1941 in film

The top ten 1941 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

• January 17
  • Gone with the Wind goes into general release after touring in a roadshow version during 1940. Becoming a cultural phenomenon, it sells an estimated 60 million tickets this year alone. Adjusted for inflation with numerous rereleases, it remains the highest grossing domestic film of all time with $1.8 billion.[4]
• May 1 – Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, is released.
• July 2 – Sergeant York, the film biopic of World War I hero Alvin C. York, starring Gary Cooper in the title role, premiera in New York City. Released nationally in the United States on September 27, 1941, it becomes the highest-grossing picture of the year and earns Cooper the first of two Academy Awards for Best Actor.
• September – Senate Investigation into Motion Picture War Propaganda in the United States.
• October 3 – The Maltese Falcon, considered one of the greatest films noir, is released.
• October 23 – Dumbo is released, becoming Disney's only big hit in the 1940s and one of the most acclaimed animated films ever made. Praised for mastering sophisticated simplicity and economic story, it is the favorite film of animation pioneer John Lasseter.

• Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley – 20th Century-Fox
• Best Actor: Gary Cooper – Sergeant York
• Best Actress: Joan Fontaine – Suspicion
• Best Supporting Actor: Donald Crisp – How Green Was My Valley
• Best Supporting Actress: Mary Astor – The Great Lie
• Best Director: John Ford – How Green Was My Valley

United States unless stated

United States unless stated

• The Adventures of Captain Marvel, starring Tom Tyler, directed by William Witney and John English
• Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc, starring Ralph Byrd, directed by William Witney and John English
• The Green Hornet, starring Gordon Jones
• Holt of the Secret Service, directed by James W. Horne
• The Iron Claw, directed by James W. Horne
• Jungle Girl, starring Frances Gifford, directed by William Witney and John English
• King of the Texas Rangers, directed by William Witney and John English
• Riders of Death Valley, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• Sea Raiders, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• Sky Raiders, directed by Ray Taylor and Ford Beebe
• The Spider Returns, starring Warren Hull, directed by James W. Horne
• White Eagle, directed by James W. Horne

• Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
• Laurel and Hardy (1921-1945)
• Our Gang (1922–1944)
• Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
• The Three Stooges (1933–1962)

• Mickey Mouse (1928–1942, 1947–1953)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
  • Bugs Bunny (1941–1964)
  • Daffy Duck (1938–1968)
  • Porky Pig (1936–1946, 1948–1951)
  • Sniffles (1939–1946)
  • Inki (1939–1950)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Scrappy (1931-1941)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
• Donald Duck (1937–1956)
• Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
• Goofy (1939–1955)
• Andy Panda (1939–1949)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958, 1961–1967)
  • The Midnight Snack
  • The Night Before Christmas
• Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949,1951–1972)
• Swing Symphonies (1941–1945)
• The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
• Superman (1941–1943)

• January 1 – Eva Ras, Serbian actress, writer and painter
• January 10 – José Greci, Italian actress (died 2017)
• January 14 – Faye Dunaway, American actress
• January 31 – Jessica Walter, American actress
• February 8 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
• February 10 – Michael Apted, English director, producer and screenwriter (died 2021)
• March 4 – Adrian Lyne, English director and producer
• March 14 – Wolfgang Petersen, German director, producer and screenwriter
• March 16 – Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian director (died 2018)
• April 7 – Danny Wells, Canadian actor and comedian (died 2013)
• April 14 – Julie Christie, English actress and sex symbol
• April 20 – Ryan O'Neal, American actor
• April 28 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-born American actress, dancer and singer
• May 13 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress and producer
• May 18 - Miriam Margolyes, British-Australian character actress
• May 24 – Andrés García, Dominican-Mexican actor
• June 2
  • Stacy Keach, American actor
  • Mahmoud Yassine, Egyptian actor (died 2020)
• June 5 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (died 2004)
• June 10 – Jürgen Prochnow, German actor
• June 20 – Stephen Frears, English film director
• June 21 – Joe Flaherty, Canadian-American actor and comedian
• June 22 – Michael Lerner, American actor
• June 25 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director and screenwriter
• June 27 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director (died 1996)
• July 28 – Peter Cullen, Canadian voice actor
• July 29 – David Warner, English actor
• September 26 – Martine Beswick, English actress and model
• October 6 – Billy Murray, English actor
• October 10 – Peter Coyote, American actor
• October 19 – Simon Ward, English actor
• October 23 – Mel Winkler, American actor (died 2020)
• October 24 – Frank Aendenboom, Belgian actor (died 2018)
• October 25 – Gordon Tootoosis, Aboriginal Canadian actor (died 2011)
• October 31 – Sally Kirkland, American actress
• November 1 – Robert Foxworth, American actor
• November 18 – David Hemmings, English actor, director and producer (died 2003)
• November 23 – Franco Nero, Italian actor
• November 25 – Tiit Lilleorg, Estonian actor
• December 4 – Leila Säälik, Estonian actress
• December 9 – Beau Bridges, American actor

• January 4 – Henri Bergson, 81, French writer
• January 10 – Joe Penner, 36, American comedian, actor, The Boys from Syracuse, Millionaire Playboy, The Day the Bookies Wept, Mr. Doodle Kicks Off
• March 13 – Stuart Walker, 63, American director, White Woman, Great Expectations
• May 8 – Tore Svennberg, 83, Swedish actor, The Phantom Carriage, A Woman's Face
• May 12 – Ruth Stonehouse, 48, American actress, film director, The Satin Woman
• May 22 – Ida Waterman, 89, American actress, Stella Maris, The Enchanted Cottage, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, Esmerelda
• August 13 – J. Stuart Blackton, 66, British-American film producer and director, co-founder of Vitagraph Studios, The Glorious Adventure
• October 9 – Helen Morgan, 41, American actress and singer, You Belong to Me, Applause, Show Boat
• October 26 – Victor Schertzinger, 53, American director, Paramount on Parade, Road to Zanzibar
• November 2 – Bengt Djurberg, 43, Swedish actor, Troll-Elgen
• December 21 – David Howard, 45, American film director, Daniel Boone

• Yvonne De Carlo – Harvard, Here I Come
• Cyd Charisse – The Gay Parisian
• Eva Gabor – Forced Landing
• Ava Gardner – Fancy Answers
• Jackie Gleason – Navy Blues
• Sterling Hayden – Virginia
• Charlton Heston – Peer Gynt
• Deborah Kerr – Major Barbara
• Bruce Lee – Golden Gate Girl
• Norman Lloyd – The Forgotten Man
• Agnes Moorehead – Citizen Kane
• Margaret O'Brien – Babes on Broadway
• Donna Reed – The Get-Away
• Frank Sinatra – Las Vegas Nights
• Marie Windsor – Unexpected Uncle
• Teresa Wright – The Little Foxes