The following is an overview of 1928 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Although some films released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent. This year is notable for the introduction of the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey Mouse, in the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first film to include a soundtrack completely created in post production.

The top ten 1928 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

• January 6 – The long-awaited Charlie Chaplin comedy The Circus premieres at the Strand Theatre in New York City.^[4]
• April 21 – The Passion of Joan of Arc is released.
• July 6 – Lights of New York (starring Helene Costello) is released by Warner Bros. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film. Previous releases Don Juan and The Jazz Singer had used a synchronized soundtrack with sound effects and music, with The Jazz Singer having a few incidental lines spoken by Al Jolson.^[5]
• September 19 – The Singing Fool, Warner Bros' follow-up to The Jazz Singer, is released. While still only a partial-talkie (sequences still feature intertitles), 66 minutes of the film's 105 minute running time feature dialogue or songs, making it the longest talking motion picture yet. (Lights of New York runs a total of 57 minutes.) It is the highest-grossing film of the year, becomes Warner Bros' highest-grossing film for the next 13 years, is the most financially successful film of Al Jolson's career^[6][7] and also remains the highest-grossing sound film until the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.
• October 23 – RKO Productions Inc. created
• November 10 – At the beginning of White Shadows in the South Seas, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's mascot Leo the Lion roars for the very first time, giving voice to one of the most popular American film logos.^[8][9][10]
• November 18 – Disney's Steamboat Willie premieres, marking the official introduction of Mickey Mouse. This animated short is the first film to include a soundtrack completely created in post production, including sound effects, music and dialogue.
• December 25 – In Old Arizona, released by Fox Films, is the first sound-on-film feature-length talkie, utilizing the Movietone process. Previously, feature-length talkies used the less-reliable Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. It is also the first Western talkie, and the first sound film primarily shot outdoors.

• Best Picture: Wings – Paramount Pictures
• Best Unique and Artistic Picture: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans – Fox Film Corporation
• Best Director, Dramatic Picture: Frank Borzage – 7th Heaven
• Best Director, Comedy Picture: Lewis Milestone – Two Arabian Knights
• Best Actor: Emil Jannings – The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh
• Best Actress: Janet Gaynor – 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Note: Prior to 1933, awards were not based on calendar years, which is why there is no 'Best Picture' for a 1928 film.

United States unless stated

• Buster Keaton (1917–1941)
• Our Gang (1922–1944)
• Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)

• Felix the Cat (1919–1936)
• Aesop's Film Fables (1921–1933)
• Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
• Inkwell Imps (1927–1929)
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
  • Harem Scarem
  • Neck 'n' Neck
  • The Ol' Swimmin' Hole
  • Africa Before Dark
  • Rival Romeos
  • Bright Lights
  • Oh, What a Knight
  • Sagebrush Sadie
  • Ride'em Plow Boy
  • Sky Scrappers
  • Ozzie of the Mounted
  • Hungry Hoboes
  • Poor Papa
  • The Fox Chase
  • Tall Timber
  • Sleigh Bells
  • Hot Dog
• Newslaffs (1927–1928)
• Mickey Mouse
  • Plane Crazy
  • The Gallopin' Gaucho
  • Steamboat Willie

