The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)[]
| Rank | Title | Studio | Actors | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | West Side Story | United Artists | Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Russ Tamblyn, Simon Oakland | $43,656,822[1] |
| 2. | The Guns of Navarone | Columbia | Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, David Niven, Stanley Baker, Irene Papas, James Darren, Gia Scala | $28,900,000[2] |
| 3. | El Cid | Allied Artists | Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren | $26,600,000[3] |
| 4. | The Absent-Minded Professor | Walt Disney Productions | Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliot Reid, Ed Wynn | $25,381,407[4] |
| 5. | The Parent Trap | Walt Disney Productions | Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith | $25,150,385[5] |
| 6. | La Dolce Vita | Koch-Lorber Films | Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg | $19,516,000[4] |
| 7. | Lover Come Back | Universal | Doris Day, Rock Hudson | $16,937,969[6] |
| 8. | King of Kings | MGM | Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ryan | $14,483,352[7] |
| 9. | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Walt Disney Productions | voices of Rod Taylor, Ben Wright, Betty Lou Gerson, Cate Bauer, J. Pat O'Malley | $14,000,000[8] |
| 10. | Splendor in the Grass | Warner Bros. | Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty | $11,426,000 |
| 11. | Blue Hawaii | Paramount | Elvis Presley | $10,440,453[9] |
| 12. | Judgment at Nuremberg | United Artists | Spencer Tracy, Maximilian Schell, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich | $10,000,000[10] |
| 13. | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Paramount | Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen | $9,551,904[11] |
| 14. | The Misfits | MGM | Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach | $8,200,000[12] |
Awards[]
Academy Awards: Best Picture: West Side Story - Mirisch-B&P Enterprises, United Artists Best Director: Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins - West Side Story Best Actor: Maximilian Schell - Judgment at Nuremberg Best Actress: Sophia Loren - Two Women Best Supporting Actor: George Chakiris - West Side Story Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno - West Side Story Best Foreign Language Film: Through a Glass Darkly (Såsom i en spegel), directed by Ingmar Bergman, Sweden Golden Globe Awards: Drama: Best Picture: The Guns of Navarone Best Actor: Maximilian Schell - Judgment at Nuremberg Best Actress: Geraldine Page - Summer and Smoke Musical or comedy: Best Picture (tie): A Majority of One Best Picture (tie): West Side Story Best Actor: Glenn Ford - Pocketful of Miracles Best Actress: Rosalind Russell - A Majority of OneOther Best Director: Stanley Kramer - Judgment at Nuremberg Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): The Long Absence (Une aussi longue absence), directed by Henri Colpi, FranceViridiana, directed by Luis Buñuel, Spain Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Last Year at Marienbad (L'année dernière à Marienbad), directed by Alain Resnais, France Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): La Notte (The Night), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, Italy
Notable films released in 1961[]
Christmas films[]
- Plácido
- A Night Before Christmas
Short film series[]
Looney Tunes (1930–1969) Terrytoons (1930–1964) Merrie Melodies (1931–1969) Goofy (1961) Tom and Jerry (1940–1967) Noveltoons (1943–1967)
Births[]
Deaths[]
Film debuts[]
Ann-Margret - Pocketful of Miracles Warren Beatty - Splendor in the Grass Louis Gossett, Jr. - A Raisin in the Sun Gene Hackman - Mad Dog Coll Joe Pesci - Hey, Let's Twist! Burt Reynolds - Angel Baby
References[]
1.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for West Side Story. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 2.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for |The Guns of Navarone. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 3.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for El Cid. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 4.^ Jump up to: a b Box Office Information for The Absent-Minded Professor. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 5.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for The Parent Trap. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 6.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for Lover Come Back. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 7.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for King of Kings. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 8.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 9.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for Blue Hawaii. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 10.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for Judgment at Nuremberg. The Numbers. Retrieved April 14, 2012. 11.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013. 12.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for The Misfits. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for West Side Story. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for |The Guns of Navarone. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for El Cid. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Box Office Information for The Absent-Minded Professor. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for The Parent Trap. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for Lover Come Back. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for King of Kings. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for Blue Hawaii. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for Judgment at Nuremberg. The Numbers. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ↑ Box Office Information for Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Box Office Information for The Misfits. The Numbers. Retrieved September 7, 2013.