1946 in film

The top ten 1946 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

• February 14 - Charles Vidor's Gilda starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford shows audiences one of the most famous scenes of the 20th century: Rita Hayworth singing "Put The Blame On Mame".

• November 21 – William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.

• December 20 – Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, featuring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, and Thomas Mitchell opens in New York.

United States unless stated

• Daughter of Don Q
• Chick Carter, Detective
• The Crimson Ghost
• Hop Harrigan
• King of the Forest Rangers, starring Larry Thompson
• Lost City of the Jungle
• The Mysterious Mr. M
• The Phantom Rider, starring Robert Kent and Peggy Stewart
• The Scarlet Horseman
• Son of the Guardsman

• Shirley Temple (1932–1946)
• The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
• Popular Science (1935–1950)

• Mickey Mouse (1928–1952)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
• Donald Duck (1936–1956)
• Pluto (1937–1951)
• Andy Panda (1939–1949)
• Goofy (1939–1953)
• Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
• The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
• Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
• Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
• Droopy (1943–1958)
• Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
• Screwball Squirrel (1944–1946)
• Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)
• George and Junior (1946–1948)

• January 5 – Diane Keaton, American actress, producer and director
• January 6 - Cheng Pei-pei, Chinese actress
• January 7 – Arnis Līcītis, Latvian actor (d. 2022)
• January 19 – Dolly Parton, American country singer and actress
• January 20 – David Lynch, American director
• January 26 – Gene Siskel, film critic, Siskel and Ebert (d. 1999)
• February 2
  • Blake Clark, American stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor
  • J. E. Freeman, American actor
• February 3 – Stephen McHattie, Canadian actor
• February 4 - Ivano Marescotti, Italian actor (d. 2023)
• February 5 – Charlotte Rampling, English actress
• February 7 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (d. 2011)
• February 8 – Alex Diakun, Canadian actor
• February 13 – Joe Estevez, American actor, director and producer
• February 20 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
• February 21
  • Tyne Daly, American actress
  • Anthony Daniels, English actor, voice actor and mime artist
  • Alan Rickman, English actor (d. 2016)[7]
• March 1 - Lana Wood, American actress and producer
• March 6 - Martin Kove, American actor and martial artist
• March 7
  • Dan Grimaldi, American actor
  • John Heard, American actor (d. 2017)
• March 9 - Alexandra Bastedo, British actress (d. 2014)
• March 12
  • Dean Cundey, American cinematographer and filmmaker
  • Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
  • Frank Welker, American actor, voice actor and former stand-up comedian
• March 21 – Timothy Dalton, British actor
• March 29 – Paul Herman, American actor (d. 2022)
• April 3 - Nicholas Jones, English character actor
• April 5 - Jane Asher, English actress
• April 12 – Ed O'Neill, American actor and comedian
• April 15
  • Bob DeSimone, American actor
  • Michael Tucci, American actor
• April 19 – Tim Curry, English actor and singer
• April 20 – Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Japanese actor
• April 23 – Blair Brown, American actress
• April 25 – Talia Shire, American actress
• April 29 – Wayne Robson, Canadian actor (d. 2011)
• May 1
  • Joanna Lumley, British actress
  • John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer and screenwriter
• May 2 – David Suchet, English actor
• May 9 – Candice Bergen, American actress
• May 11 – Ago Roo, Estonian actor
• May 13 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor (d. 2017)
• May 18 – Andreas Katsulas, American actor (d. 2006)
• May 19 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
• May 20 – Cher, American singer and actress
• May 22 – Jack Kehler, American character actor (d. 2022)
• June 1 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
• June 3 – Penelope Wilton, English actress
• June 5 - John Bach, British-born New Zealand actor
• June 8 - Alan Scarfe, British-Canadian actor
• June 12 - Jack Thibeau, American actor
• June 15
  • Angela Down, English actress
  • Roy Holder, English actor (d. 2021)
• June 26 – Ricky Jay, American actor and writer (d. 2018)
• June 28
  • Bruce Davison, American actor and director
  • Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (d. 1989)
• July 2 – Ron Silver, American actor (d. 2009)
• July 6 – Sylvester Stallone, actor and director
• July 10 – Sue Lyon, actress (d. 2019)
• July 13 – Cheech Marin, American actor and comedian
• July 14 – Vincent Pastore, American actor
• July 16 – Richard LeParmentier, American actor (d. 2013)
• July 17 – Alun Armstrong, English actor
• July 18 – Dicken Ashworth, English actor
• July 20 - Randal Kleiser, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
• July 22 – Danny Glover, actor and director
• July 27 – Rade Šerbedžija, Croatian actor, director and musician
• August 6 – Peter Simonischek, Austrian actor (d. 2023)
• August 16 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress and singer
• August 19
  • Ti Lung, Hong Kong actor
  • Christopher Malcolm, Scottish actor, director and producer (d. 2014)
• August 29 – Lindy Davies, Australian actress and director
• August 30 - Peggy Lipton, American actress, model and singer (d. 2019)
• September 5 – Dennis Dugan, American director, actor, writer and comedian
• September 13 – Frank Marshall, American producer and director
• September 15
  • Tommy Lee Jones, actor
  • Oliver Stone, director and producer
• September 18
  • Struan Rodger, British actor
  • Gailard Sartain, American actor
• September 28
  • Peter Egan, British actor
  • Jeffrey Jones, American actor
• October 2 – Dale Soules, American actress
• October 4 – Susan Sarandon, American actress
• October 6 - John Hostetter, American actor and visual artist (d. 2016)
• October 10
  • Charles Dance, English actor
  • Ben Vereen, American actor
• October 15 – John Getz, American actor
• October 16 - Suzanne Somers, American actress and singer (d. 2023)
• October 22 – Richard McGonagle, American actor
• October 27 – Ivan Reitman, Slovakian-born Canadian director and producer (d. 2022)
• October 31 – Stephen Rea, Northern Irish actor
• November 3
  • Michael Champion, American singer, musician and actor (d. 2021)
  • Tom Savini, American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and director
• November 4 - John Callen, English-born New Zealand actor and director
• November 6 – Sally Field, actress
• November 7 – John Aylward, American actor (d. 2022)
• November 20
  • Sullivan Walker, Trinidadian actor (d. 2012)
  • Samuel E. Wright, American actor and singer (d. 2021)
• November 22 – Paul A. Partain, American actor (d. 2005)
• December 8 – Frank Pesce, American actor (d. 2022)
• December 14 – Patty Duke, American actress (d. 2016)
• December 17
  • Jayne Eastwood, Canadian actress and comedian
  • Eugene Levy, Canadian actor
• December 18 – Steven Spielberg, American director and producer
• December 19 - Robert Urich, American actor and producer (d. 2002)
• December 20 – John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)
• December 21 - Josh Mostel, American actor
• December 25 – Stuart Wilson, English actor
• December 31 - Margaret Travolta, American actress
• unknown – Omar Al-Shammaa, Lebanese actor, voice actor

