1972 in film

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

Awards

1972 film releases

January–March

• January 1972
• *1 January
• **J. W. Coop
• *7 January
• **Glass Houses
• *13 January
• **The Cowboys
• *14 January
• **Cisco Pike
• *20 January
• **To Find a Man
• *21 January
• **Zee and Co.
• *26 January
• **The Hot Rock
• February 1972
• *13 February
• **Cabaret
• *14 February
• **Pocket Money
• March 1972
• *8 March
• **Tales from the Crypt
• *10 March
• **Silent Running
• **What's Up, Doc?
• *12 March
• **Godzilla vs. Gigan –
• *15 March
• **Slaughterhouse-Five
• *17 March
• **Pink Flamingos
• *22 March
• **The Biscuit Eater
• *23 March
• **The Concert for Bangladesh
• *24 March
• **The Godfather

  April–June

• April 1972
• *12 April
• **Fritz the Cat
• *16 April
• **The Culpepper Cattle Co.
• *28 April
• **Buck and the Preacher
• *30 April
• **Vampire Circus
• May 1972
• *4 May
• **Play It Again, Sam
• *12 May
• **The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid
• *17 May
• **The Honkers
• *24 May
• **The Possession of Joel Delaney
• *25 May
• **Chato's Land
• **Z.P.G.
• *26 May
• **The Other
• June 1972
• *2 June
• **The War Between Men and Women
• *4 June
• **A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
• *12 June
• **Deep Throat
• *14 June
• **Fillmore
• *16 June
• **The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie
• *20 June
• **The Assassination of Trotsky
• *21 June
• **Beware! The Blob
• **Frenzy
• **The Groundstar Conspiracy
• **The Revengers
• *23 June
• **Ben
• *28 June
• **Prime Cut
• *29 June
• **The Candidate
• **Come Back, Charleston Blue
• *30 June
• **Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

  July–September

• July 1972
• *5 July
• **Napoleon and Samantha
• *6 July
• **Butterflies Are Free
• *12 July
• **Now You See Him, Now You Don't
• *14 July
• **Fuzz
• **Joe Kidd
• **The Wrath of God
• *19 July
• **The Man
• *26 July
• **Fat City
• *30 July
• **Deliverance
• August 1972
• *1 August
• **The Magnificent Seven Ride
• *2 August
• **Junior Bonner
• *9 August
• **Snoopy, Come Home
• *22 August
• **And Now for Something Completely Different
• *23 August
• **To Kill a Clown
• *25 August
• **Blacula
• *30 August
• **The Last House on the Left
• September 1972
• *1 September
• **Bluebeard
• *9 September
• **Man of the East
• *13 September
• **The Ruling Class
• *15 September
• **The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
• *21 September
• **Cancel My Reservation
• *24 September
• **Sounder
• *26 September
• **Solaris
• *28 September
• **Dracula A.D. 1972

  October–December

• October 1972
• *8 October
• **Bad Company
• *11 October
• **Dumbo
• *14 October
• **Last Tango in Paris
• *18 October
• **Run, Cougar, Run
• *19 October
• **When the Legends Die
• *21 October
• **Lady Sings the Blues
• *31 October
• **Pancho Villa
• November 1972
• Dirty Little Billy
• *1 November
• **Daughters of Satan
• **Trouble Man
• *15 November
• **Daisy Town
• **Ulzana's Raid
• *17 November
• **1776
• **Asylum
• **The Mechanic
• *20 November
• **Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
• *22 November
• **Rage
• **They Only Kill Their Masters
• December 1972
• *2 December
• **Brother Sun, Sister Moon
• *3 December
• **Horror Express
• *8 December
• **Sleuth
• *12 December
• **Child's Play
• **Man of La Mancha
• **The Poseidon Adventure
• *13 December
• **The Getaway
• *17 December
• **Avanti!
• **The Heartbreak Kid
• **Pete 'n' Tillie
• **Travels with My Aunt
• *18 December
• **The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
• *19 December
• **Across 110th Street
• *21 December
• **Jeremiah Johnson
• **The Adventures of Pinocchio
• *22 December
• **Snowball Express
• *30 December
• **Way of the Dragon

  Notable films released in 1972

#

• The 14 Amazons, starring Lisa Lu –
• 1776, starring William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, John Cullum, Ken Howard, Blythe Danner

