1996 in film


The year 1996 involved many significant films. The major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The Rock, The English Patient, Twister, Space Jam, Mission: Impossible, ''Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a film version of the musical Evita''.

Highest-grossing films

The top 10 films released in 1996 by worldwide gross are as follows:
RankTitleDistributorWorldwide gross
1Independence Day20th Century Fox$817,400,891
2TwisterWarner Bros. / Universal$499,230,797
3Mission: ImpossibleParamount$457,696,359
4The RockBuena Vista$335,062,621
5The Hunchback of Notre DameBuena Vista$325,338,851
6101 DalmatiansBuena Vista$320,689,294
7RansomBuena Vista$309,492,681
8The Nutty ProfessorUniversal$273,961,019
9Jerry MaguireSony / TriStar$273,552,592
10Space JamWarner Bros.$250,180,384

Box office records

Independence Day became the highest-grossing film of Will Smith's career, up until it was surpassed by Aladdin which grossed $1.054 billion. However, adjusting for inflation, Independence Day in 2019 grossed $1.324 billion.Rumble in the Bronx was released in North America, becoming Jackie Chan's first major box office hit in the region, with its US box office alone earning over 20 times its budget. It was Chan's biggest ever hit up until then.

Context

The theatrical year of 1996 achieved a $5.8 billion domestic gross milestone and saw a record twelve films earning over $100 million by the end of December, with Independence Day earning over $300 million. However, the film industry experienced a surplus of releases between 1995 and 1996 that resulted in several box office flops, studio bankruptcies and sales, and otherwise successful films struggling to turn in a profit. The average cost of producing and marketing film rose to $60 million, a 20% increase from the previous year, with a contributing factor being the record high-salaries for stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Jim Carrey, Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Julia Roberts, and Demi Moore that became the subject of industry scrutiny following several high profile flops that were released in between 1995 and 1996. This resulted in studios having to cut their film slate by fifty percent to offset growing production and marketing costs and ensure more profits.

Events

  • June 19 – The Hunchback of Notre Dame has one of the largest premieres for a motion picture, taking place at the Superdome in New Orleans, with an audience of 65,000 people, as well as free admission. The film received generally positive reviews, and was a commercial success in box-office revenue.
  • July 10 – Nickelodeon releases its first feature film, Harriet the Spy, a spy-comedy-drama film based on the 1964 novel of the same name. It also launches the career of then-child actress Michelle Trachtenberg.
  • Mid-July – Production begins on Titanic.
  • September 20 – 75-year-old English actor Sir Dirk Bogarde has a severe stroke. He continued to need a wheelchair until his death in 1999.
  • December 20 – Scream is released and after a slow start becomes a surprising box office hit, ultimately earning more than $100 million domestic sales. Hailed as an influential landmark in the horror genre, it revitalized the declining slasher genre by satirizing the subgenre with characters that are well-versed in its clichés. Scream’s success lead to studios capitalizing especially on marketing horror films towards the teenage and young adult demographic.

