1973 in film

Highest-grossing films

United States and Canada

The top ten 1973 released films by box office gross in the United States and Canada are as follows:

Outside North America

The highest-grossing 1973 films in countries outside of North America.

Worldwide gross revenue

The following table lists known worldwide gross revenue figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1973. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1973. This list also includes gross revenue from later re-releases.

The year's highest-grossing actor worldwide was Hong Kong martial arts film star Bruce Lee, who died the same year.

Events

• March – Five Fingers of Death is released in the United States and is a surprise success starting a kung fu film craze in North America
• April 11 – Kim Jong-il publishes his film treatise On the Art of the Cinema.
• May 1 – The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely; she will marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra in 1976.
• July 20 – Martial arts legend Bruce Lee dies before Enter the Dragon is released on July 26.
• August 17 – The sci-fi movie Westworld is the first feature film to use digital image processing.
• December 25 – The Sting is released and goes on to become one of the top-grossing films of all time.
• December 26 – The Exorcist reawakens the horror film genre and becomes one of the most popular and controversial films ever released.

Awards

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): :The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, United Kingdom :Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, United States

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): :Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray, India

1973 films

By country/region

• List of American films of 1973
• List of Argentine films of 1973
• List of Australian films of 1973
• List of Bangladeshi films of 1973
• List of British films of 1973
• List of Canadian films of 1973
• List of French films of 1973
• List of Hong Kong films of 1973
• List of Indian films of 1973
  • List of Hindi films of 1973
  • List of Kannada films of 1973
  • List of Malayalam films of 1973
  • List of Marathi films of 1973
  • List of Tamil films of 1973
  • List of Telugu films of 1973
• List of Japanese films of 1973
• List of Mexican films of 1973
• List of Pakistani films of 1973
• List of South Korean films of 1973
• List of Soviet films of 1973
• List of Spanish films of 1973

By genre/medium

• List of action films of 1973
• List of animated feature films of 1973
• List of avant-garde films of 1973
• List of comedy films of 1973
• List of drama films of 1973
• List of horror films of 1973
• List of science fiction films of 1973
• List of thriller films of 1973
• List of western films of 1973

