# List of 1951 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 1951 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 3, 1951 | Mr. Music | |
| 2 | January 10, 1951 | Harvey | Harvey reached number one in its third week of release. |
| 3 | January 17, 1951 | Harvey | |
| 4 | January 24, 1951 | Halls of Montezuma | Halls of Montezuma reached number one in its third week of release. |
| 5 | January 31, 1951 | At War with the Army | At War with the Army reached number one in its fifth week of release. |
| 6 | February 7, 1951 | At War with the Army | At War with the Army grossed $350,000 from 16 key cities. |
| 7 | February 14, 1951 | At War with the Army | At War with the Army grossed $200,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 8 | February 21, 1951 | Born Yesterday | Born Yesterday reached number one in its eighth week of release. |
| 9 | February 28, 1951 | Payment on Demand | Payment on Demand reached number one in its fourth week of release. |
| 10 | March 7, 1951 | Payment on Demand | |
| 11 | March 14, 1951 | Born Yesterday | Born Yesterday returned to number one in its 11th week of release. |
| 12 | March 21, 1951 | Born Yesterday | |
| 13 | March 28, 1951 | Royal Wedding | Royal Wedding grossed $492,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 14 | April 4, 1951 | Royal Wedding | |
| 15 | April 11, 1951 | Royal Wedding | |
| 16 | April 18, 1951 | Father's Little Dividend | |
| 17 | April 25, 1951 | Father's Little Dividend | |
| 18 | May 2, 1951 | Father's Little Dividend | |
| 19 | May 9, 1951 | Father's Little Dividend | |
| 20 | May 16, 1951 | The Great Caruso | The Great Caruso reached number one in its fourth week of release. |
| 21 | May 23, 1951 | The Great Caruso | The Great Caruso grossed $353,000 from 14 key cities. |
| 22 | May 30, 1951 | The Great Caruso | The Great Caruso grossed $390,000 from 15 key cities. |
| 23 | June 6, 1951 | The Great Caruso | |
| 24 | June 13, 1951 | The Great Caruso | The Great Caruso grossed $292,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 25 | June 20, 1951 | The Great Caruso | |
| 26 | June 27, 1951 | The Great Caruso | |
| 27 | July 4, 1951 | The Great Caruso | |
| 28 | July 11, 1951 | The Great Caruso | |
| 29 | July 18, 1951 | Show Boat | |
| 30 | July 25, 1951 | Show Boat | |
| 31 | August 1, 1951 | Show Boat | Show Boat grossed $464,000 from 20 key cities. |
| 32 | August 8, 1951 | Show Boat | Show Boat grossed $380,000 from 15 key cities. |
| 33 | August 15, 1951 | That's My Boy | That's My Boy reached number one in its 13th week of release. |
| 34 | August 22, 1951 | That's My Boy | |
| 35 | August 29, 1951 | That's My Boy | |
| 36 | September 5, 1951 | That's My Boy | |
| 37 | September 12, 1951 | David and Bathsheba † | David and Bathsheba reached number one in its fourth week of release. |
| 38 | September 19, 1951 | David and Bathsheba † | |
| 39 | September 26, 1951 | David and Bathsheba † | David and Bathsheba grossed $360,000 from 18 key cities. |
| 40 | October 3, 1951 | David and Bathsheba † | |
| 41 | October 10, 1951 | David and Bathsheba † | |
| 42 | October 17, 1951 | A Place in the Sun | A Place in the Sun reached number one in its ninth week of release. |
| 43 | October 24, 1951 | The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel | |
| 44 | October 31, 1951 | An American in Paris | An American in Paris reached number one in its fourth week of release. |
| 45 | November 7, 1951 | An American in Paris | |
| 46 | November 14, 1951 | An American in Paris | |
| 47 | November 21, 1951 | An American in Paris | An American in Paris grossed $310,000 from the cities sampled. |
| 48 | November 28, 1951 | Quo Vadis | Quo Vadis reached number one in its fourth week of release. |
| 49 | December 5, 1951 | Quo Vadis | |
| 50 | December 12, 1951 | Quo Vadis | |
| 51 | December 19, 1951 | Quo Vadis | |
| 52 | December 26, 1951 | Quo Vadis | |

## Highest-grossing films

The highest-grossing films during the calendar year based on theatrical rentals were as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Rental |
| 1 | David and Bathsheba | 20th Century Fox | $7,000,000 |
| 2 | Show Boat | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $5,200,000 |
| 3 | An American in Paris | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $4,500,000 |
| 4 | The Great Caruso | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $4,500,000 |
| 5 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Warner Bros. | $4,250,000 |
| 6 | Born Yesterday | Columbia Pictures | $4,150,000 |
| 7 | That's My Boy | Paramount Pictures | $3,800,000 |
| 8 | A Place in the Sun | Paramount Pictures | $3,500,000 |
| 9 | At War with the Army | Paramount Pictures | $3,350,000 |
| 10 | Father's Little Dividend | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $3,100,000 |