1948 in film

The top ten 1948 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

• May 3 – The Supreme Court of the United States decide in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. holding that the practice of block booking and ownership of theater chains by film studios constituted anti-competitive and monopolistic trade practices.
• Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.

United States unless stated

• G-Men Never Forget, starring Clayton Moore
• Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
• Adventures of Frank and Jesse James, starring Clayton Moore
• Superman, starring Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill
• Tex Granger
• Congo Bill

• Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
• Donald Duck (1936–1956)
• Goofy (1939–1953)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
• Bugs Bunny (1940–1964)
• The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
• Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
• Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
• Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
• Droopy (1943–1958)
• Yosemite Sam (1945–1964)
• George and Junior (1946—1948)
• Blackie the Sheep (1947–1949)

• January 7 – Kenny Loggins, American singer-songwriter
• January 10 – William Sanderson, American actor
• January 12 – Anthony Andrews, English actor
• January 13 – Malcolm Storry, British actor
• January 14 – Carl Weathers, American actor and football player (d. 2024)
• January 16 – John Carpenter, American director, producer and screenwriter
• January 18 – M. C. Gainey, American character actor
• January 20 – Geno Silva, American actor (d. 2020)
• January 21 – Trey Wilson, American character actor (d. 1989)
• January 25 – Emily Richard, British actress (d. 2024)
• January 28 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Latvian-American actor
• January 29 – Marc Singer, Canadian actor
• February 1 – Rick James, American singer and actor (d. 2004)
• February 3 – Thomas Rosales Jr., American actor and stuntman
• February 5
  • Christopher Guest, American-British screenwriter, musician, director, actor and comedian
  • Barbara Hershey, American actress
  • Tom Wilkinson, English actor (d. 2023)
• February 9 – David Hayman, Scottish actor and director
• February 13 – Kitten Natividad, Mexican-American actress (d. 2022)
• February 15 – Tino Insana, American actor, producer, writer, voice artist and comedian (d. 2017)
• February 16 – Troy Evans, American actor
• February 17 – Anne Lonnberg, American actress and singer of Swedish descent
• February 18 – Sinéad Cusack, Irish actress
• February 20 – Jennifer O'Neill, American actress
• February 22 – John Ashton, American actor (d. 2024)
• February 23 – Dennis Waterman, English actor and singer (d. 2022)
• February 25 – K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Indian actress (d. 2022)
• February 27 – Féodor Atkine, French actor
• February 28
  • Mike Figgis, English director and screenwriter
  • Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer
  • Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
• February 29
  • Ken Foree, American actor
  • Kerry Walker, Australian actress
• March 1 – Karl Johnson, Welsh actor
• March 3 – Danny Keogh, South African actor (d. 2019)
• March 4 – Brian Cummings, American voice actor
• March 5 – Annette Charles, American actress and dancer (d. 2011)
• March 6 – Anna Maria Horsford, American actress
• March 14 – Billy Crystal, American actor and comedian
• March 18 - Toni Bertorelli, Italian actor (d. 2017)
• March 20 – Helene Vannari, Estonian actress (d. 2022)
• March 23 – Penelope Milford, American actress (d. 2025)
• March 24 – Adrian Shergold, British director
• March 25 – Bonnie Bedelia, American actress
• March 26 – Steven Tyler, American singer, songwriter, musician and actor
• March 28 – Matthew Corbett, English television personality, actor, writer, puppeteer and comedian
• March 29 – Bud Cort, American actor (d. 2026)
• March 31 – Rhea Perlman, American actress and writer
• April 5 – Carlos Carrasco, American actor
• April 6 – Patrika Darbo, American actress
• April 9 – Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress
• April 20 – Gregory Itzin, American character actor (d. 2022)
• April 25 – Freda Foh Shen, American film, television and theatre actress
• April 28 – Marcia Strassman, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
• May 3
  • Larry Brandenburg, American actor
  • Chris Mulkey, American actor
• May 6 – Richard Cox, American actor
• May 11 – Pam Ferris, Welsh actress
• May 12
  • Lindsay Crouse, American actress
  • Richard Riehle, American actor
• May 14 – Walter Olkewicz, American character actor (d. 2021)
• May 15 – Malcolm Stewart, Canadian actor
• May 18 – Jesper Christensen, Danish actor
• May 19 – Bruce Jarchow, American actor
• May 20 – Will Lyman, American actor
• May 21 – Jonathan Hyde, Australian-born English actor
• May 27 - Ken Lerner, American actor
• May 29 - Nick Mancuso, Italian-Canadian actor and director
• June 1 – Powers Boothe, American actor (d. 2017)
