Entering the public domain, 2027–2031
In the United States a film published with notice before 1978, and renewed, is protected for 95 years from publication. The term runs to the end of the calendar year, so every renewed film of one year enters the public domain together on the following 1 January: there is no month-by-month schedule to watch, only a yearly one. Films that were not renewed lapsed decades ago and are in the no-renewal-found lists already; films registered before 1931 are already out of copyright.
Television does not appear here: the earliest surviving American television (1947–48) reaches its 95th year in 2043, and a broadcast that was never registered or published has a term that runs even longer. The notable titles below were chosen by a language model with web search and then matched to the registry; the registry match, with its registration and renewal record, is the evidence. A title with no match was registered under a different title or its year, or is not in the catalog volumes loaded.
1 January 2027: films of 1931
The registry holds 1,013 renewed registrations from 1931, all of which reach the end of their term on 31 December 2026 (list them). Notable among them:
| Film | Studio | Why it matters | Registry record |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Free Soul | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Clarence Brown's MGM pre-Code courtroom drama earned Lionel Barrymore the Best Actor Oscar. | A FREE SOUL Renewed |
| Arrowsmith | United Artists | John Ford's Sinclair Lewis adaptation was a Best Picture nominee. | ARROWSMITH Renewed |
| Bad Girl | Fox Film Corporation | Frank Borzage won the Best Director Oscar for this Fox romantic drama and Best Picture nominee. | BAD GIRL Renewed |
| Cimarron | RKO Radio Pictures | Wesley Ruggles's epic premiered in January 1931 and won Best Picture at the 4th Academy Awards. | CIMARRON Copyright term expired |
| City Lights | United Artists | Charlie Chaplin's largely silent sound film premiered in January 1931 and became one of cinema's most beloved comedies. | CITY LIGHTS Renewed |
| City Streets | Paramount Pictures | Rouben Mamoulian's visually inventive gangster film paired Gary Cooper and Sylvia Sidney. | CITY STREETS Renewed |
| Dracula | Universal Pictures | Tod Browning's adaptation launched Universal's classic monster cycle with Bela Lugosi's definitive vampire. | DRACULA Renewed |
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Paramount Pictures | Rouben Mamoulian's adaptation earned Fredric March the Best Actor Oscar. | DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE Renewed |
| East Lynne | Fox Film Corporation | Frank Lloyd's Fox melodrama was a Best Picture nominee and a major early sound tearjerker. | EAST LYNNE Renewed |
| Five Star Final | Warner Bros. | Mervyn LeRoy's tabloid-expose drama was a Best Picture nominee. | FIVE STAR FINAL Renewed |
| Frankenstein | Universal Pictures | James Whale's direction and Boris Karloff's Monster made this a horror landmark. | FRANKENSTEIN Renewed |
| Little Caesar | Warner Bros. | Mervyn LeRoy's January 1931 release, copyrighted late 1930, made Edward G. Robinson a gangster-film icon. | LITTLE CAESAR Copyright term expired |
| Monkey Business | Paramount Pictures | Norman Z. McLeod's anarchic Paramount comedy remains one of the Marx Brothers' most famous films. | MONKEY BUSINESS Renewed |
| Night Nurse | Warner Bros. | William Wellman's Barbara Stanwyck pre-Code star vehicle blended crime melodrama with social protest. | NIGHT NURSE Renewed |
| Platinum Blonde | Columbia Pictures | Frank Capra's newsroom comedy helped make Jean Harlow a major star. | PLATINUM BLONDE Renewed |
| Possessed | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Clarence Brown's glossy MGM pre-Code melodrama centered on Joan Crawford and Clark Gable's affair. | POSSESSED Renewed |
| Skippy | Paramount Pictures | Norman Taurog won the Best Director Oscar for this family comedy and Best Picture nominee. | SKIPPY Renewed |
| Smart Money | Warner Bros. | Alfred E. Green's Depression-era gambling drama paired Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney. | SMART MONEY Renewed |
| Tabu | Paramount Pictures | F.W. Murnau's South Seas film won the Academy Award for cinematography. | TABU Renewed |
| The Champ | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | King Vidor's boxing melodrama earned Wallace Beery the Best Actor Oscar and a Best Picture nomination. | THE CHAMP Renewed |
| The Criminal Code | Columbia Pictures | Released in January 1931 after a late-1930 copyright registration, Howard Hawks's prison drama was a key early Columbia sound film. | THE CRIMINAL CODE Renewed |
