1972 in film

none 1972 film radio television music The year 1972 in film involved several significant events. Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures celebrated their 60th anniversaries and the Motion Picture Association of America celebrated their 50th anniversary. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) List of 1972 box office number-one films in the United States The top ten 1972 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: + Highest-grossing films of 1972 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 The Godfather Paramount $86,300,000Finler Joel Waldo 2003 The Hollywood Story Wallflower Press 978-1-903364-66-6 358–359 2The Poseidon Adventure 20th Century Fox $42,000,000 3What's Up, Doc? Warner Bros. $28,000,000 4 Deliverance $22,500,000 5 Jeremiah Johnson $21,900,000Top 20 Films of 1972 by Domestic Revenue Box Office Report http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1972.shtml https://web.archive.org/web/20080615024149/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1972.shtml June 15, 2008 deadSeptember 2025 6Cabaret Allied Artists $20,250,000 7 Deep Throat Bryanston $20,000,000 8 The Getaway National General $18,000,000 9 Brother of the Wind Sun International $12,000,000Variety All-Time Film Rental Champs October 15, 1990 M148 Lawrence Cohn 10 Lady Sings the Blues Paramount $9,666,000 Awards Category/Organization 30th Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 28, 1973 26th BAFTA AwardsFebruary 28, 1973 45th Academy AwardsMarch 27, 1973 Drama Musical or Comedy Best Film The Godfather Cabaret The Godfather Best Director Francis Ford CoppolaThe Godfather Bob FosseCabaret Best Actor Marlon BrandoThe Godfather Jack LemmonAvanti! Gene HackmanThe Poseidon AdventureThe French Connection Marlon BrandoThe Godfather Best Actress Liv UllmannThe Emigrants Liza MinnelliCabaret Best Supporting Actor Joel GreyCabaret Ben JohnsonThe Last Picture Show Joel GreyCabaret Best Supporting Actress Shelley WintersThe Poseidon Adventure Cloris LeachmanThe Last Picture Show Eileen HeckartButterflies Are Free Best Screenplay, Adapted Francis Ford Coppola and Mario PuzoThe Godfather Paddy ChayefskyThe HospitalPeter Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtryThe Last Picture Show Francis Ford Coppola and Mario PuzoThe Godfather Best Screenplay, Original Jeremy LarnerThe Candidate Best Original Score Nino RotaThe Godfather Charlie Chaplin, Raymond Rasch and Larry RussellLimelightRalph BurnsCabaret Best Original Song "Ben"Ben N/A "The Morning After"The Poseidon Adventure Best Foreign Language Film The EmigrantsThe New Land N/A The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): The Working Class Goes to Heaven (La classe operaia va in paradiso), directed by Elio Petri, Italy The Mattei Affair (Il Caso Mattei), directed by Francesco Rosi, Italy Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): The Canterbury Tales (I Racconti di Canterbury), directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy / France 1972 films By country/region List of American films of 1972 List of Argentine films of 1972 List of Australian films of 1972 List of Bangladeshi films of 1972 List of British films of 1972 List of Canadian films of 1972 List of French films of 1972 List of Hong Kong films of 1972 List of Indian films of 1972 List of Hindi films of 1972 List of Kannada films of 1972 List of Malayalam films of 1972 List of Marathi films of 1972 List of Tamil films of 1972 List of Telugu films of 1972 List of Italian films of 1972 List of Japanese films of 1972 List of Mexican films of 1972 List of Pakistani films of 1972 List of South Korean films of 1972 List of Soviet films of 1972 List of Spanish films of 1972 By genre/medium List of action films of 1972 List of animated feature films of 1972 List of avant-garde films of 1972 List of comedy films of 1972 List of drama films of 1972 List of horror films of 1972 List