1975 in film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, most notably the release of Steven Spielberg's Jaws, as well as the releases of two highly acclaimed films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The 20th Century-Fox company celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Events
- January: The government of India sets up the National Film Development Company with an objective of planning, promoting and organizing an integrated and efficient development of the Indian Film Industry.[1]
- March 26: The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London.
- May 26: In order to create the necessary special effects for his film, Star Wars, George Lucas forms Industrial Light and Magic.[2]
- June 20: Jaws is released and becomes the highest-grossing movie of the year and the first movie to earn $100 million in US and Canadian theatrical rentals,[3] setting the standard for future blockbusters.
- August 14: The cult classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show premieres in London.[4]
- August 15: Sholay, directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed, is released in Bombay. The film stars Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, and Amjad Khan. When first released, Sholay receives negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helps it to become a box office success. It breaks records for continuous showings in many theatres across India. It is the highest-grossing Indian film ever at this time, and is the highest-grossing film in India up until Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994). By numerous accounts, Sholay remains one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, adjusted for inflation. Sholay is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential Indian films of all time.
- November 2: Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini is brutally murdered in Ostia (Rome), apparently for political reasons.[5]
- November 23: Sneak Previews, the first American film review show, premieres and launches the careers of critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. They remained as a team, and a staple among film critics, through various programs for the next twenty-four years.
- December: Warner Bros. reorganizes following John Calley's decision to step down as president-COO. Frank Wells returns as president and shares CEO duties with Ted Ashley, who also returns as chairman.[3]
- December 23: Bernard Herrmann completes recording his film soundtrack for Taxi Driver, dying the following day.[6]
Highest-grossing films
North America
The top ten 1975 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
- † Indicates films currently in theatrical release in the week commencing 25 September 2026.
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaws | Universal | $133,400,000[7] |
| 2 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | United Artists | $59,200,000[7] |
| 3 | The Rocky Horror Picture Show † | 20th Century Fox | $50,420,000[8][a] |
| 4 | Shampoo | Columbia | $23,822,000[8] |
| 5 | Dog Day Afternoon | Warner Bros. | $22,500,000[7] |
| 6 | The Return of the Pink Panther | United Artists | $20,017,000[8] |
| 7 | Three Days of the Condor | Paramount | $20,014,000[8] |
| 8 | Funny Lady | Columbia | $19,313,000[8] |
| 9 | The Other Side of the Mountain | Universal | $18,012,000[8] |
| 10 | Tommy | Columbia | $17,793,000[8] |
International
The highest-grossing 1975 films in countries outside of North America.
| International market | Film | Admissions | Revenue | Production country |
Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local currency | US$ | |||||
| Brazil | The Towering Inferno | 10,377,230 | Unknown | Unknown | United States | [9] |
| France | The Towering Inferno | 4,466,376 | Unknown | Unknown | United States | [10] |
| West Germany | Jaws | 7,000,000 | Unknown | Unknown | United States | [11] |
| India | Sholay | 150,000,000+ | ₹350,000,000 | $41,790,000 | India | [12][n 1] |
| Italy | My Friends | 10,467,254 | Unknown | Unknown | Italy | [15] |
| Japan | The Towering Inferno | Unknown | ¥3,640,000,000 | Unknown | United States | [16] |
| Soviet Union | Bobby | 62,600,000 | 15,650,000 Rbls | $21,440,000 | India | [n 2] |
| Spain | Jaws | 5,918,754 | Unknown | Unknown | United States | [21] |
| United Kingdom | Jaws | 16,200,000 | £11,800,000 | $26,000,000 | United States | [22][23] |
| United States & Canada | Jaws | 128,078,800 | $260,000,000 | $260,000,000 | United States | [24] |
Worldwide gross
The following table lists known worldwide gross figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1975. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1975. This list also includes gross revenue from later re-releases.