  A

• Across 110th Street, starring Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto
• The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, directed by Bruce Beresford, starring Barry Crocker, Barry Humphries, Peter Cook, Spike Milligan –
• Aguirre, the Wrath of God, directed by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski-
• The Amazing Mr. Blunden, starring Laurence Naismith and Lynne Frederick –
• Angry Guest, directed by Chang Cheh –
• Another Nice Mess, starring Rich Little
• Antony and Cleopatra, directed by and starring Charlton Heston, with Hildegarde Neil –
• Apna Desh, starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz –
• The Assassination of Trotsky, starring Richard Burton and Alain Delon –
• Asylum, starring Britt Ekland, Barbara Parkins, Charlotte Rampling, Peter Cushing, Barry Morse
• Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills

  B

• Bad Company, directed by Robert Benton, starring Jeff Bridges and Barry Brown
• Baharo Phool Barsao –
• Baron Blood, directed by Mario Bava, starring Joseph Cotten and Elke Sommer –
• Bawarchi, starring Rajesh Khanna –
• Be-Imaan –
• Ben, starring Lee Montgomery
• The Big Bird Cage, starring Pam Grier
• The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla –
• Black Gunn
• Blacula, starring William Marshall and Vonetta McGee
• Blanche, directed by Walerian Borowczyk, starring Michel Simon, Georges Wilson, Jacques Perrin, Ligia Branice –
• Bluebeard, directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Richard Burton, Joey Heatherton, Raquel Welch, Virna Lisi, Sybil Danning
• Bone, starring Yaphet Kotto
• Boxcar Bertha, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Barbara Hershey and David Carradine
• The Boy Turns Man, directed by Lyudmil Kirkov, starring Nevena Kokanova, Kiril Gospodinov, Sashka Bratanova –
• Brother Sun, Sister Moon, directed by Franco Zeffirelli –
• Buck and the Preacher, directed by and starring Sidney Poitier, with Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee
• Butterflies Are Free, starring Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, Eileen Heckart

  C

• Cabaret, directed by Bob Fosse, starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Joel Grey – 8 Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor
• The Candidate, directed by Michael Ritchie, starring Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas
• The Canterbury Tales, by Pier Paolo Pasolini, starring Hugh Griffith – Golden Bear winner –
• The Carey Treatment, directed by Blake Edwards, starring James Coburn and Jennifer O'Neill
• Carry On Matron, starring Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques –
• The Castle of Purity –
• Cats' Play –
• Chato's Land, starring Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, James Whitmore, Richard Basehart, Ralph Waite
• Child's Play, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring James Mason, Robert Preston, Beau Bridges
• Cheongchun gyosa –
• Cisco Pike, starring Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black, Gene Hackman
• Come Back, Charleston Blue, starring Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, starring Roddy McDowall, Ricardo Montalbán, Natalie Trundy, Don Murray
• Corky, starring Robert Blake and Charlotte Rampling
• The Cowboys, directed by Mark Rydell, starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern
• Cries and Whispers, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Harriet Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullmann –
• The Cruel Sea –
• The Culpepper Cattle Co., directed by Dick Richards, starring Gary Grimes
• Cu mâinile curate'' –

  D

• Daigoro vs. Goliath –
• Daughters of Satan, starring Tom Selleck
• The Dawns Here Are Quiet –
• A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, starring Alan Bates –
• Days of '36, directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos
• The Dagger – drama romance film directed by Fereydun Gole
• Deep Throat, – adult film directed by Gerard Damiano
• Deliverance, directed by John Boorman, starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox
• Dirty Little Billy, starring Michael J. Pollard
• The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Stephane Audran – Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film –
• Don't Torture a Duckling –
• Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo, starring Paul Naschy –
• Dr. Phibes Rises Again, starring Vincent Price and Robert Quarry –
• Dynamite Chicken, starring Richard Pryor

  E

• Eagle in a Cage, starring John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Billie Whitelaw, Kenneth Haigh
• The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, directed by Paul Newman, starring Joanne Woodward
• Endless Night, directed by Sidney Gilliat, starring Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Britt Ekland –
• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Gene Wilder, Lynn Redgrave, Louise Lasser, Lou Jacobi, Heather MacRae, Tony Randall, Burt Reynolds

