List of 1979 box office number-one films in the United States
Updated: 11/6/2025, 1:07:37 AM Wikipedia source
This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekly box office in the United States during 1979 per Variety. The data was based on grosses from 20 to 22 key cities and therefore, the gross quoted may not be the total that the film grossed nationally in the week.
Tables
· Number-one films
| † | This implies the highest-grossing movie of the year. |
· Number-one films
1
1
#
1
Week ending
January 3, 1979
Film
Superman †
Gross
$4,859,936
Notes
Superman grossed $13,135,498 nationally from all markets for the 4-day weekend ended January 1, a record weekend gross. Its 3-day gross of $10,364,384 beat the record $10.2 million set by Star Wars in its 1978 reissue
2
2
#
2
Week ending
January 10, 1979
Film
$3,424,808
Gross
Superman grossed $7,492,687 for the weekend ended January 7
3
3
#
3
Week ending
January 17, 1979
Film
$2,461,956
4
4
#
4
Week ending
January 24, 1979
Film
$2,123,217
5
5
#
5
Week ending
January 31, 1979
Film
$2,200,610
6
6
#
6
Week ending
February 7, 1979
Film
$2,045,669
7
7
#
7
Week ending
February 14, 1979
Film
The Warriors
Gross
$2,159,182
Notes
The Warriors grossed $3,529,675 for the weekend ended February 11, 1979 from all markets
8
8
#
8
Week ending
February 21, 1979
Film
$1,963,705
9
9
#
9
Week ending
February 28, 1979
Film
Superman †
Gross
$1,315,729
Notes
Superman returned to number one in its eleventh week of release
10
10
#
10
Week ending
March 7, 1979
Film
$1,082,516
11
11
#
11
Week ending
March 14, 1979
Film
$1,035,227
12
12
#
12
Week ending
March 21, 1979
Film
The China Syndrome
Gross
$2,258,078
13
13
#
13
Week ending
March 28, 1979
Film
$2,486,149
14
14
#
14
Week ending
April 4, 1979
Film
$2,326,181
15
15
#
15
Week ending
April 11, 1979
Film
$2,036,307
16
16
#
16
Week ending
April 18, 1979
Film
The Deer Hunter
Gross
$1,927,378
Notes
The Deer Hunter reached number one in its 13th week on the chart
17
17
#
17
Week ending
April 25, 1979
Film
$1,340,362
18
18
#
18
Week ending
May 2, 1979
Film
Love at First Bite
Gross
$1,461,097
Notes
Love at First Bite reached number one in its fourth week of release
19
19
#
19
Week ending
May 9, 1979
Film
Manhattan
Gross
$1,155,174
Notes
Manhattan reached number one in its second week of release
20
20
#
20
Week ending
May 16, 1979
Film
$1,352,694
21
21
#
21
Week ending
May 23, 1979
Film
$1,241,692
22
22
#
22
Week ending
May 30, 1979
Film
Alien
Gross
$2,327,321
Notes
Alien grossed $3,522,581 for the 4-day Memorial Day weekend ended May 28 from all markets
23
23
#
23
Week ending
June 6, 1979
Film
$1,965,402
Gross
Alien grossed $2,192,025 for the weekend ended June 3 from all markets
24
24
#
24
Week ending
June 13, 1979
Film
$1,721,543
Gross
Alien grossed $2,669,177 for the weekend ended June 10 from all markets
25
25
#
25
Week ending
June 20, 1979
Film
Rocky II
Gross
$2,570,683
Notes
Rocky II grossed $6,390,537 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended June 17
26
26
#
26
Week ending
June 27, 1979
Film
$2,747,481
27
27
#
27
Week ending
July 4, 1979
Film
Moonraker
Gross
$3,585,238
Notes
Moonraker grossed $7,108,344 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended July 1
28
28
#
28
Week ending
July 11, 1979
Film
$2,839,120
29
29
#
29
Week ending
July 18, 1979
Film
Dracula
Gross
$1,838,533
Notes
Dracula grossed $3,141,281 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended July 15. Meatballs grossed $4,112,000 for the weekend
30
30
#
30
Week ending
July 25, 1979
Film
$1,435,465
31
31
#
31
Week ending
August 1, 1979
Film
The Amityville Horror
Gross
$4,253,684
Notes
The Amityville Horror grossed $7,843,467 nationally for the weekend ended July 29
32
32
#
32
Week ending
August 8, 1979
Film
$3,606,900
Gross
The Amityville Horror grossed $6,901,959 nationally for the weekend ended August 5
33
33
#
33
Week ending
August 15, 1979
Film
$2,256,732
34
34
#
34
Week ending
August 22, 1979
Film
Star Wars (reissue)
Gross
$2,058,618
Notes
Star Wars grossed $6,760,165 nationally for the weekend ended August 19
35
35
#
35
Week ending
August 29, 1979
Film
The Muppet Movie
Gross
$1,037,414
Notes
The Muppet Movie reached number one in its tenth week of release
36
36
#
36
Week ending
September 5, 1979
Film
$1,060,063
37
37
#
37
Week ending
September 12, 1979
Film
North Dallas Forty
Gross
$720,867
Notes
North Dallas Forty reached number one in its sixth week of release
38
38
#
38
Week ending
September 19, 1979
Film
$557,813
39
39
#
39
Week ending
September 26, 1979
Film
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Gross
$1,262,773
Notes
Life of Brian reached number one in its sixth week of release
40
40
#
40
Week ending
October 3, 1979
Film
$1,143,800
Gross
When a Stranger Calls grossed $2,597,032 in its opening 4 days. Life of Brian grossed $9,055,143 from 3 weeks of general release
41
41
#
41
Week ending
October 10, 1979
Film
Starting Over
Gross
$970,650
42
42
#
42
Week ending
October 17, 1979
Film
When a Stranger Calls
Gross
$1,593,114
Notes
When a Stranger Calls reached number one in its third week of release
43
43
#
43
Week ending
October 24, 1979
Film
10
Gross
$1,649,481
Notes
10 reached number one in its second week of release
44
44
#
44
Week ending
October 31, 1979
Film
$1,437,056
45
45
#
45
Week ending
November 7, 1979
Film
$1,432,139
46
46
#
46
Week ending
November 14, 1979
Film
And Justice for All
Gross
$1,222,477
Notes
