1975 in film

Highest-grossing films

North America

International

Worldwide gross

Events

• March 26: The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London.
• May: In order to create the necessary special effects for his film, Star Wars, George Lucas forms Industrial Light and Magic.
• June 20: Jaws is released and becomes the highest-grossing movie of all-time and the highest-grossing movie of the year and the first movie to earn $100 million in US and Canadian theatrical rentals, setting the standard for future blockbusters.
• August 14: The cult classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show premieres in London.
• November 23: Sneak Previews, the first American film review show, premieres and launches the careers of critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. They will remain a team, and a staple among film critics, through various programs for the next twenty-four years.
• December: Warner Bros. reorganize following John Calley's decision to step down as president-COO. Frank Wells becomes president again and shares CEO duties with Ted Ashley who also returns as chairman.

  Awards

Awards ceremonies

• Academy Awards
• BAFTA Awards
• Golden Globe Awards
• Palme d'Or : Chronicle of the Years of Fire
• Golden Bear : Adoption

  Notable awards

Films released 1975

January–March

• January 1975
• *January 1
• **Teenage Seductress
• *January 27
• **Galileo
• February 1975
• *February 2
• **Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
• *February 5
• **Report to the Commissioner
• *February 6
• **The Strongest Man in the World
• *February 10
• **The Legend of Lizzie Borden
• *February 11
• **Shampoo
• *February 12
• **The Stepford Wives
• *February 13
• **Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
• *February 24
• **Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
• March 1975
• *March 1
• **At Long Last Love
• *March 5
• **Man Friday
• *March 7
• **Deep Red
• *March 13
• **The Great Waldo Pepper
• *March 14
• **The Prisoner of Second Avenue
• **Rancho Deluxe
• *March 15
• **Funny Lady
• **Terror of Mechagodzilla
• *March 17
• **In Celebration
• *March 19
• **Tommy
• **The Yakuza
• *March 21
• **Escape to Witch Mountain
• *March 24
• **Rosebud
• *March 26
• **Brannigan
• **Sheba, Baby

  April–June

• April 1975
• *April 6
• **Capone
• *April 9
• **The Passenger
• *April 21
• **The Maids
• *April 23
• **Aloha, Bobby and Rose
• **Fore Play
• *April 26
• **Dolemite
• *April 27
• **Death Race 2000
• *April 28
• **And Then There Were None
• **Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• May 1975
• *May 7
• **The Day of the Locust
• *May 8
• **The Happy Hooker
• *May 9
• **The Wild Party
• *May 12
• **End of the Game
• *May 14
• **Moonrunners
• *May 16
• **Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York
• *May 17
• **The Man in the Glass Booth
• **Tale of The Man of Honor
• *May 20
• **The Fortune
• *May 21
• **Cornbread, Earl and Me
• **The Eiger Sanction
• **The Other Side of the Mountain
• **French Connection II
• **The Return of the Pink Panther
• **W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
• *May 22
• **Breakout
• **The Wind and the Lion
• *May 23
• **Lepke
• *May 30
• **The Hiding Place
• June 1975
• *June 1
• **The Ultimate Warrior
• *June 4
• **Posse
• *June 10
• **Love and Death
• *June 11
• **Nashville
• **Night Moves
• *June 17
• **Bug
• *June 20
• **The Devil's Rain
• **Jaws
• **Once Is Not Enough
• *June 25
• **Bite the Bullet
• **Cooley High
• **Rollerball
• *June 27
• **Race with the Devil

  July–September

• July 1975
• *July 1
• **The Apple Dumpling Gang
• *July 2
• **Bucktown
• **Gone with the West
• **Walking Tall Part 2
• *July 9
• **One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing
• **Smile
• *July 10
• **The Drowning Pool
• *July 11
• **Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold
• *July 16
• **White Line Fever
• *July 23
• **Return to Macon County
• *July 26
• **Mandingo
• *July 30
• **The Wilby Conspiracy
• *July 31
• **The Candy Tangerine Man
• **Hennessy
• **The Man from Hong Kong
• August 1975
• *August 2
• **Dersu Uzala
• *August 3
• **Framed
• *August 7
• **That Lucky Touch
• *August 8
• **Farewell, My Lovely
• **Journey into Fear
• **Picnic at Hanging Rock
• *August 13
• **The Land That Time Forgot
• *August 14
• **The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• *August 20
• **Coonskin
• *August 22
• **The Great McGonagall
• *August 29
• **92 in the Shade
• September 1975
• *September 10
• **Mitchell
• *September 10
• **It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
• *September 17
• **Swept Away
• *September 18
• **Give 'em Hell, Harry!
• *September 21
• **Dog Day Afternoon
• *September 24
• **Three Days of the Condor
• *September 30
• **Black Moon

