Yearly chart

1948 Box Office Rankings

Year-specific reference chart with worldwide gross, reported budgets, openings and ROI where available.

About the 1948 chart

This 1948 box office chart highlights films released in 1948, using available worldwide gross, budget, gross-minus-budget and ROI data. Some titles may have richer financial detail than others, depending on source coverage and later corrections.

Year gross$83.9Mvisible records

Avg budget$1.9Mbudgeted titles

Top opening—The Red Shoes

Releases24available for year

1948 quick chart highlights

Additional ways to explore the year’s highest-performing titles.

Top gross

The Red Shoes$10.0M Red River$9.0M The Three Musketeers$8.4M The Emperor Waltz$8.0M Melody Time$5.1M

Best ROI

Melody Time3.41x A Foreign Affair3.33x Red River3.00x 3 Godfathers2.29x The Emperor Waltz2.11x

Gross-minus-budget leaders

The Red Shoes$9.5M Red River$6.0M The Emperor Waltz$4.2M Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein$4.0M The Three Musketeers$3.9M

1948 movie chart

Sorted by worldwide gross.

#	Movie	Year	Worldwide	Budget	Gross - budget	ROI	Studio / Distributor
1	The Red Shoes WW Financial	1948	$10.0M	$500,000	$9.5M	20.00x	The Archers
2	Red River WW Financial	1948	$9.0M	$3.0M	$6.0M	3.00x	Monterey Productions
3	The Three Musketeers WW Financial	1948	$8.4M	$4.5M	$3.9M	1.88x	Loew's Incorporated
4	The Emperor Waltz WW Financial	1948	$8.0M	$3.8M	$4.2M	2.11x	Paramount Pictures
5	Melody Time WW Financial	1948	$5.1M	$1.5M	$3.6M	3.41x	Walt Disney Productions
6	A Foreign Affair WW Financial	1948	$5.0M	$1.5M	$3.5M	3.33x	Paramount Pictures
7	Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein WW Financial	1948	$4.8M	$800,000	$4.0M	6.02x	Universal International Pictures
8	Adventures of Don Juan WW Financial	1948	$4.8M	$3.4M	$1.4M	1.40x	Warner Bros. Pictures
9	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre WW Financial	1948	$4.3M	$3.8M	$507,000	1.13x	Warner Bros. Pictures
10	Romance on the High Seas WW Financial	1948	$3.2M	$2.5M	$693,000	1.27x	Michael Curtiz Productions
11	Fort Apache WW Financial	1948	$3.0M	$2.5M	$500,000	1.20x	Argosy Pictures
12	The Pirate WW Financial	1948	$3.0M	$3.7M	-$744,000	0.80x	Metro Goldwyn Mayer
13	3 Godfathers WW Financial	1948	$2.8M	$1.2M	$1.6M	2.29x	Argosy Pictures
14	Yellow Sky WW Financial No budget	1948	$2.8M	—	—	—	20th Century Fox
15	Hills of Home WW Financial	1948	$2.3M	$1.9M	$366,000	1.19x	Metro Goldwyn Mayer
16	Rope WW Financial	1948	$2.2M	$1.5M	$700,000	1.47x	Transatlantic Pictures
17	The Miracle of the Bells WW Financial	1948	$2.1M	$2.0M	$100,000	1.05x	RKO Radio Pictures
18	Portrait from Life WW Financial	1948	$1.1M	$535,000	$573,592	2.07x	Gainsborough Pictures
19	Miranda WW Financial	1948	$834,332	$784,170	$50,162	1.06x	Sydney Box Productions
20	Bicycle Thieves WW Financial	1948	$450,159	$133,000	$317,159	3.38x	Produzioni De Sica
21	Oliver Twist WW Financial	1948	$400,000	$375,000	$25,000	1.07x	Cineguild
22	Elizabeth of Ladymead WW Financial No budget	1948	$240,689	—	—	—	Herbert Wilcox Productions
23	Sing or Swim WW Financial	1948	$6,339	$6,339	—	1.00x	Famous Studios
24	Blood on the Moon WW Financial No budget	1948	$88	—	—	—	RKO Radio Pictures

The Red Shoes 1948 · WW Budget $500,000 · The Archers

$10.0M ROI 20.00x

Red River 1948 · WW Budget $3.0M · Monterey Productions

$9.0M ROI 3.00x

The Three Musketeers 1948 · WW Budget $4.5M · Loew's Incorporated

$8.4M ROI 1.88x

The Emperor Waltz 1948 · WW Budget $3.8M · Paramount Pictures

$8.0M ROI 2.11x

Melody Time 1948 · WW Budget $1.5M · Walt Disney Productions

$5.1M ROI 3.41x

A Foreign Affair 1948 · WW Budget $1.5M · Paramount Pictures

$5.0M ROI 3.33x

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948 · WW Budget $800,000 · Universal International Pictures

$4.8M ROI 6.02x

Adventures of Don Juan 1948 · WW Budget $3.4M · Warner Bros. Pictures

$4.8M ROI 1.40x

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 · WW Budget $3.8M · Warner Bros. Pictures

$4.3M ROI 1.13x

Romance on the High Seas 1948 · WW Budget $2.5M · Michael Curtiz Productions

$3.2M ROI 1.27x

Fort Apache 1948 · WW Budget $2.5M · Argosy Pictures

$3.0M ROI 1.20x

The Pirate 1948 · WW Budget $3.7M · Metro Goldwyn Mayer

$3.0M ROI 0.80x

3 Godfathers 1948 · WW Budget $1.2M · Argosy Pictures

$2.8M ROI 2.29x

Yellow Sky 1948 · WW Budget — · 20th Century Fox

$2.8M ROI —

Hills of Home 1948 · WW Budget $1.9M · Metro Goldwyn Mayer

$2.3M ROI 1.19x

Rope 1948 · WW Budget $1.5M · Transatlantic Pictures

$2.2M ROI 1.47x

The Miracle of the Bells 1948 · WW Budget $2.0M · RKO Radio Pictures

$2.1M ROI 1.05x

Portrait from Life 1948 · WW Budget $535,000 · Gainsborough Pictures

$1.1M ROI 2.07x

Miranda 1948 · WW Budget $784,170 · Sydney Box Productions

$834,332 ROI 1.06x

Bicycle Thieves 1948 · WW Budget $133,000 · Produzioni De Sica

$450,159 ROI 3.38x

Oliver Twist 1948 · WW Budget $375,000 · Cineguild

$400,000 ROI 1.07x

Elizabeth of Ladymead 1948 · WW Budget — · Herbert Wilcox Productions

$240,689 ROI —

Sing or Swim 1948 · WW Budget $6,339 · Famous Studios

$6,339 ROI 1.00x

Blood on the Moon 1948 · WW Budget — · RKO Radio Pictures

$88 ROI —

1948 box office FAQ

Helpful answers about the 1948 box office chart.

How many movies are included in the 1948 box office chart?

The number of titles depends on available box office data for that release year. More records can appear as source coverage improves.

Why do some movies have more detailed box office pages?

Some titles have more complete financial, ranking and source information available. Titles with less reliable supporting data may remain listed in ranking tables until more detail is available.

What does worldwide gross mean?

Worldwide gross refers to reported theatrical box office revenue across all available markets before any later home entertainment or streaming revenue.

How is ROI calculated?

ROI is calculated from available gross and budget data. Where budget or revenue is missing, ROI may be unavailable or marked as estimated depending on the source quality.

Can more films be expanded with full box office details later?

Yes. A title can receive a more detailed page when reliable financial data, source links and useful context become available.