1997 in film

Highest-grossing films

Events

• The original Star Wars trilogy Special Editions are released.
• The Fifth Element is released, becoming a global box office success. It will go on to become the top-grossing French film of all time, a record it will hold for 11 years until the release of The Intouchables in 2011
• Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1 billion at the box office making it the highest-grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.
• ' grosses a record $90,161,880 on Memorial Day Weekend.

Award ceremonies

• 2nd Empire Awards

  Awards

1997 wide-release movies

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Notable films released in 1997

A

• Absolute Power, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Judy Davis, Dennis Haysbert, Scott Glenn, E. G. Marshall
• Addicted to Love, starring Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick
• Airbag –
• Air Bud
• Air Force One, starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close, Gary Oldman
• The Alarmist, starring David Arquette and Stanley Tucci
• Albino Alligator, directed by Kevin Spacey, starring Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise, Viggo Mortensen
• Alien Resurrection, starring Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder
• All Over Me
• An American Werewolf in Paris, starring Tom Everett Scott
• American Vampfire, starring Carmen Electra
• Amistad, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou
• Anaconda, starring Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz, Jon Voight
• Anastasia, directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
• Another Day in Paradise, starring Melanie Griffith, Natasha Gregson Wagner, James Woods
• The Apostle, directed by and starring Robert Duvall, with Miranda Richardson, Farrah Fawcett
• As Good as It Gets, directed by James L. Brooks, starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear – Golden Globe Award for Best Picture
• The Assignment
• , directed by Jay Roach and starring Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Mimi Rogers, Michael York

  B

• Bang
• Batman & Robin, starring George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman
• Bean, directed by Mel Smith, starring Rowan Atkinson –
• Bent, starring Clive Owen –, rated NC-17
• Best Men, starring Dean Cain, Sean Patrick Flanery, Drew Barrymore, Fred Ward, Andy Dick
• Beverly Hills Ninja, starring Chris Farley
• Blackrock, starring Heath Ledger –
• Boogie Nights, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle
• Booty Call, starring Jamie Foxx
• The Borrowers, starring John Goodman
• Le Bossu, starring Daniel Auteuil –
• The Boxer, starring Daniel Day-Lewis
• Breakdown, starring Kurt Russell, Kathleen Quinlan, J. T. Walsh
• Brother –
• Buddy, starring Rene Russo
• The Butcher Boy, directed by Neil Jordan –
• Buud Yam –

  C

• Campfire Tales
• Career Girls, directed by Mike Leigh –
• The Castle –
• Cats Don't Dance, directed by Mark Dindal
• Character – – Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Chasing Amy, directed by Kevin Smith, starring Ben Affleck
• Children of Heaven, directed by Majid Majidi – – first Iranian film to be nominated for an Oscar
• City of Industry, directed by John Sayles
• Clockwatchers, starring Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow
• Commandments, starring Courteney Cox
• Con Air, starring John Cusack, Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi
• Conspiracy Theory, directed by Richard Donner, starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts
• Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, James Woods, John Hurt
• Cop Land, directed by James Mangold, starring Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro
• Crayola Kids Adventures: Tales of Gulliver's Travels
• Cube –

  D

• Dakan
• Dangerous Ground, starring Ice Cube
• Dante's Peak, starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton
• Deconstructing Harry, directed by and starring Woody Allen
• Def Jam's How to Be a Player
• Defying Gravity
• The Devil's Advocate, starring Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino
• The Devil's Own, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt
• Different Strokes, starring Dana Plato and Bentley Mitchum
• Dogtown, starring Mary Stuart Masterson, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Jon Favreau
• Donnie Brasco, directed by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp
• Double Team, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Mickey Rourke
• Dream with the Fishes

  E

• The Edge, starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin
• Ed Mort -
• The Eel, directed by Shohei Imamura – – Palme d'Or award
• The End of Evangelion –
• –
• Event Horizon, starring Laurence Fishburne
• Eve's Bayou, starring Lynn Whitfield and Samuel L. Jackson
• Excess Baggage, starring Alicia Silverstone and Benicio del Toro

