The following is an overview of 1932 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

The top ten 1932 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

The Film Daily Yearbook listed the following as the ten leading headline events of the year.^[5]

• Sidney Kent leaves Paramount Pictures and joins Fox Film.
• Merlin H Aylesworth succeeds Hiram S Brown as president of RKO.
• Jesse L. Lasky leaves Paramount and becomes an independent producer for Fox.
• Sam Katz leaves Paramount.
• James R Grainger leaves Fox and is succeeded by John D Clark, formerly of Paramount.
• Publix and Fox decentralization of cinemas.
• New industry program, including standard exhibition contract along lines of 5-5-5, proposed by Motion Picture Theater Owners of America and Allied.
• Joe Brandt retires from Columbia Pictures joins World-Wide and later resigns again.
• Two Radio City theaters open, under direction of "Roxy", with coincident acquisition of the Rockefeller interests of 100,000 shares of RKO stock and 100,000 shares of RCA stock.
• Experimentation with exclusive runs.

Other notable events include:

• Ingrid Bergman's film career begins
• Cary Grant's film career begins
• Katharine Hepburn's film career begins
• Shirley Temple's film career begins
• Disney releases Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor
• The term "Tollywood" is first used to describe the cinema of West Bengal, based at Tollygunge

Exhibitors selected the following as the Top Ten Money Making Stars for 1931–1932 in Quigley Publishing Company's first annual poll.^[6]

The 5th Academy Awards were conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932,^[7] at a ceremony held at The Ambassador Hotel^[7] in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Conrad Nagel.^[7] Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and July 31, 1932, were eligible to receive awards.^[7]

Major awards:

• Best Picture: Grand Hotel – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Best Director: Frank Borzage – Bad Girl
• Best Actor: Fredric March – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde & Wallace Beery – The Champ
• Best Actress: Helen Hayes – The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Note: Prior to 1933 awards were not based on calendar years, which is how there are no Best Actor, Best Actress or Best Director awards for 1932 films. The 1931–32 awards went to 1931 films.

United States unless stated

United States unless stated

Ordered by release date:

• January 4: Detective Lloyd, 12 chapters (216 min)
• February 1: The Shadow of the Eagle, 12 chapters (218 minutes)
• March 28: The Airmail Mystery, 12 chapters (225 min)
• May 17: The Last of the Mohicans, 12 chapters (231 minutes)
• June 20: Heroes of the West, 12 chapters (225 min)
• August 1: The Hurricane Express, 12 chapters (227 min)
• September 5: The Last Frontier, 12 chapters (213 minutes)
• September 12: Jungle Mystery, 12 chapters (240 min)
• November 1: The Devil Horse, 12 chapters (216 min)
• December 5: The Lost Special, 12 chapters (240 minutes)

Ordered by release date:

• Buster Keaton (1917–1923, 1934–1937, 1939–1941)
• Laurel and Hardy (1927–1935); the team later made one instructional short subject, released nontheatrically in 1943
• Our Gang (1922–1944) The series was officially called both Our Gang and Hal Roach's Rascals until 1932, when Our Gang became the sole title of the series.
• Shirley Temple (1932–1934)

Ordered by release date of the film series. This list only includes shorts released in 1932:

