# List of 1996 box office number-one films in the United States

This is a list of films which have placed number one at the weekend box office in the United States during 1996.

## Number-one films

| † | This implies the highest-grossing movie of the year. |
| # | Weekend end date | Film | Total weekend gross | Notes |
| 1 | January 7, 1996 | 12 Monkeys | $13,842,990 | 12 Monkeys broke Good Morning, Vietnam's record ($11.7 million) for the highest weekend debut in January. |
| 2 | January 14, 1996 | 12 Monkeys | $9,974,510 | |
| 3 | January 21, 1996 | From Dusk till Dawn | $10,240,805 | |
| 4 | January 28, 1996 | Mr. Holland's Opus | $8,297,082 | Mr. Holland's Opus reached #1 in its second week of release. |
| 5 | February 4, 1996 | Black Sheep | $10,593,609 | |
| 6 | February 11, 1996 | Broken Arrow | $15,583,510 | |
| 7 | February 18, 1996 | Broken Arrow | $11,704,778 | |
| 8 | February 25, 1996 | Rumble in the Bronx | $9,858,380 | |
| 9 | March 3, 1996 | Up Close & Personal | $11,101,955 | |
| 10 | March 10, 1996 | The Birdcage | $18,275,828 | The Birdcage was number one for the most weeks (4) in 1996. |
| 11 | March 17, 1996 | The Birdcage | $16,034,306 | |
| 12 | March 24, 1996 | The Birdcage | $13,294,404 | |
| 13 | March 31, 1996 | The Birdcage | $10,106,414 | |
| 14 | April 7, 1996 | Primal Fear | $9,871,222 | |
| 15 | April 14, 1996 | Primal Fear | $8,108,561 | |
| 16 | April 21, 1996 | Primal Fear | $6,585,472 | |
| 17 | April 28, 1996 | The Quest | $7,029,120 | |
| 18 | May 5, 1996 | The Craft | $6,710,995 | |
| 19 | May 12, 1996 | Twister | $41,059,405 | Twister broke Lethal Weapon 3's record ($33.2 mil) for the highest weekend debut in May and Pocahontas's record ($29.5 million) for highest weekend debut for a film featuring a female protagonist. |
| 20 | May 19, 1996 | Twister | $37,093,440 | |
| 21 | May 26, 1996 | Mission: Impossible | $45,436,830 | Mission: Impossible was the first film to open in more than 3,000 theaters and broke Twister's record ($41.1 mil) for the highest weekend debut in May (which was set 2 weeks ago). It also broke The Flintstones' records ($29.7 mil) for the highest Memorial Day weekend debut and for a film based on a television show, GoldenEye's record ($26.2 million) for the highest weekend debut for a spy film, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade's record ($29.4 mil) for the highest weekend debut for a Paramount film. In second place, Twister broke Jurassic Park's record ($27.7 million) for the highest third weekend gross. |
| 22 | June 2, 1996 | Mission: Impossible | $21,629,362 | |
| 23 | June 9, 1996 | The Rock | $25,069,525 | |
| 24 | June 16, 1996 | The Cable Guy | $19,806,226 | |
| 25 | June 23, 1996 | Eraser | $24,566,446 | |
| 26 | June 30, 1996 | The Nutty Professor | $25,411,725 | |
| 27 | July 7, 1996 | Independence Day † | $50,228,264 | Independence Day broke Terminator 2: Judgment Day's records ($31.7 mil) for the highest weekend debut in July and for the Fourth of July weekend. It also broke The Lion King's record ($40.8 mil) for the highest weekend debut for an original film. Independence Day had the highest weekend debut of 1996. |
| 28 | July 14, 1996 | Independence Day † | $35,242,709 | |
| 29 | July 21, 1996 | Independence Day † | $21,274,817 | |
| 30 | July 28, 1996 | A Time to Kill | $14,823,159 | |
| 31 | August 4, 1996 | A Time to Kill | $13,262,934 | |
| 32 | August 11, 1996 | Jack | $11,191,496 | |
| 33 | August 18, 1996 | Tin Cup | $10,128,834 | |
| 34 | August 25, 1996 | The Island of Dr. Moreau | $9,101,987 | |
| 35 | September 1, 1996 | The Crow: City of Angels | $9,785,111 | Highest Labor Day weekend debut. |
| 36 | September 8, 1996 | Bulletproof | $6,014,400 | |
| 37 | September 15, 1996 | Maximum Risk | $5,612,707 | |
| 38 | September 22, 1996 | The First Wives Club | $18,913,411 | The First Wives Club broke Seven's record ($13.9 mil) for the highest weekend debut in September. |
| 39 | September 29, 1996 | The First Wives Club | $15,314,530 | |
| 40 | October 6, 1996 | The First Wives Club | $11,017,356 | |
| 41 | October 13, 1996 | The Ghost and the Darkness | $9,215,063 | |
| 42 | October 20, 1996 | Sleepers | $12,305,745 | |
| 43 | October 27, 1996 | Sleepers | $9,605,059 | |
| 44 | November 3, 1996 | Romeo + Juliet | $11,133,231 | |
| 45 | November 10, 1996 | Ransom | $34,216,088 | |
| 46 | November 17, 1996 | Space Jam | $27,528,529 | |
| 47 | November 24, 1996 | Star Trek: First Contact | $30,716,131 | |
| 48 | December 1, 1996 | 101 Dalmatians | $33,504,025 | 101 Dalmatians broke Toy Story's record ($29.1 million) for the highest Thanksgiving weekend debut. |
| 49 | December 8, 1996 | 101 Dalmatians | $13,944,053 | |
| 50 | December 15, 1996 | Jerry Maguire | $17,084,296 | |
| 51 | December 22, 1996 | Beavis and Butt-Head Do America | $20,114,233 | Beavis and Butt-Head Do America broke Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country's record ($18.1 million) for the highest weekend debut in December and The Land Before Time's record ($7.5 million) for the highest weekend debut for a non-Disney animated film. |
| 52 | December 29, 1996 | Michael | $17,435,711 | |

