25 Top Box Office Grossing Movies as of 1975

About the top 25 box office grossing movies as of 1975 including the Godfather and Sound of Music, with the total money made listed.

The 25 All-Time Box Office Champion Films

As Compiled by Weekly Variety

Figures as given below signify the rentals received by the distributors from the U.S.-Canada market only and omit foreign market rentals. The latter, in recent years, sometimes equal, or slightly surpass, the domestic play-off.

Film title is followed by name of director, producer, or production company; original distributor plus present distributor, if different (plus differing U.S. and Canadian distributors in case of some foreign--made films); year of release; and total rentals received to date.

The Godfather (F. F. Coppola; A. Ruddy; Par; 1972) $85,747,184

The Sound of Music (R. Wise; 20th; 1965) $83,891,000

Gone with the Wind (V. Fleming;D. Selznick; MGM; 1939) $70,179,000

The Sting (G. R. Hill; T. Bill, M. & J. Philips; Univ; 1973) $68,450,000

THE Exorcist (W. Friedkin; W. P. Blatty; WB; 1973) $66,300,000

Love Story (A. Hiller; H. Minsky; Par; 1970) $50,000,000

The Birth of a Nation, released in 1915, which may have grossed as much as $50,000,000 has always been omitted because it was generally handled on a states rights and, often, under an outright cash sale; hence data are unreliable on the David Wark Griffith classic.

The Graduate (M. Nichols; L. Turman; Avco Embassy; 1968) $49,978,000

Airport (G. Seaton; R. Hunter; Univ; 1970) $45,300,000

Doctor Zhivago ( D. Lean; C. Ponti; MGM; 1965) $44,390,000

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (G. R. Hill; J. Foreman; 20th; 1969) $44,000,000

The Ten Commandments (C. B. De Mille; Par; 1956) $43,000,000

The Poseidon Adventure (R. Neame; I. Allen; 20th; 1972) $42,500,000

Mary Poppins (R. Stevenson; W. Disney; BV; 1964) $42,000,000

American Graffiti (G. Lucas; F. F. Coppola; Univ; 1973) $41,200,000

M*A*S*H (R. Altman; I. Preminger; 20th; 1970) $40,500,000

Ben-Hur (W. Wyler; S. Zimbalist: MGM: 1959) $36,550,000

Fiddler on the Roof (N. Jewison; UA; 1971) $35,550,000

My Fair Lady (G. Cukor; J. L. Warner; WB; 1964) $34,000,000

Billy Jack (T. Frank; M. Solti; WB; 1971) $31,000,000

Thunderball (T. Young; Eon; UA; 1965) $28,300,000

Patton (F. Schaffner; F. McCarthy; 20th; 1970) $28,100,000

The French Connection (W. Friedkin; P. D'Antoni/Scine-Moore; 20th; 1971) $27,500,000

Funny Girl (W. Wyler; R. Stark; Col; 1968) $26,325,000

Cleopatra (J. Mankiewicz; W. Wanger; 20th; 1963) $26,000,000

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (S. Kramer; Col; 1968) $25,500,000

From: Variety, January 8, 1975.