1974 in film

The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1974 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

 * February 7 – Blazing Saddles is released in the United States.
 * May 28 - Joseph E. Levine, the founder of Embassy Pictures, resigns as president.
 * June 20 – Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski and featured Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, is released to worldwide critical acclaim.
 * November 1 – Technicolor ceases its legendary dye-transfer printing process.
 * November 8 – Frank Yablans announces his resignation as president of Paramount Pictures with effect from January 5, 1975 following Barry Diller earlier becoming chairman and chief executive office.
 * Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with big fanfare, including That's Entertainment!, a retrospective documentary celebrating its prestigious musicals (e.g. The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, Meet Me in St. Louis, Gigi, An American in Paris, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers).
 * October–December – Three "disaster films" are released in three consecutive months: Airport 1975, Earthquake, and The Towering Inferno respectively.  All were box office successes.
 * Kevin Costner made his film debut in Sizzle Beach, U.S.A., although the film was not released until 1986.

Awards
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
 * The Conversation, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, United States

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
 * The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, directed by Ted Kotcheff, Canada

By country/region

 * List of American films of 1974
 * List of Argentine films of 1974
 * List of Australian films of 1974
 * List of Bangladeshi films of 1974
 * List of British films of 1974
 * List of Canadian films of 1974
 * List of French films of 1974
 * List of Hong Kong films of 1974
 * List of Indian films of 1974
 * List of Hindi films of 1974
 * List of Kannada films of 1974
 * List of Malayalam films of 1974
 * List of Marathi films of 1974
 * List of Tamil films of 1974
 * List of Telugu films of 1974
 * List of Japanese films of 1974
 * List of Mexican films of 1974
 * List of Pakistani films of 1974
 * List of South Korean films of 1974
 * List of Soviet films of 1974
 * List of Spanish films of 1974

By genre/medium

 * List of action films of 1974
 * List of animated feature films of 1974
 * List of avant-garde films of 1974
 * List of comedy films of 1974
 * List of drama films of 1974
 * List of horror films of 1974
 * List of science fiction films of 1974
 * List of thriller films of 1974
 * List of western films of 1974

