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

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.

Number-one films[edit]

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

Highest-grossing films[edit]

Highest-grossing films of 1970 by calendar year gross based on the cities covered by Variety for the weekly charts.[nb 1][54][55]

Rank Title Studio Playing weeks[nb 2] Gross ($) Rank on 1970 rental chart[56]
1. Airport Universal 629 12,378,259 1
2. MASH 20th Century Fox 932 12,186,906 2
3. Patton 20th Century Fox 832 9,327,636 3
4. Hello, Dolly! 20th Century Fox 739 9,078,338 6
5. Z C5 928 7,919,478 14
6. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Columbia 748 7,160,506 4
7. Woodstock Warner Bros. 536 7,108,600 5
8. Catch-22 Paramount 391 5,982,490 8
9. Cactus Flower Columbia 486 5,167,043 7
10. Lovers and Other Strangers CRC 478 4,496,608 34
11. Cotton Comes to Harlem United Artists 303 4,458,401 22
12. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid[nb 3] 20th Century Fox 717 4,413,816 N/A[nb 4]
13. The Out-of-Towners Paramount 286 4,411,683 13
14. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? CRC 468 4,317,835 15
15. Getting Straight Columbia 451 4,298,712 23
16. Midnight Cowboy United Artists 551 4,036,491 N/A[nb 5]
17. Paint Your Wagon Paramount 444 3,919,143 N/A[nb 6]
18. Beneath the Planet of the Apes 20th Century Fox 331 3,822,161 12
19. Funny Girl Columbia 343 3,800,202 N/A[nb 7]
20. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever Paramount 336 3,737,760 29
21. Joe Cannon 371 3,553,283 42
22. Marooned Columbia 327 3,370,833 33
23. The Adventurers Paramount 338 3,292,310 11
24. Darling Lili Paramount 184 3,226,802 37
25. The Boys in the Band National General Pictures 436 3,216,380 36

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).[56]

Rank Title Studio Director Producer Rental ($)
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 Maurice 13,500,000
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[edit]

Notes[edit]

  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[edit]

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

Chronology[edit]

Preceded by 1970 Succeeded by
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