of science fiction films of 1972 List of thriller films of 1972 List of western films of 1972 Births January 5 Simona Caparrini, Italian actress Luciana Pedraza, Argentine actress and director January 9 – Deon Cole, American actor January 11 Marc Blucas, American actor Konstantin Khabensky, Russian actor and director Amanda Peet, American actress January 12 - Zabryna Guevara, American actress January 15 – Kobe Tai, Taiwanese-American actress January 16 - Richard T. Jones, American actor January 20 - Adrian Martinez, American actor and comedian January 22 Gabriel Macht, American actor Romi Park, Japanese actress and singer January 23 - Léa Drucker, French actress Ewen Bremner, Scottish character actor January 26 - Cyia Batten, American dancer, model and actress January 28 Peter McDonald, Irish actor and director Gillian Vigman, American actress, comedian and screenwriter February 1 - Tego Calderón, Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor February 6 - Richard Coyle, English actor February 7 - Robyn Lively, American actress February 8 - Guillaume Gallienne, French actor, screenwriter and director February 9 Crispin Freeman, American voice actor Darwin Shaw, British actor and director February 12 - Ajay Naidu, American actor and director February 14 - T.J. Storm, American actor, stuntman and martial artist February 16 - Sarah Clarke, American actress February 20 – Gareth Unwin, English producer83rd Academy Awards Official Website. February 24 - James Bachman, English comedian, actor and writer February 26 Keith Ferguson, American voice actor Maz Jobrani, American comedian and actor February 28 - Rory Cochrane, American actor March 4 – Garth Jennings, English film director, screenwriter, producer, actor and writer March 8 - Matt Nable, Australian actor and writer March 9 Jean Louisa Kelly, American actress and singer Kerr Smith, American actor March 11 - Jamal Duff, American actor March 13 – Common, American actor and singer March 16 - Nicolas Bro, Danish actor March 18 – Dane Cook, American comedian March 23 – Judith Godrèche, French actress March 24 Charlie Creed-Miles, English actor and musician Tony Leondis, Greek-American animator, filmmaker and voice actor March 26 – Leslie Mann, American actress March 28 Nick Frost, English actor, comedian, writer and producer David Vadim, Ukrainian-born American actor Ledisi, American singer-songwriter and actress March 29 - Sam Hazeldine, English actor March 31 – Alejandro Amenábar, Spanish director, writer and soundtrack composer April 1 Albert Hughes, American filmmaker Allen Hughes, American filmmaker April 2 - Stephen Saux, American actor April 3 - Catherine McCormack, English actress April 5 - Junko Takeuchi, Japanese actress and voice actress April 6 - Jason Hervey, American actor and producer April 8 - Sung Kang, American actor April 10 - Vincent Zhao, Chinese actor and martial artist April 15 - Lou Romano, American animator and voice actor April 17 – Jennifer Garner, American actress April 18 Maurice Compte, American actor Eli Roth, American director, screenwriter, producer and actor April 20 - Carmen Electra, American actress, singer and model April 21 - Liz Carr, English actress and comedian April 26 - Bronagh Gallagher, Irish actress and singer April 27 - David Lascher, American actor April 28 - Gabriel Casseus, American actor and screenwriter April 29 – Derek Mears, American actor and stuntman May 1 - Julie Benz, American actress May 2 – Dwayne Johnson, American actor May 3 - Joe Pingue, Canadian actor and filmmaker May 4 - John Rawls, New Zealand actor May 7 - Jennifer Yuh Nelson, South Korean-born American story artist and director May 10 - Cary Guffey, American former child actor May 12 Christian Campbell, Canadian actor Rhea Seehorn, American actress and director May 14 Gabriel Mann, American actor and model Ben Weber, American actor May 15 Ashley McGuire, British actress Tom Wu, Hong Kong-born British actor May 