Market Charts > 1978 > Movie Chart

North America (US and Canada) Domestic Movie Chart for 1978

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Note: This chart ranks movies by the amount they earned during 1978. It includes movies released in previous years that earned money during 1978. For example, a movie released over Thanksgiving in 1977 will most likely earn money in 1977 and 1978. Click on the individual movie to see its total gross over all the years in which it played.

Inflation-adjusted figures are based on ticket sale estimates.

See Top 1978 Movies at the Domestic Box Office for the total domestic box office for the top 100 movies released in 1978, and Movie Index 1978 for an overview of all movies released in 1978.

Top Grossing Movies of 1978

RankMovieRelease
Date		DistributorGenre1978 GrossTickets Sold
1 Grease Jun 16, 1978 Paramount Pictures Musical $153,097,492 65,426,279
2 National Lampoon's Animal H… Jul 28, 1978 Universal Comedy $141,600,000 60,512,820
3 Jaws 2 Jun 16, 1978 Universal Horror $102,922,376 43,983,921
4 Heaven Can Wait Jun 28, 1978 Paramount Pictures Comedy $98,800,000 42,222,222
5 Every Which Way but Loose Dec 20, 1978 Warner Bros. Comedy $82,672,336 35,330,058
6 Hooper Jul 28, 1978 Warner Bros. Action $51,290,536 21,919,032
7 The Deer Hunter Dec 8, 1978 Universal Drama $50,000,000 21,367,521
8 Halloween Oct 17, 1978 Compass Internati… Horror $47,000,000 20,085,470
9 Convoy Jun 28, 1978 United Artists Action $45,000,000 19,230,769
10 California Suite Dec 15, 1978 Columbia Comedy $42,913,571 18,339,132
11 Up in Smoke Sep 15, 1978 Paramount Pictures Comedy $41,590,893 17,773,885
12 Superman Dec 15, 1978 Warner Bros. Adventure $40,925,251 17,489,424
13 Foul Play Jul 14, 1978 Paramount Pictures Comedy $40,415,179 17,271,444
14 Revenge of the Pink Panther Jul 21, 1978 United Artists Comedy $37,337,746 15,956,301
15 Midnight Express Sep 20, 1978 Columbia Drama $35,000,000 14,957,264
16 Coming Home Jan 1, 1978 United Artists Drama $32,653,000 13,954,273
17 The End May 5, 1978 United Artists Black Comedy $30,354,004 12,971,796
18 Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope Jul 21, 1978 20th Century Fox Adventure $30,037,557 12,836,562
19 House Calls Jan 1, 1978 Universal Romantic Comedy $29,000,000 12,393,162
20 The Cheap Detective Jun 9, 1978 Columbia Comedy $28,221,552 12,060,492
21 The Lord of the Rings Nov 15, 1978 United Artists $27,000,000 11,538,461
22 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Dec 22, 1978 United Artists Horror $24,946,533 10,660,911
23 Damien: Omen II Jun 9, 1978 20th Century Fox Horror $24,000,000 10,256,410
24 An Unmarried Woman Jan 1, 1978 20th Century Fox Comedy $24,000,000 10,256,410
25 Magic Nov 8, 1978 20th Century Fox Horror $23,800,000 10,170,940
26 Beyond and Back Jan 1, 1978 Sunn Classics Pic… Documentary $23,800,000 10,170,940
27 Same Time, Next Year Jan 1, 1978 Universal Romantic Comedy $23,000,000 9,829,059
28 The Wiz Oct 24, 1978 Universal Musical $22,000,000 9,401,709
29 F.I.S.T Apr 13, 1978 United Artists Drama $20,388,920 8,713,213
30 The Boys from Brazil Jan 1, 1978 20th Century Fox Thriller/Suspense $19,000,000 8,119,658
31 Eyes of Laura Mars Aug 2, 1978 Columbia Thriller/Suspense $18,900,000 8,076,923
32 Good Guys Wear Black Jan 1, 1978 American Cinema R… Action $18,300,000 7,820,512
33 Ice Castles Jan 1, 1978 Columbia Drama $18,000,000 7,692,307
34 Death on the Nile Sep 29, 1978 Paramount Pictures Drama $18,000,000 7,692,307
35 The Betsy Feb 9, 1978 Allied Artists Drama $17,700,000 7,564,102
36 Corvette Summer Jan 1, 1978 MGM Comedy $15,500,000 6,623,931
37 The Buddy Holly Story May 18, 1978 Columbia Drama $14,363,400 6,138,205
38 The Greek Tycoon Jan 1, 1978 Universal Drama $14,000,000 5,982,905
39 The Bad News Bears Go To Japan Jan 1, 1978 Paramount Pictures Comedy $14,000,000 5,982,905
40 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts… Jan 1, 1978 Universal $12,900,000 5,512,820
41 The Big Fix Jan 1, 1978 Universal Comedy $12,000,000 5,128,205
42 The Other Side of the Mount… Jan 1, 1978 Universal Drama $12,000,000 5,128,205
43 American Hot Wax Mar 17, 1978 Paramount Pictures Drama $11,000,000 4,700,854
44 Interiors Aug 2, 1978 United Artists Drama $10,432,366 4,458,276
45 The Swarm Jan 1, 1978 Warner Bros. Horror $10,000,000 4,273,504
46 The Brink's Job Jan 1, 1978 Universal Comedy $9,400,000 4,017,094
47 Paradise Alley Nov 10, 1978 20th Century Fox Drama $8,000,000 3,418,803
48 King of the Gypsies Dec 20, 1978 Paramount Pictures $8,000,000 3,418,803
49 Casey's Shadow Jan 1, 1978 Columbia Drama $8,000,000 3,418,803
50 Thank God It's Friday Jan 1, 1978 Columbia $7,300,000 3,119,658
51 Force 10 from Navarone Dec 22, 1978 American Internat… Action $7,100,000 3,034,188
52 The Fifth Floor Jan 1, 1978 Film Ventures Int… $7,000,000 2,991,452
53 Days of Heaven Sep 13, 1978 Paramount Pictures Drama $3,446,749 1,472,969
54 The One and Only Feb 3, 1978 Paramount Pictures Romantic Comedy $2,707,679 1,157,127
55 I Wanna Hold Your Hand Jan 1, 1978 Universal Multiple Genres $1,900,000 811,965
56 Saturday Night Fever Dec 16, 1977 Paramount Pictures Drama $1,707,750 729,807
57 Caravans Jan 1, 1978 Universal Adventure $1,000,000 427,350
58 The Goodbye Girl Dec 21, 1977 MGM Romantic Comedy $780,362 333,488
59 Brass Target Dec 22, 1978 MGM Drama $354,797 151,622
60 Rabbit Test Feb 17, 1978 Avco Embassy $90,138 38,520
61 Slow Dancing in the Big City Nov 8, 1978 United Artists Musical $11,335 4,844
62 Uncle Joe Shannon Dec 15, 1978 United Artists Drama $3,697 1,579
Total Gross of All Movies$1,676,665,219
Total Tickets Sold716,523,571

Our Theatrical Market pages are based on the Domestic Theatrical Market performance only. The Domestic Market is defined as the North American movie territory (consisting of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam).

The yearly amounts on our Theatrical Market pages are based on box office years. Each box office year starts on the first Monday of the year, so the previous year ends on the Sunday before the first Monday. For example, the "2017 box office year" started on January 2, 2017 so the "2016 box office year" ended on Sunday, January 1, 2017.