The year 1991 in film involved numerous significant events. Important films released this year included The Silence of the Lambs, Beauty and the Beast, Thelma & Louise, JFK and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 1991 by worldwide gross are as follows:
+ Highest-grossing films of 1991RankTitleDistributorWorldwide gross 1 Terminator 2: Judgment Day Tri-Star $520,881,154 2 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Warner Bros. $390,493,908 3Beauty and the Beast Walt Disney Pictures $Beauty and the Beast box-office Total prior to 2012 reissue: 2002 IMAX release: 4 Hook TriStar $300,854,984 5 The Silence of the Lambs Orion $272,742,922 6JFK Warner Bros. $205,405,498 7The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear Paramount $192,230,411 8 The Addams Family Paramount / Orion $191,502,426 9 Cape Fear Universal $182,291,969 10 Hot Shots! 20th Century Fox $181,096,164
Events February 14 – The Silence of the Lambs is released and becomes only the third film after It Happened One Night (1934) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) to win the top five categories at the Academy Awards: Best Picture; Best Director (Jonathan Demme); Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins); Best Actress (Jodie Foster); and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally). It is also the first, and to date only, Best Picture winner widely considered to be a horror film. March 20 – Frank Mancuso Sr. leaves as the head of Paramount Pictures. July 1 – Brandon Tartikoff is appointed as chairman of Paramount Pictures. July 3 – Terminator 2: Judgment Day becomes one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic. August 7 – Sony Pictures Entertainment is formed, acquiring Columbia Pictures Industries. As a result of this new formation, Tri-Star Pictures drops the hyphen from its name and becomes TriStar Pictures, while RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video becomes Columbia-TriStar Home Video. October – Mark Canton replaces Frank Price as chairman of Columbia Pictures. November 22 – Walt Disney Pictures releases Beauty and the Beast, based on the original fairy tale and Jean Cocteau's 1946 film. The film becomes one of the most prestigious and greatest animated and romantic films in cinema history. It goes on to become the first animated film ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Awards
Academy Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): Barton Fink, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, United States
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Close to Eden (Urga), directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, France / USSR
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): La Casa del sorriso (The House of Smiles), directed by Marco Ferreri, Italy
People's Choice Award (Toronto International Film Festival): The Fisher King, directed by Terry Gilliam, United States
Category/Organization 49th Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 18, 1992 45th BAFTA AwardsFebruary 21, 1992 64th Academy AwardsMarch 30, 1992 Drama Musical or Comedy Best Film Bugsy Beauty and the Beast The Commitments The Silence of the Lambs Best Director Oliver StoneJFK Alan ParkerThe Commitments Jonathan DemmeThe Silence of the Lambs Best Actor Nick NolteThe Prince of Tides Robin WilliamsThe Fisher King Anthony HopkinsThe Silence of the Lambs Best Actress Jodie FosterThe Silence of the Lambs Bette MidlerFor the Boys Jodie FosterThe Silence of the Lambs Best Supporting Actor Jack PalanceCity Slickers Alan RickmanRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves Jack PalanceCity Slickers Best Supporting Actress Mercedes RuehlThe Fisher King Kate NelliganFrankie and Johnny Mercedes RuehlThe Fisher King Best Screenplay, Adapted Thelma & LouiseCallie Khouri The CommitmentsDick Clement The Silence of the LambsTed Tally Best Screenplay, Original Truly, Madly, DeeplyAnthony Minghella Thelma & LouiseCallie Khouri Best Original Score Beauty and the BeastAlan Menken Cyrano de BergeracJean-Claude Petit Beauty and the BeastAlan Menken Best Original Song "Beauty and the Beast"Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast"Beauty and the Beast Best Foreign Language Film Europa Europa(Hitlerjunge Salomon) The Nasty Girl(Das schreckliche Mädchen) Mediterraneo
1991 films By country/region List of American films of 1991 List of Argentine films of 1991 List of Australian films of 1991 List of Bangladeshi films of 1991 List of British films of 1991 List of Canadian films of 1991 List of French films of 1991 List of Hong Kong films of 1991 List of Indian films of 1991 List of Hindi films of 1991 List of Kannada films of 1991 List of Malayalam films of 1991 List of Marathi films of 1991 List of Tamil films of 1991 List of Telugu films of 1991 List of Japanese films of 1991 List of Mexican films of 1991 List of Pakistani films of 1991 List of South Korean films of 1991 List of Soviet films of 1991 List of Spanish films of 1991
By genre/medium List of action films of 1991 List of animated feature films of 1991 List of avant-garde films of 1991 List of crime films of 1991 List of comedy films of 1991 List of drama films of 1991 List of horror films of 1991 List of science fiction films of 1991 List of thriller films of 1991 List of western films of 1991