  October–December

• October 1975
• *October 3
• **The Master Gunfighter
• *October 5
• **Conduct Unbecoming
• *October 8
• **Hard Times
• **Hearts of the West
• **Mahogany
• *October 10
• **Lisztomania
• **Royal Flash
• **Shivers
• *October 11
• **Let's Do It Again
• *October 12
• **The Divine Nymph
• **Lies My Father Told Me
• *October 15
• **Whiffs
• *October 17
• **Rooster Cogburn
• *October 19
• **Hester Street
• *October 22
• **Diamonds
• *October 24
• **The Giant Spider Invasion
• *October 29
• **Take a Hard Ride
• November 1975
• *November 5
• **Challenge to Be Free
• **Crazy Mama
• **Overlord
• **Winterhawk
• *November 6
• **Out of Season
• **The Sunshine Boys
• *November 12
• **Stardust
• *November 14
• **A Boy and His Dog
• *November 19
• **The "Human" Factor
• **Fear Over the City
• **One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• *November 21
• **Mackintosh and T.J.
• *November 22
• **Inserts
• **The Wrong Move
• *November 26
• **The Romantic Englishwoman
• *November 27
• **Inside Out
• *November 29
• **Operation Daybreak
• December 1975
• *December 3
• **Peeper
• *December 10
• **Against a Crooked Sky
• *December 14
• **The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
• **The Reincarnation of Peter Proud
• *December 15
• **Emmanuelle 2
• *December 17
• **Emilio and His Magical Bull
• *December 18
• **Barry Lyndon
• **The Man Who Would Be King
• *December 19
• **The Adventures of the Wilderness Family
• **
• **The Killer Elite
• *December 20
• **Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• *December 25
• **Aaron Loves Angela
• **The Black Bird
• **Breakheart Pass
• **Friday Foster
• **The Hindenburg
• **Hustle
• **Lucky Lady

  Notable films released in 1975

#

• 92 in the Shade, starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Elizabeth Ashley, Margot Kidder

  A

• Aaron Loves Angela, directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., starring Moses Gunn
• Adoption, winner of Golden Bear
• The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, directed by and starring Gene Wilder, with Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman
• The Adventures of the Wilderness Family, starring Robert Logan
• Afonya
• Africa Express, starring Ursula Andress and Jack Palance
• Aloha, Bobby and Rose, starring Paul Le Mat
• Anno Domini 1573
• Apoorva Raagangal
• The Apple Dumpling Gang, starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway
• At Long Last Love, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Burt Reynolds and Cybill Shepherd
• Attilas '74, documentary
• Autobiography of a Princess, directed by James Ivory, starring James Mason and Madhur Jaffrey

  B

• Barry Lyndon, directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Ryan O'Neal and Marisa Berenson
• The Beehive, directed by Fereydun Gole.
• The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures, directed by James Algar
• Bim
• Bite the Bullet, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Gene Hackman, James Coburn, Candice Bergen, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ben Johnson
• The Black Bird, starring George Segal
• A Boy and His Dog, starring Don Johnson
• Brannigan, starring John Wayne
• Breakheart Pass, starring Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna
• Breakout, starring Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Robert Duvall
• Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?, a documentary film about the Great Depression
• Bucktown, starring Fred Williamson and Pam Grier

• C

• Capone, starring Ben Gazzara
• Chronicle of the Years of Fire
• Chupke Chupke, starring Dharmendra
• The Claws of Light
• Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, starring Tamara Dobson and Stella Stevens
• Conduct Unbecoming, starring Stacy Keach, Michael York and Richard Attenborough
• Cooley High, starring Glynn Turman
• Coonskin, an animated film by Ralph Bakshi
• Cornbread, Earl and Me, starring Laurence Fishburne
• Crazy Mama, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Cloris Leachman, Ann Sothern, Linda Purl
• The Cycle

  D

• The Day of the Locust, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Donald Sutherland, William Atherton, Karen Black
• Deafula, first film entirely in American Sign Language
• Death Race 2000, directed by Paul Bartel, starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone
• Deep Red, directed by Dario Argento, starring David Hemmings and Daria Nicolodi
• Dersu Uzala, directed by Akira Kurosawa
• Deewaar, starring Shashi Kapoor
• The Devil's Rain, starring Ernest Borgnine
• Dialogues of Exiles
• Diamonds, starring Robert Shaw, Richard Roundtree, Barbara Hershey
• , starring Ron Ely
• Dog Day Afternoon, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon, Charles Durning
• The Drowning Pool, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Melanie Griffith