16 - Khary Payton, American actor May 20 - Busta Rhymes, American rapper and actor May 21 - Olga Sosnovska, Polish actress May 22 Max Brooks, American actor Alison Eastwood, American director and actress May 25 - Karan Johar, Indian director May 26 - Selenis Leyva, American actress May 28 Kate Ashfield, English actress Chiara Mastroianni, French actress Roland Møller, Danish actor May 29 - Laverne Cox, American actress May 30 - Joachim Rønning, Norwegian director May 31 - Archie Panjabi, British actress June 1 - Rick Gomez, American actor June 2 Wayne Brady, American actor, comedian, producer and game show host Wentworth Miller, American-British actor and screenwriter June 7 – Karl Urban, New Zealand actor June 16 - John Cho, American actor June 19 Jean Dujardin, French actor Robin Tunney, American actress June 23 – Selma Blair, American actress June 28 Brendan Hunt, American actor and writer Alessandro Nivola, American actor June 30 - Molly Parker, Canadian actress, writer and director July 3 - Matt Schulze, American actor and musician July 4 - Claire Price, English actress July 5 – Gilles Lellouche, French actor and director July 7 - Heather Kafka, American actress July 10 Christoph Hochhäusler, German film director and screenwriter Peter Serafinowicz, English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter Sofia Vergara, Colombian American actress, television producer, presenter and model John Viener, American actor, voice actor, writer and comedian July 11 - Michael Rosenbaum, American actor, director, producer, singer and comedian July 12 – Nenad Jezdić, Serbian actor July 14 - Deborah Mailman, Australian actress and singer July 15 Liza Colón-Zayas, American actress Scott Foley, American actor, director and screenwriter July 23 - Marlon Wayans, American actor, comedian, writer and producer July 26 - Spencer Wilding, Welsh actor and stuntman July 27 – Maya Rudolph, American actress and comedian July 28 Elizabeth Berkley, American actress Evan Farmer, American actor and musician July 29 Ato Essandoh, American actor Wil Wheaton, American actor August 1 Guri Weinberg, Israeli-American actor and writer Charles Malik Whitfield, American actor August 2 - Jacinda Barrett, Australian-American actress August 5 Darren Shahlavi, English actor, martial artist and stuntman (d. 2015) Reika Kirishima, Japanese actress August 7 Dan Payne, Canadian actor Greg Serano, American actor August 9 - Ryan Bollman, American actor August 10 - Angie Harmon, American actress August 13 - Michael Sinterniklaas, French voice actor August 15 Ben Affleck, American actor, director and writer Matthew Wood, American sound editor and voice actor August 24 - Ava DuVernay, American filmmaker, screenwriter and producer August 25 Scarlett Chorvat, American actress Joe Wright, English director August 30 – Cameron Diaz, American actress September 4 Carlos Ponce, Puerto Rican actor, musician, model and television personality Françoise Yip, Canadian actress September 6 Dylan Bruno, American actor Idris Elba, English actor Justina Machado, American actress Mait Malmsten, Estonian actor Anika Noni Rose, American actress and singer September 7 – Matthew Sleeth, Australian director September 8 Giovanni Frezza, Italian child actor Tomokazu Seki, Japanese voice actor September 9 Adam James, English actor Goran Visnjic, Croatian-American actor September 13 - Kyle Rankin, American screenwriter and filmmaker September 14 - Nakamura Shidō II, Japanese actor September 15 - John Schwab, American actor September 16 Mike Doyle, American actor Alex Rice, Aboriginal-Canadian actress September 21 Kevin Downes, American actor, writer, producer and director Erin Fitzgerald, Canadian voice actress September 24 Kate Fleetwood, English actress Finty Williams, English actress September 26 - Melanie Paxson, American actress September 27 – Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress September 29 - Robert Webb, English comedian, actor