Births

• January 4 - Damon Gupton, American actor
• January 7 – Baiba Broka, Latvian actress
• January 10 – Ryan Drummond, American actor and comedian
• January 14 – Katie Griffin, Canadian actress and singer.
• January 17 - Bob Persichetti, American animator, story artist, storyboard artist, screenwriter and director
• January 18 - Ben Willbond, English actor and screenwriter
• January 23 – Lanei Chapman, American actress
• January 24 – William Gregory Lee, American actor
• January 29 – Arben Bajraktaraj, Korovan-born French actor
• January 30 - Jordan Prentice, Canadian actor
• January 31
  • Portia de Rossi, Australian-Canadian actress
  • Matthew Faber, American actor (d. 2020)
• February 5 - David Meunier, American-Luxembourgish actor
• February 9 - Colin Egglesfield, American actor
• February 12 – Tara Strong, Canadian-American voice actress
• February 14 - Kristen Dalton, American actress
• February 15 - Sarah Wynter, Australian actress
• February 17 – Lucy Davis, English actress
• February 18 – Tom Wisdom, English actor
• February 20 - Andrea Savage, American actress and comedian
• February 25 – Anson Mount, American actor
• February 27 – Li Bingbing, Chinese actress
• March 1 – Jack Davenport, English actor
• March 3 – Matthew Marsden, English-American actor, producer and singer
• March 4 – Len Wiseman, American director, screenwriter and producer
• March 8 - Boris Kodjoe, German actor and producer
• March 10 – Natasha Alam, Uzbekistani–American actress and model
• March 13 – Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Icelandic-American actor, producer and screenwriter
• March 16 – Tim Kang, American actor
• March 17 - Michelle Nolden, Canadian actress
• March 18
  • Marcus Chait, American actor and producer
  • Luci Christian, American voice actress
• March 19 - Jill Culton, American animator, storyboard artist, director and screenwriter
• March 20
  • Jane March, English actress and model
  • Cedric Yarbrough, American actor and comedian
• March 21 - Vanessa Branch, English-born American actress
• March 22 - Clay Kaytis, American animator and director
• March 24 – Jim Parsons, American actor and producer
• April 1 - Kris Marshall, English actor
• April 2
  • Simon Farnaby, English actor, comedian and writer
  • Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, actress, producer and writer
• April 3 – Adam Scott, American actor, comedian and producer
• April 6
  • Lori Heuring, American actress
  • Cindy Robinson, American voice actress
• April 10 – Guillaume Canet, French actor
• April 11
  • Jennifer Esposito, American actress
  • Alec Musser, American actor and fitness model (d. 2024)
• April 12 - Amr Waked, Egyptian actor
• April 14 – Adrien Brody, American actor
• April 19
  • Michael Bacall, American screenwriter and actor
  • David Soren, Canadian director, writer, voice actor and storyboard artist
• April 22 – Christopher Sabat, American voice actor
• April 24 - Julie Cox, English actress
• April 26 - Erica McDermott, American actress
• April 28 - Elisabeth Röhm, American actress and director
• April 30
  • Robyn Griggs, American actress (d. 2022)
  • Antonino Isordia, Mexican director
• May 5 – Tina Yothers, American actress
• May 8
  • Marcus Brigstocke, British comedian and actor
  • Jonathon Young, Canadian actor
• May 10 – Tora Sudiro, Indonesian actor
• May 12 - Mackenzie Astin, American actor
• May 17
  • Sasha Alexander, American actress and director
  • Matthew McGrory, American actor (d. 2005)
• May 21 - Noel Fielding, English comedian, writer, actor, artist, musician and television presenter
• May 25 - Jossara Jinaro, Brazilian-American actress (d. 2022)
• May 27 - Jack McBrayer, American actor, singer and comedian
• May 30 - Minae Noji, Japanese-American actress
• June 1 - Adam Garcia, Australian actor
• June 2 - Kevin Feige, American producer
• June 3 - Jason Jones, Canadian-American actor, comedian and writer
• June 4 - Matt Corboy, American actor
• June 8 - Lexa Doig, Canadian actress
• June 9 - Orlando Wells, English actor and writer
• June 12 - Mel Rodriguez, American actor
• June 15
  • Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
  • Pia Miranda, Australian actress
• June 16 – Eddie Cibrian, American actor
• June 17 - Louis Leterrier, French director and producer
• June 18 - Julie Depardieu, French actress
• June 19 - Leticia Spiller, Brazilian actress
• June 21 – Juliette Lewis, American actress
• June 22 - Tracy Melchior, American actress
• June 24 - Alexander Beyer, German actor
• June 27 - Razaaq Adoti, British actor, producer and screenwriter
• June 29 - Lance Barber, American actor
• June 30 - Jon Gunn, American director and screenwriter
• July 2 - Peter Kay, English comedian and actor
• July 3 - Patrick Wilson, American actor, director and singer
• July 6 - William Lee Scott, American actor
• July 8
  • Sebastian Maniscalco, American stand-up comedian and actor
  • Kathleen Robertson, Canadian actress
• July 9 - Enrique Murciano, American actor
• July 10 - Annie Mumolo, American actress, screenwriter, comedian and producer
• July 11 - Jason Liebrecht, American voice actor
• July 15 - Rachel Pickup, British actress
• July 16 - Robert Jayne, American actor
• July 19 - Saïd Taghmaoui, French-American actor and screenwriter
• July 20
  • Omar Epps, American actor, rapper and producer
  • Roberto Orci, Mexican-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2025)
