Top moneymaking films by year (or in this case, split year) can be found
in _Reel Facts_ by Cobbett Steinberg (Vintage, 1978), out of print I
beleive but still in many library reference collections. The listings go
back to 1930/31, but are listed in alphabetical order without earnings
figures, until the 1947 list. Steinberg says in the introduction to the
lists that these 1930-1946 lists are gathered from records of the _Motion
Picture Herald_, _Motion Picture Daily_ and _Film Daily_. Perhaps those
magazines would be able to provide more detailed information.
 
                                        Yours in Cinema,
                                        Sean the Ax