The year 1916 in film involved some significant events.
Events
- August 10 - The official British documentary propaganda film The Battle of the Somme is premièred in London. In the first six weeks of general release (from 20 August) 20 million people view it.
- October 17 - Release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star (Annette Kellerman).
- November 19 - Samuel Goldfish (later renamed Samuel Goldwyn) and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures, later to became one of the most successful independent filmmakers.
- 11Â mm, an amateur film gauge, appears on the market.
Top grossing films (U.S.)
Notable films released in 1916
U.S.A. unless stated
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- The Adventures of Peg o' the Ring, directed by Francis Ford and Jacques Jaccard, starring Grace Cunard
- The Americano, starring Douglas Fairbanks
- The Battle of the Somme - (GB)
- Behind the Screen, directed by Charlie Chaplin, starring Chaplin and Edna Purviance
- La Bohème, by Albert Capellani
- Cenere - (Italy)
- Civilization, directed by Reginald Barker and Thomas H. Ince, starring Howard C. Hickman and Enid Markey
- The Count, directed by Charlie Chaplin, starring Chaplin and Edna Purviance
- The Curse of Quon Gwon
- The Danger Girl, starring Gloria Swanson and Bobby Vernon
- A Daughter of the Gods, starring Annette Kellerman
- Disraeli, directed by Charles Calvert and Percy Nash - (GB)
- East Is East, starring Florence Turner - (GB)
- Fatty and Mabel Adrift, directed by and starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
- The Floorwalker, directed by and starring Charles Chaplin
- Frau Eva, directed by Robert Wiene and starring Emil Jannings (Germany)
- Habit of Happiness, starring Douglas Fairbanks
- Hell's Hinges, directed by Charles Swickard and William S. Hart, starring William S. Hart
- Hoodoo Ann, starring Mae Marsh and Robert Harron
- Hulda from Holland, starring Mary Pickford
- Intolerance, directed by D.W. Griffith, starring Lillian Gish and Constance Talmadge
- Joan the Woman
- Judex, directed by Louis Feuillade, starring Musidora and René Cresté - (France)
- Lights of New York, directed by Van Dyke Brooke, starring Leah Baird and Walter McGrail
- The Lyons Mail, directed by Fred Paul - (Britain)
- Oliver Twist, starring Marie Doro
- One A.M., directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin
- The Pawnshop, a Charles Chaplin short
- Police, a Charles Chaplin short with Edna Purviance and Wesley Ruggles
- The Return of Draw Egan, directed by and starring William S. Hart
- The Rink, a Charles Chaplin short
- Sally Bishop directed by George Pearson - (GB)
- Sally in Our Alley directed by Larry Trimble, starring Hilda Trevelyan, Mary Dibley, Reginald Owen - (GB)
- Sherlock Holmes, Starring William Gillette
- Snow White, starring Marguerite Clark
- Under Two Flags, starring Theda Bara
- A Welsh Singer directed by Henry Edwards, starring Edwards, Florence Turner and Campbell Gullan - (GB)
- Where Are My Children?, directed by Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber, starring Tyrone Power, Sr. and Juan de la Cruz
- Willard-Johnson Boxing Match
Short film series
- Broncho Billy Anderson (1910â€"1916)
- Harold Lloyd (1913â€"1921)
- Charlie Chaplin (1914â€"1923)
Births
- January 3
- Betty Furness, actress, consumer activist (died 1994)
- Maxene Andrews, singer, actress, member of Andrews Sisters (died 1995)
- January 4 - Lionel Newman, composer (died 1989)
- February 14 - Masaki Kobayashi, director (died 1996)
- February 26 - Jackie Gleason, actor (died 1987)
- February 29 - Dinah Shore, singer, actress, television presenter (died 1994)
- March 17 - Mercedes McCambridge, actress (died 2004)
- March 26 - Sterling Hayden, actor (died 1986)
- April 5 - Gregory Peck, actor (died 2003)
- April 26 - Vic Perrin, voice actor (died 1989)
- May 1 - Glenn Ford, actor (died 2006)
- May 6 - Adriana Caselotti, singer, voice actress (died 1997)
- May 28 - Dorothy McGuire, actress (died 2001)
- June 12 - Irwin Allen, director, producer (died 1991)
- June 23 - Irene Worth, actress (died 2002)
- July 27 - Keenan Wynn, actor (died 1986)
- July 1 - Olivia de Havilland, actress
- August 25 - Van Johnson, actor (died 2008)
- August 27 - Martha Raye, actress (died 1994)
- September 15 - Margaret Lockwood, actress (died 1990)
- September 18 - Rossano Brazzi, actor (died 1994)
- November 20 - Evelyn Keyes, actress (died 2008)
- December 9 - Kirk Douglas, actor
- December 18 - Betty Grable, actress (died 1973)
- December 28 - Peter Finch, actor (died 1977)
Deaths
- January 17 - Arthur V. Johnson, 39, American screen actor, The Sealed Room(short), The Unchanging Sea, The Adventures of Dollie, The Voice of the Violin
- June 22 - Page Peters, 26, screen actor, The Warrens of Virginia, The Purple Scar(short), An International Marriage, Davy Crockett, Pasquale
- September 9 - Sydney Ayres, 37, American stage & screen actor, The Sting of Conscience(short), The Avenger(short), As in a Dream(short)
- September 17 - Arthur Hoops, 45, American stage & screen actor, The Secret of Eve, Bridges Burned, Extravagance, The Eternal Question, The Scarlet Woman
- September 27 - Camille D'Arcy, actress, The Prince Chap, Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, A Daughter of the City, The White Sister, The Pacifist(short)
- October 6 - Henry Woodruff, 47, American stage & screen actor, A Beckoning Flame(short), A Man and His Mate(short)
- November 30 - Dorrit Weixler, 23, German actress, Maria, Kammermusik, Heimgekehrt, Todesrauchen
- unknown - Vitagraph Dog (born 190?)
Debuts
- Richard Barthelmess - Gloria's Romance (uncredited)
- Constance Bennett - The Valley of Decision
- Billie Burke - Peggy
- Mae Murray - To Have and to Hold
- Alla Nazimova - War Brides
- Edward G. Robinson - Arms and the Woman
- Conrad Veidt - Der Weg des Todes