• June 7 – Xavier Saint-Macary, French actor (d. 1988)
• June 11 – Michael Swan, American actor
• June 18 – Philip Jackson, English actor
• June 19 – Phylicia Rashad, American actress, singer and director
• June 21 – Ian McEwan, English author
• June 22 – Steve Eastin, American character actor
• June 25 – Michael Lembeck, American actor and director
• June 28
  • Kathy Bates, American actress
  • J. Michael Riva, American production designer (d. 2012)
• June 29 – Danny Adcock, Australian actor
• July 2 – Saul Rubinek, German-born Canadian actor, director and producer
• July 5 – William Hootkins, American actor (d. 2005)
• July 6 – Nathalie Baye, French actress (d. 2026)
• July 7 – Lori Tan Chinn, American actress and comedian
• July 9 – Ray Baker, American actor
• July 12
  • Susan Blu, American voice actress, voice director and casting director
  • Ben Burtt, American sound designer
• July 13 – Catherine Breillat, French director
• July 15 – Richard Franklin, Australian director (d. 2007)
• July 16 – Rubén Blades, Panamanian musician, composer and actor
• July 17 – Wayne Sleep, British choreographer and actor
• July 18 – James Faulkner, British actor
• July 20 – Muse Watson, American actor
• July 26 – Leon Vitali, English actor (d. 2022)
• July 28 – Georgia Engel, American actress (d. 2019)
• July 30 – Jean Reno, French actor
• August 5 – Barbara Flynn, English actress
• August 13 – Peter Iacangelo, American actor (d. 2021)
• August 14 – Joseph Marcell, British actor and comedian
• August 18 – Grainger Hines, American actor, writer, producer and director
• August 19 – Jim Carter, English actor
• August 20 – John Noble, Australian actor
• August 30 – Lewis Black, American actor and comedian
• September 1 – James Rebhorn, American character actor (d. 2014)
• September 4 – Michael Berryman, American character actor
• September 7 – Susan Blakely, American actress
• September 11
  • Philip Alford, former American actor
  • Michael Sacks, American actor
• September 15
  • Wilbur Fitzgerald, American actor
  • Kathryn Kates, American actress (d. 2022)
• September 17 – John Ritter, American actor (d. 2003)
• September 19
  • Jan Hoag, American actress
  • Jeremy Irons, English actor
• September 24
  • Gordon Clapp, American actor
  • Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor (d. 1998)
• September 25 - Mimi Kennedy, American actress
• September 26 – Olivia Newton-John, British-born Australian actress and singer (d. 2022)
• September 27 – A Martinez, American actor and singer
• October 2 – Persis Khambatta, Indian actress and model (d. 1998)
• October 3 - Niall Buggy, Irish actor
• October 5 – Sal Viscuso, American actor
• October 6 – Frances Tomelty, Northern Irish actress
• October 8 – James Harper, American actor
• October 11
  • John R. Cherry III, American director and screenwriter (d. 2022)
  • Jonathan Hadary, American actor
• October 14 – Gerard Murphy, Irish actor (d. 2013)
• October 16 – Hema Malini, Indian actress and politician
• October 17
  • Margot Kidder, Canadian actress (d. 2018)
  • George Wendt, American actor and comedian (d. 2025)
• October 21 – Tom Everett, American actor
• October 22 - Christopher Curry, American character actor
• October 24 - Biff Wiff, American actor (d. 2025)
• October 28 – Telma Hopkins, American actress and singer
• October 29 – Kate Jackson, American actress
• October 30
  • Don Creech, American actor
  • Olivia Leyva, Mexican actress and television presenter (d. 2019)
  • Garry McDonald, Australian comedian, television host and actor
• October 31 – Michael Kitchen, English actor and producer
• November 3 – Robert Pugh, Welsh actor
• November 4
  • Delia Casanova, Mexican actress
  • Benz Hui, Hong Kong actor (d. 2025)
• November 11 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (d. 2005)
• November 13 – Adelle Lutz, American model, actress and costume designer
• November 14 – Robert Ginty, American actor and producer (d. 2009)
• November 18
  • Dom Irrera, American actor and stand-up comedian
  • Andrea Marcovicci, American actress and singer
• November 20 – Richard Masur, American character actor
• November 26 – Marianne Muellerleile, American actress
• November 28 – Agnieszka Holland, Polish director and screenwriter
• November 30 – Larry Bishop, American actor, screenwriter and director
• December 1 – Remo Girone, Italian actor (d. 2025)
• December 3 – Ozzy Osbourne, English heavy metal musician, actor and media personality (d. 2025)
• December 6 – JoBeth Williams, American actress and director
• December 9 – Ron Vawter, American actor (d. 1994)
• December 14 – Dee Wallace, American actress
• December 15
  • Melanie Chartoff, American actress and comedian
  • Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (d. 1991)
• December 21 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer
• December 22 – Lynne Thigpen, American actress (d. 2003)
• December 27 – Gérard Depardieu, French actor and filmmaker
• December 31
  • Joe Dallesandro, American actor
  • Donna Summer, American singer and songwriter (d. 2012)