  F

• Fat City, directed by John Huston, starring Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell
• Fata Morgana, directed by Werner Herzog –
• Fear in the Night, starring Judy Geeson, Ralph Bates, Peter Cushing and Joan Collins-
• Fellini's Roma, directed by Federico Fellini –
• Fillmore, a music documentary film featuring Santana, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane
• The Final Comedown, starring Billy Dee Williams
• Fist of Fury, starring Bruce Lee –
• Un flic, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve –
• Follow Me!, starring Mia Farrow
• Frenzy, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Barry Foster, Anna Massey –
• Fritz the Cat, directed by Ralph Bakshi — first animated movie to receive an X rating
• Frogs, directed by George McCowan, starring Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark
• Fuzz, starring Burt Reynolds, Yul Brynner and Raquel Welch

  G

• Game of Death, starring Bruce Lee and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar –
• Gentlemen of Fortune –
• The Getaway, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Al Lettieri, Sally Struthers, Jack Dodson, Slim Pickens
• The Girl on the Broomstick –
• Glastonbury Fayre, directed by Nicolas Roeg and Peter Neal, featuring Family, Fairport Convention, Traffic and more –
• The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty, directed by Wim Wenders –
• The Goat Horn –
• The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Richard Castellano, Talia Shire, Gianni Russo, Richard Conte, John Marley, Alex Rocco, Al Lettieri, Sterling Hayden – Academy Awards for best picture and best actor
• Godzilla vs. Gigan, directed by Jun Fukuda –
• The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, starring Cliff Robertson and Robert Duvall
• The Groundstar Conspiracy, starring George Peppard

  H

• Hammersmith Is Out, directed by and starring Peter Ustinov, with Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Beau Bridges
• The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff –
• The Heartbreak Kid, directed by Elaine May, starring Charles Grodin, Jeannie Berlin, Cybill Shepherd, Eddie Albert
• Hellé, directed by Roger Vadim –
• Henry VIII and His Six Wives, starring Keith Michell, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Asher –
• Her Third –
• Hickey & Boggs, starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby
• Hit Man, starring Bernie Casey and Pam Grier
• The Hot Rock, directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Leibman, Zero Mostel

  I

• Images, directed by Robert Altman, starring Susannah York –
• Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan –
• Insect Woman –

  J

• J. W. Coop, starring Cliff Robertson
• João and the Knife –
• Jeremiah Johnson, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford
• Joe Kidd, directed by John Sturges, starring Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, John Saxon
• Junior Bonner, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker

  K

• Kansas City Bomber, starring Raquel Welch
• The King of Marvin Gardens, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn
• Koshish, starring Sanjeev Kumar –

  L

• Lady Caroline Lamb, directed by Robert Bolt, starring Sarah Miles, Richard Chamberlain, Laurence Olivier –
• Lady Liberty, starring Sophia Loren and William Devane –
• Lady Sings the Blues, biopic of Billie Holiday, directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor
• The Last House on the Left, directed by Wes Craven, starring Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess
• Last Tango in Paris, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider –
• The Legend of Nigger Charley, starring Fred Williamson
• The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, directed by John Huston, starring Paul Newman, Anthony Perkins, Ava Gardner, Roddy McDowall, Victoria Principal
• Limbo, directed by Mark Robson, starring Kate Jackson
• ' –
• Los Amigos, starring Anthony Quinn and Franco Nero –
• Love in the Afternoon, directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Zouzou –
• Ludwig, directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Helmut Berger, Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano –
• ', directed by Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, starring Harry Baer –

  M

• The Man, TV movie written by Rod Serling, starring James Earl Jones, Burgess Meredith, William Windom, Georg Stanford Brown, Jack Benny
• Man of La Mancha, starring Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren, James Coco –
• The Man Who Quit Smoking –
• Manhunt, starring Henry Silva –
• The Master Touch starring Kirk Douglas-
• The Mattei Affair, directed by Francesco Rosi, starring Gian Maria Volonté – Palme d'Or winner –
• The Mechanic, starring Charles Bronson
• Mehdi in Black and Hot Mini Pants, starring Naser Malek Motiee and Hamideh Kheirabadi
• Metzitzim –
• Moon of the Wolf, starring David Janssen and Bradford Dillman
• Mutiny on the Buses, starring Reg Varney –
• My Dearest señorita –
• My Name Is Shanghai Joe, starring Klaus Kinski and Chen Lee –