• July 22 - Jaime Camil, Mexican actor and singer
• July 23
  • Daisy Donovan, English television presenter, actress and writer
  • Kathryn Hahn, American actress and comedian
• July 24 - Jamie Denbo, American actress, writer and comedian
• July 25 - David Denman, American actor
• July 26
  • Kate Beckinsale, English actress
  • Gaetano Bruno, Italian actor
• July 29
  • Stephen Dorff, American actor
  • Dileep Rao, American actor
• July 31 - Daniel Evans, Welsh actor and director
• August 1 - Eduardo Noriega, Spanish actor
• August 2 - Simon Kinberg, British-born American filmmaker
• August 3 - Michael Ealy, American actor
• August 5 - Michael Hollick, American actor
• August 6
  • Asia Carrera, American pornographic actress
  • David Campbell, Australian singer, actor and television personality
  • Vera Farmiga, American actress
• August 8 – Jessica Calvello, American voice actress
• August 9 - Kevin McKidd, Scottish actor and television director
• August 14 - Jamie Sives, Scottish actor
• August 18 - Carmen Serano, American actress
• August 19 - Ahmed Best, American actor, comedian and musician
• August 22 – Kristen Wiig, American actress and comedian
• August 24
  • Dave Chappelle, American actor
  • Carmine Giovinazzo, American actor, writer and musician
  • Grey Griffin, American actress, comedian and singer-songwriter
  • Barrett Oliver, American child actor
• August 25 - Ben Falcone, American filmmaker, comedian and actor
• August 26
  • Andy Muschietti, Argentine filmmaker
  • Gunner Wright, American actor
• August 28 - Kirby Morrow, Canadian actor, comedian and writer (d. 2020)
• September 1 - Guillem Morales, Spanish director
• September 4
  • Jason David Frank, American actor and mixed martial artist (d. 2022)
  • Lazlow Jones, American writer, producer, director, voice actor and radio personality
• September 5
  • Paddy Considine, English actor, director, screenwriter and musician
  • Rose McGowan, American actress
• September 6 - Martin Hancock, English actor
• September 7 – Shannon Elizabeth, American actress
• September 12 –
  • Maximiliano Hernández, American actor
  • Paul Walker, American actor and producer (d. 2013)
• September 13 - Travis Knight, American animator, producer and director
• September 14 – Andrew Lincoln, English actor
• September 18 – James Marsden, American actor
• September 19 - Nicholas Bishop, English-born Australian actor
• September 25 - Bridgette Wilson, American actress and singer
• September 26 – Julienne Davis, American actress and model
• September 27 - Indira Varma, British actress and narrator
• October 1 – Christian Borle, American actor and singer
• October 2
  • Efren Ramirez, American actor
  • Verka Serduchka, Ukrainian comedian, actor and singer
• October 3
  • Keiko Agena, American actress
  • Sasha Alexander, American actress and television director
  • Neve Campbell, Canadian actress
  • Richard Ian Cox, Welsh-Canadian voice actor
  • Lena Headey, English actress
• October 6 – Ioan Gruffudd, Welsh actor
• October 8 - Jan Pavel Filipensky, Czech actor
• October 10
  • Mario Lopez, American actor and television host
  • S. S. Rajamouli, Indian director
  • Rajesh Tailang, Indian actor
• October 21 - Sasha Roiz, Israeli-born Canadian actor
• October 22 – Carmen Ejogo, British actress and singer
• October 23 - Stéphane Debac, French actor
• October 24
  • Burgess Jenkins, American actor
  • Kurt Kuenne, American filmmaker
• October 25 - Michael Weston, American actor
• October 26 – Seth MacFarlane, American actor, animator, screenwriter, comedian, director and singer
• October 28 – Kim Seo-hyung, South Korean actress
• October 30
  • Adam Copeland, Canadian wrestler and actor
  • Kemp Powers, American filmmaker
• November 1
  • Robert Luketic, Australian director
  • Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress
• November 2 - Marisol Nichols, American actress
• November 3 - Sticky Fingaz, American rapper and actor
• November 4 - Steven Ogg, Canadian actor
• November 11 - Chris McKay, American filmmaker
• November 12 - Radha Mitchell, Australian actress
• November 13
  • Jordan Bridges, American actor
  • John DeSantis, Canadian actor
• November 14 - Dana Snyder, American actor and voice actor
• November 17
  • Leslie Bibb, American actress
  • Kerry Godliman, English actress and comedian
  • Maurizio Lombardi, Italian actor
• November 21 - Brook Kerr, American actress
• November 24
  • J. C. Chandor, American filmmaker
  • Lucy Liemann, British actress
  • Danielle Nicolet, American actress
• November 26 – Peter Facinelli, American actor
• November 27
  • Tadanobu Asano, Japanese actor
  • Sharlto Copley, South African actor
• December 1 - Lombardo Boyar, American actor
• December 3
  • Bruno Campos, Brazilian-American actor and lawyer
  • Holly Marie Combs, American actress and producer
• December 4 - Tyra Banks, American television personality, producer, writer and actress
• December 5 - Shalom Harlow, Canadian actress
• December 11 - Mos Def, American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor
• December 14
  • Thuy Trang, Vietnamese-American actress (d. 2001)
  • Jan Uuspõld, Estonian actor
• December 15 - Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Icelandic actor and director
• December 17 - Rian Johnson, American filmmaker
• December 27 - Wilson Cruz, American actor
• December 28 - Seth Meyers, American talk show host, actor and comedian
• December 30 - Christian McKay, English actor

