This page covers significant events of the year 1973 in film. Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Studios celebrated their 50th anniversaries.
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:
+ Highest-grossing films of 1973 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 The Exorcist Warner Bros. $88,500,000 2The StingUniversal $79,000,000 3American Graffiti $55,900,000 4 Papillon Allied Artists $22,500,000 5 The Way We Were Columbia $22,457,000Top 20 Films of 1973 by Domestic Revenue 6Magnum Force Warner Bros. $20,100,000 7 Last Tango in Paris United Artists $16,711,000 8 Paper Moon Paramount $16,559,000 9 Live and Let Die United Artists $15,925,000 10 Serpico Paramount $15,400,000
Outside North America The highest-grossing 1973 films in countries outside of North America.
Country Title Studio Gross France The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob SNC 7,295,727 admissions Germany Papillon Columbia Pictures 8,500,000 admissions Hong Kong The House of 72 Tenants Shaw Brothers Studio India Bobby R. K. Films () Italy Malicious Paramount Pictures 11,756,327 admissions Soviet Union The Headless Horseman Lenfilm 64,900,000 admissions Spain Cabaret TBD 125.8 million ₧ United Kingdom Live and Let Die Eon Productions 9,000,000 admissions
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.
Title Worldwide gross Country The Exorcist $441,306,145 United States Enter the Dragon $400,000,000 Worldwide The Sting $257,000,000 United States Live and Let Die $161,800,000 United Kingdom American Graffiti $140,000,000 United States Bobby India
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 Category/Organization 31st Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 26, 1974 27th BAFTA AwardsMarch 6, 1974 46th Academy AwardsApril 2, 1974 Drama Musical or Comedy Best Film The Exorcist American Graffiti Day for Night The Sting Best Director William FriedkinThe Exorcist François TruffautDay for Night George Roy HillThe Sting Best Actor Al PacinoSerpico George SegalA Touch of Class Walter MatthauCharley Varrick and Pete 'n' Tillie Jack LemmonSave the Tiger Best Actress Marsha MasonCinderella Liberty Glenda JacksonA Touch of Class Stephane AudranThe Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Just Before Nightfall Glenda JacksonA Touch of Class Best Supporting Actor John HousemanThe Paper Chase Arthur LoweO Lucky Man! John HousemanThe Paper Chase Best Supporting Actress Linda BlairThe Exorcist Valentina CorteseDay for Night Tatum O'NealPaper Moon Best Screenplay, Adapted William Peter BlattyThe Exorcist Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude CarriereThe Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie William Peter BlattyThe Exorcist Best Screenplay, Original David S. WardThe Sting Best Original Score Neil DiamondJonathan Livingston Seagull Alan PriceO Lucky Man! Marvin HamlischThe Way We WereMarvin HamlischThe Sting Best Original Song "The Way We Were"The Way We Were N/A "The Way We Were"The Way We Were Best Foreign Language Film The Pedestrian N/A Day for Night
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 26 - Melvil Poupaud, French 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 9 Colin Egglesfield, American actor Shaun Parkes, English 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 19 - Eric Lange, American character actor February 20 - Andrea Savage, American actress and comedian February 24 - Rob Morgan, American actor 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 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 Kris Marshall, English actor 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 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 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 5 - Luca De Dominicis, Italian actor (d. 2024) 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 Brian Austin Green, American actor 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