| The Front Page | United Artists | Lewis Milestone's fast-talking newspaper comedy was a Best Picture nominee. | THE FRONT PAGE No renewal found |
| The Guardsman | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Sidney Franklin's MGM sophisticated comedy starred Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. | THE GUARDSMAN Renewed |
| The Maltese Falcon | Warner Bros. | Roy Del Ruth's pre-Code version was the first sound adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's novel. | THE MALTESE FALCON Renewed |
| The Miracle Woman | Columbia Pictures | Frank Capra and Barbara Stanwyck's collaboration examined religious hypocrisy and show business. | THE MIRACLE WOMAN Renewed |
| The Public Enemy | Warner Bros. | William Wellman's brutal gangster picture made James Cagney a star and became a genre landmark. | THE PUBLIC ENEMY Renewed |
| The Sin of Madelon Claudet | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Edgar Selwyn's melodrama earned Helen Hayes the Best Actress Oscar in her first major sound-film role. | THE SIN OF MADELON CLAUDET Renewed |
| The Smiling Lieutenant | Paramount Pictures | Ernst Lubitsch's operetta musical was a Best Picture nominee and a sophisticated early sound musical. | THE SMILING LIEUTENANT Renewed |
| Trader Horn | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | W.S. Van Dyke's location-shot African adventure was a box-office hit and Best Picture nominee. | TRADER HORN Renewed |
| Waterloo Bridge | Universal Pictures | James Whale's pre-Code melodrama became a classic romantic tragedy. | WATERLOO BRIDGE Renewed |
1 January 2028: films of 1932
The registry holds 916 renewed registrations from 1932, all of which reach the end of their term on 31 December 2027 (list them). Notable among them:
| Film | Studio | Why it matters | Registry record |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Bill of Divorcement | RKO Radio Pictures | Katharine Hepburn made her screen debut in this George Cukor family drama. | A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT Renewed |
| A Farewell to Arms | Paramount Pictures | Frank Borzage's Hemingway adaptation was one of the prestige pictures of 1932 and a 6th Academy Awards Best Picture nominee. | A FAREWELL TO ARMS No renewal found |
| Blonde Venus | Paramount Pictures | Josef von Sternberg's melodrama gave Marlene Dietrich one of her most famous pre-Code showcases. | BLONDE VENUS Renewed |
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Paramount Pictures | Rouben Mamoulian's version earned Fredric March the Academy Award for Best Actor after a late-1931 premiere and January 1932 release. | DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE Renewed |
| Freaks | MGM | Tod Browning's controversial circus horror picture became a cult landmark and a pre-Code cause célèbre. | FREAKS Renewed |
| Grand Hotel | MGM | MGM's all-star ensemble drama won the Academy Award for Outstanding Production at the 5th Academy Awards. | GRAND HOTEL Renewed |
| Horse Feathers | Paramount Pictures | The Marx Brothers' anarchic college comedy includes some of their best-known musical and sight-gag routines. | HORSE FEATHERS Renewed |
| I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang | Warner Bros. | Mervyn LeRoy's brutal prison exposé became one of the most socially important pre-Code films and a Best Picture nominee. | I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG Renewed |
| Island of Lost Souls | Paramount Pictures | The first major American sound adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau premiered in Chicago in December 1932 before its wider 1933 release. | ISLAND OF LOST SOULS Renewed |
| Love Me Tonight | Paramount Pictures | Rouben Mamoulian's rhythm-driven Chevalier-MacDonald musical helped define the early movie musical. | LOVE ME TONIGHT Renewed |
| Million Dollar Legs | Paramount Pictures | W. C. Fields's pre-Code Olympic satire is a key early-1930s comedy vehicle for the star. | MILLION DOLLAR LEGS Renewed |
| Murders in the Rue Morgue | Universal Pictures | Bela Lugosi stars in Universal's Poe-inspired Grand Guignol horror, a staple of the 1932 horror cycle. | MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE Renewed |
| Night After Night | Paramount Pictures | Mae West's film debut made her a major screen personality and showcased her censorship-defying persona. | NIGHT AFTER NIGHT Renewed |
| One Hour with You | Paramount Pictures | Ernst Lubitsch's sophisticated Chevalier-MacDonald musical comedy was a Best Picture nominee at the 5th Academy Awards. | ONE HOUR WITH YOU Renewed |