  F

• Face, starring Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone –
• Face/Off, directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage
• Fathers' Day, starring Robin Williams and Billy Crystal
• '
• Fever Pitch, starring Colin Firth –
• Fierce Creatures, starring John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin –
• The Fifth Element, directed by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker –
• Fire Down Below, starring Steven Seagal
• ...First Do No Harm, starring Meryl Streep, Fred Ward
• First Time Felon, starring Omar Epps and Delroy Lindo
• Floating, starring Norman Reedus
• Flubber, directed by Les Mayfield, starring Robin Williams, Christopher McDonald, Clancy Brown, voices by Jodi Benson
• Fools Rush In, starring Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry
• For Richer or Poorer, starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley
• ', directed by Sam Pillsbury
• The Full Monty, directed by Peter Cattaneo and starring Robert Carlyle –
• Funny Games, directed by Michael Haneke –

  G

• G.I. Jane, starring Demi Moore and Anne Bancroft
• The Game, directed by David Fincher, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn
• Gang Related, starring James Belushi, Dennis Quaid, Tupac Shakur
• Gattaca, starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law
• George of the Jungle, directed by Sam Weisman, starring Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Richard Roundtree and John Cleese
• Ghosts, a music short featuring Michael Jackson
• Glam, starring William McNamara, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Tony Danza, Jon Cryer – rated NC-17
• Gone Fishin', starring Joe Pesci and Danny Glover
• Good Burger, starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell
• Good Will Hunting, directed by Gus Van Sant, starring Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Minnie Driver, Ben Affleck
• Goodbye America –
• Gridlock'd, starring Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur
• Grosse Pointe Blank, starring John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd

  H

• Hacks, starring Stephen Rea, Illeana Douglas, John Ritter
• Hamam –
• Hana-bi, directed by and starring Takeshi Kitano – – Golden Lion award
• Happy Together
• Heaven's Burning, starring Russell Crowe and Youki Kudoh –
• Henry Fool, directed by Hal Hartley – winner of Best Screenplay Cannes Film Festival
• Hercules
• Highball, starring Justine Bateman
• Hold You Tight, directed by Stanley Kwan –
• Home Alone 3, starring Alex D. Linz and Scarlett Johansson
• Hoodlum, starring Laurence Fishburne
• The Hound
• The House of Yes. starring Parker Posey, Tori Spelling, Freddie Prinze Jr.
• Hugo Pool, starring Alyssa Milano, Patrick Dempsey, Robert Downey Jr.
• Hurricane Streets

  I

• I Know What You Did Last Summer, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe
• The Ice Storm, starring Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire
• In & Out, starring Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon, Bob Newhart
• In the Company of Men
• Incognito, starring Jason Patric
• Into Thin Air
• Inventing the Abbotts, starring Liv Tyler, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly

  J–K

• The Jackal, starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere
• Jackie Brown, directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Pam Grier, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton, Robert Forster, Robert De Niro
• –
• Jack Frost
• Joey –
• Josh and the Big Wall!
• Joyride, starring Tobey Maguire and Benicio Del Toro
• Jungle 2 Jungle, starring Tim Allen
• Just Write, starring Jeremy Piven
• Kini and Adams –
• Kiss or Kill –
• Kiss the Girls, starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd
• Kiss & Tell, starring Heather Graham and Rose McGowan
• Kitchen Party -
• Knockin' on Heaven's Door –
• Kull the Conqueror
• Kundun, directed by Martin Scorsese

  L

• L.A. Confidential, directed by Curtis Hanson, starring Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, James Cromwell
• Larry-Boy! And the Fib from Outer Space!
• The Last Time I Committed Suicide, starring Thomas Jane and Keanu Reeves
• Lawn Dogs, starring Sam Rockwell
• Leave It to Beaver, starring Christopher McDonald and Janine Turner
• Lewis and Clark and George
• Liar Liar, starring Jim Carrey
• Life is Beautiful, directed by and starring Roberto Benigni – – Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• A Life Less Ordinary, starring Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz –
• Little Boy Blue, starring Ryan Phillippe and Nastassja Kinski
• Little City, starring Jon Bon Jovi
• Live Flesh, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Javier Bardem –
• Lolita, starring Jeremy Irons
• Lost Highway, directed by David Lynch, starring Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette
• , directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Moore
• Love and Death on Long Island, starring John Hurt –
• Love Jones
• Lovelife, starring Sherilyn Fenn and Carla Gugino