• January 7 – Charles C. Wilson, 53, American actor, It Happened One Night, The Hell Cat, Waterfront Lady, Legion of Terror
• February 11 – Sergei Eisenstein, 50, Russian film director, Battleship Potemkin, Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible, Part One, Ivan the Terrible, Part Two
• February 14 – James Baskett, 44, American actor, Song of the South
• February 23 – Patricia Farr, 35, American actress, Lady Luck, Criminals of the Air, Girls Can Play, Lady Behave!
• March 10 – William L. Thorne, 69, American actor, Vanishing Men
• March 25 – Warren Hymer, 42, American actor, Up the River, She's Dangerous, The Lady and the Mob
• May 3 – Gideon Wahlberg, 58, Swedish actor, writer and film director
• May 12 – Dante Cappelli, 82, Italian actor, Macbeth, Love Everlasting, The Mysterious Mirror
• May 26 – Torsten Bergström, 51, Swedish actor and director, The Pilgrimage to Kevlaar, Trollebokungen, Ungdom
• May 29 – May Whitty, 82, English actress, Lassie Come Home, Gaslight, My Name Is Julia Ross
• July 5 – Carole Landis, 29, American actress, Topper Returns, I Wake Up Screaming, One Million B.C., Four Jills in a Jeep
• July 15 – William Selig, 84, American pioneer studio builder
• July 23 – David Wark Griffith, 73, American film director, The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Broken Blossoms, Orphans of the Storm
• August 13 – Elaine Hammerstein, 51, American actress, Paint and Powder, The Midnight Express
• August 13 – Edwin Maxwell, 62, American actor, Duck Soup, Cleopatra, His Girl Friday
• September 24 – Warren William, 53, American actor, Gold Diggers of 1933, The Wolf Man, Lady for a Day, Imitation of Life
• September 28 – Gregg Toland, 44, American cinematographer, Citizen Kane, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Long Voyage Home, December 7th: The Movie, Wuthering Heights, The Grapes of Wrath, Song of the South, The Little Foxes
• October 10 – Mary Eaton, 47, American actress, Glorifying the American Girl, The Cocoanuts
• October 13 – Samuel S. Hinds, 73, American actor, It's a Wonderful Life, Buck Privates
• October 16 – Nora Lane, 43, American actress, The Cisco Kid, Six-Gun Trail
• October 21 – Elissa Landi, 43, Austrian-American actress, The Count of Monte Cristo, After the Thin Man
• November 9 – Edgar Kennedy, 58, American actor, Duck Soup, A Star Is Born
• December 20 – C. Aubrey Smith, 85, English actor, A Bill of Divorcement, Madame Curie