| Red Dust | MGM | Victor Fleming's steamy Indochina melodrama paired Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in a definitive pre-Code pairing. | RED DUST Renewed |
| Scarface | Howard Hughes / United Artists | Howard Hawks's violent Al Capone-inspired gangster epic, delayed by censorship battles, is a cornerstone of the genre. | SCARFACE Renewed |
| Shanghai Express | Paramount Pictures | Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich's lush express melodrama won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. | SHANGHAI EXPRESS Renewed |
| The Beast of the City | MGM | MGM's hard-hitting pre-Code gangster drama with Walter Huston and Jean Harlow is a key Depression-era crime picture. | THE BEAST OF THE CITY Renewed |
| The Champ | MGM | Wallace Beery won the Academy Award for Best Actor in this Best Picture-nominated tearjerker that had a late-1931 premiere before its 1932 release. | THE CHAMP Renewed |
| The Kid from Spain | Samuel Goldwyn / United Artists | Eddie Cantor's lavish musical comedy was one of the year's biggest box-office attractions. | THE KID FROM SPAIN Renewed |
| The Mask of Fu Manchu | MGM | Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy made this exaggeratedly lurid entry a cornerstone of the Fu Manchu cycle. | THE MASK OF FU MANCHU Renewed |
| The Most Dangerous Game | RKO Radio Pictures | The classic manhunt thriller, shot on the King Kong sets, remains one of the era's defining horror-adventure films. | THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME No renewal found |
| The Mummy | Universal Pictures | Boris Karloff's iconic turn as the resurrected priest Imhotep established Universal's mummy cycle. | THE MUMMY Renewed |
| The Old Dark House | Universal Pictures | James Whale's eerie family horror picture is a key follow-up to Frankenstein and a cult pre-Code favorite. | THE OLD DARK HOUSE Renewed |
| The Sign of the Cross | Paramount Pictures | Cecil B. DeMille's lavish Roman-Christian spectacle was a landmark pre-Code historical epic. | THE SIGN OF THE CROSS Renewed |
| Three on a Match | Warner Bros. | This brisk pre-Code melodrama with Bette Davis, Joan Blondell, and Ann Dvorak typifies Warner's Depression-era realism. | THREE ON A MATCH Renewed |
| Trouble in Paradise | Paramount Pictures | Lubitsch's jewel-thief romance is one of the supreme pre-Code comedies of manners. | TROUBLE IN PARADISE Renewed |
| What Price Hollywood? | RKO Radio Pictures | George Cukor's Hollywood melodrama inspired later versions of A Star Is Born and earned an Academy Award story nomination. | WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD? 1932 Renewed |
| White Zombie | United Artists | Bela Lugosi headlined what is widely regarded as the first American feature-length zombie film. | WHITE ZOMBIE No renewal found |
| 20,000 Years in Sing Sing | Warner Bros. | Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis starred in this influential prison drama that helped shape the genre. | no match in the catalog |
1 January 2029: films of 1933
The registry holds 1,022 renewed registrations from 1933, all of which reach the end of their term on 31 December 2028 (list them). Notable among them:
| Film | Studio | Why it matters | Registry record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42nd Street | Warner Bros. | The Busby Berkeley backstage musical that revitalized Warner Bros. and established the movie-musical template. | 42ND STREET Renewed |
| Baby Face | Warner Bros. | Barbara Stanwyck's ruthless rise in this quintessential pre-Code melodrama, later cut for censorship. | BABY FACE Renewed |
| Bombshell | MGM | Jean Harlow's definitive screwball turn as a harried sex symbol, loosely based on Clara Bow's life. | BOMBSHELL Renewed |
| Cavalcade | Fox Film Corporation | Fox's Best Picture winner adapted from Noël Coward's pageant, tracing British life from New Year's Eve 1899 to 1933. | CAVALCADE Renewed |
| Dancing Lady | MGM | MGM's lavish musical pairing Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, with Fred Astaire's early MGM appearance. | DANCING LADY Renewed |
| Design for Living | Paramount Pictures | Lubitsch's daring pre-Code comedy of a ménage à trois, adapted from Noël Coward. | DESIGN FOR LIVING Renewed |
| Dinner at Eight | MGM | MGM's all-star comedy-drama of colliding high-society lives, anchored by Marie Dressler and Jean Harlow. | DINNER AT EIGHT Renewed |
| Duck Soup | Paramount Pictures | The Marx Brothers' most celebrated film, a satirical anti-war comedy that flopped initially but became a classic. | DUCK SOUP Renewed |
| Employees' Entrance | Warner Bros. | Sharp pre-Code department-store drama with Warren William as an amoral capitalist manager. | EMPLOYEES' ENTRANCE Renewed |
