The year 1977 in film involved some significant events, with Star Wars becoming the highest-grossing movie of all-time and notably the releases of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Annie Hall.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1977 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
+ Highest-grossing films of 1977 Rank Title Distributor Box-office gross 1 Star Wars 20th Century Fox $221,280,994 2 Smokey and the Bandit Universal $126,737,428 3Close Encounters of the Third Kind Columbia $116,395,460 4 Saturday Night Fever Paramount $94,213,184 5 The Goodbye Girl Warner Bros. $83,700,000 6A Bridge Too Far United Artists $50,750,000 7 The Deep Columbia $47,346,365 8 The Spy Who Loved Me United Artists $46,838,673 9Oh, God! Warner Bros. $41,687,243 10Annie Hall United Artists $38,251,425
Events February 23 – During a press conference at Sardi's in Manhattan, it is officially announced that Christopher Reeve will be playing the role of Superman. March 28 – At the 49th Academy Awards, Rocky picks up the Academy Award for Best Picture. Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, and Beatrice Straight all win Oscars for their performances in Network for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, while Jason Robards wins for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in All the President's Men. He will win again the following year, becoming the only person to win two consecutive Best Supporting Actor awards. May 25 – Star Wars opens in theatres and becomes the highest-grossing film of the year. The film revolutionises the use of special effects in film and television production. It also embraces the notion of omitting any sort of opening credits sequence. Lucas, told by the Directors Guild of America that he must have an opening credits sequence, instead distributes the film independently, sans the opening credits. The film's release is often considered one of the most important events in film history. June 22 – Walt Disney Productions releases The Rescuers, which brings back an interest in animation that had been lost to both filmgoers and critics throughout the beginning of the 1970s. November 16 – Close Encounters of the Third Kind opens to widespread critical acclaim and massive box office success, becoming one of the top-grossing films to date and cementing Steven Spielberg's status as one of the most talented and profitable film directors of all time. December 5 – The Solar System, produced and directed by Thomas G. Smith for Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, is released. It led to the producer hiring Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), a company producing visual effects for films such as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films.
Awards Category/Organization 35th Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 28, 1978 31st BAFTA AwardsMarch 16, 1978 50th Academy AwardsApril 3, 1978 Drama Musical or Comedy Best Film The Turning Point The Goodbye Girl Annie Hall Best Director Herbert RossThe Turning Point Woody AllenAnnie Hall Best Actor Richard BurtonEquus Richard DreyfussThe Goodbye Girl Peter FinchNetwork Richard DreyfussThe Goodbye Girl Best Actress Jane FondaJulia Diane KeatonAnnie HallMarsha MasonThe Goodbye Girl Diane KeatonAnnie Hall Best Supporting Actor Peter FirthEquus Edward FoxA Bridge Too Far Jason RobardsJulia Best Supporting Actress Vanessa RedgraveJulia Jenny AgutterEquus Vanessa RedgraveJulia Best Screenplay, Adapted Neil SimonThe Goodbye Girl Woody Allen and Marshall BrickmanAnnie Hall Alvin SargentJulia Best Screenplay, Original Woody Allen and Marshall BrickmanAnnie Hall Best Original Score John WilliamsStar Wars John AddisonA Bridge Too Far John WilliamsStar WarsJonathan TunickA Little Night Music Best Original Song "You Light Up My Life"You Light Up My Life N/A "You Light Up My Life"You Light Up My Life Best Foreign Language Film A Special Day N/A Madame Rosa
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): Father and Master (Padre padrone), directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Italy
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): The Ascent (Voskhozhdeniye), directed by Larisa Shepitko, USSR
1977 films By country/region List of American films of 1977 List of Argentine films of 1977 List of Australian films of 1977 List of Bangladeshi films of 1977 List of British films of 1977 List of Canadian films of 1977 List of French films of 1977 List of Hong Kong films of 1977 List of Indian films of 1977 List of Hindi films of 1977 List of Kannada films of 1977 List of Malayalam films of 1977 List of Marathi films of 1977 List of Tamil films of 1977 List of Telugu films of 1977 List of Japanese films of 1977 List of Mexican films of 1977 List of Pakistani films of 1977 List of South Korean films of 1977 List of Soviet films of 1977 List of Spanish films of 1977
By genre/medium List of action films of 1977 List of animated feature films of 1977 List of avant-garde films of 1977 List of comedy films of 1977 List of drama films of 1977 List of horror films of 1977 List of science fiction films of 1977 List of thriller films of 1977 List of western films of 1977
