The table below lists the top-grossing Drama movie released in each calendar year (based on worldwide box office). Click on the year number for a list of all the Drama films released that year. The "Annual Stats" links will take you to a summary of the domestic film business for Drama movies for the year in question (this part of our archive starts in 1995). Click on the movie name to see information on the individual film.
| Year | Annual Stats | Total Movies | Average Production Budget | Combined Worldwide Box Office | No. 1 Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | 506 | ||||
| 2026 | 4 | $5,000,000 | |||
| 2025 | 105 | $5,900,000 | |||
| 2024 | Annual Stats | 1,451 | $26,722,222 | $3,056,271,442 | Pegasus 2 (飞驰人生2) |
| 2023 | Annual Stats | 1,769 | $46,711,940 | $5,364,459,079 | Oppenheimer |
| 2022 | Annual Stats | 1,446 | $29,553,333 | $2,531,085,737 | Elvis |
| 2021 | Annual Stats | 946 | $25,526,854 | $3,089,466,731 | Hi, Mom (你好, 李焕英) |
| 2020 | Annual Stats | 1,017 | $12,202,159 | $2,104,509,626 | Wo He Wo De Jia Xiang |
| 2019 | Annual Stats | 1,386 | $23,949,362 | $6,009,600,093 | Wo he wo de zu guo |
| 2018 | Annual Stats | 1,230 | $16,274,074 | $5,939,833,741 | Bohemian Rhapsody |
| 2017 | Annual Stats | 1,071 | $17,143,737 | $4,909,253,008 | Fifty Shades Darker |
| 2016 | Annual Stats | 989 | $17,017,089 | $4,950,215,469 | Kimi no na wa |
| 2015 | Annual Stats | 801 | $14,049,985 | $4,913,090,388 | Fifty Shades of Grey |
| 2014 | Annual Stats | 427 | $17,075,476 | $5,030,572,173 | American Sniper |
| 2013 | Annual Stats | 352 | $16,824,019 | $3,233,607,678 | The Great Gatsby |
| 2012 | Annual Stats | 382 | $23,717,328 | $4,698,540,615 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 |
| 2011 | Annual Stats | 336 | $15,274,277 | $3,367,042,058 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 |
| 2010 | Annual Stats | 288 | $16,725,101 | $3,743,002,490 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse |
| 2009 | Annual Stats | 213 | $24,637,843 | $3,438,451,182 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon |
| 2008 | Annual Stats | 309 | $20,787,460 | $3,833,601,177 | Twilight |
| 2007 | Annual Stats | 280 | $17,353,433 | $2,678,247,669 | American Gangster |
| 2006 | Annual Stats | 231 | $20,518,636 | $3,331,406,355 | The Pursuit of Happyness |
| 2005 | Annual Stats | 224 | $17,616,179 | $2,178,543,310 | Walk the Line |
| 2004 | Annual Stats | 212 | $16,685,925 | $2,896,522,662 | The Passion of the Christ |
| 2003 | Annual Stats | 159 | $16,320,189 | $1,641,068,505 | Cold Mountain |
| 2002 | Annual Stats | 138 | $18,672,544 | $2,306,695,722 | Catch Me if You Can |
| 2001 | Annual Stats | 123 | $22,990,000 | $1,894,356,785 | A Beautiful Mind |
| 2000 | Annual Stats | 138 | $23,187,245 | $2,503,237,104 | The Perfect Storm |
| 1999 | Annual Stats | 138 | $28,170,240 | $2,302,962,316 | American Beauty |
| 1998 | Annual Stats | 109 | $25,499,474 | $2,493,969,603 | Saving Private Ryan |
| 1997 | Annual Stats | 97 | $25,167,188 | $3,646,444,723 | Titanic |
| 1996 | Annual Stats | 107 | $22,366,676 | $1,788,079,258 | The English Patient |
| 1995 | Annual Stats | 119 | $24,461,538 | $2,558,423,036 | Apollo 13 |
| 1994 | 67 | $17,071,429 | $1,429,160,609 | Forrest Gump | |
| 1993 | 62 | $18,153,333 | $1,771,428,597 | Schindler’s List | |
| 1992 | 64 | $23,350,000 | $1,365,057,259 | The Bodyguard | |
| 1991 | 72 | $16,994,444 | $1,031,973,963 | JFK | |
| 1990 | 58 | $26,666,667 | $1,021,703,342 | Ghost | |
| 1989 | 55 | $10,887,500 | $919,082,468 | Dead Poets Society | |
| 1988 | 62 | $14,400,000 | $549,864,979 | Cocktail | |
| 1987 | 61 | $17,062,500 | $646,021,317 | Dirty Dancing | |
| 1986 | 62 | $5,557,143 | $470,486,737 | Platoon | |
| 1985 | 71 | $13,600,000 | $990,429,205 | Rocky IV | |
