List of 1997 box office number-one films in the United States

This is a list of films which have placed number one at the weekend box office in the United States during 1997.

Number-one films

# Weekend end date Film Total weekend gross Notes Ref
1 January 5, 1997 Michael $12,144,926
2 January 12, 1997 The Relic $9,064,143
3 January 19, 1997 Beverly Hills Ninja $12,220,920
4 January 26, 1997 Jerry Maguire $5,518,727 Jerry Maguire reclaimed #1 in its sixth week of release.
5 February 2, 1997 Star Wars (Special Edition) $35,906,661 Star Wars (Special Edition) broke 12 Monkeys' record ($13.8 million) for the highest weekend debut in January and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom's record ($33.9 million) for the highest weekend debut for a PG-rated film.
6 February 9, 1997 $24,277,091 In second place, Dante's Peak ($18.4 million) broke Wayne's World's record ($18.1 million) for the highest weekend debut in February.
7 February 16, 1997 $21,370,589
8 February 23, 1997 The Empire Strikes Back (Special Edition) $21,975,993 Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (Special Edition) broke Dante's Peak's record ($18.4 million) for the highest weekend debut in February (which had been set two weeks earlier).
9 March 2, 1997 $13,145,852
10 March 9, 1997 Private Parts $14,616,333
11 March 16, 1997 Return of the Jedi (Special Edition) $16,293,531
12 March 23, 1997 Liar Liar $31,423,025 Liar Liar broke Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles's record ($25.4 million) for the highest weekend debut in March and for the highest weekend debut for a spring release.
13 March 30, 1997 $25,377,435
14 April 6, 1997 $18,275,295
15 April 13, 1997 Anaconda $16,620,887
16 April 20, 1997 $12,013,566
17 April 27, 1997 Volcano $14,581,740
18 May 4, 1997 Breakdown $12,307,128
19 May 11, 1997 The Fifth Element $17,031,345
20 May 18, 1997 $11,410,863
21 May 25, 1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park $72,132,785 The Lost World: Jurassic Park had the widest release of all-time opening in 3,565 theaters and broke Batman Forever's records ($52.7 mil) for the highest weekend debut in the summer, for a PG-13 rated film, and of all time. It also broke Jurassic Park's record ($47.0 mil) for the highest weekend debut for a creature feature film and Mission: Impossible's records ($45.4 mil) for the highest weekend debut in May and for the Memorial Day weekend. The Lost World: Jurassic Park had the highest weekend debut in 1997.
22 June 1, 1997 $34,116,390
23 June 8, 1997 Con Air $24,131,738
24 June 15, 1997 Speed 2: Cruise Control $16,158,942
25 June 22, 1997 Batman & Robin $42,872,605
26 June 29, 1997 Face/Off $23,387,530
27 July 6, 1997 Men in Black $51,068,455 Men in Black broke Independence Day's records ($50.2 mil) for the highest weekend debut in July and the highest Fourth of July weekend debut.
28 July 13, 1997 $30,062,317
29 July 20, 1997 $19,029,928
30 July 27, 1997 Air Force One $37,132,505 Air Force One broke Interview with the Vampire's record ($36.4 mil) for the highest weekend debut for an R-rated film.
31 August 3, 1997 $25,731,622
32 August 10, 1997 Conspiracy Theory $19,313,566
33 August 17, 1997 Cop Land $13,510,482
34 August 24, 1997 G.I. Jane $11,094,241
35 August 31, 1997 $8,183,861
36 September 7, 1997 Fire Down Below $6,073,094
37 September 14, 1997 The Game $14,337,029
38 September 21, 1997 In & Out $15,019,821
39 September 28, 1997 The Peacemaker $12,311,939
40 October 5, 1997 Kiss the Girls $13,215,167
41 October 12, 1997 $11,122,441
42 October 19, 1997 I Know What You Did Last Summer $15,818,645 I Know What You Did Last Summer broke Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare's record ($12.9 million) for highest weekend debut for a slasher film.
43 October 26, 1997 $12,507,880
44 November 2, 1997 $9,406,297
45 November 9, 1997 Starship Troopers $22,058,773
46 November 16, 1997 The Jackal $15,164,595
47 November 23, 1997 Mortal Kombat Annihilation $16,771,694
48 November 30, 1997 Flubber $26,725,207
49 December 7, 1997 $11,292,933
50 December 14, 1997 Scream 2 $32,926,342 Scream 2 broke Beavis and Butt-Head Do America's record ($20.1 million) for the highest weekend debut in December and I Know What You Did Last Summer's record ($15.8 million) for the highest weekend debut for a slasher film.
51 December 21, 1997 Titanic $28,638,131 Titanic held the record for the highest-grossing film of all time ($1.8 billion) until Avatar surpassed it on January 24, 2010.
52 December 28, 1997 $35,455,673 Titanic broke Scream 2's record ($32.9 mil) for the highest weekend gross in December (which had been set two weeks earlier).

Highest-grossing films

Calendar Gross

Highest-grossing films of 1997 by Calendar Gross

Rank Title Studio(s) Actor(s) Director(s) Gross
1. Men in Black Columbia Pictures Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shalhoub and Rip Torn Barry Sonnenfeld $250,690,539
2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park Universal Pictures Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard, Vince Vaughn, Vanessa Lee Chester, Richard Schiff, Peter Stormare and Richard Attenborough Steven Spielberg $229,086,679
3. Liar Liar Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Jennifer Tilly, Cary Elwes, Amanda Donohoe, Jason Bernard, Swoosie Kurtz and Anne Haney Tom Shadyac $181,410,615
4. Air Force One Columbia Pictures Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Wendy Crewson, Paul Guilfoyle, William H. Macy, Liesel Matthews, Dean Stockwell and Glenn Close Wolfgang Petersen $171,482,545
5. Star Wars (Special Edition) 20th Century Fox Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew George Lucas $137,690,767
6. My Best Friend's Wedding TriStar Pictures Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett and Philip Bosco P. J. Hogan $127,120,029
7. Titanic Paramount Pictures Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Nucci, David Warner, Gloria Stuart, Suzy Amis and Bill Paxton James Cameron $112,594,173
8. Face/Off John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon, Alessandro Nivola and Colm Feore John Woo $112,276,146
9. Batman & Robin Warner Bros. Pictures Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle and Elle Macpherson Joel Schumacher $107,325,195
10. George of the Jungle Walt Disney Studios Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Holland Taylor, Richard Roundtree, John Cleese and Keith Scott Sam Weisman $105,263,257

In-Year Release

Highest-grossing films of 1997 by In-year release
Rank Title Distributor Domestic gross
1. Titanic Paramount $600,788,188
2. Men in Black Sony $250,690,539
3. The Lost World: Jurassic Park Universal $229,086,679
4. Liar Liar $181,410,615
5. Air Force One Sony $172,956,409
6. As Good as It Gets $148,478,011
7. Good Will Hunting Miramax $138,433,435
8. Star Wars (Special Edition) 20th Century Fox $138,257,865
9. My Best Friend's Wedding Sony $127,120,029
10. Tomorrow Never Dies Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer $125,304,276


Highest-grossing films by MPAA rating of 1997
G Hercules
PG Star Wars (Special Edition)
PG-13 Titanic
R Air Force One

See also