  E

• The Eiger Sanction, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with George Kennedy and Jack Cassidy
• The Empress Dowager, starring Lisa Lu
• End of the Game, starring Maximilian Schell, Jon Voight, Jacqueline Bisset, Martin Ritt, Robert Shaw
• Das Erdbeben in Chili, directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms
• Escape to Witch Mountain, starring Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence
• Evrydiki BA 2O37, directed by Nikos Nikolaidis

  F

• Fantozzi
• Farewell, My Lovely, directed by Dick Richards, starring Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, Jack O'Halloran, Sylvia Miles, John Ireland
• Flame, starring Slade
• The Flower in His Mouth, starring Jennifer O'Neill and Franco Nero
• Fore Play, starring Zero Mostel and Estelle Parsons
• The Fortune, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Stockard Channing
• Fox, directed by and starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder
• Framed, directed by Phil Karlson, starring Joe Don Baker
• French Connection II, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson, Philippe Léotard
• Friday Foster, starring Pam Grier
• Funny Lady, directed by Herbert Ross, starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif
• Furtivos

  G

• Galileo, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Topol, Edward Fox, John Gielgud
• The Giant Spider Invasion, starring Barbara Hale, Leslie Parrish, Alan Hale, Jr.
• Give 'em Hell, Harry!, a biopic of Harry S. Truman starring James Whitmore
• God's Gun, starring Lee Van Cleef and Jack Palance
• Gone with the West, starring James Caan, Stefanie Powers and Aldo Ray
• Graveyard of Honor
• Great, animated short
• The Great Waldo Pepper, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Robert Redford, Bo Svenson, Margot Kidder, Susan Sarandon
• Grey Gardens, a documentary film

  H

• Hababam Sınıfı
• Hagiga B'Snuker
• Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid
• The Happy Hooker, starring Lynn Redgrave and Jean-Pierre Aumont
• Hard Times, directed by Walter Hill, starring Charles Bronson and James Coburn
• Hearts of the West, starring Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, Andy Griffith
• Hedda, directed by Trevor Nunn, starring Peter Eyre and Glenda Jackson
• Hedgehog in the Fog
• Hello, I'm Your Aunt!
• Hennessy, starring Rod Steiger and Lee Remick
• Hester Street, starring Carol Kane
• The Hiding Place, starring Julie Harris
• The Hindenburg, directed by Robert Wise, starring George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, William Atherton, Gig Young
• The 'Human' Factor, directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring George Kennedy, John Mills, Rita Tushingham
• Hustle, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Burt Reynolds, Catherine Deneuve, Ben Johnson

  I

• In Celebration, directed by Lindsay Anderson, starring Alan Bates and Brian Cox
• Inserts, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Jessica Harper, Veronica Cartwright, Bob Hoskins
• The Irony of Fate

  J

• Jacob the Liar
• Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw
• Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, starring Delphine Seyrig
• Journey into Fear, starring Sam Waterston, Zero Mostel, Yvette Mimieux

  K

• Karayuki-san, the Making of a Prostitute, documentary by Shohei Imamura
• Kaddu Beykat
• Keetje Tippel, directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Monique van de Ven and Rutger Hauer
• The Killer Elite, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring James Caan and Robert Duvall

  L

• L'important c'est d'aimer, starring Romy Schneider
• The Land That Time Forgot, starring Doug McClure
• Legend of the Lawman, starring Bo Svenson
• Legend of the Werewolf, starring Peter Cushing
• Lepke, starring Tony Curtis
• Let Joy Reign Supreme, directed by Bertrand Tavernier
• Let's Do It Again, directed by and starring Sidney Poitier with Bill Cosby
• Lies My Father Told Me, directed by Ján Kadár
• The Lion Roars Again, documentary short
• Lisztomania, directed by Ken Russell, starring Roger Daltrey, Sara Kestelman, Paul Nicholas
• The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, directed by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta
• Love and Death, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton
• Lucky Lady, directed by Stanley Donen, starring Gene Hackman, Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds

