Domestic Box Office For December 1996
| Rank | Release | Gross | Max Th | Opening | % of Total | Open Th | Open | Close | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerry Maguire | $153,952,592 | 2,531 | $17,084,296 | 11.1% | 2,531 | Dec 13 | - | Sony Pictures Releasing |
| 2 | Scream | $103,046,663 | 1,994 | $6,354,586 | 6.2% | 1,413 | Dec 20 | - | Dimension Films |
| 3 | Michael | $95,318,203 | 2,325 | $17,435,711 | 18.3% | 2,141 | Dec 25 | - | New Line Cinema |
| 4 | Beavis and Butt-Head Do America | $63,118,386 | 2,417 | $20,114,233 | 31.9% | 2,190 | Dec 20 | - | Paramount Pictures |
| 5 | Evita | $50,047,179 | 1,045 | $195,085 | 0.4% | 2 | Dec 25 | May 8 | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| 6 | The Preacher's Wife | $48,102,795 | 2,008 | $7,649,752 | 15.9% | 1,783 | Dec 13 | - | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| 7 | One Fine Day | $46,151,454 | 1,975 | $6,226,430 | 13.5% | 1,946 | Dec 20 | - | Twentieth Century Fox |
| 8 | Mars Attacks! | $37,771,017 | 1,955 | $9,384,272 | 24.8% | 1,955 | Dec 13 | - | Warner Bros. |
| 9 | Daylight | $33,023,469 | 2,189 | $10,015,875 | 30.3% | 2,175 | Dec 6 | - | Universal Pictures |
| 10 | My Fellow Americans | $22,313,201 | 1,915 | $2,860,334 | 12.8% | 1,915 | Dec 20 | - | Warner Bros. |
| 11 | The People vs. Larry Flynt | $20,300,385 | 1,233 | $523,295 | 2.6% | 16 | Dec 27 | - | Sony Pictures Releasing |
| 12 | Mother | $19,145,198 | 735 | $137,701 | 0.7% | 6 | Dec 27 | - | Paramount Pictures |
| 13 | In Love and War | $14,481,231 | 1,612 | $2,515 | <0.1% | 1 | Dec 18 | - | New Line Cinema |
| 14 | Ghosts of Mississippi | $13,323,144 | 1,268 | $168,012 | 1.3% | 21 | Dec 20 | - | Sony Pictures Releasing |
| 15 | Marvin's Room | $12,803,305 | 1,158 | $57,739 | 0.5% | 6 | Dec 20 | - | Miramax |
| 16 | The Evening Star | $12,767,815 | 1,268 | $3,306,445 | 25.9% | 1,265 | Dec 27 | - | Paramount Pictures |
| 17 | Everyone Says I Love You | $9,759,200 | 276 | $131,678 | 1.3% | 3 | Dec 6 | - | Miramax |
| 18 | Hamlet | $4,708,156 | 93 | $90,684 | 1.9% | 3 | Dec 27 | - | Sony Pictures Releasing |
| 19 | The Portrait of a Lady | $3,692,836 | 570 | $107,819 | 2.9% | 7 | Dec 27 | - | Gramercy Pictures (I) |
| 20 | Thieves | $1,018,682 | - | - | - | - | Dec 25 | - | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 21 | The Ceremony | $873,196 | - | - | - | - | Dec 20 | - | New Yorker Films |
| 22 | Some Mother's Son | $671,437 | 35 | $88,515 | 13.2% | 14 | Dec 27 | - | Sony Pictures Releasing |
| 23 | The Whole Wide World | $375,757 | 20 | $3,316 | 0.9% | 1 | Dec 20 | Sep 11 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 24 | Citizen Ruth | $285,112 | 23 | $26,709 | 9.4% | 6 | Dec 13 | May 15 | Miramax |
| 25 | Losing Chase | $64,161 | 10 | $31,176 | 48.6% | 10 | Dec 6 | Mar 6 | - |
| 26 | I'm Not Rappaport | $26,011 | 3 | $17,993 | 69.2% | 3 | Dec 24 | - | Gramercy Pictures (I) |