And Justice for All. reached number one in its fourth week of release
47
47
#
47
Week ending
November 21, 1979
Film
10
Gross
$1,098,879
Notes
10 returned to number one in its sixth week of release
48
48
#
48
Week ending
November 28, 1979
Film
$1,426,059
49
49
#
49
Week ending
December 5, 1979
Film
$965,755
50
50
#
50
Week ending
December 12, 1979
Film
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Gross
$5,643,078
Notes
Star Trek grossed $11,926,421 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended December 9, beating the 3-day weekend record of $10.3 million set by Superman and the $9.9 million opening weekend record set by Jaws 2
51
51
#
51
Week ending
December 19, 1979
Film
$3,064,569
Gross
Star Trek grossed $7,215,848 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended December 16
52
52
#
52
Week ending
December 26, 1979
Film
$2,778,258
Gross
Star Trek grossed $12,075,000 nationally from all markets for the 5-day weekend ended December 25
| # | Week ending | Film | Gross | Notes | Ref |
| 1 | January 3, 1979 | Superman † | $4,859,936 | Superman grossed $13,135,498 nationally from all markets for the 4-day weekend ended January 1, a record weekend gross. Its 3-day gross of $10,364,384 beat the record $10.2 million set by Star Wars in its 1978 reissue | |
| 2 | January 10, 1979 | $3,424,808 | Superman grossed $7,492,687 for the weekend ended January 7 | ||
| 3 | January 17, 1979 | $2,461,956 | |||
| 4 | January 24, 1979 | $2,123,217 | |||
| 5 | January 31, 1979 | $2,200,610 | |||
| 6 | February 7, 1979 | $2,045,669 | |||
| 7 | February 14, 1979 | The Warriors | $2,159,182 | The Warriors grossed $3,529,675 for the weekend ended February 11, 1979 from all markets | |
| 8 | February 21, 1979 | $1,963,705 | |||
| 9 | February 28, 1979 | Superman † | $1,315,729 | Superman returned to number one in its eleventh week of release | |
| 10 | March 7, 1979 | $1,082,516 | |||
| 11 | March 14, 1979 | $1,035,227 | |||
| 12 | March 21, 1979 | The China Syndrome | $2,258,078 | ||
| 13 | March 28, 1979 | $2,486,149 | |||
| 14 | April 4, 1979 | $2,326,181 | |||
| 15 | April 11, 1979 | $2,036,307 | |||
| 16 | April 18, 1979 | The Deer Hunter | $1,927,378 | The Deer Hunter reached number one in its 13th week on the chart | |
| 17 | April 25, 1979 | $1,340,362 | |||
| 18 | May 2, 1979 | Love at First Bite | $1,461,097 | Love at First Bite reached number one in its fourth week of release | |
| 19 | May 9, 1979 | Manhattan | $1,155,174 | Manhattan reached number one in its second week of release | |
| 20 | May 16, 1979 | $1,352,694 | |||
| 21 | May 23, 1979 | $1,241,692 | |||
| 22 | May 30, 1979 | Alien | $2,327,321 | Alien grossed $3,522,581 for the 4-day Memorial Day weekend ended May 28 from all markets | |
| 23 | June 6, 1979 | $1,965,402 | Alien grossed $2,192,025 for the weekend ended June 3 from all markets | ||
| 24 | June 13, 1979 | $1,721,543 | Alien grossed $2,669,177 for the weekend ended June 10 from all markets | ||
| 25 | June 20, 1979 | Rocky II | $2,570,683 | Rocky II grossed $6,390,537 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended June 17 | |
| 26 | June 27, 1979 | $2,747,481 | |||
| 27 | July 4, 1979 | Moonraker | $3,585,238 | Moonraker grossed $7,108,344 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended July 1 | |
| 28 | July 11, 1979 | $2,839,120 | |||
| 29 | July 18, 1979 | Dracula | $1,838,533 | Dracula grossed $3,141,281 nationally from all markets for the weekend ended July 15. Meatballs grossed $4,112,000 for the weekend | |
| 30 | July 25, 1979 | $1,435,465 | |||
| 31 | August 1, 1979 | The Amityville Horror | $4,253,684 | The Amityville Horror grossed $7,843,467 nationally for the weekend ended July 29 | |
| 32 | August 8, 1979 | $3,606,900 | The Amityville Horror grossed $6,901,959 nationally for the weekend ended August 5 | ||
| 33 | August 15, 1979 | $2,256,732 | |||
| 34 | August 22, 1979 | Star Wars (reissue) | $2,058,618 | Star Wars grossed $6,760,165 nationally for the weekend ended August 19 | |
| 35 | August 29, 1979 | The Muppet Movie | $1,037,414 | The Muppet Movie reached number one in its tenth week of release | |
| 36 | September 5, 1979 | $1,060,063 | |||
| 37 | September 12, 1979 | North Dallas Forty | $720,867 | North Dallas Forty reached number one in its sixth week of release | |
| 38 | September 19, 1979 | $557,813 | |||
| 39 | September 26, 1979 | Monty Python's Life of Brian | $1,262,773 | Life of Brian reached number one in its sixth week of release | |
| 40 | October 3, 1979 | $1,143,800 | When a Stranger Calls grossed $2,597,032 in its opening 4 days. Life of Brian grossed $9,055,143 from 3 weeks of general release | ||
| 41 | October 10, 1979 | Starting Over | $970,650 | ||
| 42 | October 17, 1979 | When a Stranger Calls | $1,593,114 | When a Stranger Calls reached number one in its third week of release | |
| 43 | October 24, 1979 | 10 | $1,649,481 | 10 reached number one in its second week of release | |
| 44 | October 31, 1979 | $1,437,056 | |||
| 45 | November 7, 1979 | $1,432,139 | |||
| 46 | November 14, 1979 | And Justice for All | $1,222,477 | And Justice for All. reached number one in its fourth week of release | |
| 47 | November 21, 1979 | 10 | $1,098,879 | 10 returned to number one in its sixth week of release | |
| 48 | November 28, 1979 | $1,426,059 | |||
| 49 | December 5, 1979 | $965,755 |
· Chronology
| Preceded by1978 | 1979 | Succeeded by1980 |