• January 1 – Helen Westcott, American actress (died 1998)
• January 2 – Ellen Kaarma, Estonian actress (died 1973)
• January 5 – Denise Bryer, British actress (died 2021)
• January 7 – William Peter Blatty, American screenwriter (died 2017)
• January 15 – Joanne Linville, American actress (died 2021)
• January 20 – Peter Donat, Canadian-American actor (died 2018)
• January 23 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress, singer, screenwriter and director (died 2017)
• January 26 – Roger Vadim, French director, screenwriter, actor (died 2000)
• February 1 – Stuart Whitman, American film and television actor (died 2020)
• February 4 – Vincent Wong, Jamaican-born British-Chinese actor (died 2015)
• February 8 – Jack Larson, American actor (died 2015)
• February 11 – Conrad Janis, American actor (died 2022)
• February 16 – Eva Ingeborg Scholz, German actress (died 2022)
• February 18 – Little Caesar, American singer and actor (died 1994)
• February 22 – Paul Dooley, American actor, writer and comedian
• February 24 – Al Lettieri, American actor (died 1975)
• February 29
  • Joss Ackland, English actor (died 2023)
  • Tempest Storm, American burlesque performer and actress (died 2021)
• March 1 – Jacques Rivette, French director (died 2016)
• March 3 - Joe Conley, American actor (died 2013)
• March 11 – Albert Salmi, American actor (died 1990)
• March 13 – Douglas Rain, Canadian actor (died 2018)
• March 16 – Victor Maddern, English actor (died 1993)
• March 17 – Eunice Gayson, English actress (died 2018)
• March 19
  • Marceline Loridan-Ivens, French actor (died 2018)
  • Patrick McGoohan, Irish actor (died 2009)
  • Jan Shepard, American actress
• March 24 – Vanessa Brown American actress (died 1999)
• March 27 - Reg Evans, British actor (died 2009)
• March 29 - Philip Locke, English actor (died 2004)
• March 30 – Lilia Prado, Mexican actress, dancer (died 2006)
• March 31 – June Jago, Australian actress (died 2010)
• April 1 – George Grizzard, American actor (died 2007)
• April 2 – Piet Römer, Dutch actor (died 2012)
• April 3 – Kevin Hagen, American actor (died 2005)
• April 4
  • Estelle Harris, American actress and comedienne (died 2022)
  • Monty Norman, English composer of the "James Bond Theme" (died 2022)
• April 7
  • James Garner, American actor (died 2014)
  • Valeria Sabel, Italian actress (died 2009)
• April 11 – Henri Garcin, Belgian actor (died 2022)
• April 12 – Hardy Krüger, German actor (died 2022)
• April 23 – Shirley Temple, American actress (died 2014)
• May 1 – Vitaly Melnikov, Russian director and screenwriter (died 2022)
• May 3 – Jeanne Bal, American actress died (1996)
• May 7 – Georgi Rusev, Bulgarian actor (died 2011)
• May 12 – Burt Bacharach, American composer and songwriter (died 2023)
• May 18
  • John Abineri, English actor (died 2000)
  • Sara Shane, American actress (died 2022)
• May 21 - Alice Drummond, American actress (died 2016)
• May 23 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (died 2013)
• May 28 – Gina Cabrera, Cuban actress (died 2022)
• May 30 – Agnès Varda, Belgian-born French director, producer and screenwriter (died 2019)
• June 4 – Ruth Westheimer, German-American sex therapist, talk show host, and actress
• June 5 – Robert Lansing, American actor (died 1994)
• June 7 – James Ivory, American director, producer and screenwriter
• June 8 – Mimi Mariani, Indonesian actress, model, and singer (died 1971)
• June 9 – Jackie Mason, American stand-up comedian and actor (died 2021)
• June 12
  • Vic Damone, American singer, entertainer and actor (died 2018)
  • Tom Rosqui, American character actor (died 1991)
• June 13 – Nikola Todev, Bulgarian actor (died 1991)
• June 16 – Ernst Stankovski, Austrian actor (died 2022)
• June 19 – Nancy Marchand, American actress (died 2000)
• June 20 – Martin Landau, American actor (died 2017)
• June 21 – Margit Bara, Hungarian actress (died 2016)
• June 22 – Ralph Waite, American actor (died 2014)
• June 29 – Ian Bannen, Scottish actor (died 1999)
• June 30 - Clifford David, American actor and singer (died 2017)
• July 6 – Nestor de Villa, Filipino actor (died 2004)
• July 7 – Pat Hitchcock, English actress and producer (died 2021)
• July 12 – Peter Cellier, English actor
• July 13
  • Bob Crane, American actor (died 1978)
  • Mace Neufeld, American film and television producer (died 2022)
• July 14 – Nancy Olson, American actress
• July 15 – Tom Troupe, American actor and writer
• July 21 – Chuck Low, American actor (died 2017)
• July 22 – Orson Bean, American actor (died 2020)
• July 24 - Michael Currie, American actor (died 2009)
• July 26 – Stanley Kubrick, American director (died 1999)
• August 1 - Nick LaTour, American actor (died 2011)
• August 6 – Andy Warhol, American artist and director (died 1987)
• August 10 – Gus Mercurio, American-born Australian character actor (died 2010)
• August 14
  • Joëlle Bernard, French actress (died 1977)
  • Jacques Rouffio, French director and screenwriter (died 2016)
  • Lina Wertmüller, Italian screenwriter and director (died 2021)
• August 15
  • Nosher Powell, English actor and stuntman (died 2013)
  • Nicolas Roeg, English director (died 2018)
  • Simone Silva, Egyptian-born French actress (died 1957)
• August 16 – Ann Blyth, American actress
• August 18 – Norma Donaldson, American actress and singer (died 1994)
• August 20 - Buddy Van Horn, American stunt coordinator and director (died 2021)
• August 27 - Bernard Atha, English actor (died 2022)
• August 28 – Charles Gray, English actor (died 2000)
• August 31 – James Coburn, American actor (died 2002)
• September 1
  • George Maharis, American actor (died 2023)
  • Allene Roberts, American actor (died 2019)
• September 3 – Pilar Pallete, Peruvian actress
• September 4 – Dick York, American actor (died 1992)
• September 9 – Darrell Zwerling, American character actor (died 2014)
• September 11 – Earl Holliman, American actor
• September 17 – Roddy McDowall, British actor (died 1998)
• September 19 – Adam West, American actor (died 2017)
• September 22 – Eugene Roche, American actor (died 2004)
• October 1
  • Laurence Harvey, Lithuanian British actor (died 1973)
  • George Peppard, American actor (died 1994)
  • Erica Yohn, American actress (died 2019)
• October 2 – George McFarland, American actor (died 1993)
• October 6 – Barbara Werle, American actress (died 2013)
• October 17 – Don Collier, American actor (died 2021)
• October 25
  • Jeanne Cooper, American actress (died 2013)
  • Marion Ross, American actress
• November 1 – Emmaline Henry, American actress (died 1979)
• November 3
  • Wanda Hendrix, American actress (died 1981)
  • Lew Palter, American actor (died 2023)
• November 10
  • Ennio Morricone, Italian composer (died 2020)
  • Norma Crane, American actress (died 1973)
• November 13
  • Helena Carroll, Scottish-American actress (died 2013)
  • Ralph Foody, American actor (died 1999)
• November 14 – Kathleen Hughes, American actress
• November 16 – Clu Gulager, American actor (died 2022)
• November 20 - Franklin Cover, American actor (died 2006)
• November 23 – Elmarie Wendel, American actress singer (died 2018)
• November 25 – Rance Howard, American actor (died 2017)
• December 1 – Malachi Throne, American actor (died 2013)
• December 3 – Carlo Giuffrè, Italian actor (died 2018)
• December 5 – Barbara Krafftówna, Polish actress (died 2022)
• December 6 – Lance Fuller, American actor (died 2001)
• December 9 – Dick Van Patten, American actor (died 2015)
• December 10 – Barbara Nichols, American actress (died 1976)
• December 12 – Lionel Blair, English actor and television presenter (died 2021)
• December 13 – Nati Mistral, Spanish actress (died 2017)
• December 16 – Terry Carter, American actor and filmmaker (died 2024)
• December 17 – Leonid Bronevoy, Russian actor (died 2017)
• December 21 – Ed Nelson, American actor (died 2014)
• December 25 – Dick Miller, American actor (died 2019)
• December 29
  • Bernard Cribbins, English actor and singer (died 2022)
  • June Preston, American child actress (died 2022)