and writer October 5 - Tom Hooper, British-Australian filmmaker October 8 Enrique Arce, Spanish actor Tricia Vessey, American actress, writer and producer October 9 - Cocoa Brown, American actress, writer and comedian October 11 - Claudia Black, Australian actress October 12 - Sönke Möhring, German actor October 15 - Matt Keeslar, American former actor October 17 – Eminem, American rapper and actor October 18 - Christopher Knights, English voice actor, editor and cinematographer October 20 - Thor Freudenthal, German director, screenwriter, animator and special effects artist October 21 - Masakazu Morita, Japanese actor, voice actor and singer October 22 – Saffron Burrows, English-American actress October 23 - Kate del Castillo, Mexican-American actress October 29 - Gabrielle Union, American actress, voice artist, activist and author October 30 David Wilson Barnes, American actor Jessica Hynes, English actress, director and writer Steve Monroe, American actor and stand-up comedian October 31 - Assaf Cohen, American actor November 1 Toni Collette, Australian actress, producer and singer-songwriter Jenny McCarthy, American actress November 2 - Steve Edge, English actor, writer and former comedian November 6 Thandiwe Newton, English actress Rebecca Romijn, American actress November 7 Christopher Daniel Barnes, American actor and writer Jeremy and Jason London, American actors November 8 Gretchen Mol, American actress Jason Matthew Smith, American actor November 9 - Eric Dane, American actor (died 2026) November 10 - Trevor Devall, Canadian voice actor and podcaster November 11 Adam Beach, Canadian actor Tyler Christopher, American actor (d. 2023) November 13 - Takuya Kimura, Japanese actor, singer and radio personality November 14 – Josh Duhamel, American actor November 15 – Jonny Lee Miller, English actor November 16 Mohammad Rasoulof, Iranian independent filmmaker Michael Irby, American actor November 17 - Leonard Roberts, American actor November 19 Nicole Forester, American actress Sandrine Holt, British-born Canadian actress November 21 - Rain Phoenix, American actress, musician and singer November 26 – Arjun Rampal, Indian actor November 28 - Michael Blackson, Ghanaian actor and comedian November 29 - Brian Baumgartner, American actor December 2 - Trond Fausa Aurvåg, Norwegian actor and director December 4 - Yūko Miyamura, Japanese actress and voice actress December 7 – Jennifer Syme, American entertainment industry employee (d. 2001) December 9 - Reiko Aylesworth, American actress December 11 - Rusty Joiner, American actor December 14 Jason Barry, Irish actor Isabelle de Hertogh, Belgian actress Miranda Hart, English actress, comedian and writer December 15 – Stuart Townsend, Irish actor December 16 - Lisa Spoonauer, American former character actress (d. 2017) December 18 - Jason Mantzoukas, American character actor, comedian, writer and podcaster. December 19 – Alyssa Milano, American actress December 20 - Marc Silk, English voice actor December 22 - Poorna Jagannathan, American producer and actress December 23 – Christian Potenza, Canadian actor and voice actor December 24 – Carmen Moore, Canadian actress December 25 - Patrick Brennan, American actor December 26 – Shane Meadows, English independent film director December 27 Brandon Auret, South African actor Thomas Wilson Brown, American actor December 28 - Supakorn Kitsuwon, Thai actor December 29 Jude Law, English actor Leonor Varela, Chilean actress Deaths Month Date Name Age Country Profession Notable films January 1 Maurice Chevalier 83 France Actor, Singer Gigi Can-Can 8 Wesley Ruggles 82 US Director, Producer I'm No Angel Arizona 17 Rochelle Hudson 55 US Actress Rebel Without a Cause Les Miserables 18 George Mitchell 66 US Actor The Andromeda Strain Kid Galahad 19 Richard Fraser 58 Scotland Actor The Picture of Dorian Gray The Fatal Witness 22 Alec Coppel 64 Australia Screenwriter The Captain's Paradise Vertigo 24 