| Title | Admissions (est.) | Revenue | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaws | 242,800,000[25] | $470,653,000[24] | United States |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | 78,706,404[n 3] | Unknown | |
| The Rocky Horror Picture Show | 58,431,570[n 4] | $166,000,000[n 5] | United Kingdom United States |
| Sholay | 250,000,000[36] | $70,000,000[n 6] | India |
| Dog Day Afternoon | 24,861,525[n 7] | Unknown | United States |
Awards
Awards ceremonies
- Academy Awards - March 29, 1976 (ABC)
- BAFTA Awards - March 17, 1976
- Golden Globe Awards - January 24, 1976
- Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival) 13 to 28 May 1976: Chronicle of the Years of Fire (Chronique des années de braise)
- Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival) 25 June to 6 July 1976: Adoption (Örökbefogadás)
Notable awards
1975 films
By country/region
- List of American films of 1975
- List of Argentine films of 1975
- List of Australian films of 1975
- List of Bangladeshi films of 1975
- List of British films of 1975
- List of Canadian films of 1975
- List of French films of 1975
- List of Hong Kong films of 1975
- List of Indian films of 1975
- List of Japanese films of 1975
- List of Mexican films of 1975
- List of Pakistani films of 1975
- List of South Korean films of 1975
- List of Soviet films of 1975
- List of Spanish films of 1975
By genre/medium
Births
- January 1
- Sonali Bendre, Indian actress
- Toni Ann Gisondi, American child actress
- January 2: Dax Shepard, American actor
- January 3
- Jason Marsden, American actor
- Danica McKellar, American actress
- January 5: Bradley Cooper, American actor and film director
- January 6: Nicole DeHuff, American actress (d. 2005)
- January 9: Patrick Sabongui, Canadian actor and stunt performer
- January 15: Jorge R. Gutierrez, Mexican animator, director, writer and voice actor
- January 16: Julie Ann Emery, American actress
- January 18: Aleksandra Woźniak, Polish actress and psychologist[39]
- January 22: Balthazar Getty, American actor and musician
- January 25: Dat Phan, Vietnamese-American stand-up comedian and actor
- January 29: Kelly Packard, American actress
- January 31: Preity Zinta, Indian actress
- February 3: Terry Chen, Canadian actor
- February 4: Natalie Imbruglia, Australian-British singer and actress
- February 5: Alison Hammond, English television personality and actress
- February 7: Dan Green, American voice actor, voice director and screenwriter
- February 9: Rawson Marshall Thurber, American filmmaker and actor
- February 10: Scott Elrod, American former actor
- February 17: Raymond S. Persi, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer, storyboard artist and voice actor
- February 18: Hristo Zhivkov, Bulgarian actor (d. 2023)
- February 22: Drew Barrymore, American actress and director
- February 23: Callan Mulvey, Australian actor
- February 27: Quentin Kenihan, Australian writer and actor (d. 2018)
- March 2: Lee Sun-kyun, South Korean actor (d. 2023)
- March 3:
- Patric Chiha, Austrian film director and screenwriter[40]
- Tiger Chen, Chinese martial artist, actor and stuntman
- March 9: Chaske Spencer, American actor and producer
- March 11: Josh Robert Thompson, American voice actor, actor, comedian and impressionist
- March 15:
- Eva Longoria, American actress, director and producer
- Will.i.am, American actor and singer/rapper
- March 16: Sienna Guillory, English actress
- March 17: Natalie Zea, American actress
- March 18: Charles Parnell, American actor
- March 21: Justin Pierce, American-British actor and skateboarder (d. 2000)
- March 22:
- Guillermo Diaz, American actor
- Nathan Greno, American director and writer
- Cole Hauser, American actor
- March 24: Brennan Elliott, Canadian actor
- April 2:
- Deedee Magno, Filipino-American actress and singer
- Pedro Pascal, Chilean and American actor
- Adam Rodriguez, American actor
- April 6: Zach Braff, American actor, director, screenwriter and producer
- April 10: David Harbour, American actor
- April 11: Gloria Calderón Kellett, American writer, producer, director and actress
- April 12: Camila Morgado, Brazilian actress
- April 13: Angus MacLane, American director, animator, screenwriter and voice actor
- April 14:
- Amy Birnbaum, American voice actress
- Anderson Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist and boxer.
