# List of 1952 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 1952 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 2, 1952 | Quo Vadis | |
| 2 | January 9, 1952 | I'll See You in My Dreams | I'll See You in My Dreams reached number one in its fifth week of release. |
| 3 | January 16, 1952 | Quo Vadis | Quo Vadis earned $255,000 from 9 key cities in its ninth week of release. |
| 4 | January 23, 1952 | Quo Vadis | |
| 5 | January 30, 1952 | Quo Vadis | Quo Vadis grossed $260,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 6 | February 6, 1952 | Quo Vadis | Quo Vadis grossed $200,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 7 | February 13, 1952 | Sailor Beware | |
| 8 | February 20, 1952 | Quo Vadis | Quo Vadis returned to number one in its 14th week of release. |
| 9 | February 27, 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth † | The Greatest Show on Earth grossed $390,000 from 9 key cities. |
| 10 | March 5, 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth † | |
| 11 | March 12, 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth † | |
| 12 | March 19, 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth † | The Greatest Show on Earth grossed $502,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 13 | March 26, 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth † | |
| 14 | April 2, 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth † | The Greatest Show on Earth grossed $230,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 15 | April 9, 1952 | The Battle at Apache Pass | |
| 16 | April 16, 1952 | Singin' in the Rain | |
| 17 | April 23, 1952 | Singin' in the Rain With a Song in My Heart | Both Singin' in the Rain and With a Song in My Heart tied for first place. |
| 18 | April 30, 1952 | Singin' in the Rain | Singin' in the Rain grossed $240,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 19 | May 7, 1952 | The African Queen | The African Queen reached number one in its 11th week of release. |
| 20 | May 14, 1952 | Belles on Their Toes | Belles on Their Toes reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 21 | May 21, 1952 | Red Ball Express | |
| 22 | May 28, 1952 | Skirts Ahoy! | |
| 23 | June 4, 1952 | Skirts Ahoy! | |
| 24 | June 11, 1952 | Skirts Ahoy! | |
| 25 | June 18, 1952 | About Face | About Face reached number one in its 16th week of release. |
| 26 | June 25, 1952 | Pat and Mike | Pat and Mike reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 27 | July 2, 1952 | Scaramouche | |
| 28 | July 9, 1952 | The Story of Robin Hood | The Story of Robin Hood reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 29 | July 16, 1952 | Lovely to Look At | Lovely to Look At reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 30 | July 23, 1952 | Jumping Jacks | Jumping Jacks reached number one in its sixth week of release. |
| 31 | July 30, 1952 | Jumping Jacks | |
| 32 | August 6, 1952 | Jumping Jacks | |
| 33 | August 13, 1952 | High Noon | High Noon reached number one in its third week of release. |
| 34 | August 20, 1952 | Affair in Trinidad | Affair in Trinidad reached number one in its third week of release. |
| 35 | August 27, 1952 | The World in His Arms | |
| 36 | September 3, 1952 | What Price Glory | What Price Glory reached number one in its sixth week of release. |
| 37 | September 10, 1952 | Son of Paleface | Son of Paleface reached number one in its eighth week of release. |
| 38 | September 17, 1952 | The Merry Widow | The Merry Widow reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 39 | September 24, 1952 | The Quiet Man | The Quiet Man reached number one in its fifth week of release. |
| 40 | October 1, 1952 | Ivanhoe | Ivanhoe reached number one in its ninth week of release. |
| 41 | October 8, 1952 | Ivanhoe | |
| 42 | October 15, 1952 | Ivanhoe | Ivanhoe grossed $460,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 43 | October 22, 1952 | Ivanhoe | Ivanhoe grossed $429,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 44 | October 29, 1952 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | |
| 45 | November 5, 1952 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | |
| 46 | November 12, 1952 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | |
| 47 | November 19, 1952 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | |
| 48 | November 26, 1952 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | |
| 49 | December 3, 1952 | The Iron Mistress | The Iron Mistress reached number one in its second week of release. |
| 50 | December 10, 1952 | Because of You | |
| 51 | December 17, 1952 | The Thief | The Thief reached number one in its tenth week of release. |
| 52 | December 24, 1952 | Because of You | Because of You returned to number one in its third week of release. |
| 53 | December 31, 1952 | Million Dollar Mermaid | Million Dollar Mermaid reached number one in its fourth week of release. |

## Highest-grossing films

The highest-grossing films during the calendar year based on theatrical rentals were as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Rental |
| 1 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Paramount Pictures | $12,000,000 |
| 2 | Quo Vadis | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $10,500,000 |
| 3 | Ivanhoe | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $7,000,000 |
| 4 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | 20th Century Fox | $6,500,000 |
| 5 | Sailor Beware | Paramount Pictures | $4,300,000 |
| 6 | The African Queen | United Artists | $4,000,000 |
| 7 | Jumping Jacks | Paramount Pictures | $4,000,000 |
| 8 | High Noon | United Artists | $3,400,000 |
| 9 | Son of Paleface | Paramount Pictures | $3,400,000 |
| 10 | Singin' in the Rain | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $3,300,000 |