# List of 1953 box office number-one films in the United States

This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekly box office in the United States during 1953 per Variety's weekly National Boxoffice Survey. The results are based on a sample of 20-25 key cities and therefore, any box office amounts quoted may not be the total that the film grossed nationally in the week.

## Number-one films

| † | This implies the highest-grossing movie of the year |
| # | Week ending | Film | Notes |
| 1 | January 7, 1953 | Million Dollar Mermaid | |
| 2 | January 14, 1953 | Million Dollar Mermaid | |
| 3 | January 21, 1953 | Above and Beyond | Above and Beyond reached number one in its ninth week of release. |
| 4 | January 28, 1953 | The Bad and the Beautiful | The Bad and the Beautiful reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 5 | February 4, 1953 | The Bad and the Beautiful | |
| 6 | February 11, 1953 | The Bad and the Beautiful | |
| 7 | February 18, 1953 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan earned $270,000 from 5 key cities in its second week of release. |
| 8 | February 25, 1953 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan grossed $400,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 9 | March 4, 1953 | Peter Pan | |
| 10 | March 11, 1953 | Peter Pan | |
| 11 | March 18, 1953 | Peter Pan | |
| 12 | March 25, 1953 | Come Back, Little Sheba | Come Back, Little Sheba reached number one in its 13th week of release. |
| 13 | April 1, 1953 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan returned to number one in its eighth week of release. |
| 14 | April 8, 1953 | Call Me Madam | Call Me Madam reached number one in its fifth week of release. |
| 15 | April 15, 1953 | Salome | Salome reached number one in its third week of release. |
| 16 | April 22, 1953 | Salome | |
| 17 | April 29, 1953 | House of Wax | |
| 18 | May 6, 1953 | House of Wax | House of Wax grossed $690,000 from 20 key cities. |
| 19 | May 13, 1953 | House of Wax | House of Wax grossed $563,000 from 21 key cities. |
| 20 | May 20, 1953 | House of Wax | |
| 21 | May 27, 1953 | House of Wax | |
| 22 | June 3, 1953 | Young Bess | Young Bess grossed $400,000 from 22 key cities. |
| 23 | June 10, 1953 | Fort Ti | Fort Ti reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 24 | June 17, 1953 | It Came from Outer Space | It Came from Outer Space reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 25 | June 24, 1953 | It Came from Outer Space | |
| 26 | July 1, 1953 | The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms | The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms reached number one in its third week of release. |
| 27 | July 8, 1953 | Dangerous When Wet | |
| 28 | July 15, 1953 | The Charge at Feather River | |
| 29 | July 22, 1953 | The Charge at Feather River | |
| 30 | July 29, 1953 | Second Chance | Second Chance reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 31 | August 5, 1953 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes reached number one in its third week of release. |
| 32 | August 12, 1953 | The Band Wagon | |
| 33 | August 19, 1953 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes returned to number one in its fifth week of release. |
| 34 | August 26, 1953 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | |
| 35 | September 2, 1953 | From Here to Eternity | From Here to Eternity reached number one in its fourth week of release. |
| 36 | September 9, 1953 | From Here to Eternity | From Here to Eternity grossed $460,000 from 9 key cities. |
| 37 | September 16, 1953 | From Here to Eternity | |
| 38 | September 23, 1953 | From Here to Eternity | |
| 39 | September 30, 1953 | The Robe † | The Robe earned $499,000 from 4 key cities in its second week of release. |
| 40 | October 7, 1953 | The Robe † | The Robe grossed $813,000 from 11 key cities. |
| 41 | October 14, 1953 | The Robe † | The Robe grossed $1,026,000 from 16 key cities, which was a record for any film gross during a week. |
| 42 | October 21, 1953 | The Robe † | The Robe grossed $896,000 from 17 key cities. |
| 43 | October 28, 1953 | The Robe † | The Robe grossed $923,000 from 21 key cities. |
| 44 | November 4, 1953 | The Robe † | |
| 45 | November 11, 1953 | The Robe † | The Robe grossed more than $730,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 46 | November 18, 1953 | The Robe † | |
| 47 | November 25, 1953 | The Robe † | |
| 48 | December 2, 1953 | How to Marry a Millionaire | How to Marry a Millionaire reached number one in its fourth week of release. |
| 49 | December 9, 1953 | How to Marry a Millionaire | |
| 50 | December 16, 1953 | How to Marry a Millionaire | How to Marry a Millionaire grossed $265,000 from 16 key cities. |
| 51 | December 23, 1953 | This Is Cinerama | |
| 52 | December 30, 1953 | Easy to Love | |

## Highest-grossing films

The highest-grossing films during the calendar year based on theatrical rentals were as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Rental |
| 1 | The Robe | 20th Century Fox | $20-30,000,000 |
| 2 | From Here to Eternity | Columbia Pictures | $12,500,000 |
| 3 | Shane | Paramount Pictures | $8,000,000 |
| 4 | How to Marry a Millionaire | 20th Century Fox | $7,500,000 |
| 5 | Peter Pan | RKO Pictures | $7,000,000 |
| 6 | Hans Christian Andersen | RKO Pictures | $6,000,000 |
| 7 | House of Wax | Warner Bros. | $5,500,000 |
| 8 | Mogambo | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $5,200,000 |
| 9 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | 20th Century Fox | $5,100,000 |
| 10 | Moulin Rouge | United Artists | $5,000,000 |