100 English films of 1956 ranked by box office. #1: The Ten Commandments ($122.7 million).
| # | Film | Lead | Director | Budget | Box office | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ten Commandments | Cecil B. DeMille | $13.5 million | $122.7 million | 9.09x | |
| 2 | Around the World in 80 Days | Michael Anderson | $6 million | $42 million | 7.00x | |
| 3 | Giant | George Stevens | $5.4 million | $39 million | 7.22x | |
| 4 | The King and I | Walter Lang | $4.5 million | $21.3 million | 4.68x | |
| 5 | Trapeze | Carol Reed | $4 million | $15.5 million | 3.88x | |
| 6 | War and Peace | King Vidor | $6 million | $12.2 million | 2.04x | |
| 7 | The Man Who Knew Too Much | Alfred Hitchcock | $1.2 million | $11.3 million | 9.42x | |
| 8 | The Conqueror | Dick Powell | $6 million | $9 million | 1.50x | |
| 9 | The Teahouse of the August Moon | Daniel Mann | $3.9 million | $8.9 million | 2.27x | |
| 10 | High Society | Charles Walters | $2.8 million | $8.2 million | 2.93x | |
| 11 | Friendly Persuasion | William Wyler | $3 million | $8 million | 2.67x | |
| 12 | Bus Stop | Joshua Logan | $2.2 million | $7.3 million | 3.30x | |
| 13 | Seven Wonders of the World | Andrew Marton | $6.5 million | |||
| 14 | The Girl Can't Help It | Frank Tashlin | $1.3 million | $6.2 million | 4.77x | |
| 15 | The Eddy Duchin Story | George Sidney | $3 million | $5.3 million | 1.77x | |
| 16 | Moby Dick | John Huston | $4.5 million | $5.2 million | 1.16x | |
| 17 | Bhowani Junction | George Cukor | $3.6 million | $4.9 million | 1.34x | |
| 18 | Love Me Tender | Robert D. Webb | $1.3 million | $4.5 million | 3.48x | |
| 19 | The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit | Nunnally Johnson | $2.6 million | $4.4 million | 1.69x | |
| 20 | Anastasia | Anatole Litvak | $3.5 million | $4.3 million | 1.22x | |
| 20 | Written on the Wind | Douglas Sirk | $1.3 million | $4.3 million | 3.31x | |
| 22 | The Bad Seed | Mervyn LeRoy | $1 million | $4.1 million | 4.10x | |
| 23 | The Proud and Profane | George Seaton | $3.9 million | |||
| 24 | Carousel | Henry King | $3.3 million | $3.8 million | 1.14x | |
| 25 | Meet Me in Las Vegas | Roy Rowland | $2.5 million | $3.7 million | 1.49x | |
| 26 | The Swan | Charles Vidor | $3 million | $3.7 million | 1.23x | |
| 27 | Pardners | Norman Taurog | $3.6 million | |||
| 28 | The Fastest Gun Alive | Russell Rouse | $1.4 million | $3.5 million | 2.56x | |
| 29 | Away All Boats | Joseph Pevney | $2 million | $3.5 million | 1.75x | |
| 30 | Tea and Sympathy | Vincente Minnelli | $1.7 million | $3.4 million | 1.98x | |
| 31 | Somebody Up There Likes Me | Robert Wise | $1.9 million | $3.4 million | 1.75x | |
| 32 | Hollywood or Bust | Frank Tashlin | $3.3 million | |||
| 33 | Helen of Troy | Robert Wise | $6 million | $3.2 million | 0.53x | |
| 34 | Invasion of the Body Snatchers | Don Siegel | $416,911 | $3 million | 7.20x | |
| 35 | The Last Hunt | Richard Brooks | $2.1 million | $3 million | 1.41x | |
| 36 | The Opposite Sex | David Miller | $2.8 million | $2.8 million | 1.00x | |
| 37 | Westward Ho, the Wagons! | William Beaudine | $2.8 million | |||
| 38 | Forbidden Planet | Fred M. Wilcox | $2 million | $2.7 million | 1.37x | |
| 38 | The Best Things in Life Are Free | Michael Curtiz | $1.2 million | $2.7 million | 2.33x | |
| 38 | The Benny Goodman Story | Valentine Davies | $2.7 million | |||
| 41 | Lust for Life | Vincente Minnelli | $3.2 million | $2.7 million | 0.84x | |
| 42 | Julie | Andrew L. Stone | $785,000 | $2.6 million | 3.31x | |
| 43 | Alexander the Great | Robert Rossen | $4 million | $2.5 million | 0.63x | |
| 44 | The Solid Gold Cadillac | Richard Quine | $2.4 million | |||
| 45 | Baby Doll | Elia Kazan | $1.3 million | $2.3 million | 1.77x | |
| 46 | Forever, Darling | Alexander Hall | $951,000 | $2.3 million | 2.41x | |