  M

• Mackintosh and T.J., starring Roy Rogers
• The Magic Flute, a film version of the Mozart opera directed by Ingmar Bergman
• Mahogany, directed by Berry Gordy, starring Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Jean-Pierre Aumont
• La Maldicion de la Bestia, starring Paul Naschy
• Man Friday, starring Peter O'Toole
• The Man in the Glass Booth, directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Maximilian Schell and Lois Nettleton
• The Man Who Would Be King, directed by John Huston, starring Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Saeed Jaffrey
• Mandingo, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring James Mason, Susan George, Ken Norton, Perry King
• Milestones
• The Mirror, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
• Mitchell, starring Joe Don Baker, Linda Evans, Martin Balsam, Merlin Olsen
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail, directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Gilliam and Jones
• Moonrunners, starring James Mitchum
• Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
• Mr. Ricco, starring Dean Martin
• My Friends, directed by Mario Monicelli

  N

• Nashville, directed by Robert Altman, starring Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, Ronee Blakley, Karen Black, Michael Murphy, Barbara Harris, Ned Beatty
• Night Moves, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Gene Hackman, Melanie Griffith, Susan Clark, Jennifer Warren
• Nights and Days
• Nishant
• Numéro deux directed by Jean-Luc Godard
• The Noah, starring Robert Strauss

  O

• The Old Gun, starring Philippe Noiret and Romy Schneider
• Once Is Not Enough, starring Kirk Douglas, David Janssen, Brenda Vaccaro, Deborah Raffin, George Hamilton
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, directed by Miloš Forman, starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, William Redfield, Will Sampson, Danny DeVito
• One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, starring Peter Ustinov and Helen Hayes
• Operation Daybreak, starring Timothy Bottoms, Anthony Andrews, Martin Shaw
• Osadeni Dushi
• The Other Side of the Mountain, starring Marilyn Hassett and Beau Bridges
• Out of Season, starring Vanessa Redgrave
• ''Overlord, directed by Stuart Cooper

  P

• The Passenger, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, starring Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Steven Berkoff
• Peeper, directed by Peter Hyams, starring Michael Caine
• Permission to Kill, starring Dirk Bogarde and Ava Gardner
• Picnic at Hanging Rock, directed by Peter Weir, starring Rachel Roberts, Vivean Gray, Helen Morse
• Pick-Up
• The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix
• Posse, directed by and starring Kirk Douglas
• The Prisoner of Second Avenue, directed by Melvin Frank, starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft
• The Promised Land, directed by Andrzej Wajda

  Q

• Queen of the Gypsies
• Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, starring Maureen Stapleton and Charles Durning

  R

• Race with the Devil, starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, Lara Parker
• Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins, starring Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Mackenzie Phillips
• Rancho Deluxe, starring Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, Elizabeth Ashley, Clifton James, Harry Dean Stanton, Slim Pickens
• The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Michael Sarrazin, Margot Kidder, Jennifer O'Neill
• The Return of the Pink Panther, directed by Blake Edwards, starring Peter Sellers, Christopher Plummer, Herbert Lom
• The Return of the Sister Street Fighter
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show, directed by Jim Sharman, starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Richard O'Brien, Barry Bostwick
• Rollerball, directed by Norman Jewison, starring James Caan, John Houseman, John Beck, Maud Adams
• The Romantic Englishwoman, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Glenda Jackson, Michael Caine, Helmut Berger
• 'Rooster Cogburn', starring John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn
• Rosebud, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Peter O'Toole
• Royal Flash, directed by Richard Lester, starring Malcolm McDowell, Oliver Reed, Alan Bates
• Russian Roulette, starring George Segal

  S

• Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
• Le Sauvage, starring Catherine Deneuve and Yves Montand
• The Sensuous Nurse, starring Ursula Andress, Luciana Paluzzi, Jack Palance
• Seven Beauties, directed by Lina Wertmüller
• Shampoo, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Carrie Fisher
• Shivers
• Sholay, the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time
• Slashed Dreams, starring Peter Hooten and Robert Englund
• Smile, directed by Michael Ritchie, starring Bruce Dern and Barbara Feldon
• Special Section, directed by Costa Gavras
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, re-release
• The Stepford Wives, directed by Bryan Forbes, starring Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Tina Louise
• The Story of Adele H., directed by François Truffaut, starring Isabelle Adjani and Bruce Robinson
• The Strongest Man in the World, starring Kurt Russell
• Sunday Too Far Away, starring Jack Thompson
• The Sunshine Boys, directed by Herbert Ross, starring Walter Matthau, George Burns, Richard Benjamin
• Supervixens, cult adult film directed by Russ Meyer
• Switchblade Sisters, directed by Jack Hill