| 1984 | 75 | $19,468,750 | $610,551,963 | Footloose | |
| 1983 | 58 | $13,111,111 | $739,725,496 | Flashdance | |
| 1982 | 40 | $18,285,714 | $558,624,958 | An Officer and a Gentleman | |
| 1981 | 45 | $12,166,667 | $550,243,257 | On Golden Pond | |
| 1980 | 35 | $11,112,500 | $393,859,470 | Coal Miner’s Daughter | |
| 1979 | 43 | $16,000,000 | $460,933,175 | Kramer vs. Kramer | |
| 1978 | 40 | $8,000,000 | $261,742,518 | The Deer Hunter | |
| 1977 | 33 | $20,000,000 | $732,601,911 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | |
| 1976 | 34 | $3,800,000 | $458,082,439 | Rocky | |
| 1975 | 31 | $7,700,000 | $339,746,305 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | |
| 1974 | 40 | $8,250,000 | $273,602,353 | Earthquake | |
| 1973 | 27 | $4,419,250 | $223,734,389 | American Graffiti | |
| 1972 | 24 | $4,050,000 | $342,867,614 | The Godfather | |
| 1971 | 27 | $54,018,275 | A Clockwork Orange | ||
| 1970 | 44 | $12,187,500 | $317,498,936 | Love Story | |
| 1969 | 35 | $2,600,000 | $154,937,730 | Midnight Cowboy | |
| 1968 | 22 | $747,000 | $120,417,967 | Romeo and Juliet | |
| 1967 | 19 | $2,666,667 | $153,222,909 | Bonnie and Clyde | |
| 1966 | 29 | $7,466,667 | $200,455,098 | The Bible | |
| 1965 | 19 | $10,433,333 | $149,368,025 | Doctor Zhivago | |
| 1964 | 24 | $9,560,000 | $44,763,805 | The Carpetbaggers | |
| 1963 | 32 | $21,000,000 | $120,076,399 | Cleopatra | |
| 1962 | 29 | $2,000,000 | $30,880,210 | To Kill A Mockingbird | |
| 1961 | 19 | $3,000,000 | $35,334,724 | King of Kings | |
| 1960 | 29 | $7,500,000 | $71,084,298 | Spartacus | |
| 1959 | 20 | $3,500,000 | $27,371,955 | Imitation of Life | |
| 1958 | 16 | $3,000,000 | $26,066,951 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | |
| 1957 | 19 | $1,670,000 | $60,078,148 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | |
| 1956 | 27 | $6,720,000 | $123,320,708 | The Ten Commandments | |
| 1955 | 23 | $410,000 | $1,765,883 | Land of the Pharaohs | |
| 1954 | 26 | $910,000 | $46,632,906 | The Caine Mutiny | |
| 1953 | 22 | $1,650,000 | $30,827,345 | From Here to Eternity | |
| 1952 | 19 | $4,000,000 | $53,104,661 | The Greatest Show on Earth | |
| 1951 | 15 | $5,025,000 | $42,762,709 | Quo Vadis? | |
| 1950 | 18 | $8,518,784 | All About Eve | ||
| 1949 | 18 | $29,250,637 | Samson and Delilah | ||
| 1948 | 24 | $7,337,547 | Sorry, Wrong Number | ||
| 1947 | 23 | $2,000,000 | $54,342,076 | Miracle on 34th Street | |
| 1946 | 8 | $2,640,000 | $40,208,611 | The Best Years of Our Lives | |
| 1945 | 13 | $1,250,000 | $32,389,429 | The Bells of St. Mary's | |
| 1944 | 12 | $9,939 | Double Indemnity | ||
| 1943 | 10 | $1,833,000 | $28,489,166 | The Song of Bernadette | |
| 1942 | 14 | $13,512,815 | Mrs. Miniver | ||
| 1941 | 16 | $1,250,000 | $19,372,740 | Sergeant York | |
| 1940 | 12 | $2,000,000 | $9,208,392 | Boom Town | |
| 1939 | 15 | $2,700,000 | $399,580,491 | Gone with the Wind | |
| 1938 | 12 | $2,000,000 | $6,900,368 | Alexander's Ragtime Band | |
| 1937 | 17 | $2,215,203 | Damaged Lives | ||
| 1936 | 9 | ||||
| 1935 | 10 | $283 | The Whole Town's Talking | ||
| 1934 | 11 | ||||
| 1933 | 15 | $423 | Today We Live | ||
| 1932 | 10 | $143 | Blonde Venus | ||
| 1931 | 13 | $35,566 | M | ||
| 1930 | 7 | $35,961 | L'âge d'or | ||
| 1929 | 15 | $2,706,644 | Napoléon | ||
| 1928 | 4 | $21,877 | La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc | ||
| 1927 | 4 | $2,000,000 | |||
| 1926 | 4 | $3,000,000 | Aloma of the South Seas | ||
| 1925 | 7 | $245,000 | $22,051,198 | The Big Parade | |
| 1924 | 3 | ||||
| 1923 | 3 | ||||
| 1922 | 3 | ||||
| 1921 | 2 | ||||
| 1920 | 1 | ||||
| 1919 | 1 | ||||
| 1918 | 2 | ||||
| 1916 | 3 | $385,907 | |||
| 1915 | 2 | $110,000 | $11,000,000 | The Birth of a Nation | |
| Total | 19,121 | $18,794,430 | $121,128,411,587 | Titanic | |