1994 in film
This is a list of films released in 1994. The top worldwide grosser was The Lion King, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all-time, although it was slightly overtaken at the North American domestic box office by Forrest Gump, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The year is considered to be one of Hollywood's best years for cinema during the post-Golden Age era, setting the standard for the movies of the modern age.
Also in 1994, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer celebrated its 70th anniversary.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 1994 by worldwide gross are as follows:| Rank | Title | Distributor | Worldwide gross |
| 1 | The Lion King | Buena Vista | |
| 2 | Forrest Gump | Paramount | $677,945,399 |
| 3 | True Lies | 20th Century Fox / Universal | $378,882,411 |
| 4 | The Mask | New Line | $351,583,407 |
| 5 | Speed | 20th Century Fox | $350,448,145 |
| 6 | The Flintstones | Universal | $341,631,208 |
| 7 | Dumb and Dumber | New Line | $247,275,374 |
| 8 | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Gramercy | $245,700,832 |
| 9 | Interview with the Vampire | Warner Bros. | $223,664,608 |
| 10 | Clear and Present Danger | Paramount | $215,887,717 |
Events
- February 15 - Viacom acquired 50.1% of Paramount Communications Inc. for $9.75 billion, following a five-month battle with QVC.
- March 4 - Actor John Candy dies of a heart attack at the age of 43 while on location in Durango, Mexico for the film Wagons East.
- March 21 - Steven Spielberg wins his first Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List.
- April 14 - Gone with the Wind becomes the first motion picture ever to be broadcast on the cable channel Turner Classic Movies.
- June 7 - Pierce Brosnan is officially announced as the fifth actor to play James Bond.
- June 10 - Speed is released, becoming one of the top-grossing films of the year, as well as launching Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock into superstardom.
- June 24 - The Lion King is theatrically released. It goes on to become Buena Vista's highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing animated film.
- July 1 - Val Kilmer is officially announced as the next actor to portray Batman following the abrupt departure of Michael Keaton.
- July 6 - Forrest Gump is released and becomes Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of all-time.
- July 15 - 20th Century Fox unveils a new on-screen logo and fanfare composed by Bruce Broughton, which debuts True Lies.
- October 12 - DreamWorks is founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.
- December 29 - Buena Vista Pictures Distribution becomes the first distributor to have grosses in the United States and Canada in a year exceed $1 billion.
Awards
1994 films
By country/region
- List of American films of 1994
- List of Argentine films of 1994
- List of Australian films of 1994
- List of Bangladeshi films of 1994
- List of British films of 1994
- List of Canadian films of 1994
- List of French films of 1994
- List of Hong Kong films of 1994
- List of Indian films of 1994
- * List of Hindi films of 1994
- * List of Kannada films of 1994
- * List of Malayalam films of 1994
- * List of Marathi films of 1994
- * List of Tamil films of 1994
- * List of Telugu films of 1994
- List of Japanese films of 1994
- List of Mexican films of 1994
- List of Pakistani films of 1994
- List of Russian films of 1994
- List of South Korean films of 1994
- List of Spanish films of 1994
By genre/medium
- List of action films of 1994
- List of animated feature films of 1994
- List of avant-garde films of 1994
- List of crime films of 1994
- List of comedy films of 1994
- List of drama films of 1994
- List of horror films of 1994
- List of science fiction films of 1994
- List of thriller films of 1994
- List of western films of 1994
Births
- January 4 - Masey McLain, American actress
- January 17 – Lucy Boynton, English actress
- January 18
- *Sam Strike, English actor
- *Hunter Doohan, American actor
- January 19
- *Josh Dylan, British actor
- *Kristi Lauren, American actress
- January 21 – Booboo Stewart, American actor and singer
- January 26 - Joseph Quinn, English actor
- January 28 – Maluma, Colombian singer-songwriter and actor
- January 29 - Selina Lo, British actress
- January 30 - Tom Hudson, French actor
- February 1
- *Julia Garner, American actress
- *Harry Styles, English singer and actor
- February 5 - Andrea Deck, American actress
- February 6
- *Charlie Heaton, English actor
- *Moses Ingram, American actress
- February 10
- *Seulgi, South Korean singer, dancer and actress
- *Makenzie Vega, American actress
- February 11 – Dylan Arnold, American actor
- February 14
- *Allie Grant, American actress
- *Paul Butcher, American actor
- February 15 – Corinne Foxx, American model, actress and producer