Births January 1 – Mark L. Young, American actor January 2 – Ben Hardy, English actor January 4 – Charles Melton, American actor and model January 7 – Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, American actress and singer January 9 – Laura-Leigh, American actress January 13 Genevieve Gaunt, English actress Jennifer Paredes, American actress January 14 – Jeanine Mason, American actress January 15 Ayeza Khan, Pakistani actress and model Lulu Popplewell, English comedian and actress January 17 – Willa Fitzgerald, American actress January 18 – Britt McKillip, Canadian actress, singer January 19 – Erin Sanders, American actress January 21 Craig Roberts, Welsh actor and director Brittany Tiplady, Canadian actress January 24 – Pablo Pauly, French actor January 25 Ariana DeBose, American actress, dancer and singer January 27 – Cristo Fernández, Mexican actor January 28 – Calum Worthy, Canadian actor, musician February 10 – Emma Roberts, American actress February 12 – Tanaya Beatty, Canadian actress February 17 Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter Bonnie Wright, English actress Jeremy Allen White, American actor February 18 Esther Garrel, French actress Malese Jow, American actress February 21 Joe Alwyn, English actor Rose Reynolds, British actress and singer February 24 – O'Shea Jackson Jr., American actor and rapper February 25 – Tony Oller, American singer, songwriter and actor February 26 – Lex Scott Davis, American actress February 28 Sarah Bolger, Irish actress Rudy Mancuso, American internet personality, musician and actor March 2 – Jake Picking, German-born American actor March 5 – Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, English-Australian actress March 6 – Tyler, The Creator, American rapper March 7 – Daisy Head, English actress March 8 – Devon Werkheiser, American actor March 9 – Domo Genesis, American rapper March 12 – Lauren Holt, American actress, comedian and singer March 17 – Kristjan Lüüs, Estonian actor March 19 – Garrett Clayton, American actor March 22 – Dominique Fishback, American actress March 23 – Madelyn Deutch, American actress, director, musician and writer March 24 – Jack Bannon, English actor March 25 – Seychelle Gabriel, American actress March 28 – Amy Bruckner, American actress March 29 Irene, South Korean singer, rapper and actress Samantha Win, Canadian actress March 31 – Elliot Barnes-Worrell, English actor April 4 – Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress April 7 – Anne-Marie, English singer-songwriter and actress April 8 - Constance Lau, Singaporean actress April 9 – Amber Lee Connors, American voice actress April 10 AJ Michalka, American singer and actress Sergiusz Żymełka, Polish actor April 13 – Dylan Penn, American actress and model April 19 – Mehazabien Chowdhury, Bangladeshi actress and model April 21 – Frank Dillane, English actor April 22 – Leonie Benesch, German actor April 27 – Darren Barnet, American actor May 6 Shamier Anderson, Canadian actor Freddie Boath, English actor May 17 – Daniel Curtis Lee, American actor, comedian and rapper May 21 – Sarah Ramos, American actress June 1 – Zazie Beetz, American actress June 7 – Emily Ratajkowski, English-born American actress and model June 11 – Kärt Tammjärv, Estonian actress June 15 – Lindsay Seidel, American voice actress June 18 – Willa Holland, American actress June 20 Samson Kayo, British actor, comedian, producer and writer Ruby Modine, American actress and singer June 24 – Dexter Darden, American actor June 26 – Will Attenborough, British actor June 28 – Daniel Zovatto, Costa Rican-American actor June 29 Tajja Isen, Canadian actress and singer-songwriter Addison Timlin, American actress July 3 – Grant Rosenmeyer, American actor and screenwriter July 5 – Jason Dolley, American actor July 6 – Victoire Thivisol, French actress July 7 James Burrows, English actor Eve Hewson, Irish actress July 8 Jamie Blackley, Manx-born British actor Thuso Mbedu, South African actress Luke Pensabene, American actor and film producer July 9 – Mitchel Musso, American actor July 11 – Kentaro Sakaguchi, actor and model July 12 – Erik Per Sullivan, American actor July 16 – Alexandra Shipp, American actress July 29 – Jahmil French, Canadian actor (died 2021) August 4 – Lucinda Dryzek, English actress August 12 – Lakeith Stanfield, American actor August 13 – Nikita Hopkins, American screenwriter, visual artist and former child voice actor August 16 – Evanna Lynch, Irish actress August 17 – Austin Butler, American actor August 22 – Naomi Ackie, English actress August 23 – Jake Manley, Canadian actor August 26 – Dylan O'Brien, American actor August 27 – Young Mazino, American actor August 28 Humberto Carrão, Brazilian actor Kyle Massey, American actor September 2 - Damson Idris, Nigerian-British actor and producer September 4 – Carter Jenkins, American actor September 5 – Skandar Keynes, English actor September 9 Yang Yang, Chinese actor Kelsey Chow, American actress September 17 – Mena Massoud, Egyptian-born Canadian actor and singer September 19 – Tyler Neitzel, American actor September 20 Spencer Locke, American actress Jonah Meyerson, American actor and producer September 25 – Alix Bénézech, French actress September 26 - Charlotte Spencer, English actress and singer September 27 – Thomas Mann, American actress October 3 – Derek Klena, American actor and singer October 5 – Xiao Zhan, Chinese actor October 6 – Roshon Fegan, American actor, dancer, and rapper October 15 Josefin Asplund, Swedish actress Charlotte Hope, English actress October 18 Tyler Posey, American actor and musician Toby Regbo, English actor October 19 – Samantha Robinson, American actress October 23 – Sophie Oda, American actress October 25 – Lorina Kamburova, Bulgarian actress (d. 2021) October 27 – Bryan Craig, American actor October 28 – Mart Müürisepp, Estonian actor October 31 Jordan-Claire Green, American actress Junglepussy, American rapper and actress November 1 – Anthony Ramos, American actor and singer-songwriter November 4 Tanya Reynolds, English actress Bee Vang, American actor November 8 – Riker Lynch, American actor, singer, musician November 10 – Genevieve Buechner, Canadian actress November 11 Christa B. Allen, American actress Travis Tope, American actor November 13 Matt Bennett, American actor Devon Bostick, Canadian actor November 15 – Shailene Woodley, American actress November 30 – Aoife Hinds, British-Irish actress December 10 – KiKi Layne, American actress December 12 – Jaime Lorente, Spanish actor December 15 Eunice Cho, American actress Alana Haim, American musician and actress December 19 – Keiynan Lonsdale, Australian actor, dancer and singer-songwriter December 20