Births January 1 Steven Robertson, Scottish actor Jerry Yan, Taiwanese actor, model and singer January 6 – Genevieve O'Reilly, Irish actress January 7 – Dustin Diamond, American actor (d. 2021) January 8 – Amber Benson, American actress January 11 James Huang, American actor, producer and director Devin Ratray, American actor, producer and writer January 12 – Piolo Pascual, Filipino actor January 13 – Orlando Bloom, English actor January 14 – Ruco Chan, Hong Kong actor January 15 – Ronald Zehrfeld, German actor January 17 – Leigh Whannell, Australian screenwriter, actor, producer and director January 19 Rob Delaney, American comedian, actor and writer Taliesin Jaffe, American voice actor January 21 - Jerry Trainor, American actor January 22 - Matthew Newton, Australian actor, writer and director January 23 - Christian Tessier, Canadian actor and singer January 24 - Johann Urb, Estonian-American actor January 26 - Hemky Madera, American actor January 28 Zhao Tao, Chinese actress Joey Fatone, American singer and actor January 29 Justin Hartley, American actor Sam Jaeger, American actor and screenwriter January 31 Bobby Moynihan, American actor, comedian and writer Kerry Washington, American actress February 6 - Josh Stewart, American actor February 7 - Susanne Pollatschek, Scottish-British actress February 9 – A. J. Buckley, Irish-Canadian actor February 16 – Paul Brittain, American actor and comedian February 17 – Isaac Kappy, American actor and musician (d. 2019) February 18 Ike Barinholtz, American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer Kristoffer Polaha, American actor February 21 – Cyrine Abdelnour, Lebanese actress, and model February 24 Libero De Rienzo, Italian actor (d. 2021) Kate Mulvany, Australian actress, playwright and screenwriter February 25 - Ingrid Oliver, British actress and comedian February 26 – James Wan, Australian director, producer and screenwriter February 27 – Ji Sung, South Korean actor March 2 – Heather McComb, American actress March 8 – James Van Der Beek, American actor (d. 2026) March 9 – Lydia Mackay, American voice actress March 13 - Adam G. Simon, American actor and screenwriter March 15 – Brian Tee, Japanese-born American actor March 19 Jorma Taccone, American comedian, director, actor and writer Ebon Moss-Bachrach, American actor March 22 – Anabel Rodríguez Ríos, Venezuelan film director and screenwriter March 23 Daniel Espinosa, Swedish director Joanna Page, Welsh actress and producer Edwin Siu, Hong Kong actor and singer Clayton Watson, Australian producer, actor, writer and director March 24 Olivia Burnette, American actress Jessica Chastain, American actress March 25 – Édgar Ramírez, Venezuelan actor March 28 – Annie Wersching, American actress (d. 2023) April 2 – Michael Fassbender, Irish-German actor April 3 – Alice Lowe, English actress, writer and comedian April 6 Bill Holderman, American director, screenwriter and producer Nacho Vigalondo, Spanish filmmaker April 8 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress April 10 – Stephanie Sheh, American voice actress April 14 Jon Daly, American actor, comedian, writer and producer Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress Rob McElhenney, American actor, writer, and producer April 16 – Tameka Empson, English actress April 19 – Bryan Spears, American film and television producer April 20 – Robert Wilfort, English actor April 23 John Cena, American professional wrestler and actor Eric Edelstein, American actor John Oliver, British-American comedian, producer, actor and television host Kal Penn, American actor April 24 Eric Balfour, American actor and singer Rebecca Mader, English actress April 25 Marguerite Moreau, American actress Jessica Prunell, American former child actress April 26 Jason Earles, American actor Tom Welling, American actor McKenzie Westmore, American actress and singer May 2 – Jenna von Oÿ, American actress May 3 – Jeffrey Garcia, American actor and stand-up comedian May 4 - Emily Perkins, Canadian actress May 5 – Virginie Efira, Belgian-French actress May 10 – Todd Lowe, American actor May 11 - Andy On, American actor and martial artist May 12 Michael Jelenic, American animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, producer and director Rachel Wilson, Canadian actress May 13 – Samantha Morton, English actress May 14 – Jacky Ido, Burkinabé-born French actor May 15 – Ben Whitehead, English actor, voice artist and read-in artist May 16 Lynn Collins, American actress Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer May 18 – Evan Helmuth, American actor (d. 2017) May 19 – Kelly Sheridan, Canadian voice actress May 20 Matt Czuchry, American actor Angela Goethals, American former actress May 23 Caroline Amiguet, French actress Richard Ayoade, British comedian, actor, filmmaker, writer, author and television presenter Heather Wahlquist, American actress May 25 - Julian Bailey, Canadian actor May 27 – Anna Maxwell Martin, British actress May 31 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor June 1 Christian Ditter, German director, producer and screenwriter Danielle Harris, American actress June 2 – Zachary Quinto, American actor June 5 – Liza Weil, American actress June 11 - Shane Meier, Canadian actor June 14 – Sullivan Stapleton, Australian actor June 20 - Ronnie Gene Blevins, American character actor June 22 Bernadette Heerwagen, German actress Denis Moschitto, German actor June 23 - Sian Heder, American filmmaker June 25 – Josh Braaten, American actor June 29 - Jeff Baena, American screenwriter and director (d. 2025) June 30 – Christopher Sommers, Irish actor July 1 – Liv Tyler, American actress July 4 – Vesela Kazakova, Bulgarian actress July 6 – Audrey Fleurot, French actress July 8 – Milo Ventimiglia, American actor July 10 Chiwetel Ejiofor, English actor Cary Joji Fukunaga, American director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer Gwendoline Yeo, Singaporean actress July 11 - Edward Moss (impersonator), American actor July 12 - Steve Howey, American actor July 13 Ashley Scott, American actress Kari Wahlgren, American voice actress July 14 - Tim Downie, English actor and writer July 15 - Lana Parrilla, American actress July 18 Daniel and Luis Moncada, Honduran-American actors Kelly Reilly, English actress July 22 Joaquim Dos Santos, Portuguese-American animator, storyboard artist, director, producer and writer Parisa Fitz-Henley, Jamaican-born American actress July 23 - Shane McRae, American actor July 24 Danny Dyer, English actor and presenter Michelle Buteau, American actress and comedian July 26 Tony Sampson, Canadian oiler, former actor and voice artist Rebecca St. James, Australian-American singer-songwriter and actress July 27 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor July 30 Javier Botet, Spanish actor Jaime Pressly, American actress August 2 Edward Furlong, American actor Artemis Pebdani, American actress