  M

• Ma vie en rose – – Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Mad City, starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta
• The Man Who Knew Too Little, starring Bill Murray
• Masterminds, starring Patrick Stewart
• The MatchMaker, starring Janeane Garofalo –
• Meet Wally Sparks, starring Rodney Dangerfield
• Men in Black, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith
• Metro, starring Eddie Murphy
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack
• Mimic, starring Mira Sorvino
• Money Talks, starring Chris Tucker
• Most Wanted
• Mouse Hunt, starring Nathan Lane
• Mr. Magoo, starring Leslie Nielsen
• Mrs Brown, starring Judi Dench and Billy Connolly –
• Mrs. Dalloway, starring Vanessa Redgrave –
• Murder at 1600, starring Wesley Snipes
• My Best Friend's Wedding, starring Julia Roberts
• My Heart Is Mine Alone –
• Myself in the Distant Future –

  N–O

• Nevada, starring Amy Brenneman
• The Night Flier, starring Miguel Ferrer
• Night of the Demons 3
• Nightwatch, starting Ewan McGregor, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte
• Nil by Mouth, directed by Gary Oldman, starring Ray Winstone –
• Nothing to Lose, starring Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins
• Nowhere
• Office Killer, starring Molly Ringwald
• The Old Lady and the Pigeons –
• 187, starring Samuel L. Jackson
• One Night Stand, starring Wesley Snipes
• Orgazmo starring Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar, rated NC-17
• Ossos
• Out to Sea, starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon

  P–Q

• Paws, starring Billy Connolly, Heath Ledger –
• The Peacekeeper, starring Dolph Lundgren, Montel Williams, Roy Scheider -
• The Peacemaker, starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman
• Perdita Durango, starring Javier Bardem and Rosie Perez –
• The Perfect Circle, directed by Ademir Kenović –
• Picture Perfect, starring Jennifer Aniston
• Pippi Longstocking –
• Playing God, starring David Duchovny
• Plump Fiction
• The Postman, directed by and starring Kevin Costner
• Prefontaine, starring Jared Leto
• Pride Divide
• Princess Mononoke –
• Private Parts, starring Howard Stern
• Quiet Days in Hollywood, starring Hilary Swank, Chad Lowe, Natasha Gregson Wagner -

  R

• The Rainmaker, directed by Francis Coppola, starring Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight
• The Rage, starring Gary Busey, Lorenzo Lamas, Roy Scheider
• Red Corner, starring Richard Gere
• Regeneration, starring Jonathan Pryce –
• The Relic, starring Penelope Ann Miller
• Retroactive
• A River Made to Drown In
• RocketMan
• Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, starring Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino
• Rosewood, directed by John Singleton, starring Ving Rhames

  S

• The Saint, starring Val Kilmer
• Scream 2, starring Neve Campbell
• Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez
• Seven Years in Tibet, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Brad Pitt –
• She's So Lovely, starring Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, John Travolta
• Shooting Fish –
• The Sixth Man, starring Marlon Wayans
• Soul Food, starring Vanessa L. Williams and Vivica A. Fox
• The Soong Sisters, starring Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh and Vivian Wu –
• Space Marines
• Spaceman
• The Spanish Prisoner, directed by David Mamet, starring Campbell Scott and Steve Martin
• Spawn, starring Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Frank Welker and Martin Sheen
• , starring Sandra Bullock
• Spice World, featuring the Spice Girls and Richard E. Grant –
• Stag
• Star Wars Trilogy
• Starship Troopers, directed by Paul Verhoeven
• Steel, starring Shaquille O'Neal
• Strawberry Fields
• Suicide Kings, starring Christopher Walken
• Sunday
• Super Speedway
• The Sweet Hereafter, starring Ian Holm –
• Switchback, starring Danny Glover and Dennis Quaid