Births

 * January 1 – Jennifer Podemski, Canadian actress
 * January 5 – Daisy Bates, English actress
 * January 10
 * Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, musician, comedian, singer, director and writer
 * Mehdi Nebbou, French actor
 * Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
 * January 14 - Kevin Durand, Canadian actor
 * January 16 - Johnny Trí Nguyễn, Vietnamese–American actor
 * January 18 - Maulik Pancholy, American actor
 * January 19 - Natassia Malthe, Norwegian actress and model
 * January 21 - Vincent Laresca, American actor
 * January 24 – Ed Helms, American actor and comedian
 * January 28 - Ty Olsson, Canadian actor
 * January 30
 * Christian Bale, English actor
 * Olivia Colman, English actress
 * February 4 – Urmila Matondkar, Indian actress
 * February 8
 * Seth Green, American actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer and director
 * Susan May Pratt, American actress
 * February 9
 * Erra Fazira, Malaysian actress
 * Amber Valletta, American model and actress
 * February 10
 * Elizabeth Banks, American actress, director, writer and producer
 * María Botto, Argentine-Spanish actress
 * Tanoai Reed, American stuntman and actor
 * February 11 - Isaiah Mustafa, American actor
 * February 12 - Lisa Brenner, American actress
 * February 15
 * Miranda July (née Grossinger), American filmmaker, performance artist and fiction writer
 * Gina Lynn, American former pornographic actress
 * February 16 – Mahershala Ali, American actor and rapper
 * February 17
 * David Lipper, Canadian actor
 * Jerry O'Connell, American actor
 * February 18 – Nadine Labaki, Lebanese actress, director and activist
 * February 25 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (d. 1993)
 * March 5
 * Kevin Connolly, American actor and director
 * Matt Lucas, English actor, comedian, writer and television presenter
 * Eva Mendes, American actress
 * March 7
 * Jenna Fischer, American actress
 * Tobias Menzies, English actor
 * March 8
 * Cesar Velasco Broca, Spanish actor and cult filmmaker
 * Danny Corkill, American former child actor
 * March 14 - Etan Cohen, Israeli-American screenwriter and director
 * March 15 - Renoly Santiago, Puerto Rican actor, singer and writer
 * March 21 - Rhys Darby, New Zealand actor, comedian and voice actor
 * March 23 - Randall Park, American actor, comedian and writer
 * March 24 – Alyson Hannigan, American actress
 * March 25 - Laz Alonso, American actor
 * March 31
 * Adrian Holmes, Canadian actor
 * Victoria Smurfit, Irish actress
 * April 2 - Harold Hunter, American professional skateboarder and actor (d. 2006)
 * April 10 - Omar Metwally, American actor
 * April 11 - David Banner, American rapper and actor
 * April 12 - Marley Shelton, American actress
 * April 15
 * Fay Masterson, English actress
 * Danny Pino, American actor
 * April 18 - Edgar Wright, English filmmaker
 * April 21
 * John Hasler, English actor and voice-over artist
 * Tony Kgoroge, South African actor
 * April 24 – Jennifer Paz, Filipino actress
 * April 26 – Ivana Miličević, American actress
 * April 28 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress
 * May 2 - Matt Berry, English actor, voice actor, comedian, writer and musician
 * May 3 - Joseph Kosinski, American filmmaker
 * May 7 – Breckin Meyer, American actor, voice actor, writer and producer
 * May 10 - Craig Hall, New Zealand actor
 * May 11 – Benoît Magimel, French actor
 * May 14 - Carla Jimenez, American actress
 * May 15 – Russell Hornsby, American actor
 * May 21 – Fairuza Balk, American actress
 * May 22 – Sean Gunn, American actor
 * May 23 - Jewel, American singer-songwriter and actress
 * May 24 - Dash Mihok, American actor and director
 * May 25 - Maria Fernanda Cândido, Brazilian actress and television presenter
 * June 2 - Leah Cairns, Canadian actress
 * June 6 - Danny Strong, American actor, writer, director and producer
 * June 11 - Lenny Jacobson, American actor
 * June 12
 * Jared Bush, American screenwriter, producer and director
 * Jason Mewes, American actor, comedian, film producer and podcaster
 * June 13 - Brande Roderick, American model and actress
 * June 14 - Phillip Rhys, English actor and filmmaker
 * June 16 - Joseph May, British-born Canadian-American actor
 * June 20 – Lenin M. Sivam, Sri Lankan-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
 * June 23 – Joel Edgerton, Australian actor
 * June 25
 * Jeff Cohen, American former child actor
 * Karisma Kapoor, Indian actress
 * June 28 - Kirsty Mitchell, Scottish actress
 * July 1 - Jonathan Roumie, American actor
 * July 3 - Corey Reynolds, American actor
 * July 4 - Mick Wingert, American voice actor
 * July 8 – Tami Erin, American actress
 * July 16 - Robinne Lee, American actress