  T

• Take a Hard Ride, starring Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef
• Terror of Mechagodzilla, directed by Ishirō Honda
• They Fought for Their Country, directed by Sergei Bondarchuk
• Three Days of the Condor, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson
• Tommy, directed by Ken Russell, starring Oliver Reed, Ann-Margret, Jack Nicholson, Roger Daltrey
• The Travelling Players, directed by Theo Angelopoulos

  U

• The Ultimate Warrior, starring Yul Brynner
• Unter dem Pflaster ist der Strand, directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms

  V

• Villa Zone, directed by Eduard Zahariev, starring Itzhak Fintzi, Katya Paskaleva, Naum Shopov

  W

• W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Burt Reynolds and Art Carney
• Walking Tall Part 2, starring Bo Svenson
• White Line Fever, starring Jan-Michael Vincent and Kay Lenz
• The Wilby Conspiracy, directed by Ralph Nelson, starring Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine
• The Wild Party, directed by James Ivory, starring Raquel Welch, James Coco, Perry King
• The Wind and the Lion, directed by John Milius, starring Sean Connery and Candice Bergen
• A Woman's Decision
• The Wrong Move, directed by Wim Wenders, starring Rüdiger Vogler and Hanna Schygulla

  XYZ

• Zaklęte rewiry
• Xala, directed by Ousmane Sembène
• The Yakuza, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura

  Births

• January 1: Sonali Bendre, Indian actress
• January 2: Dax Shepard, American actor
• January 3
• *Jason Marsden, American actor
• *Danica McKellar, American actress
• January 5: Bradley Cooper, American actor and film director
• January 31: Preity Zinta, Indian actress
• February 14: Malik Zidi, French actor
• February 22: Drew Barrymore, American actress and director
• March 15: Will.i.am, American actor and singer/rapper
• March 22:
• *Guillermo Diaz, American actor
• *Cole Hauser, American actor
• March 27: Stacy Ferguson, American actress and singer-songwriter
• April 2:
• *Deedee Magno, Filipino-American actress and singer
• *Adam Rodriguez, American actor
• April 6 Zach Braff, American actor, director, screenwriter and producer
• May 3: Christina Hendricks, American actress
• May 22: Harriet Toompere, Estonian actress
• June 4: Angelina Jolie, American actress
• June 8: Shilpa Shetty, Indian actress
• June 25: Linda Cardellini, American actress
• June 27: Tobey Maguire, American actor
• July 6: 50 Cent, American actor and rapper
• July 11: Bridgette Andersen, American actress
• July 17: Cécile de France, Belgian actress
• July 20: Judy Greer, American actress
• July 23: Suriya, Indian actor
• July 28: Ori Pfeffer, Israeli actor
• August 7: Charlize Theron, South African actress
• August 12: Casey Affleck, American actor
• August 29: Dante Basco, American actor
• September 18: Jason Sudeikis, American actor, comedian and screenwriter
• September 22: Mireille Enos, American actress
• September 30
• *Asia Argento, Italian actress
• *Marion Cotillard, French actress
• October 5
• *Parminder Nagra, English actress
• *Monica Rial, American voice actress
• *Scott Weinger, American actor
• *Kate Winslet, English actress
• October 7: Kaspars Znotiņš, Latvian actor
• October 16: Kellie Martin, American actress
• November 6: Sean Patrick Maclam, Scottish Grindhouse film director
• November 19: Sushmita Sen, Indian actress
• November 22: James Madio, American actor
• December 1: David Hornsby, American actor
• December 5: Paula Patton, American actress
• December 17
• *Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress
• *Hilje Murel, Estonian actress
• December 27: Heather O'Rourke, American child actress

  Deaths

Film debuts

• Kim Cattrall – Rosebud
• Tim Curry – The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• Brad Dourif – W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
• Laurence Fishburne – Cornbread, Earl and Me
• Carrie Fisher – Shampoo
• Richard Gere – Report to the Commissioner
• Bernard Hill – It Could Happen to You
• Nastassja Kinski – The Wrong Move
• Christopher Lloyd – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• Mary Stuart Masterson – The Stepford Wives
• Bill Murray –
• Kate Nelligan – The Romantic Englishwoman
• Bill Paxton – Crazy Mama
• Dennis Quaid – Crazy Mama
• Rajinikanth – Apoorva Raagangal
• Chris Sarandon – Dog Day Afternoon
• Patrick Stewart – Hennessy
• John Travolta – The Devil's Rain
• Treat Williams – Deadly Hero
• Rudy Ray Moore – Dolemite