- April 15: Elissa Knight, American employee at Pixar and voice actress
- April 21: Charlie O'Connell, American actor
- April 27: Erica Schroeder, American voice actress
- April 30: Johnny Galecki, American actor
- May 2: Jenna Lamia, American actress and writer
- May 3:
- Christina Hendricks, American actress
- Dulé Hill, American actor
- May 4: Óscar Jaenada, Spanish actor
- May 8: Wilmer Calderon, Puerto Rican-American actor
- May 9: Chris Diamantopoulos, Greek-Canadian actor and voice artist
- May 22: Stephen Walters, English actor
- May 24: Will Sasso, Canadian-American actor, comedian, voice actor and podcaster
- May 26: Nicki Aycox, American actress and musician (d. 2022)
- May 27: André 3000, American singer, songwriter, rapper and actor
- June 4:
- Russell Brand, English comedian, actor and radio host
- Angelina Jolie, American actress
- June 6: Nina Kaczorowski, American actress and stuntwoman
- June 8: Shilpa Shetty, Indian actress
- June 10: Nicole Bilderback, Korean-born American actress
- June 19: Hugh Dancy, English actor
- June 22: Jeff Hephner, American actor
- June 23: Jeffrey Carlson, American actor and singer (d. 2023)
- June 25: Linda Cardellini, American actress
- June 27: Tobey Maguire, American actor
- June 28: Jeff Geddis, Canadian actor
- June 29: Șerban Pavlu, Romanian actor
- July 2: Elizabeth Reaser, American actress
- July 3: Ryan McPartlin, American actor
- July 5:
- Sope Aluko, Nigerian-born British-American actress
- Kip Gamblin, Australian actor
- July 6: 50 Cent, American actor and rapper
- July 7: Nina Hoss, German film and stage actress
- July 9: Nathaniel Marston, American actor and producer (d. 2015)
- July 10: Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor and singer (d. 2018)
- July 11:
- Bridgette Andersen, American actress (d. 1997)
- Bruno Gouery, French actor and writer
- July 13: Gareth Edwards, British filmmaker
- July 14: Jaime Gomez, American actor and rapper
- July 17:
- Elena Anaya, Spanish actress
- Cécile de France, Belgian actress
- July 19: Reuben Langdon, American stuntman and voice actor
- July 20:
- Judy Greer, American actress
- Jason Raize, American actor, singer and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (d. 2004)
- July 21: David Dastmalchian, American actor
- July 22: Hannah Waterman, English actress
- July 23: Suriya, Indian actor
- July 28: Ori Pfeffer, Israeli actor
- August 4: Sari Lennick, American actress
- August 5:
- Iddo Goldberg, Israeli actor
- Jabez Olssen, New Zealand editor
- Stéphanie Szostak, French actress
- August 7:
- Megan Gale, Australian actress
- Hans Matheson, Scottish actor and musician
- Charlize Theron, South African-American actress
- August 9:
- Mahesh Babu, Indian actor and producer[41]
- Anjali Jay, British actress and writer
- August 11: Roger Craig Smith, American actor and voice actor
- August 12: Casey Affleck, American actor
- August 13: James Carpinello, American actor
- August 16:
- Brad Morris, American actor
- Taika Waititi, New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian
- August 18: Kaitlin Olson, American actress and comedian
- August 19: Simone Kessell, New Zealand television
- August 22: Rodrigo Santoro, Brazilian actor
- August 24: James D'Arcy, English actor and director
- August 25: Raymond Wong Ho-yin, Hong Kong actor[42]
- August 27: Bodie Olmos, American actor
- August 28:
- Eugene Byrd, American actor
- Nick E. Tarabay, Lebanese actor
- August 29:
- Dante Basco, American actor
- Juan Diego Botto, Argentine-Spanish actor
- September 1:
- Scott Speedman, Canadian actor
- Jason Zumwalt, American actor, voice actor, comedian and screenwriter
- September 2: MC Chris, American rapper, voice actor, comedian and writer
- September 10: Kyle Bornheimer, American actor and comedian
- September 18: Jason Sudeikis, American actor, comedian and screenwriter
- September 19: Daniel Eric Gold, American actor
- September 20: Moon Bloodgood, American actress
- September 22: Mireille Enos, American actress
- September 23:
- Alex Karpovsky, American director, actor, screenwriter, producer and editor
- Kip Pardue, American actor and model