References
- https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1979/?grossesOption=calendarGrosseshttps://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1979/?grossesOption=calendarGrosses
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-01-10_293_10/page/17
- Daily Variety
- Box Office Mojohttps://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1978W52/?ref_=bo_wey_table_1
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-01-17_293_11/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/01/05
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-01-24_293_12/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-01-31_293_13/page/n8
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-02-07_294_1/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-02-14_294_2/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-02-21_294_3/page/n8
- Box Office Mojohttps://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1979W06/?ref_=bo_wey_table_36
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-02-28_294_4/page/n8
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-03-07_294_5/page/9
- Variety
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-03-28_294_8/page/n8
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-04-04_294_9/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-04-11_294_10/page/9
- Variety
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-04-25_294_12/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-05-02_294_13/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-05-09_295_1/page/n44/mode/1up
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-05-16_295_2/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-05-23_295_3/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-05-30_295_4/page/n8
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-06-06_295_5/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/05/25
- Daily Variety
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-05-30_295_4/page/n4/mode/1up
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-06-13_295_6/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/06/01
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-06-20_295_7/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/06/08
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-06-27_295_8/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/06/15
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-07-04_295_9/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-07-11_295_10/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/06/29
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-07-18_295_11/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-07-25_295_12/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-07-18_295_11/page/5
- Box Office Mojohttps://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1979W29/?ref_=bo_we_nav
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-07-25_295_12/page/3
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-08-01_295_13/page/13
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-08-08_296_1/page/11
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/07/27
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-08-15_296_2/page/11
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/08/10
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-08-22_296_3/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-08-29_296_4/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/08/17
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-09-05_296_5/page/13
- Variety
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-09-19_296_7/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-09-26_296_8/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-10-03_296_9/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-10-10_296_10/page/n8
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-10-10_296_10/page/n6/mode/1up
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-10-24_296_12/page/10
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-10-17_296_11/page/49
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-10-24_296_12/page/13
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-10-31_296_13/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-11-07_297_1/page/11
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-11-14_297_2/page/11
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-11-21_297_3/page/17
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-11-28_297_4/page/9
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-12-05_297_5/page/11
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-12-12_297_6/page/17
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-12-19_297_7/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/12/07
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-12-12_297_6/page/n2
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1979-12-26_297_8/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/12/14
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1980-01-02_297_9/page/9
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/1979/12/21
- Box Office Mojo lists the opening weekend gross for Dracula for the weekend ended July 22 but this is incorrect as Varie
- The Numbers lists the second weekend gross for The Amityville Horror for the weekend ended August 12 as it incorrectly l