The following is an overview of the events of 1894 in film, including a list of films released and notable births.

Years in film
19th century
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 …
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Events

• January 7
  • William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film.
  • Dickson and William Heise film their colleague, Fred Ott sneezing with the Kinetograph at Edison's Black Maria studio.^[1]
• April 14 – The first commercial presentation of the Kinetoscope took place in the Holland Brothers' Kinetoscope Parlor at 1155 Broadway, New York City.^[2]
• June 6 - Charles Francis Jenkins projects a filmed motion picture before an audience in Richmond, Indiana. Earliest documented projection of a motion picture.^[3]
• Thomas Edison experiments with synchronizing audio with film; the Kinetophone is invented which loosely synchronizes a Kinetoscope image with a cylinder phonograph.^[4]
• Kinetoscope viewing parlors begin to open in major cities. Each parlor contains several machines.
• Birt Acres creates a 70 mm format, which he first uses to shoot the Henley Royal Regatta.^[5]

Notable films released in 1894

Birt Acres

• Crows on Saffron Hill
• Haycart Crossing Hadley Green, Middlesex

Charles-Émile Reynaud

• Autour d'une cabine
• Rêve au coin du feu

Étienne-Jules Marey

• Falling Cat
• Chat en Chute Libre

William K. L. Dickson

• Alleni's Boxing Monkeys
• Amateur Gymnast, No. 2
• Annabelle Butterfly Dance, starring Annabelle Moore
• Annabelle Sun Dance, starring Annabelle Moore
• Annie Oakley, starring Annie Oakley
• Armand D'Ary, starring Armand D'Ary
• Athlete with Wand
• Babies in High Chairs
• Band Drill
• A Bar Room Scene
• The Barbershop
• Bertoldi (Mouth Support), starring Ena Bertoldi
• Bertoldi (Table Contortion), starring Ena Bertoldi
• Boxing, starring Jack McAuliffe
• The Boxing Cats (Prof. Welton's)
• Bucking Broncho, starring Lee Martin
• Buffalo Bill (lost), starring William F. Cody
• Buffalo Dance, starring Hair Coat, Parts His Hair and Last Horse
• Caicedo (with Pole), starring Juan A. Caicedo
• Caicedo (with Spurs), starring Juan A. Caicedo
• Carmencita, starring Carmencita
• The Carnival Dance, starring Madge Crossland, May Lucas and Lucy Murray
• Chinese Laundry Scene, directed by William Heise and William K. L. Dickson and starring Phil Doreto and Robetta
• Chinese Opium Den (lost)
• The Cock Fight
• Cock Fight, No. 2
• Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph, starring James J. Corbett and Peter Courtney
• Cupid's Dance, starring Florence Ewer, Lenora Ewer and Mildred Ewer
• Dance, starring Rosa France, Frank Lawton and Etta Williamson
• Dance du Ventre
• The Dickson Experimental Sound Film
• Dogs Fighting
• Edison Employee Picnic
• Fancy Club Swinger, starring John R. Abell
• Finale of 1st Act, Hoyt's 'Milk White Flag'
• Fire Rescue Scene
• Fred Ott Holding a Bird, starring Fred Ott
• Fred Ott's Sneeze, starring Fred Ott
• French Dancers
• Glenroy Bros., (no. 2)
• Hadj Cheriff, starring Hadji Cheriff
• Highland Dance
• The Hornbacker-Murphy Fight, starring Eugene Hornbacker and Murphy
• Human Pyramid, starring Saleem Nassar
• Imperial Japanese Dance, starring the Sarashe Sisters
• Lady Fencers (With Broadswords), starring Louise Blanchard and Helen Englehart
• Lady Fencers (With Foils)
• Lasso Exhibition, starring Frank Hammitt and Lee Martin
• Lasso Thrower (lost), starring Vicente Oropeza
• Leonard-Cushing Fight, starring Jack Cushing and Mike Leonard
• Luis Martinetti, Contortionist, starring Luis Martinetti
• Man of a Thousand Faces, starring George Layman
• May Lucas, starring May Lucas
• Men on Parallel Bars
• Mexican Knife Duel (lost), starring Pedro Esquivel and Dionecio Gonzales
• Miss Lucy Murray, starring Lucy Murray
• Mlle. Capitaine, starring Alciede Capitaine
• Organ Grinder, No. 1
• Organ Grinder, No. 2
• Oriental Dance, starring Rosa
• The Pickaninny Dance, from the 'Passing Show', starring Joe Rastus, Denny Tolliver and Walter Wilkins
• Rat Killing
• Rats and Terrier No. 2
• Rats and Terrier No. 3
• Rats and Weasel
• Ruth Dennis, starring Ruth St. Denis
• Sandow, starring Eugen Sandow
• Sheik Hadji Tahar, starring Sheik Hadji Tahar
• Sioux Ghost Dance
• Summersault Dog, starring Lucy the Dog and Ivan Tschernoff
• Sword Combat, starring Najid and Saleem Nassar
• Topack and Steele, starring George W. Steele and George Topack
• Toyou Kichi, starring Toyou Kichi
• Trained Bears
• Trapeze
• Unsuccessful Somersault
• Walton and Slavin, starring John Slavin and Charles F. Walton
• Whirlwind Gunspinning, starring Hadj Lessik
• The Widder, starring Isabelle Coe
• Wonderful Performing Dog, starring Lucy the Dog and Ivan Tschernoff
• The Wrestling Dog, starring Henry Welton
• Wrestling Match

Films directed by other filmmakers

• Miss Jerry, directed by Alexander Black, starring by Blanche Bayliss, William Courtenay and Chauncey Depew.

Births

Debut

• Annabelle Whitford (Annabelle Sun Dance)
• William Courtenay (Miss Jerry)