Deaths

Film debuts

• Danny Aiello – Bang the Drum Slowly
• Nancy Allen – The Last Detail
• John Ashton – The Psychopath
• Daniel Auteuil – The Year 01
• Graham Beckel – The Paper Chase
• Christine Boisson – The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob
• Reb Brown – Sssssss
• Dennis Burkley – Bummer!
• Colleen Camp – Battle for the Planet of the Apes
• John Candy – Class of '44
• David Clennon – The Paper Chase
• Gérard Darmon – The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob
• Laura Dern – White Lightning
• Pino Donnagio – Don't Look Now (film composer)
• George Dzundza – Massage Parlor Murders
• Anthony Edwards – Big Zapper
• Michael Ensign – Assassin
• Emilio Estevez – Badlands
• Dexter Fletcher – Steptoe and Son Ride Again
• Sasson Gabai – Light Out of Nowhere
• Victor Garber – Godspell
• Burton Gilliam – Paper Moon
• John Glover – Shamus
• Irma P. Hall – Book of Numbers
• Rutger Hauer – Turkish Delight
• William Hootkins – Big Zapper
• Celia Imrie – Assassin
• Gérard Jugnot – The Year 01
• Dimple Kapadia – Bobby
• Sylvia Kristel – Frank en Eva
• Stan Lee – The Year 01
• Kay Lenz – American Graffiti
• Thierry Lhermitte – The Year 01
• Frank Marshall (producer) – Paper Moon
• Orestes Matacena – Badge 373
• Kris McQuade – Alvin Purple
• Robert Miano – Badge 373
• Temuera Morrison – Rangi's Catch
• Ian Mune – Rangi's Catch
• Bernadette Peters – Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
• Joe Pantoliano – Road Movie
• John Rhys-Davies – Penny Gold
• Allan Rich – Serpico
• Henry G. Sanders – No Place to Hide
• Charlie Sheen – Badlands
• Bo Svenson – Maurie
• Ana Torrent – The Spirit of the Beehive
• Monique van de Ven – Turkish Delight
• Clement von Franckenstein – The Slams
• Carl Weathers – Magnum Force
• Marc Zuber – Penny Gold

Notes

References

References

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2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080615024154/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1973.shtml Top 20 Films of 1973 by Domestic Revenue]
3. "North America (US and Canada) Domestic Movie Chart for 1973".
4. (1973). "Charts - LES ENTREES EN FRANCE".
5. "Bilan Annuel Allemagne -1973".
6. (2002). "The Cinema of Hong Kong: History, Arts, Identity". [[Cambridge University Press]].
7. "Box Office 1973". Boxofficeindia.com.
8. "Pacific Exchange Rate Service". [[University of British Columbia]].
9. "Bilan Annuel Italie −1973".
10. "Prokat2". Kinokultura.com.
11. (1974). "Boletín informativo del control de taquila. Datos de cuatro trimestre 1973". [[ICAA (Spain).
12. (28 November 2004). "The Ultimate Chart: 1–100". [[British Film Institute]].
13. "The Exorcist (1973)".
14. (2001). "Bruce Lee". Mitchell Lane Publishers.
15. "The Sting".
16. (February 6, 1990). "Universal's Foreign Champs".
17. "Live and Let Die". Nash Information Services, LLC.
18. "American Graffiti (1973) – Financial Information".
19. (15 August 2018). "On Independence Day, here are the most successful Indian movies of every decade since 1947". [[Hindustan Times]].
20. (1973). "Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average)".
21. (18 September 1973). "'Kung Fu' Cult Immortalizing Lee". [[Detroit Free Press]].
22. (January 9, 1974). "U.S. Rage of Chop-Socky Films; Karate Breaks Out of Chinatown". [[Variety (magazine).
23. David-West, Alzo. (January 2009). "The Literary Ideas of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il: An Introduction to North Korean Meta-Authorial Perspectives". [[Cultural Logic]].