Award ceremonies

1996 films

By country/region

By genre/medium

Births

Deaths

MonthDateNameAgeCountryProfessionNotable films
January1John Rodney81USActor
January1Virgil W. Vogel76USDirector, Film Editor
January7William H. Clothier92USCinematographer
January7Aaron Stell84USFilm Editor
January10Al Silvani85USActor
January13Mark Herron67USActor
January15Les Baxter73USComposer
January17Harry Robertson63UKComposer
January19Don Simpson52USProducer
January20Lo Wei77ChinaDirector, Screenwriter, Actor
January21Jordan Christopher55USActor, Singer
January29Jamie Uys74South AfricaDirector
January30Guy Doleman72New ZealandActor
February2Shamus Culhane87USAnimator
February2Gene Kelly83USActor, Director
February2Aline Towne76USActress
February3Audrey Meadows73USActress
February6Guy Madison74USActor
February6Patsy Smart77UKActress
February11William F. Claxton81USDirector
February13Martin Balsam76USActor
February13Scott Beach65USActor
February15Tommy Rettig54USActor
February15McLean Stevenson68USActor
February16Roger Bowen63USActor
February17Evelyn Laye95UKActress
February19Brenda Bruce76UKActress
February20Tōru Takemitsu65JapanComposer
February23Elisa Cegani84ItalyActress
February25Haing S. Ngor55CambodiaActor
March2Lyle Talbot94USActor
March3Marguerite Duras81FranceDirector, Screenwriter
March4Whit Bissell86USActor
March6Simon Cadell45UKActor
March6Tom McDermott83USActor
March9George Burns100USActor, Comedian
March10Marc de Jonge47FranceActor
March10Ross Hunter75USProducer
March11Vince Edwards67USActor
March13Lucio Fulci68ItalyDirector, Screenwriter, Actor
March13Krzysztof Kieślowski55PolandDirector, Screenwriter
March16Charlie Barnett41USActor, Comedian
March17René Clément82FranceDirector, Screenwriter
March24Liam O'Brien83USScreenwriter
March28Barbara McLean92USFilm Editor
April3Herk Harvey71USDirector
April5Charlene Holt67USActress
April5Norman Rockett84USSet Decorator
April6Greer Garson91UKActress
April7Georges Géret71FranceActor
April8John Hudson77USActor
April8Ben Johnson77USActor
April9Paul Leder70USDirector, Screenwriter
April11Wanda McKay80USActress
April16Lucille Bremer79USActress
April16Irasema Dilián71BrazilActress
April17Tomás Gutiérrez Alea67CubaDirector, Screenwriter
April20Alexander D'Arcy87EgyptActor
April21Luigi Pistilli66ItalyActor
April24Donald Cammell62UKDirector, Screenwriter
April24Preston Lockwood83UKActor
April25Saul Bass75USTitle Designer
April25Dick Wesson73USActor
April26Stirling Silliphant78USScreenwriter
April27Adam Roarke58USActor
April27Joan Sterndale-Bennett82UKActress
April30David Opatoshu78USActor
May1Luana Patten57USActress
May2Danny Kamekona60USActor
May3Jack Weston71USActor
May16Barton Heyman59USActor
May19Margaret Rawlings89JapanActress
May20Dean Harens75USActor
May20Jon Pertwee76UKActor
May21Lash LaRue78USActor
May23Patrick Cargill77UKActor
May24John Abbott90UKActor
May24Norman René45USDirector
May24Roland Varno88USActor
May29Jennings Lang81USProducer
May29Jeremy Sinden45UKActor
May29Tamara Toumanova77RussiaDancer, Actress
May30Natividad Vacío83USActor
June1Michael Fox75USActor
June2John Alton94HungaryCinematographer
June3Veniero Colasanti85ItalyCostume Designer, Production Designer
June3Peter Glenville82UKDirector
June5Vito Scotti78USActor
June6Mary Lee71USActress
June7Saul David74USProducer
June7Max Factor, Jr.91USMakeup Artist
June10Jo Van Fleet81USActress
June11Lonne Elder III68USScreenwriter
June11Brigitte Helm90GermanyActress
June12Mary Field87USActress
June12Lillian Yarbo91USActress
June15Ella Fitzgerald79USSinger, Actress
June23Pasqualino De Santis69ItalyCinematographer
June27Albert R. Broccoli87USProducer
July1Harold Greenberg66CanadaProducer
July1Margaux Hemingway42USActress
July1Steve Tesich53SerbiaScreenwriter
July8Irene Prador84AustriaActress
July9Christopher Casson84UKActor
July10Paul King69USScreenwriter
July13Pandro S. Berman91USProducer
July15Dana Hill32USActress
July20Randy Stuart71USActress
July21Luana Anders58USActress
July21Herb Edelman62USActor
July21Wolfe Morris71UKActor
July23Jean Muir85USActress
July24Virginia Christine76USActress
July28Bryant Haliday68USActor
July29Hilary Pritchard53Isle of ManActress
July30Claudette Colbert92FranceActress
July30Anthony Peck49USActor
July30Magda Schneider87GermanyActress
August3Guido Alberti86ItalyActor
August11Charles McGregor73USActor
August14Bob Hannah57USActor
August14Camilla Horn93GermanyActress
August15Joe Seneca77USActor
August16Miles Goodman46USComposer
August27Greg Morris62USActor
August30Christine Pascal42FranceActress, Director, Screenwriter
September4Victor Aaron39USActor
September5Anthony Mendleson81UKCostume Designer
September6Salman Shah24BangladeshActor
September7Bibi Besch56AustriaActress
September7Joseph F. Biroc93USCinematographer
September9Ruggero Mastroianni66ItalyFilm Editor
September10Joanne Dru74USActress
September11Brenda Forbes87UKActress
September13Jane Baxter87UKActress
September13Tupac Shakur25USRapper, Actor
September14Juliet Prowse59USActress, Dancer
September16Gene Nelson76USActor, Director
September16Joan Perry85USActress
September18Annabella89FranceActress
September22Dorothy Lamour81USActress
September30George Zuckerman80USScreenwriter
October4Stephen J. Friedman59USProducer
October4Masaki Kobayashi80JapanDirector
October5Judith Allen85USActress
October6Ted Bessell61USActor
October8Francis D. Lyon91USDirector, Film Editor
October8William Prince83USActor
October9Harvey Vernon69USActor
October12Erik Blomberg83FinlandCinematographer, Director, Screenwriter
October13Beryl Reid77UKActress
October14Laura La Plante91USActress
October16Jason Bernard58USActor
October27Morey Amsterdam87USActor, Comedian
October27Harry Woolman87USStuntman, Special Effects Artist
October30John Young80UKActor
October31Marcel Carné90FranceDirector
October31Arthur Peterson83USActor
November12Peter Leeds79USActor
November13June Gale85USActress
November14Virginia Cherrill88USActress
November15Lila Finn86USStuntwoman
November20Danny Dare91USChoreographer, Producer
November22Stephanie Bachelor84USActress
November22Mark Lenard72USActor
November23George Nicholas85USAnimator
November26Michael Bentine74UKActor, Screenwriter
November29Jordan Cronenweth61USCinematographer
December4Willard Parker84USActor
December7Phillip Reed88USActor
December8Paulene Myers83USActress
December8Howard E. Rollins, Jr.46USActor
December8Douglas Webb74UKStill Photographer
December9Diana Morgan86UKScreenwriter
December11William Rushton59UKActor
December12Larry Gates81USActor
December19Ronald Howard78UKActor
December19Marcello Mastroianni72ItalyActor
December28Edward Carfagno67USArt Director
December30Lew Ayres88USActor, Director
December30Jack Nance53USActor
December30Keith Walker61USScreenwriter, Actor
December31Wesley Addy83USActor