Jerome Cowan 74 US Actor The Maltese Falcon Miracle on 34th Street 27 Herbert Hübner 82 Germany Actor Storm in a Water Glass Robert and Bertram 29 Hugh McDermott 65 Scotland Actor David Livingstone Devil Girl from Mars February 2 Jessie Royce Landis 75 US Actress North by Northwest To Catch a Thief 7 Walter Lang 75 US Director The King and I The Little Princess 19 John Grierson 73 Scotland Director, Producer The Song of Ceylon The Brave Don't Cry 20 Walter Winchell 74 US Commentator Wake Up and Live Love and Hisses 21 Bronislava Nijinska 64 Poland Choreographer A Midsummer Night's Dream March 3 Harold Young 74 US Director, Editor The Scarlet Pimpernel The Mummy's Tomb 19 Albert Mannheimer 59 US Screenwriter Born Yesterday Bloodhounds of Broadway 20 Marilyn Maxwell 51 US Actress Champion The Lemon Drop Kid 29 J. Arthur Rank 83 England Executive So Well Remembered Quartet 29 Hal Roach Jr. 53 US Director, Producer One Million B.C. 30 Peter Whitney 55 US Actor The Big Heat In the Heat of the Night April 5 Brian Donlevy 71 Ireland Actor Kiss of Death Wake Island 5 Isabel Jewell 64 US Actress Gone with the Wind Lost Horizon 7 Betty Blythe 78 US Actress The Queen of Sheba She 13 Dorothy Dalton 78 US Actress Behind Masks The Woman Who Walked Alone 20 Jorge Mistral 51 Spain Actor Andalusia Express The White Sister 25 George Sanders 65 England Actor All About Eve Rebecca 25 Alfred J. Goulding 87 Australia Director Step Lively A Chump at Oxford 27 Bobby Howes 76 England Producer, Director Sweet Devil Yes, Madam? 28 Harry Joe Brown 81 US Producer, Director Captain Blood Knickerbocker Holiday 30 Gia Scala 38 England Actor The Guns of Navarone Don't Go Near the Water May 3 Bruce Cabot 68 US Actor King Kong Diamonds Are Forever 4 Elsa Ratassepp 79 Estonia Actress Libahunt 5 Frank Tashlin 59 US Director Son of Paleface Artists and Models 7 Henri Diamant-Berger 76 France Director, producer, screenwriter Les Trois Mousquetaires Monsieur Fabre 12 Steve Ihnat 37 Czechoslovakia Actor Madigan Zig Zag 13 Dan Blocker 43 US Actor Lady in Cement Come Blow Your Horn 15 Nigel Green 47 South Africa Actor The Ipcress File Zulu 18 Sidney Franklin 79 US Director, Producer Duel in the Sun The Good Earth 22 Margaret Rutherford 80 England Actress The V.I.P.s Murder, She Said 23 Richard Day 76 Canada Art director How Green Was My Valley On the Waterfront 24 Asta Nielsen 90 Denmark Actress Hamlet: The Drama of Vengeance Impossible Love 25 Charles C. Coleman 70 US Director Homicide Bureau The Shadow June 17 Jean Brochard 79 France Actor The Law Is the Law Les Diaboliques 17 Gale Henry 79 US Actress Two-Time Mama Darkened Rooms 20 Sidney Lanfield 74 US Director The Hound of the Baskervilles The Lemon Drop Kid 22 Paul Czinner 82 Hungary Director, screenwriter Dreaming Lips Ariane, jeune fille russe 25 Nicholas Hannen 74 England Director The Dictator Richard III 27 Thomy Bourdelle 81 France Actor The Return of Don Camillo The Call of Silence July 3 Hal Walker 76 US Director Sailor Beware At War with the Army 6 Brandon deWilde 30 US Actor Shane Hud 10 Emrys Jones 56 England Actor One of Our Aircraft Is Missing Nicholas Nickleby 10 Harmon Jones 61 Canada Director Pride of St. Louis The Kid from Left Field 19 Sally Benson 74 US Screenwriter Shadow of a Doubt Viva Las Vegas 28 Helen Traubel 73 US Actress, Singer Deep in My Heart The Ladies Man August 7 Joi Lansing 43 US Actress Touch of Evil A Hole in the Head 7 Tom Neal 58 US Actor Jungle Girl Detour 14 Oscar Levant 65 US Actor An American in Paris The Band Wagon 16 Pierre Brasseur 66 France Actor Les Enfants du Paradis Eyes Without a Face 19 Roger Furse 68 England Costume and production designer Henry V Hamlet 24 D. Ross Lederman 77 US Director Key Witness The Body Disappears 27 Gaby André 52 France Actress Verdi, the King of Melody Highway 301 September 11 Max Fleischer 89 US Animator, Director, Producer Popeye the Sailor Betty Boop for President 12 William Boyd 77 US Actor