| Flying Down to Rio | RKO Radio Pictures | The first teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, launching their iconic musical partnership. | FLYING DOWN TO RIO Renewed |
| Footlight Parade | Warner Bros. | Warner Bros. musical with Cagney, Keeler, and Berkeley's extravagant 'By a Waterfall' and 'Shanghai Lil' numbers. | FOOTLIGHT PARADE Renewed |
| Gold Diggers of 1933 | Warner Bros. | A quintessential pre-Code Berkeley musical remembered for 'We're in the Money' and the Depression-era 'Remember My Forgotten Man'. | GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 Renewed |
| I'm No Angel | Paramount Pictures | Mae West's follow-up hit, famous for her nightclub performance and the line 'Be kind to men, they need it.' | I'M NO ANGEL Renewed |
| King Kong | RKO Radio Pictures | Landmark effects spectacle that became the definitive monster-adventure film and a Depression-era box-office phenomenon. | KING KONG Renewed |
| Lady for a Day | Columbia Pictures | Capra's sentimental comedy-drama and Best Picture nominee, later remade as Pocketful of Miracles. | LADY FOR A DAY Renewed |
| Little Women | RKO Radio Pictures | Cukor's acclaimed Alcott adaptation with Katharine Hepburn as Jo, a major prestige picture and Best Picture nominee. | LITTLE WOMEN Renewed |
| Morning Glory | RKO Radio Pictures | Katharine Hepburn's first Academy Award-winning role, as an aspiring Broadway actress. | MORNING GLORY Renewed |
| Mystery of the Wax Museum | Warner Bros. | Early two-strip Technicolor horror thriller that influenced the later horror remake cycle. | THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM Renewed |
| Queen Christina | MGM | Garbo's celebrated historical romance as Sweden's queen, ending with one of her most famous close-ups. | QUEEN CHRISTINA Renewed |
| Roman Scandals | United Artists | Eddie Cantor's lavish Goldwyn musical with Busby Berkeley numbers, one of 1933's biggest hits. | ROMAN SCANDALS Renewed |
| She Done Him Wrong | Paramount Pictures | Mae West's breakout hit that rescued Paramount financially and epitomizes pre-Code bawdy comedy. | SHE DONE HIM WRONG Renewed |
| State Fair | Fox Film Corporation | Fox's Rogers family fairground drama and Best Picture nominee, a major early 1930s heartland picture. | STATE FAIR Renewed |
| The Bowery | United Artists | Raoul Walsh's rowdy period melodrama with Wallace Beery and George Raft, a hit for United Artists. | THE BOWERY Renewed |
| The Invisible Man | Universal Pictures | James Whale's effects-driven Universal horror classic that made Claude Rains a star. | THE INVISIBLE MAN Renewed |
| The Mayor of Hell | Warner Bros. | Cagney's reform-school drama blends gangster energy with social conscience. | THE MAYOR OF HELL Renewed |
| The Old Dark House | Universal Pictures | James Whale's atmospheric horror-comedy, long lost and restored, now regarded as a pre-Code genre gem. | THE OLD DARK HOUSE Renewed |
| The Power and the Glory | Fox Film Corporation | Fox's ambitious rise-and-fall saga whose narrative structure influenced Citizen Kane. | THE POWER AND THE GLORY Renewed |
| The Son of Kong | RKO Radio Pictures | RKO's quick King Kong sequel, notable for Willis O'Brien's effects and a lighter adventure tone. | SON OF KONG Renewed |
| Three Little Pigs | Walt Disney Productions (distributed by United Artists) | Disney's Oscar-winning animated short became a Depression-era phenomenon and a milestone in character animation. | THE THREE LITTLE PIGS Renewed |
| Wild Boys of the Road | Warner Bros. | William Wellman's gritty Depression-era youth drama, a key pre-Code social-problem film. | WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD Renewed |
1 January 2030: films of 1934
The registry holds 1,097 renewed registrations from 1934, all of which reach the end of their term on 31 December 2029 (list them). Notable among them:
| Film | Studio | Why it matters | Registry record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne of Green Gables | RKO Radio Pictures | RKO's adaptation made Anne Shirley a star and remains a key literary film of the era. | ANNE OF GREEN GABLES Renewed |
| Babes in Toyland | Hal Roach Studios/MGM | Laurel and Hardy's operetta feature became a perennial holiday television favorite. | BABES IN TOYLAND Renewed |
| Bright Eyes | Fox Film Corporation | Fox's year-end Shirley Temple vehicle introduced 'On the Good Ship Lollipop'. | BRIGHT EYES Renewed |
| Broadway Bill | Columbia Pictures | Frank Capra's racing comedy was later remade by the director as Riding High. | BROADWAY BILL Renewed |
| Cleopatra | Paramount Pictures | Cecil B. DeMille's spectacle was a Best Picture nominee and won an Oscar for cinematography. | CLEOPATRA Renewed |
