dolly! 20th Century Fox Gene Kelly Ernest Lehman 13,000,000 *
7. Cactus Flower Columbia Gene Saks M. J. Frankovich 11,300,000 *
8. Catch-22 Paramount Mike Nichols John Calley 9,250,000
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service United Artists Peter R. Hunt Albert R. Broccoli
Harry Saltzman 		9,000,000 *
10. The Reivers Cinema Center Films
National General Pictures 		Mark Rydell Irving Ravetch 8,000,000 *

*Includes December 1969 rental

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Variety noted that the total grosses that they collated represented about 33% of total US grosses as defined by the US Department of Commerce. The grosses of the top 25 films represented 41% of the total grosses collated.
  2. ↑ Playing weeks represent one film in one theatre for one week
  3. ↑ Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was listed twice on the chart. Once on its own when it played its major dates and also in 40th place in a double bill with The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie . If the grosses for the double bill were attributed to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid it would rank at least three places higher however, as Variety did not know how Fox split the grosses for the double bill, they listed the releases separately.
  4. ↑ Listed on 1969 rental chart. Rental for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid increased by $11.2 million on 1970 All-Time Box Office Champs list [57] [58]
  5. ↑ Listed on 1969 rental chart. Rental for Midnight Cowboy increased by $5.3 million on 1970 All-Time Box Office Champs list [57] [58]
  6. ↑ Listed on 1969 rental chart. Rental for Paint Your Wagon increased by $12.3 million on 1970 All-Time Box Office Champs list [57] [58]
  7. ↑ Listed on 1969 rental chart. Rental for Funny Girl increased by $8.1 million on 1970 All-Time Box Office Champs list [57] [58]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Big Rental Films Of 1970". Variety . January 6, 1971. p. 11.
  2. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . January 14, 1970. p. 9.
  3. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . January 21, 1970. p. 9.
  4. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . January 28, 1970. p. 11.
  5. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . February 4, 1970. p. 11.
  6. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . February 11, 1970. p. 11.
  7. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . February 18, 1970. p. 11.
  8. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . February 25, 1970. p. 11.
  9. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . March 4, 1970. p. 9.
  10. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . March 11, 1970. p. 11.
  11. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . March 18, 1970. p. 13.
  12. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . March 25, 1970. p. 11.
  13. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . April 1, 1970. p. 11.
  14. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . April 8, 1970. p. 11.
  15. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . April 15, 1970. p. 9.
  16. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . April 22, 1970. p. 9.
  17. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . April 29, 1970. p. 11.
  18. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . May 6, 1970. p. 11.
  19. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . May 13, 1970. p. 11.
  20. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . May 20, 1970. p. 11.
  21. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . May 27, 1970. p. 11.
  22. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . June 3, 1970. p. 9.
  23. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . June 10, 1970. p. 13.
  24. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . June 17, 1970. p. 9.
  25. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . June 24, 1970. p. 9.
  26. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . July 1, 1970. p. 11.
  27. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . July 8, 1970. p. 11.
  28. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . July 15, 1970. p. 11.
  29. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . July 22, 1970. p. 11.
  30. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . July 29, 1970. p. 11.
  31. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . August 5, 1970. p. 11.
  32. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . August 12, 1970. p. 11.
  33. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . August 19, 1970. p. 11.
  34. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . August 26, 1970. p. 11.
  35. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . September 2, 1970. p. 9.
  36. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . September 9, 1970. p. 11.
  37. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . September 16, 1970. p. 11.
  38. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . September 23, 1970. p. 11.
  39. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . September 30, 1970. p. 11.
  40. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . October 7, 1970. p. 11.
  41. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . October 14, 1970. p. 11.
  42. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . October 21, 1970. p. 11.
  43. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . October 28, 1970. p. 11.
  44. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . November 4, 1970. p. 9.
  45. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . November 11, 1970. p. 11.
  46. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . November 18, 1970. p. 11.
  47. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . November 25, 1970. p. 11.
  48. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . December 2, 1970. p. 11.
  49. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . December 9, 1970. p. 11.
  50. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . December 16, 1970. p. 9.
  51. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . December 23, 1970. p. 13.
  52. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . December 30, 1970. p. 11.
  53. ↑ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety . January 13, 1971. p. 22.
  54. ↑ "There Has Never Been A Box Office Story Like Love Story (advertisement)". Variety . January 13, 1971. p. 12.
  55. ↑ Silverman, Syd (May 12, 1971). "330 Films Above $100,000 Rentals". Variety . p. 34.
  56. ↑ "The Top 25 Films Of 1970". Variety . May 12, 1971. p. 37.
  57. 1 2 3 4 "Big Rental Films Of 1969". Variety . January 7, 1970. p. 15.
  58. 1 2 3 4 "All-Time Boxoffice Champs". Variety . January 6, 1971. p. 12.

Chronology

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