| 47 | The King and Four Queens | Raoul Walsh | $2.2 million | |||
| 47 | The Lieutenant Wore Skirts | Frank Tashlin | $970,000 | $2.2 million | 2.32x | |
| 49 | Ransom! | Alex Segal | $1 million | $2.2 million | 2.17x | |
| 50 | The Rainmaker | Joseph Anthony | $2.1 million | |||
| 50 | Anything Goes | Robert Lewis | $2.1 million | |||
| 52 | The Wrong Man | Alfred Hitchcock | $1.2 million | $2 million | 1.67x | |
| 52 | The Revolt of Mamie Stover | Raoul Walsh | $2 million | $2 million | 1.00x | |
| 52 | Santiago | Gordon Douglas | $2 million | |||
| 52 | Tribute to a Bad Man | Robert Wise | $2.8 million | $2 million | 0.71x | |
| 52 | Godzilla, King of the Monsters! | Ishirō Honda | $100,000 | $2 million | 20.00x | |
| 52 | Attack | Robert Aldrich | $820,000 | $2 million | 2.44x | |
| 52 | Between Heaven and Hell | Richard Fleischer | $1.5 million | $2 million | 1.32x | |
| 59 | D-Day the Sixth of June | Henry Koster | $2.1 million | $1.9 million | 0.94x | |
| 60 | Johnny Concho | Don McGuire | $1.9 million | |||
| 61 | The Mountain | Edward Dmytryk | $2.1 million | $1.8 million | 0.85x | |
| 61 | Jubal | Delmer Daves | $1.8 million | |||
| 61 | The Birds and the Bees | Norman Taurog | $1.8 million | |||
| 64 | The Great Locomotive Chase | Francis D. Lyon | $1.7 million | |||
| 65 | Bandido | Richard Fleischer | $1.6 million | |||
| 66 | Backlash | John Sturges | $1 million | $1.6 million | 1.56x | |
| 66 | Never Say Goodbye | Douglas Sirk | $1.6 million | |||
| 68 | Serenade | Anthony Mann | $1.6 million | |||
| 69 | The Lone Ranger | Stuart Heisler | $1.6 million | |||
| 70 | Crime in the Streets | Don Siegel | $280,000 | $1.5 million | 5.36x | |
| 70 | Back from Eternity | John Farrow | $1.5 million | |||
| 70 | The Last Wagon | Delmer Daves | $1.7 million | $1.5 million | 0.90x | |
| 70 | Walk the Proud Land | Jesse Hibbs | $1.5 million | |||
| 70 | The Burning Hills | Stuart Heisler | $1.5 million | |||
| 70 | Pillars of the Sky | George Marshall | $1.5 million | |||
| 70 | The Ambassador's Daughter | Norman Krasna | $1.2 million | $1.5 million | 1.20x | |
| 77 | You Can't Run Away from It | Dick Powell | $1.4 million | |||
| 78 | Rock, Pretty Baby | Richard Bartlett | $1 million | $1.4 million | 1.43x | |
| 79 | The Bold and the Brave | Lewis R. Foster | $1.4 million | |||
| 79 | Safari | Terence Young | $1.4 million | |||
| 79 | The Vagabond King | Michael Curtiz | $1.4 million | |||
| 79 | Tension at Table Rock | Charles Marquis Warren | $1.4 million | |||
| 79 | The Girl He Left Behind | David Butler | $1.4 million | |||
| 79 | The Toy Tiger | Jerry Hopper | $1.4 million | |||
| 79 | Zarak | Terence Young | $1.4 million | |||
| 86 | The Iron Petticoat | Ralph Thomas | $509,000 | $1.4 million | 2.72x | |
| 87 | Gaby | Curtis Bernhardt | $1.9 million | $1.4 million | 0.73x | |
| 88 | The Harder They Fall | Mark Robson | $1.4 million | |||
| 89 | Full of Life | Richard Quine | $1.3 million | |||
| 89 | The Kettles in the Ozarks | Charles Lamont | $1.3 million | |||
| 91 | Earth vs. the Flying Saucers | Fred F. Sears | $1.2 million | |||
| 91 | Run for the Sun | Roy Boulting | $1.2 million | |||
| 93 | Diane | David Miller | $2.7 million | $1.2 million | 0.46x | |
| 94 | Three Violent People | Rudolph Maté | $1.2 million | |||
| 94 | Francis in the Haunted House | Charles Lamont | $1.2 million | |||
| 94 | Don't Knock the Rock | Fred F. Sears | $1.2 million | |||
| 97 | Comanche | George Sherman | $1.1 million | |||
| 97 | On the Threshold of Space | Robert D. Webb | $1.5 million | $1.1 million | 0.76x | |
| 99 | The Bottom of the Bottle | Henry Hathaway | $1.7 million | $1.1 million | 0.65x | |
| 99 | Rock Around the Clock | Fred F. Sears | $500,000 | $1.1 million | 2.20x |
Figures are shown in the currency they were reported in (Wikipedia, Wikidata or TMDB); no conversion.