| Death Takes a Holiday | Paramount Pictures | Fredric March stars as Death taking human form in this influential Paramount fantasy romance. | DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY Renewed |
| Flirtation Walk | Warner Bros. | Warner Bros.' musical romance was a Best Picture nominee. | FLIRTATION WALK Renewed |
| Here Comes the Navy | Warner Bros. | James Cagney's naval comedy was a Best Picture nominee. | HERE COMES THE NAVY Renewed |
| Imitation of Life | Universal Pictures | John Stahl's Universal melodrama was a Best Picture nominee and became a major remake property. | IMITATION OF LIFE Renewed |
| It Happened One Night | Columbia Pictures | Frank Capra's screwball comedy became the first film to win the five major Academy Awards. | IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT Renewed |
| Jimmy the Gent | Warner Bros. | Warner Bros. paired James Cagney and Bette Davis in this brash tabloid comedy. | JIMMY THE GENT Renewed |
| Judge Priest | Fox Film Corporation | John Ford's Will Rogers comedy was one of Fox's biggest and most beloved 1934 hits. | JUDGE PRIEST No renewal found |
| Little Miss Marker | Paramount Pictures | Shirley Temple's breakout hit turned her into America's top child star. | LITTLE MISS MARKER Renewed |
| Manhattan Melodrama | MGM | MGM's gangster melodrama won Best Story and is remembered as the film John Dillinger saw before his death. | MANHATTAN MELODRAMA Renewed |
| Murder at the Vanities | Paramount Pictures | This pre-Code backstage musical featured Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. | MURDER AT THE VANITIES Renewed |
| Of Human Bondage | RKO Radio Pictures | Bette Davis's performance as Mildred made her a star and became a benchmark pre-Code drama. | OF HUMAN BONDAGE No renewal found |
| One Night of Love | Columbia Pictures | Grace Moore's operatic romance was a Best Picture nominee and won an Oscar for its score. | ONE NIGHT OF LOVE Renewed |
| The Barretts of Wimpole Street | MGM | Norma Shearer's literary biopic was a Best Picture nominee at the 7th Academy Awards. | BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET Renewed |
| The Black Cat | Universal Pictures | Universal's pre-Code horror landmark was the first top-billed Karloff-Lugosi pairing. | THE BLACK CAT, 1934 Renewed |
| The Cat's-Paw | Paramount Pictures | Harold Lloyd's political satire is a major sound-era entry from the silent-comedy legend. | THE CAT'S-PAW Renewed |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | United Artists | Robert Donat's swashbuckler became one of the most popular adventure films of the decade. | THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO Renewed |
| The Gay Divorcee | RKO Radio Pictures | RKO's first starring Astaire-Rogers musical was a Best Picture nominee. | THE GAY DIVORCEE Renewed |
| The House of Rothschild | 20th Century Pictures/United Artists | George Arliss's historical drama was a Best Picture nominee. | THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD Renewed |
| The Lost Patrol | RKO Radio Pictures | John Ford's desert war thriller with Boris Karloff was a key RKO prestige picture. | THE LOST PATROL Renewed |
| The Merry Widow | MGM | Ernst Lubitsch's lavish operetta paired Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. | THE MERRY WIDOW Renewed |
| The Scarlet Empress | Paramount Pictures | Josef von Sternberg's Marlene Dietrich historical pageant remains a landmark of visual style. | THE SCARLET EMPRESS Renewed |
| The Thin Man | MGM | W. S. Van Dyke's Hammett adaptation created the Nick and Nora Charles franchise and was a Best Picture nominee. | THE THIN MAN Renewed |
| The White Parade | Fox Film Corporation | Fox's nurse drama was a Best Picture nominee at the 7th Academy Awards. | THE WHITE PARADE Renewed |
| Twentieth Century | Columbia Pictures | Howard Hawks's fast-talking Columbia comedy helped define the screwball genre. | TWENTIETH CENTURY Copyright term expired |
| Viva Villa! | MGM | Wallace Beery's Mexican-revolution drama was a Best Picture nominee. | VIVA VILLA! 1934 Renewed |
1 January 2031: films of 1935
The registry holds 1,046 renewed registrations from 1935, all of which reach the end of their term on 31 December 2030 (list them). Notable among them:
The notable list for this year has not been compiled yet.
Read the badge, not the list. A film on this page marked Renewed is under copyright until the date shown and enters the public domain then. One marked No renewal found is, on the registry's reading, already free, whatever the popular lists say; one marked uncertain needs its record checked. Films in copyright outside the United States follow other countries' terms.