• Aesop's Film Fables (1921–1933)
• Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1927–1938)
• Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
• Silly Symphonies (1929–1939)
  • The Bird Store
  • The Bears and the Bees
  • Just Dogs
  • Flowers and Trees
  • King Neptune
  • Bugs in Love
  • Babes in the Woods
  • Santa's Workshop
• Screen Songs (1929–1938)
  • Sweet Jennie Lee (January 9)
  • Show Me the Way to Go Home (January 30)
  • When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along (February 19)
  • Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie (March 4)
  • Just One More Chance (April 1)
  • Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning (April 22)
  • Shine On Harvest Moon (May 6)
  • Let Me Call You Sweetheart (May 20)
  • I Ain't Got Nobody (June 17)
  • You Try Somebody Else (July 29)
  • Rudy Vallee Melodies (August 5)
  • Down Among the Sugar Cane (August 26)
  • Just a Gigolo (September 9)
  • School Days (September 30)
  • Romantic Melodies (October 21)
  • When It's Sleepy Time Down South (November 11)
  • Sing a Song (December 2)
  • Time on My Hands (December 23)
• Talkartoons (1929–1932)
  • Minnie the Moocher (featuring Betty Boop)
  • Sink or Swim S.O.S (featuring Betty Boop)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
  • Bosko's Store
  • Bosko and Honey
  • Bosko the Lumberjack
  • Bosko and Bruno
  • Bosko's Party
• Flip the Frog (1930–1933)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Scrappy (1931–1941)
• Tom and Jerry (Van Beuren) (1931–1933)
• Betty Boop (1932–1939)
  • Stopping the Show
  • Betty Boop's Bizzy Bee
  • Betty Boop, M.D.
  • Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle
  • Betty Boop's Ups and Down
  • Betty Boop for President
  • I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You
  • Betty Boop's Museum
• Pooch the Pup (1932–1933)
  • The Athlete (August 29)^[8][9]
  • The Butcher Boy (September 26)^[8][10]
  • The Crowd Snores (October 24)^[8][11]
  • The Under Dog (November 7)^[8][12]
  • Cats and Dogs (December 5)^[8][13]
• Flowers and Trees (1933)

