This is a list of films released in 1994. The top worldwide grosser was The Lion King, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all-time, although it was slightly overtaken at the North American domestic box office by Forrest Gump, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The year is considered to be one of Hollywood's best years for cinema during the post-Golden Age era, setting the standard for the movies of the modern age.
Also in 1994, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer celebrated its 70th anniversary.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 1994 by worldwide gross are as follows: + Highest-grossing films of 1994 RankTitleDistributorWorldwide gross 1 The Lion KingWalt Disney Pictures The Lion King Lifetime grosses (US & Canada): Lifetime grosses (outside US & Canada): 2 Forrest Gump Paramount $677,945,399 3 True Lies 20th Century Fox / Universal $378,882,411 4 The Mask New Line $351,583,407 5 Speed 20th Century Fox $350,448,145 6 The Flintstones Universal $341,631,208 7 Dumb and Dumber New Line $247,275,374 8 Four Weddings and a Funeral Gramercy $245,700,832 9 Interview with the Vampire Warner Bros. $223,664,608 10 Clear and Present Danger Paramount $215,887,717
Events February 15 – Viacom acquired 50.1% of Paramount Communications Inc. for $9.75 billion, following a five-month battle with QVC. March 4 – Actor John Candy (1950–1994) dies of a heart attack at the age of 43 while on location in Durango, Mexico for the film Wagons East. March 21 – Steven Spielberg wins his first Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List. April 14 – Gone with the Wind (1939) becomes the first motion picture ever to be broadcast on the cable channel Turner Classic Movies. June 7 – Pierce Brosnan is officially announced as the fifth actor to play James Bond. June 10 – Speed is released, becoming one of the top-grossing films of the year, as well as launching Keanu Reeves into superstardom and making Sandra Bullock a worldwide star. June 24 – The Lion King is theatrically released. It goes on to become Buena Vista's highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing animated film, as well as the second highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release, just behind Jurassic Park. July 1 – Val Kilmer (1959–2025) is officially announced as the next actor to portray Batman following the abrupt departure of Michael Keaton. July 6 – Forrest Gump is released and becomes Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of all-time, up until it was surpassed by Titanic in 1998. July 15 – 20th Century Fox unveils a new on-screen logo and fanfare composed by Bruce Broughton, which debuts True Lies. October 12 – DreamWorks is founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. December 29 – Buena Vista Pictures Distribution becomes the first distributor to have grosses in the United States and Canada in a year exceed $1 billion.
Awards Category/Organization 52nd Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 21, 1995 Producers, Directors, Screen Actors, and Writers Guild Awards 67th Academy AwardsMarch 27, 1995 48th BAFTA AwardsApril 22, 1995 Drama Musical or Comedy Best Film Forrest Gump The Lion King Forrest Gump Four Weddings and a Funeral Best Director Robert ZemeckisForrest Gump Mike NewellFour Weddings and a Funeral Best Actor Tom HanksForrest Gump Hugh GrantFour Weddings and a Funeral Tom HanksForrest Gump Hugh GrantFour Weddings and a Funeral Best Actress Jessica LangeBlue Sky Jamie Lee CurtisTrue Lies Jodie FosterNell Jessica LangeBlue Sky Susan SarandonThe Client Best Supporting Actor Martin LandauEd Wood Samuel L. JacksonPulp Fiction Best Supporting Actress Dianne WiestBullets over Broadway Kristin Scott ThomasFour Weddings and a Funeral Best Screenplay, Adapted Quentin TarantinoPulp Fiction Eric RothForrest Gump Paul AttanasioQuiz Show Best Screenplay, Original Richard CurtisFour Weddings and a Funeral Quentin Tarantino and Roger AvaryPulp Fiction Best Original Score The Lion KingHans Zimmer N/A The Lion KingHans Zimmer BackbeatDon Was Best Original Song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"The Lion King N/A "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"The Lion KingN/A Best Foreign Language Film Farinelli N/A Burnt by the Sun To Live
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): Pulp Fiction, directed by Quentin Tarantino, United States
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Before the Rain (Pred doždot), directed by Milčo Mančevski, Macedonia Vive L'Amour, directed by Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): In the Name of the Father, directed by Jim Sheridan, United Kingdom / Ireland
People's Choice Award (Toronto International Film Festival): Priest, directed by Antonia Bird, United Kingdom
1994 films By country/region List of American films of 1994 List of Argentine films of 1994 List of Australian films of 1994 List of Bangladeshi films of 1994 List of British films of 1994 List of Canadian films of 1994 List of French films of 1994 List of Hong Kong films of 1994 List of Indian films of 1994 List of Hindi films of 1994 List of Kannada films of 1994 List of Malayalam films of 1994 List of Marathi films of 1994 List of Tamil films of 1994 List of Telugu films of 1994 List of Japanese films of 1994 List of Mexican films of 1994 List of Pakistani films of 1994 List of Russian films of 1994 List of South Korean films of 1994 List of Spanish films of 1994
By genre/medium List of action films of 1994 List of animated feature films of 1994 List of avant-garde films of 1994 List of crime films of 1994 List of comedy films of 1994 List of drama films of 1994 List of horror films of 1994 List of science fiction films of 1994 List of thriller films of 1994 List of western films of 1994