• January 13 – Enid Stamp Taylor, English actress
• February 5 – George Arliss, English actor
• April 1 – Noah Beery Sr., American actor
• June 23 – William S. Hart, American actor
• July 10 - Slim Summerville, American actor and director
• August 8 – Paul Porcasi, Italian actor
• August 10 – Léon Gaumont, French film pioneer
• August 12 – Egon Brecher, Austrian actor, director
• August 13 – H. G. Wells, British science fiction writer
• August 26 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter
• August 28 – Florence Turner, American actress
• September 21 – Olga Engl, Austrian actress
• October 8 – John St. Polis, American actor
• November 2 – Gabriel Gabrio, French actor
• November 18 – Donald Meek, Scottish-American actor
• December 12 – Renée Jeanne Falconetti, French actress
• December 25 – W. C. Fields, American comedian and actor

• Patricia Barry – Her Kind of Man
• Raymond Burr – Without Reservations
• Hamilton Camp – Bedlam
• Gianna Maria Canale – The Black Eagle
• Kirk Douglas – The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
• William Fawcett – Stars Over Texas
• John Hoyt – O.S.S.
• Martha Hyer – The Locket
• Burl Ives – Smoky
• Burt Lancaster – The Killers
• Gina Lollobrigida – The Black Eagle
• Lois Maxwell – A Matter of Life and Death
• Slim Pickens – Smoky
• Liam Redmond – I See a Dark Stranger
• Yvonne Sanson – The Black Eagle
• Emil Sitka – One Exciting Week
• Hal Smith – Stars Over Texas

• List of 1946 films at IMDb
• List of 1946 deaths at IMDb
• List of 1946 births at IMDb