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:

Box office records

 * Independence Day became the highest-grossing film of Will Smith's career, up until it was surpassed by Aladdin (2019) 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

 * 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 to a surprised commercial success. Hailed as a 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

 * 1st Empire Awards

By country/region

 * List of American films of 1996
 * List of Argentine films of 1996
 * List of Australian films of 1996
 * List of Bangladeshi films of 1996
 * List of British films of 1996
 * List of Canadian films of 1996
 * List of French films of 1996
 * List of Hong Kong films of 1996
 * List of Indian films of 1996
 * List of Hindi films of 1996
 * List of Kannada films of 1996
 * List of Malayalam films of 1996
 * List of Marathi films of 1996
 * List of Tamil films of 1996
 * List of Telugu films of 1996
 * List of Japanese films of 1996
 * List of Mexican films of 1996
 * List of Pakistani films of 1996
 * List of Russian films of 1996
 * List of South Korean films of 1996
 * List of Spanish films of 1996

By genre/medium

 * List of action films of 1996
 * List of animated feature films of 1996
 * List of avant-garde films of 1996
 * List of crime films of 1996
 * List of comedy films of 1996
 * List of drama films of 1996
 * List of horror films of 1996
 * List of science fiction films of 1996
 * List of thriller films of 1996
 * List of western films of 1996

Births

 * January 3 - Florence Pugh, English actress
 * January 4 - Emma Mackey, English-French actress
 * January 5 - Maxim Baldry, English actor
 * January 6 - Courtney Eaton, Australian actress
 * January 15 - Dove Cameron, American actress
 * January 21 - Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Dominican-American actor
 * January 25 - Tati Gabrielle, American actress
 * January 27 - Braeden Lemasters, American actor, musician and singer
 * January 29 - Bryn Apprill, American voice actress
 * January 31 - Joel Courtney, American actor
 * February 2 - Paul Mescal, Irish actor
 * February 7
 * David Castro, American actor
 * Jake Goldberg, American actor
 * February 9
 * Jimmy Bennett, American actor
 * Kelli Berglund, American actress
 * February 16
 * Alex Aiono, American actor
 * Nana Komatsu, Japanese actress
 * February 17 - Sasha Pieterse, American actress
 * February 21 - Sophie Turner, English actress
 * February 24 - Mana Kinjo, Japanese actress and model (d. 2020)
 * February 28 - Bobb'e J. Thompson, American actor
 * March 18
 * Madeline Carroll, American actress
 * Eva Noblezada, American actress and singer
 * March 21 - Han Ji-hyun, South Korean actress
 * March 22 - Jonathan Mason, English actor
 * March 26 - Harrison Houde, Canadian actor, producer, director, YouTuber and musician
 * March 31 - Liza Koshy, American media personality and actress
 * April 14
 * Abigail Breslin, American actress
 * Abby Quinn, American actress
 * April 16 - Anya Taylor-Joy, American-English actress
 * April 17 - Dee Dee Davis, American actress
 * April 23 - Charlie Rowe, English actor
 * April 27 - Tejan Koroma, American Football Player
 * April 28 - Tony Revolori, American actor
 * April 29 - Katherine Langford, Australian actress
 * May 6 - Dominic Scott Kay, American actor and singer
 * May 9
 * Noah Centineo, American actor
 * Mary Mouser, American actress
 * May 16 - Aleyse Shannon, American actress
 * May 17 - Ryan Ochoa, American actor, rapper, songwriter and producer
 * June 1 - Tom Holland, English actor
 * June 2 - Brittany O'Grady, American Actress
 * June 4 - Maria Bakalova, Bulgarian actress
 * June 13 - Kodi Smit-McPhee, Australian actor
 * June 15 - Aurora, Norwegian singer-songwriter
 * June 20 - Claudia Lee, American actress and singer
 * June 24 - Harris Dickinson, English actor
 * July 9 - Meg DeLacy, American actress and singer
 * July 11 - Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
 * July 16 - Nicky Jones, American actor
 * July 17 - Grace Caroline Currey, American actress
 * July 22 - Skyler Gisondo, American actor
 * July 23 - Rachel G. Fox, American actress
 * July 24 - Herizen Guardiola, American singer, songwriter, and actress
 * July 30 - Jacob Lofland, American actor
 * August 1 - Cymphonique Miller, American actress and singer
 * August 2 - Kansas Bowling, American actress, director, screenwriter and cinematographer
 * August 7 - Liam James, Canadian actor
 * August 10 - Jacob Latimore, American actor and singer
 * August 14 - Brianna Hildebrand, American actress
 * August 21 - Jamia Simone Nash, American actress
 * September 1 - Zendaya, American actress and singer
 * September 2 - Austin Abrams, American actor
 * September 3 - Joy, South Korean singer, actress and host
 * September 12 - Colin Ford, American actor
 * September 13 - Lili Reinhart, American actress
 * September 15 - Jake Cherry, American actor
 * September 16 - Ryusei Yokohama, Japanese actor
 * September 17 - Ella Purnell, English actress
 * September 19 - Connor Swindells, English actor and model
 * October 4 - Ella Balinska, English actress
 * October 5 - Mary Gibbs, American actress
 * October 9
 * Jacob Batalon, American actor
 * Samuel Honywood, English former teen actor
 * October 12 - Vitória Strada, Brazilian actress and model
 * October 18 - Nadji Jeter, American actor
 * October 19 - Chance Perdomo, British-American actor (d. 2024)
 * October 25 - Keean Johnson, American actor
 * October 27 - Samantha Logan, American actress
 * October 28
 * Jasmine Jessica Anthony, American actress
 * Laine MacNeil, Canadian actress
 * October 29 - C. J. Wallace, American actor
 * October 30 - Kennedy McMann, American actress
 * November 1 - Daniela Melchior, Portuguese actress
 * November 9 - Kevin Afghani, American voice actor
 * November 11 - Tye Sheridan, American actor
 * November 13 - Otto Farrant, English actor
 * November 14 - Mason Gooding, American actor
 * November 16 - Mackenyu, Japanese actor
 * November 18 - Josh Heuston, Australian actor
 * November 21 - Grace Van Patten, American actress
 * November 22 - Madison Davenport, American actress and singer
 * December 1 - Destry Spielberg, American director and actress
 * December 6 - Stefanie Scott, American actress
 * December 7 - Marisa Abela, English actress
 * December 8 - Teala Dunn, American actress
 * December 9 - Leah Lewis, American actress and singer
 * December 11
 * Jack Griffo, American actor
 * Hailee Steinfeld, American actress
 * December 12 - Lucas Hedges, American actor
 * December 21 - Kaitlyn Dever, American actress
 * December 27 - Jae Head, American actor
 * December 29 - Dylan Minnette, American actor
 * December 30 - Zack Baun, American Football Player