Births January 1 – Jack Rovello, American actor January 4 – Masey McLain, American actress January 17 – Lucy Boynton, English actress January 18 Sam Strike, English actor Hunter Doohan, American actor January 19 Josh Dylan, British actor Kristi Lauren, American actress January 21 – Booboo Stewart, American actor and singer January 26 – Joseph Quinn, English actor January 28 – Maluma, Colombian singer-songwriter and actor January 29 – Selina Lo, British actress January 30 – Tom Hudson, French actor February 1 Julia Garner, American actress Harry Styles, English singer and actor February 3 - Aimee Lou Wood, English actress and writer February 5 – Andrea Deck, American actress February 6 Charlie Heaton, English actor Moses Ingram, American actress February 10 - Makenzie Vega, American actress February 11 Eva Victor, French-American actor, writer, and director Dylan Arnold, American actor February 14 Allie Grant, American actress Paul Butcher, American actor February 15 – Corinne Foxx, American model, actress and producer February 16 – Matthew Knight, Canadian actor February 21 – Hayley Orrantia, actress Wendy, South Korean singer, voice actress and radio host February 22 - Ellen Marlow, American actress February 23 Little Simz, British rapper, singer and actress Dakota Fanning, American actress James Paxton, American actor February 28 - Kris Castle, American actress and content creator March 1 – Justin Bieber, Canadian singer March 3 – Lee David, South Korean actor March 12 Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter, musician, actress and YouTuber (d. 2016) Tyler Patrick Jones, American actor March 14 – Ansel Elgort, American actor and singer March 15 – Märten Metsaviir, Estonian actor March 16 – Sierra McClain, American actress and singer March 21 – Jasmin Savoy Brown, American actress March 26 – Freya Tingley, Australian actress April 1 – Ella Eyre, English singer-songwriter April 6 – Fabien Frankel, British actor April 11 – Dakota Blue Richards, English actress April 12 – Saoirse Ronan, Irish actress April 14 – Skyler Samuels, American actress April 16 – Liliana Mumy, American actress April 18 – Moisés Arias, American actor April 24 – Jordan Fisher, American actor, singer and musician May 2 – Sara Forsberg, Finnish singer-songwriter, YouTube personality, television presenter and actress May 4 – Alexander Gould, American actor May 7 - Dylan Gelula, American actress May 11 – David Alvarez, Canadian dancer and actor May 24 Cayden Boyd, American actor Lily Newmark, English actress May 29 – Paloma Kwiatkowski, Canadian actress June 2 – Jemma McKenzie-Brown, English actress and singer June 4 – Mandela Van Peebles, American actor and producer June 7 – Andi Matichak, American actress June 8 – Anthony Boyle, Irish actor June 11 – Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress June 23 – Connor Jessup, Canadian actor, writer and director June 24 – Erin Moriarty, American actress June 26 – Leonard Carow, German actor June 29 – Camila Mendes, American actress June 30 – Josh Rojas, American Baseball Player July 6 – Camilla and Rebecca Rosso, English twin actresses July 16 – Mark Indelicato, American actor July 17 – Anna Grace Barlow, American actress July 18 Lamar Johnson, Canadian actor Taylor Russell, Canadian actress and filmmaker Lee Yoo-mi, South Korean actress July 22 – Jaz Sinclair, American film actress July 23 – Kelvin Harrison Jr., American actor July 24 Bronwyn James, English actress Jaboukie Young-White, American stand-up comedian, actor and writer August 2 – Angus Imrie, English actor August 10 – Jack Haven, American actor August 17 – Taissa Farmiga, American actress August 18 – Madelaine Petsch, American actress and YouTuber August 21 – Jacqueline Emerson, American actress and singer August 22 – Israel Broussard, American actor August 23 – Francesca Reale, American actress August 25 Josh Flitter, American actor Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Australian actress and model August 27 – Ellar Coltrane, American actor August 29 – Eduardo Franco, American actor and comedian September 3 – María Mercedes Coroy, Guatemalan actress of Kaqchikel Maya descent September 4 – Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Australian actress September 7 – Kento Yamazaki, Japanese actor September 11 – Jordi El Niño Polla, Spanish adult film actor September 17 – Denyse Tontz, American actress and singer-songwriter September 19 – Alex Etel, English former actor September 20 Wallis Day, British actress Mathilde Ollivier, French actress and model September 21 – Khin Wint Wah, Burmese actress September 23 – Aurora Perrineau, American actress and model September 25 – Jansen Panettiere, American actor (d. 2023) September 27 - Eman Esfandi, American actor September 29 Halsey, American singer and actress Clara Mamet, American actress and musician Nicholas Galitzine, British actor September 30 – Raphaël Coleman, English actor (d. 2020) October 2 – Brendan Meyer, Canadian actor October 9 – Jodelle Ferland, Canadian actress October 10 Kyle Allen, American actor Bae Suzy, South Korean actress and singer October 23 – Margaret Qualley, American actress October 26 – Allie DeBerry, American actress October 27 – Eddie Alderson, American actor November 10 – Zoey Deutch, American actress November 11 – Connor Price, Canadian-American actor November 15 – Emma Dumont, American actress and model November 17 – Raquel Castro, American actress November 22 – Dacre Montgomery, Australian actor November 24 – Holly Mae Brood, Dutch actress November 26 – Anjelica Bette Fellini, American actress November 29 – Sarah Roach, American voice actress December 3 – Jake T. Austin, American actor December 6 - Molly Gordon, American actress, screenwriter and director December 10 – Kayli Mills, American voice actress December 11 – Gabriel Basso, American actor December 15 – Emma Lockhart, American journalist & former actress December 17 – Nat Wolff, American actor and singer December 26 – Samantha Boscarino, American actress December 31 - Max Bowden, British actor
Deaths