• January 2 – Emily Stevens, American stage & film actress (born 1882)
• January 3 – Claude France, German film actress (born 1893)
• January 11 - Rapley Holmes, Canadian stage and screen actor (born 1868)
• January 25 – Charles Gorman, American stage and screen actor (born 1865)
• January 26 - Earl Metcalfe, American actor, (born 1889)
• February 22 – Rudolph J. Bergquist American cinematographer
• March 5 – Lidia Quaranta, Italian actress (born 1891)
• March 13 – Elsie Mackay, British actress and heiress; lost at sea (born 1893)
• April 22 – Frank Currier, American director, stage & silent film actor (born 1857)
• June 22 – George Siegmann, American silent film actor (born 1882)
• June 24 – Holbrook Blinn, American stage & silent film actor (born 1872)
• July 20 – Scott Sidney, American film director (born 1872)
• July 21
  • Ellen Terry, British stage actress of the Victorian and Edwardian times and later a silent film actress (born 1847)
  • Ward Crane, American film actor (born 1890)
• August 10 – Rex Cherryman, American actor (born 1896)
• August 17 – Frank Urson, American film director (born 1887)
• August 26 – Colin Campbell, British-born film director (born 1859)
• October 8 – Larry Semon, American film comedian (born 1889)
• November 10 – Anita Berber, German film actress (born 1899)
• November 19 – Jeanne Bérangère, French stage and film actress (born 1864)
• December 14 – Theodore Roberts, American film actor (born 1861)
• December 25 – Fred Thomson, American film actor (born 1890)

• Mabel Albertson – Gang War
• Mischa Auer – Something Always Happens
• Joe E. Brown – Crooks Can't Win
• Dorothy Burgess – In Old Arizona
• Madeleine Carroll – The Guns of Loos
• Hobart Cavanaugh – San Francisco Nights
• G. Pat Collins – The Racket
• Andy Devine – That's My Daddy
• Lien Deyers – Spione
• Stuart Erwin – Mother Knows Best
• Anne Grey – The Constant Nymph
• Jean Harlow – Honor Bound
• Anna Magnani – Scampolo
• Ray Milland – Moulin Rouge
• Edward Nugent – The Man in Hobbles
• Lynne Overman – The Perfect Crime
• Randolph Scott – Sharp Shooters