 * July 20 - Simon Rex, American actor, rapper and comedian
 * July 22
 * Donald Faison, American actor, comedian and voice actor
 * Franka Potente, German actress
 * Johnny Strong, American actor, musician and singer-songwriter
 * July 29 - Josh Radnor, American actor and filmmaker
 * July 30 – Hilary Swank, American actress
 * July 31
 * Emilia Fox, English actress and presenter
 * Asher Keddie, Australian actress
 * August 2 - Angie Cepeda, Colombian actress
 * August 5 – Kajol, Indian actress
 * August 7 – Michael Shannon, American actor
 * August 8 - Enzo Cilenti, English actor
 * August 10 - Craig Kirkwood, American former actor
 * August 11 - Chris Messina, American actor, director, writer and producer
 * August 14 - Tomer Sisley, Israeli-French actor and comedian
 * August 15 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress and model
 * August 20
 * Amy Adams, American actress
 * Misha Collins, American actor
 * August 23 – Ray Park, Scottish actor and stuntman
 * August 31 - Marc Webb, American music video director and filmmaker
 * September 1 - Burn Gorman, English actor and musician
 * September 4 - Nona Gaye, American singer and retired actress
 * September 5 - Romina Yan, Argentine actress, screenwriter and singer (d. 2010)
 * September 6
 * Sarah Danielle Madison, American actress (d. 2014)
 * Justin Whalin, American former actor
 * September 7 - Noah Huntley, English actor
 * September 10 – Ryan Phillippe, American actor
 * September 11 - Ben Best, American actor, writer, musician and producer (d. 2021)
 * September 18 - Xzibit, American rapper, actor and broadcaster
 * September 19
 * Jimmy Fallon, American television host, comedian and actor
 * Victoria Silvstedt, Swedish actress and model
 * September 30 - Ashley Hamilton, American actor, comedian and singer-songwriter
 * October 1 - Sherri Saum, American actress
 * October 2 - Michelle Krusiec, American actress, writer and producer
 * October 6
 * Fernando Chien, Taiwanese actor and stunt performer
 * Alexis Georgoulis, Greek actor
 * Jeremy Sisto, American actor, producer and writer
 * October 7 - Numan Acar, Turkish-German actor and producer
 * October 17
 * Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
 * Rizwan Manji, Canadian actor
 * October 20 – Brian Limond, Scottish comedian, actor and writer
 * October 28
 * Michael Dougherty, American director, screenwriter, producer and animator
 * Jake Kasdan, American filmmaker and actor
 * Joaquin Phoenix, American actor
 * October 31
 * David Dencik, Danish-Swedish actor
 * Ruben Fleischer, American director and producer
 * November 2 - Nelly, American actor, rapper and singer
 * November 4 – Matthew Rhys, Welsh actor
 * November 7 - Carl Steven, American child actor (d. 2011)
 * November 10 – Simone Singh, Indian actress
 * November 11 – Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
 * November 14
 * Fatima Adoum, French actress
 * David Moscow, American actor and producer
 * November 16 – Chloë Sevigny, American actress
 * November 17 – Leslie Bibb, American actress and model
 * November 21 – Tiit Sukk, Estonian actor
 * November 24 - Stephen Merchant, English comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter
 * November 25 - Kenneth Mitchell, Canadian actor (d. 2024)
 * November 26 - Omar Chaparro, Mexican actor, comedian, television host and singer
 * December 1 – Érica Rivas, Argentinian actress
 * December 11 - Lisa Ortiz, American voice actress and voice director
 * December 15 - P. J. Byrne, American actor
 * December 17
 * Paul Briggs, American animator and voice actor
 * Sarah Paulson, American actress
 * Giovanni Ribisi, American actor
 * December 24 - Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor
 * December 25 - Andrew McNee, Canadian actor
 * December 27 - Masi Oka, Japanese actor, producer and digital effects artist
 * December 29 - Mekhi Phifer, American actor

Film debuts

 * Armand Assante – The Lords of Flatbush
 * Richard Belzer – The Groove Tube
 * Tom Bower – The Trial of Billy Jack
 * Tony Burton – The Black Godfather
 * Chevy Chase – The Groove Tube
 * Bill Cobbs – The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
 * Robert Englund – Buster and Billie
 * Jaime Fabregas – Black Mamba
 * Jeff Goldblum – Death Wish
 * Chris Haywood – The Cars That Ate Paris
 * Lawrence Hilton Jacobs – Claudine
 * Clyde Kusatsu – Airport 1975
 * Sean McCann – A Quiet Day in Belfast
 * Edward James Olmos – Black Fist
 * Raymond Serra – The Gambler
 * Ray Sharkey – The Lords of Flatbush
 * Delia Sheppard – The Spots on My Leopard
 * Peter Simonischek – Die Auslieferung
 * Steven Spielberg (director) – The Sugarland Express
 * Fred Ward – Ginger in the Morning
 * Kenneth Welsh – Piaf
 * Henry Winkler – Crazy Joe