# List of 1961 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 1961 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

| # | Week ending | Film | Notes |
| 1 | January 4, 1961 | Spartacus | Spartacus reached number one in its 13th week of release |
| 2 | January 11, 1961 | Spartacus | |
| 3 | January 18, 1961 | Exodus | |
| 4 | January 25, 1961 | Spartacus | Spartacus returned to number one in its 16th week of release |
| 5 | February 1, 1961 | Swiss Family Robinson | Swiss Family Robinson grossed $265,000 in the key cities sampled |
| 6 | February 8, 1961 | The Misfits | |
| 7 | February 15, 1961 | Exodus | |
| 8 | February 22, 1961 | The Misfits | |
| 9 | March 1, 1961 | Exodus | |
| 10 | March 8, 1961 | Exodus | |
| 11 | March 15, 1961 | Exodus | |
| 12 | March 22, 1961 | Exodus | Although Variety listed Exodus as the champ for the week based on their cities sampled, it noted that The Alamo likely grossed more nationally. |
| 13 | March 29, 1961 | Exodus | |
| 14 | April 5, 1961 | Exodus | |
| 15 | April 12, 1961 | Exodus | |
| 16 | April 19, 1961 | The Absent-Minded Professor | |
| 17 | April 26, 1961 | The Absent-Minded Professor | |
| 18 | May 3, 1961 | The Absent-Minded Professor | |
| 19 | May 10, 1961 | Gone with the Wind (reissue) | Gone with the Wind grossed $250,000 from 17 key cities. |
| 20 | May 17, 1961 | The Absent-Minded Professor | |
| 21 | May 24, 1961 | Gone with the Wind (reissue) | |
| 22 | May 31, 1961 | The Young Savages | The Young Savages grossed around $300,000 from 18 key cities. |
| 23 | June 7, 1961 | The Pleasure of His Company | |
| 24 | June 14, 1961 | The Pleasure of His Company | |
| 25 | June 21, 1961 | The Pleasure of His Company | |
| 26 | June 28, 1961 | The Pleasure of His Company | |
| 27 | July 5, 1961 | The Parent Trap | |
| 28 | July 12, 1961 | Fanny | Fanny opened at Radio City Music Hall where it grossed over $200,000. |
| 29 | July 19, 1961 | Fanny | |
| 30 | July 26, 1961 | Fanny | Fanny was still grossing $200,000 at Radio City Music Hall |
| 31 | August 2, 1961 | The Guns of Navarone | |
| 32 | August 9, 1961 | The Guns of Navarone | |
| 33 | August 16, 1961 | The Guns of Navarone | |
| 34 | August 23, 1961 | The Guns of Navarone | |
| 35 | August 30, 1961 | Come September | |
| 36 | September 6, 1961 | Come September | |
| 37 | September 13, 1961 | Come September | |
| 38 | September 20, 1961 | Come September | |
| 39 | September 27, 1961 | Come September | |
| 40 | October 4, 1961 | Come September | |
| 41 | October 11, 1961 | The Hustler | The Hustler grossed over $200,000 from 11 key cities |
| 42 | October 18, 1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Breakfast at Tiffany's reached number one despite playing in only 5 key cities |
| 43 | October 25, 1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | |
| 44 | November 1, 1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | |
| 45 | November 8, 1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | |
| 46 | November 15, 1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | |
| 47 | November 22, 1961 | King of Kings | |
| 48 | November 29, 1961 | The Comancheros | The Comancheros grossed nearly $300,000 from 21 key cities |
| 49 | December 6, 1961 | King of Kings | |
| 50 | December 13, 1961 | King of Kings | |
| 51 | December 20, 1961 | West Side Story | |
| 52 | December 27, 1961 | Flower Drum Song | |

## Highest-grossing films

The highest-grossing films during the calendar year based on theatrical rentals were as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Rental |
| 1 | Ben-Hur | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $14,700,000 |
| 2 | The Guns of Navarone | Columbia Pictures | $8,600,000 |
| 3 | The Absent-Minded Professor | Buena Vista | $8,200,000 |
| 4 | The Parent Trap | Buena Vista | $8,000,000 |
| 5 | Swiss Family Robinson | Buena Vista | $7,500,000 |
| 6 | Exodus | United Artists | $7,350,000 |
| 7 | The World of Suzie Wong | Paramount Pictures | $7,300,000 |
| 8 | The Alamo | United Artists | $7,250,000 |
| 9 | Gone with the Wind | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $6,000,000 |
| 10 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Buena Vista | $5,800,000 |