- September 27: Sam Lee, Hong Kong actor
- September 30
- Asia Argento, Italian actress
- Marion Cotillard, French actress
- Christopher Jackson, American actor, singer, musician and composer
- October 3 - Alanna Ubach, American actress
- October 4 - Reggie Lee, Filipino-American actor
- October 5
- Parminder Nagra, English actress
- Monica Rial, American voice actress
- Scott Weinger, American actor
- Kate Winslet, English actress
- Diane Morgan, British actress
- October 7:
- Tim Minchin, British-Australian comedian, actor, writer and musician
- Kaspars Znotiņš, Latvian actor
- October 8: Richard Short, English actor
- October 10: Lenn Kudrjawizki, German actor and musician
- October 11: Nat Faxon, American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter
- October 15: Chukwudi Iwuji, Nigerian-British actor
- October 16:
- Nelson Lee, Taiwanese-Canadian actor
- Kellie Martin, American actress
- October 26: Lennon Parham, American actress
- October 29: Aksel Hennie, Norwegian actor, director and screenwriter
- October 31: Keith Jardine, American actor
- November 2: Danny Cooksey, American actor and musician
- November 8: Tara Reid, American actress
- November 11: Eyal Podell, Israeli-American actor and screenwriter
- November 12: Steven Kynman, British actor, puppeteer, writer and voice actor
- November 13: Aisha Hinds, American actress
- November 15: J. C. Brandy, British-born American actress
- November 16: David Leitch, American filmmaker, actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator
- November 19: Sushmita Sen, Indian actress
- November 22: James Madio, American actor
- November 26: DJ Khaled, American DJ, rapper and actor
- December 1: David Hornsby, American actor
- December 5: Paula Patton, American actress
- December 6: Noel Clarke, British actor and filmmaker
- December 12: Mayim Bialik, American actress and game show host
- December 14: KaDee Strickland, American actress
- December 17
- Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress
- Hilje Murel, Estonian actress
- Steve Zissis, American actor, writer and producer
- December 22: Omar Dorsey, American actor
- December 27: Heather O'Rourke, American child actress (d. 1988)
- December 29: Shawn Hatosy, American actor
- December 31: Amy Palant, American voice actress and singer
Deaths
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | Arthur Pierson | 73 | Norway/US | Director, Actor | |
| 9 | Pierre Fresnay | 77 | France | Actor | ||
| 18 | Gertrude Olmstead | 77 | US | Actress | ||
| 21 | Marie Lohr | 84 | Australia | Actress | ||
| 24 | Larry Fine | 72 | US | Actor | ||
| 27 | Bill Walsh | 61 | US | Screenwriter, Producer | ||
| February | 1 | Richard Wattis | 62 | UK | Actor | |
| 11 | Maria Balcerkiewiczówna | 71 | Poland | Actress | ||
| 17 | George Marshall | 83 | US | Director | ||
| 20 | Robert Strauss | 61 | US | Actor | ||
| 20 | Lillian Fontaine | 88 | UK | Actress | ||
| March | 3 | Edward H. Griffith | 86 | US | Director | |
| 3 | Therese Giehse | 76 | Germany | Actress | ||
| 4 | Renée Björling | 76 | Sweden | Actress | ||
| 7 | Ben Blue | 73 | Canada/US | Actor | ||
| 8 | George Stevens | 70 | US | Director, Producer | ||
| 9 | Shirley Ross | 62 | US | Actress | ||
| 14 | Susan Hayward | 57 | US | Actress | ||
| 15 | John H. Auer | 68 | Hungary | Director, Producer | ||
| 15 | Arthur Crabtree | 74 | UK | Director, Screenwriter | ||
| 19 | Harry Lachman | 88 | US | Director | ||
| 22 | Cass Daley | 59 | US | Actress, Singer | ||
| 25 | Michele Girardon | 36 | France | Actress | ||
| April | 3 | Mary Ure | 42 | UK | Actress | |
| 5 | Inez Courtney | 67 | US | Actress | ||
| 10 | Marjorie Main | 85 | US | Actress | ||
| 13 | Larry Parks | 60 | US | Actor | ||
| 14 | Fredric March | 77 | US | Actor | ||
| 15 | Richard Conte | 65 | US | Actor | ||
| 15 | William Hartnell | 67 | UK | Actor | ||
| 22 | Mary Philips | 74 | US | Actress | ||
| May | 4 | Moe Howard | 77 | US | Actor | |
| 9 | Philip Dorn | 73 | Netherlands | Actor | ||
| 22 | Torben Meyer | 90 | Germany | Actor | ||
| 30 | Michel Simon | 80 | Switzerland | Actor | ||