  T

• Taste of Cherry, directed by Abbas Kiarostami – – Palme d'Or award
• That Old Feeling, starring Bette Midler and Dennis Farina
• The Thief –
• This World, Then the Fireworks, starring Billy Zane and Gina Gershon
• Time Under Fire
• Titanic, directed by James Cameron, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet – Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture
• Tomorrow Never Dies, starring Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Judi Dench –
• Trojan War
• Turbulence, starring Ray Liotta and Lauren Holly
• Two Girls and a Guy, starring Robert Downey Jr., Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner

  U–V

• U Turn, directed by Oliver Stone, starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte
• Under the Lighthouse Dancing –
• Ulee's Gold, starring Peter Fonda
• Vegas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase
• Volcano, starring Tommy Lee Jones

  W

• Wag the Dog, directed by Barry Levinson, starring Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman
• Waiting for Guffman, directed by Christopher Guest
• Warriors of Virtue –
• Welcome to Sarajevo, starring Woody Harrelson
• The Wiggles Movie –
• Wild America
• The Wings of the Dove, starring Helena Bonham Carter –
• Wishmaster
• The Wrong Guy, starring Dave Foley –

  YZ

• Year of the Dogs –
• Year of the Horse, a documentary film about Neil Young directed by Jim Jarmusch
• Zeus and Roxanne, starring Steve Guttenberg and Kathleen Quinlan

  Births

• January 21 – Jeremy Shada, American actor and musician
• January 24
• * Jonah Bobo, American actor
• * Dylan Riley Snyder, American actor
• February 10 – Chloë Grace Moretz, American actress
• February 25 – Isabelle Fuhrman, American actress
• March 10 - Madeleine Arthur, Canadian actress
• April 2 - Stefan Movie Flix Tomasi, Canadian actor
• April 15 – Maisie Williams, British actress
• May 11 – Lana Condor, American actress
• May 12 – Odeya Rush, Israeli actress
• May 30 – Jake Short, American actor
• June 13 – Theodore Pellerin, Canadian actor
• June 16 – Camila Morrone, American model and actress
• June 17 – KJ Apa, New Zealand actor
• June 18 – Max Records, American actor
• July 13 – Leo Howard, American actor and martial artist
• July 22 – Field Cate, American actor
• August 5
• * Olivia Holt, American teen actress and singer
• * Adam Irigoyen, American actor
• August 25 – Bryana Salaz, American actress and singer
• August 28 – Emilia McCarthy, Canadian actress
• August 30 – Dana Gaier, American actress
• September 7 – Dean-Charles Chapman, British actor
• September 16 – Elena Kampouris, American actress
• October 7 – Kira Kosarin, American actress
• October 8 – Bella Thorne, singer, model and actress
• October 10 – Grace Rolek, American actress and voice actress
• October 23 – Zach Callison, American actor and voice actor
• October 28 – Sierra McCormick, American actress
• November 1
• * Max Burkholder, American actor
• * Alex Wolff, American actor and musician
• November 26 – Aubrey Joseph, American actor and rapper
• December 11 – Taylor Hickson, Canadian actress
• December 15 – Maude Apatow, American actress

  Notable deaths

Film debuts

• Eric Bana - The Castle
• Jacinda Barrett - Campfire Tales
• Mischa Barton - Lawn Dogs
• Paul Bettany - Bent
• Leslie Bibb - Private Parts
• Jessica Biel - Ulee's Gold
• Cate Blanchett - Paradise Road
• Orlando Bloom - Wilde
• Gerard Butler - Mrs Brown
• Erika Christensen - Leave It to Beaver
• Chiwetel Ejiofor - Amistad
• Shannon Elizabeth - Blast and Jack Frost
• Tom Felton - The Borrowers
• Rebecca Gayheart - Nothing to Lose
• Jennifer Garner - Deconstructing Harry and Mr. Magoo
• Adrian Grenier - Arresting Gena
• Ioan Gruffudd - Wilde
• Katie Holmes - The Ice Storm
• Samantha Morton - This Is the Sea
• Sarah Paulson - Levitation
• Sara Paxton - Liar Liar
• Norman Reedus - Floating and Mimic
• Maya Rudolph - Gattaca
• Amy Smart - Campfire Tales and The Last Time I Committed Suicide
• Leelee Sobieski - Jungle 2 Jungle
• Mena Suvari - Nowhere
• Dominique Swain - Lolita
• Olivia Williams - Gaston's War