  N

• Napoleon and Samantha, starring Michael Douglas and Jodie Foster
• The New Centurions, starring George C. Scott and Stacy Keach
• The New Land, directed by Jan Troell, starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann – Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film –
• Nidhanaya –
• Night of the Lepus, starring Janet Leigh, Stuart Whitman, Rory Calhoun, Deforest Kelley
• The Night Stalker, TV movie starring Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Carol Lynley, Claude Akins. Ralph Meeker, Kent Smith, Charles McGraw, Larry Linville, Barry Atwater
• Now You See Him, Now You Don't, starring Kurt Russell

  O

• The Offence, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Sean Connery and Trevor Howard –
• One Is a Lonely Number, starring Trish Van Devere
• The Other, starring Diana Muldaur
• The Other Side of the Underneath, starring Sheila Allen –
• The Outside Man, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, Angie Dickinson –
• Oyster Village –

  P

• Pancho Villa, starring Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, Chuck Connors, Anne Francis
• Pearl in the Crown –
• Pete 'n' Tillie, directed by Martin Ritt, starring Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett
• Pink Flamingos, directed by John Waters, starring Divine
• , directed by Adrian Maben, starring Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Nick Mason
• Play It Again, Sam, directed by Herbert Ross, starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts
• Play It as It Lays, directed by Frank Perry, starring Tuesday Weld and Anthony Perkins
• Pocket Money, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Paul Newman and Lee Marvin
• Pope Joan, starring Liv Ullmann, Olivia de Havilland, Franco Nero
• The Poseidon Adventure, directed by Ronald Neame, starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Pamela Sue Martin, Roddy McDowall, Leslie Nielsen
• The Possession of Joel Delaney, starring Shirley MacLaine and Perry King
• Prime Cut, starring Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman
• Private Parts, directed by Paul Bartel
• Pulp, starring Michael Caine –

  R

• Rage, starring George C. Scott and Martin Sheen
• Raja Jani, starring Dharmendra –
• A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die, starring James Coburn and Telly Savalas –
• Red Psalm, directed by Miklós Jancsó –
• The Revengers, starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine
• The Rowdyman, starring Gordon Pinsent –
• The Ruling Class, starring Peter O'Toole and Alastair Sim –

  S

• The Salzburg Connection, starring Barry Newman, Anna Karina, Klaus Maria Brandauer
• Savage Messiah, directed by Ken Russell –
• Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina, starring Gian Maria Volonté –
• The Scientific Cardplayer, starring Bette Davis, Alberto Sordi and Silvana Mangano –
• The Seduction of Mimi, starring Mariangela Melato –
• Shaft's Big Score, starring Richard Roundtree and Moses Gunn
• Silent Running, starring Bruce Dern
• Sitting Target, starring Oliver Reed, Ian McShane and Jill St. John –
• Skyjacked, starring Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, James Brolin, Jeanne Crain, Walter Pidgeon
• Slaughter, starring Jim Brown, Stella Stevens, Rip Torn
• Slaughterhouse-Five, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Valerie Perrine
• Sleuth, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine –
• Snoopy, Come Home
• Solaris, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, starring Natalya Bondarchuk –
• Something to Hide, starring Peter Finch and Shelley Winters
• Sounder, directed by Martin Ritt, starring Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield
• State of Siege, directed by Costa-Gavras, starring Yves Montand –
• Steptoe and Son, starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett –
• Stigma, directed by David E. Durston, starring Philip Michael Thomas
• Street Mobster –
• Super Fly, directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., starring Ron O'Neal

  T

• Tabi no Omosa –
• Tales from the Crypt, starring Peter Cushing and Joan Collins –
• The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe –
• Taming of the Fire –
• They Only Kill Their Masters, starring James Garner and Katharine Ross
• The Thing with Two Heads, starring Ray Milland and Rosey Grier
• To Find a Man, starring Pamela Sue Martin, Tom Bosley, Tom Ewell, Phyllis Newman
• Tomorrow, starring Robert Duvall
• Tonta, tonta, pero no tanto –
• Tout Va Bien, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jane Fonda and Yves Montand –
• Travels with My Aunt, starring Maggie Smith
• Treasure Island, starring Orson Welles –
• Trick Baby, starring Kiel Martin and Mel Stewart
• The Triple Echo, directed by Michael Apted, starring Glenda Jackson and Oliver Reed –
• Trouble Man, directed by Ivan Dixon, starring Robert Hooks and Paul Winfield

  U

• Ulzana's Raid, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Burt Lancaster
• Under Milk Wood, starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter O'Toole –
• Under the Flag of the Rising Sun –
• Une belle fille comme moi, directed by François Truffaut –