| June | 3 | Ozzie Nelson | 69 | US | Actor | |
| 4 | Evelyn Brent | 75 | US | Actress | ||
| 6 | Larry Blyden | 49 | US | Actor | ||
| 11 | Jane Griffiths | 45 | UK | Actress | ||
| 28 | Rod Serling | 50 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| July | 2 | James Robertson Justice | 68 | UK | Actor | |
| 2 | Audrey Maas | 40 | US | Producer | ||
| 14 | Madan Mohan[43] | 51 | India | Music director | ||
| 20 | Richard Gaines | 70 | US | Actor | ||
| 28 | Alfred L. Werker | 78 | US | Director | ||
| August | 2 | Jean Yarbrough | 73 | US | Director | |
| 7 | Phyllis Povah | 82 | US | Actress | ||
| 11 | Howard Wendell | 67 | US | Actor | ||
| 23 | Sidney Buchman | 73 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 23 | Hank Patterson | 86 | US | Actor | ||
| 25 | Joseph Kane | 81 | US | Director | ||
| 29 | Bob Baker | 64 | US | Actor | ||
| 31 | Pierre Blaise | 20 | France | Actor | ||
| September | 9 | John McGiver | 61 | US | Actor | |
| 19 | Pamela Brown | 58 | UK | Actress | ||
| 24 | Clive Morton | 71 | UK | Actor | ||
| 27 | Mark Frechette | 27 | US | Actor | ||
| October | 16 | Don Barclay | 82 | US | Actor | |
| 18 | Al Lettieri | 47 | US | Actor | ||
| 19 | Cesare Bettarini | 74 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 24 | Martin Boddey | 68 | UK | Actor | ||
| 31 | Joseph Calleia | 78 | Malta/US | Actor, Singer | ||
| November | 2 | Pier Paolo Pasolini[5] | 53 | Italy | Director, Screenwriter, Actor | |
| 4 | Sheila Ryan | 54 | US | Actress | ||
| 5 | Annette Kellerman | 88 | Australia | Actress | ||
| 17 | Kay Johnson | 70 | US | Actress | ||
| December | 7 | Hardie Albright | 71 | US | Actor | |
| 9 | William A. Wellman | 79 | US | Director | ||
| 13 | Cyril Delevanti | 88 | UK | Actor | ||
| 14 | Arthur Treacher | 81 | UK | Actor | ||
| 17 | Frank Sully | 67 | US | Actor | ||
| 20 | William Lundigan | 61 | US | Actor | ||
| 21 | Rowland V. Lee | 84 | US | Director | ||
| 24 | Bernard Herrmann | 64 | US | Composer |
Film debuts
- Tom Alter – Mrig Trishna
- Jack Angel – Funny Lady
- Pernilla August – Giliap
- Michael Berryman – Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze
- Bruce Boxleitner – Sixpack Annie
- Jay Brazeau – The Melting Pot
- Bryan Brown – Scobie Malone
- Kim Cattrall – Rosebud
- Maury Chaykin – Me
- George Cheung – The Killer Elite
- George Coe – The Stepford Wives
- Tom Conti – Galileo
- Robert Costanzo – Dog Day Afternoon
- Tim Curry – The Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Ken Davitian – Sons of Sassoun
- John de Lancie – Legacy
- John Debney (film composer) – The Strongest Man in the World
- Brad Dourif – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Griffin Dunne – The Other Side of the Mountain
- Joe Estevez – Lucky Lady
- Conchata Ferrell – Deadly Hero
- Laurence Fishburne – Cornbread, Earl and Me
- Carrie Fisher – Shampoo
- M. C. Gainey – Hard Times
- Richard Gere – Report to the Commissioner
- Patrick Gorman – Three Days of the Condor
- Debbie Harry – Deadly Hero
- Bernard Hill – It Could Happen to You
- Danny Huston – The "Human" Factor
- Brion James – Hard Times
- Wolf Kahler – Barry Lyndon
- James Keane – Three Days of the Condor
- Nastassja Kinski – The Wrong Move
- Christopher Lloyd – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Mary Stuart Masterson – The Stepford Wives
- Richard Masur – Whiffs
- Rudy Ray Moore – Dolemite
- Chris Mulkey – Loose Ends
- Sam Neill – Landfall
- Bill Paxton – Crazy Mama
- Dennis Quaid – Crazy Mama
- Rajinikanth – Apoorva Raagangal
- Leo Rossi – Alias Big Cherry
- Chris Sarandon – Dog Day Afternoon
- Gailard Sartain – Nashville
- Sandra Seacat – Night Moves
- Lin Shaye – Hester Street
- Don Stark – Switchblade Sisters
- Patrick Stewart – Hennessy
- John Travolta – The Devil's Rain
- Vlasta Vrána – Shivers
- Dee Wallace – The Stepford Wives
- Steven Williams – Cooley High
- Treat Williams – Deadly Hero
Notes
- Sholay in India: ₹350 million at Indian box office,[13] 8.3759 Indian rupees per US dollar in 1975[14]
- Due to The Rocky Horror Picture Show's unusually long theatrical run, this figure may not accurately reflect its 1975 gross.