Hop-Along Cassidy The Volga Boatman 14 Lane Chandler 73 US Actor Open Range The Cheyenne Cyclone 17 Akim Tamiroff 72 Russia Actor Touch of Evil Ocean's 11 29 Max Nosseck 70 Germany Director Black Beauty Dillinger 29 Edward Sloman 86 US Actor Gun Smoke The Lost Zeppelin 30 Edgar G. Ulmer 68 Austria Director The Black Cat Detour October 4 Colin Gordon 61 England Actor The Pink Panther Casino Royale 9 Miriam Hopkins 69 US Actress Trouble in Paradise Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 16 Leo G. Carroll 85 England Actor North by Northwest Strangers on a Train 22 Jack Melford 73 England Actor A Shot in the Dark Lust for a Vampire 24 Claire Windsor 80 US Actor The Blot Captain Lash 28 Mitchell Leisen 74 US Director Midnight Kitty November 5 Reginald Owen 85 England Actor Mary Poppins A Christmas Carol 7 Tod Andrews 57 Russia Actor From Hell It Came Beneath the Planet of the Apes 10 Francis Chagrin 66 Romania Composer The Intruder The Colditz Story 16 Vera Karalli 83 Russia Actress A Woman's Revenge The King of Paris 23 Marie Wilson 56 US Actress Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation My Friend Irma 29 Eve Southern 72 US Actress Clothes Make the Woman Morocco (film) 30 William P. S. Earle 89 US Director The Way of a Maid Love's Masquerade December 6 Janet Munro 38 England Actress Swiss Family Robinson Darby O'Gill and the Little People 9 William Dieterle 79 Germany Director The Life of Emile Zola The Story of Louis Pasteur 9 Louella Parsons 91 US Columnist, Screenwriter Hollywood Hotel Starlift 15 Edward Earle 90 Canada Actor The Law of the Yukon Spite Marriage 19 Jacques Deval 77 France Director, Screenwriter Women's Club Tovaritch Film debuts Anne Archer – The Honkers Victor Argo – Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues William Atherton – The New Centurions Margaret Avery – Cool Breeze Ray Baker – Parades Elya Baskin – Telegramma Emmanuelle Béart – And Hope to Die Ned Beatty – Deliverance Susan Blakely – Savages Klaus Maria Brandauer – The Salzburg Connection Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) – The Culpepper Cattle Co. Robert Carradine – The Cowboys Dominic Chianese – Fuzz Candy Clark – Fat City Allan Corduner – Savage Messiah Ronny Cox – Deliverance Charles Cyphers – Cool Breeze Blythe Danner – To Kill a Clown Phil Davis – The Canterbury Tales Brian Doyle-Murray – Fuzz Steve Eastin – Joe Kidd Art Evans – Sisters James Faulkner – The Great Waltz Peter Firth – Brother Sun, Sister Moon Jodie Foster – Napoleon and Samantha Jackie Earle Haley – The Outside Man Bill Henderson – Trouble Man David Hess – The Last House on the Left Bob Hoskins – Up the Front Isabelle Huppert – Faustine et le Bel Été Samuel L. Jackson – Together for Days Madeline Kahn – What's Up, Doc? Patsy Kensit – For the Love of Ada Ben Kingsley – Fear Is the Key Ed Lauter – Dirty Little Billy Floyd Levine – Come Back, Charleston Blue John Lithgow – Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues David Margulies – Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers Steve Martin – Another Nice Mess Macon McCalman – Deliverance Frank McRae – Cool Breeze Nick Nolte – Dirty Little Billy Michele Placido – Il caso Pisciotta Jürgen Prochnow – Zoff Kathleen Quinlan – One Is a Lonely Number Steve Railsback – The Visitors Diana Ross - Lady Sings the Blues Alan Silvestri (film composer) – The Doberman Gang Stellan Skarsgård – Strandhugg i somras Svetlana Smirnova – Koltsa Almanzora Charles Martin Smith – The Culpepper Cattle Co. Joe Spinell – The Godfather Brinke Stevens – Necromancy Kemal Sunal – Sweet Talker Jeffrey Tambor – The Summertime Killer Lily Tomlin – Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers James Woods – The Visitors George Wyner – Lady Sings the Blues See also List of Hong Kong films of 1972 References External links List of 1972 films at IMDb List of 1972 deaths at IMDb List of 1972 births at IMDb Film Category:Film by year