- February 16 – Matthew Knight, Canadian actor
- February 21 –
- *Hayley Orrantia, actress
- *Wendy, South Korean singer, voice actress and radio host
- February 23
- *Little Simz, British rapper, singer and actress
- *Dakota Fanning, American actress
- *James Paxton, American actor
- March 1
- * Justin Bieber, Canadian singer
- March 3 – Lee David, South Korean actor
- March 12
- *Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter, musician, actress and YouTuber
- *Tyler Patrick Jones, American actor
- March 14 – Ansel Elgort, American actor and singer
- March 15 – Märten Metsaviir, Estonian actor
- March 16 - Sierra McClain, American actress and singer
- March 21 – Jasmin Savoy Brown, American actress
- March 26 - Freya Tingley, Australian actress
- April 1 - Ella Eyre, English singer-songwriter
- April 6 – Fabien Frankel, British actor
- April 11 – Dakota Blue Richards, English actress
- April 12 – Saoirse Ronan, Irish actress
- April 14 - Skyler Samuels, American actress
- April 16 – Liliana Mumy, American actress
- April 18 – Moisés Arias, American actor
- April 24 – Jordan Fisher, American actor, singer and musician
- May 2 – Sara Forsberg, Finnish singer-songwriter, YouTube personality, television presenter and actress
- May 4 – Alexander Gould, American actor
- May 11 – David Alvarez, Canadian dancer and actor
- May 24 – Cayden Boyd, American actor
- May 29 – Paloma Kwiatkowski, Canadian actress
- June 2 – Jemma McKenzie-Brown, English actress and singer
- June 4 – Mandela Van Peebles, American actor and producer
- June 7 – Andi Matichak, American actress
- June 8 – Anthony Boyle, Irish actor
- June 11 – Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress
- June 23 – Connor Jessup, Canadian actor, writer and director
- June 24 – Erin Moriarty, American actress
- June 26 – Leonard Carow, German actor
- June 29 – Camila Mendes, American actress
- June 30 – Josh Rojas, American Baseball Player
- July 6 – Camilla and Rebecca Rosso, English twin actresses
- July 16 – Mark Indelicato, American actor
- July 17 - Anna Grace Barlow, American actress
- July 18
- *Lamar Johnson, Canadian actor
- *Taylor Russell, Canadian actress and filmmaker
- *Lee Yoo-mi, South Korean actress
- July 22 - Jaz Sinclair, American film actress
- July 23 – Kelvin Harrison Jr., American actor
- July 24
- *Bronwyn James, English actress
- *Jaboukie Young-White, American stand-up comedian, actor and writer
- August 2 – Angus Imrie, English actor
- August 10 – Brigette Lundy-Paine, American actor
- August 17 – Taissa Farmiga, American actress
- August 18 – Madelaine Petsch, American actress and YouTuber
- August 21 – Jacqueline Emerson, American actress and singer
- August 22 – Israel Broussard, American actor
- August 23 – Francesca Reale, American actress
- August 25
- *Josh Flitter, American actor
- *Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Australian actress and model
- August 27 – Ellar Coltrane, American actor
- August 29 – Eduardo Franco, American actor and comedian
- September 3 – María Mercedes Coroy, Guatemalan actress of Kaqchikel Maya descent
- September 4 – Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Australian actress
- September 7 – Kento Yamazaki, Japanese actor
- September 11 – Jordi El Niño Polla, Spanish adult film actor
- September 17 - Denyse Tontz, American actress and singer-songwriter
- September 19 - Alex Etel, English former actor
- September 20 – Mathilde Ollivier, French actress and model
- September 21 – Khin Wint Wah, Burmese actress
- September 23 – Aurora Perrineau, American actress and model
- September 25 – Jansen Panettiere, American actor
- September 29
- *Halsey, American singer and actress
- *Clara Mamet, American actress and musician
- *Nicholas Galitzine, British actor
- September 30 – Raphaël Coleman, English actor
- October 2 - Brendan Meyer, Canadian actor
- October 9 – Jodelle Ferland, Canadian actress
- October 10
- *Kyle Allen, American actor
- *Bae Suzy, South Korean actress and singer
- October 23 – Margaret Qualley, American actress
- October 26 - Allie DeBerry, American actress
- October 27 - Eddie Alderson, American actor
- November 10 – Zoey Deutch, American actress
- November 11 – Connor Price, Canadian-American actor
- November 15 – Emma Dumont, American actress and model
- November 17 – Raquel Castro, American actress
- November 22 – Dacre Montgomery, Australian actor
- November 24 – Holly Mae Brood, Dutch actress
- November 26 - Anjelica Bette Fellini, American actress
- November 29 – Sarah Roach, American voice actress
- December 3 – Jake T. Austin, American actor
- December 10 – Kayli Mills, American voice actress
- December 11 – Gabriel Basso, American actor
- December 15 – Emma Lockhart, American journalist & former actress
- December 17 – Nat Wolff, American actor and singer
- December 26 – Samantha Boscarino, actress