## Highest-grossing films
### Calendar Gross

Highest-grossing films of 1996 by Calendar Gross
| Rank | Title | Studio(s) | Actor(s) | Director(s) | Gross |
| 1. | Independence Day | 20th Century Fox | Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn and Harvey Fierstein | Roland Emmerich | $306,156,090 |
| 2. | Twister | Warner Bros. Pictures | Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes and Philip Seymour Hoffman | Jan de Bont | $241,721,524 |
| 3. | Mission: Impossible | Paramount Pictures | Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas and Vanessa Redgrave | Brian De Palma | $180,981,856 |
| 4. | The Rock | Walt Disney Studios | Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn and William Forsythe | Michael Bay | $134,069,511 |
| 5. | The Nutty Professor | Universal Pictures | Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett, James Coburn, Dave Chappelle, Larry Miller and John Ales | Tom Shadyac | $128,814,019 |
| 6. | Ransom | Walt Disney Studios | Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo and Lili Taylor | Ron Howard | $125,502,048 |
| 7. | The Birdcage | United Artists | Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski | Mike Nichols | $124,060,553 |
| 8. | A Time to Kill | Warner Bros. Pictures | Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, Brenda Fricker, Oliver Platt, Charles S. Dutton, Ashley Judd, Patrick McGoohan and Donald Sutherland | Joel Schumacher | $108,766,007 |
| 9. | 101 Dalmatians | Walt Disney Studios | Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson and Joan Plowright | Stephen Herek | $108,240,682 |
| 10. | The First Wives Club | Paramount Pictures | Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, Maggie Smith, Dan Hedaya, Bronson Pinchot and Marcia Gay Harden | Hugh Wilson | $105,489,203 |

### In-Year Release

Highest-grossing films of 1996 by In-year release :
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic gross |
| 1. | Independence Day | 20th Century Fox | $306,169,268 |
| 2. | Twister | Warner Bros. | $241,721,524 |
| 3. | Mission: Impossible | Paramount Pictures | $180,981,856 |
| 4. | Jerry Maguire | TriStar Pictures | $153,952,592 |
| 5. | Ransom | Walt Disney Studios | $136,492,681 |
| 6. | 101 Dalmatians | Walt Disney Studios | $136,189,294 |
| 7. | The Rock | Walt Disney Studios | $134,069,511 |
| 8. | The Nutty Professor | Universal Pictures | $128,814,019 |
| 9. | The Birdcage | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $124,060,553 |
| 10. | A Time to Kill | Warner Bros. | $108,766,007 |
Highest-grossing films by MPAA rating of 1996 :
| G | 101 Dalmatians |
| PG | Space Jam |
| PG-13 | Independence Day |
| R | Jerry Maguire |