• January 3 – Dabney Coleman, American character actor
• January 4
  • Carlos Saura, Spanish director (died 2023)
  • Richard Stahl, American comic actor (died 2006)
• January 11 – Alfonso Arau, Mexican filmmaker, actor and singer
• January 19 – Richard Lester, American-born director working in England
• January 22 – Piper Laurie, American actress (died 2023)
• January 23 – James Rado, American actor, playwright, director and composer (died 2022)
• January 24 - Julie Bennett, American actress, realtor and talent agent (died 2020)
• February 3 – Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (died 1984)
• February 6 – François Truffaut, French director (died 1984)
• February 8 – John Williams, American film composer
• February 13
  • Susan Oliver, American actress (died 1990)
  • Barbara Shelley, English actress, "The First Leading Lady of British Horror" (died 2021)
• February 14
  • Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress
  • Alexander Kluge, German director
• February 18 – Miloš Forman, Czech-born director (died 2018)
• February 23 – Majel Barrett, American actress (died 2008)
• February 24
  • Michel Legrand, French film composer (died 2019)
  • John Vernon, Canadian actor (died 2005)
• February 27 – Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress (died 2011)
• February 28 – Francisco Colmenero, Mexican voice actor and voice director
• March 14 – Hiroshi Ōtake, Japanese actor and voice actor (died 2022)
• March 27 – Robert Sacchi, Italian-American character actor (died 2021)
• March 31 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director (died 2013)
• April 1 – Debbie Reynolds, American singer, actress and dancer (died 2016)^[14]
• April 4
  • Anthony Perkins, American actor (died 1992)
  • Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director (died 1986)
• April 9 - Jack Smethurst, English actor (died 2022)
• April 10
  • Delphine Seyrig, French actress (died 1990)
  • Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor (died 2015)
• April 11 - Joel Grey, American actor, singer, dancer and director
• April 21 - Elaine May, American comedian, director, screenwriter, playwright and actor
• April 25 - William Roache, English actor
• April 26 – Francis Lai, French film composer (died 2018)
• April 27
  • Anouk Aimée, French actress
  • Casey Kasem, American disc jockey, music historian, radio personality, actor and voice actor (died 2014)
• May 2 - Bruce Glover, American character actor
• May 8 - Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
• May 9 - Geraldine McEwan, English actress (died 2015)
• May 22 - Seth Sakai, American actor (died 2007)
• May 15 - John Glen, retired English director and editor
• May 27 - Steve Franken, American actor (died 2012)
• June 6
  • Anne Claire Poirier, Canadian director, producer and screenwriter
  • Billie Whitelaw, English actress (died 2014)
• June 10 – Branko Lustig, Croatian-born producer (died 2019)
• June 11 – Athol Fugard, South African playwright, actor and director
• June 12 - Mae Mercer, American singer and actress (died 2008)
• June 13 – Bob McGrath, American actor, singer and musician (died 2022)
• June 17 – Peter Lupus, American bodybuilder and actor
• June 18
  • David Herriot, Irish actor (died 2000)
  • Sérgio Ricardo, Brazilian director and composer (died 2020)
• June 19
  • Marisa Pavan, Italian actress (died 2023)
  • Anna Maria Pierangeli, Italian actress (died 1971)
• June 22
  • Amrish Puri, Indian actor (died 2005)
  • Prunella Scales, English actress
• June 29 – Soon-Tek Oh, Korean-American actor (died 2018)
• July 1 – Sonny Caldinez, Trinidadian actor, previously professional wrestler (died 2022)
• July 2 - Kenneth McMillan, American actor (died 1989)
• July 10 – Neile Adams, Filipino-American actress, singer and dancer
• July 29 – Mike Hodges, English screenwriter and director (died 2022)
• July 30 – Edd Byrnes, American actor (died 2020)
• August 2 – Peter O'Toole, Anglo-Irish actor (died 2013)
• August 5 – Ja'Net DuBois, American actress, singer and dancer (Good Times) (died 2020)
• August 9 – Denys Hawthorne, Irish actor (died 2009)
• August 10 - Murray Melvin, English actor (died 2023)
• August 15 – Bob Elkins, American character actor (died 2022)
• August 24 – W. Morgan Sheppard, English actor and voice actor (died 2019)
• August 25 – Nun Zairina, Indonesian dancer, actress, dance instructor, and model (died 2017)
• September 3 – Eileen Brennan, American actress (died 2013)
• September 4 – Edward de Souza, British character actor
• September 5 – Carol Lawrence, American actress
• September 12 – Kim Hamilton, American actress (died 2013)
• September 16 - George Chakiris, American actor
• September 21 – Mickey Kuhn, American actor (died 2022)
• September 26 – Richard Herd, American actor (died 2020)
• September 29 – Mehmood Ali, Indian actor, director and producer (died 2004)
• October 4
  • Felicia Farr, American actress and model
  • Edward Judd, British actor (died 2009)
• October 6 - Anna Quayle, English actress (died 2019)
• October 13
  • Dušan Makavejev, Serbian director (died 2019)
  • Liliane Montevecchi, French-Italian actress and singer (died 2018)
• October 20 – William Christopher, American actor (died 2016)
• October 22 - Sheila Allen, English actress (died 2011)
• October 30 - Louis Malle, French director, screenwriter and producer (died 1995)
• November 1 - John Clark, English actor, director and producer (died 2023)
• November 2 - Terry Richards, British actor and stuntman (died 2014)
• November 10 – Roy Scheider, American actor (died 2008)
• November 12 - Jerry Douglas, American actor (died 2021)
• November 13
  • Al Mancini, American actor (died 2007)
  • Richard Mulligan, American actor (died 2000)
  • J. A. Preston, American actor
• November 15 – Petula Clark, English singer, actress and film composer
• November 20 - Richard Dawson, English-American actor, comedian and game-show host (died 2012)
• November 22 – Robert Vaughn, American actor (died 2016)
• November 25 - Takayo Fischer, American actress
• December 7 – Ellen Burstyn, American actress
• December 25 - Mabel King, American actress and singer (died 1999)
• December 26 - Robert V. Barron, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor (died 2000)
• December 28 – Nichelle Nichols, American actress (died 2022)
• December 30 - Macon McCalman, American actor (died 2005)

• February 15 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, American stage star, also appeared in silent films (born 1865)
• June 30 – Bruno Kastner, German actor (born 1890)
• July 17 – Rasmus Rasmussen, Norwegian actor (born 1862)
• August 1 – James R. Quirk, American editor and publisher of Photoplay magazine (born 1884)
• August 10 – Rin Tin Tin, canine actor (born 1918)
• September 1 – Guy Oliver, American actor (born 1878)
• September 16 – Peg Entwistle, British-born American actress (born 1908)
• November 27 – Evelyn Preer, American actress, singer (born 1896)