  V

• The Valachi Papers, starring Charles Bronson and Lino Ventura –
• La Vallée, directed by Barbet Schroeder, starring Bulle Ogier with music by Pink Floyd –
• Vampire Circus, starring Adrienne Corri and Anthony Higgins –
• Victoria No. 203 –
• The Visitors, directed by Elia Kazan

  W

• The War Between Men and Women starring Jack Lemmon and Barbara Harris
• The Water Margin, directed by Chang Cheh –
• Way of the Dragon, directed by and starring Bruce Lee with Nora Miao and Chuck Norris –
• We Won't Grow Old Together –
• The Wedding, directed by Andrzej Wajda –
• What's Up, Doc?, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal
• When the Gods Fall Asleep –
• Where Does It Hurt? starring Peter Sellers
• Winter Soldier, a documentary made by Vietnam Veterans Against the War
• The Wrath of God, starring Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth, Frank Langella

  XYZ

• X,Y, and Zee, aka Zee and Co., starring Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, Susannah York
• You'll Like My Mother, starring Patty Duke
• Young Winston, biopic of Winston Churchill, directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Simon Ward, Robert Shaw, Anne Bancroft –

  Births

• January 1 – Catherine McCormack, English actress
• January 11 – Amanda Peet, American actress
• January 15 – Kobe Tai, Taiwanese-American adult and mainstream actress
• February 9 – Crispin Freeman, American voice actor
• March 13 – Common, American actor and singer
• March 18 – Dane Cook, American comedian
• March 23 – Judith Godrèche, French actress
• March 26 – Leslie Mann, American actress
• March 28 – Nick Frost, English actor, comedian, writer and producer
• March 31 – Alejandro Amenábar, Spanish director, writer and soundtrack composer
• April 17 – Jennifer Garner, American actress
• April 29 – Derek Mears, American actor and stuntman
• May 2 – Dwayne Johnson, American actor
• May 25 - Karan Johar, Indian director
• May 28 – Chiara Mastroianni, French actress
• June 7 – Karl Urban, New Zealand actor
• June 19
• *Jean Dujardin, French actor
• *Robin Tunney, American actress
• June 23 – Selma Blair, American actress
• June 28 – Alessandro Nivola, American actor
• July 5 – Gilles Lellouche, French actor and director
• July 27 – Maya Rudolph, American actress and comedian
• July 28 – Elizabeth Berkley, American actress
• July 29 – Wil Wheaton, American actor
• August 15 – Ben Affleck, American actor, director and writer
• August 30 – Cameron Diaz, American actress
• September 6
• *Idris Elba, English actor
• *Anika Noni Rose, American actress and singer
• September 7 – Matthew Sleeth, Australian director
• September 8 – Giovanni Frezza, Italian former child actor
• September 9 – Goran Visnjic, Croatian-American actor
• September 15 - John Schwab, American actor
• September 27 – Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress
• October 17 – Eminem, American rapper and actor
• October 22 – Saffron Burrows, English-American actress
• November 1 – Jenny McCarthy, American actress
• November 6
• *Thandie Newton, English actress
• *Rebecca Romijn, American actress
• November 7 – Jeremy and Jason London, American actors
• November 14 – Josh Duhamel, American actor
• November 26 – Arjun Rampal, Indian actor
• December 7 – Jennifer Syme, American entertainment industry employee
• December 15 – Stuart Townsend, Irish actor
• December 23 – Christian Potenza, Canadian actor and voice actor
• December 29 – Jude Law, English actor

  Notable deaths

Film debuts

• Anne Archer – The Honkers
• Margaret Avery – Cool Breeze
• Ned Beatty – Deliverance
• Jerry Bruckheimer – The Culpepper Cattle Co.
• Robert Carradine – The Cowboys
• Candy Clark – Fat City
• Ronny Cox – The Mind Snatchers
• Blythe Danner – To Kill a Clown
• Jodie Foster – Napoleon and Samantha
• Jackie Earle Haley – The Outside Man
• Kevin Hooks – Sounder
• Bob Hoskins – Up the Front
• Isabelle Huppert – Faustine et la bel été
• Samuel L. Jackson – Together for Days
• Ben Kingsley – Fear Is the Key
• John Lithgow –
• Steve Martin – Another Nice Mess
• Nick Nolte – Dirty Little Billy
• Jeffrey Tambor – The Summertime Killer
• Lily Tomlin – Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers
• James Woods – The Visitors