The Graduate is a 1967 American independent romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novella by Charles Webb. It stars Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate who is seduced by an older married woman, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), but falls for her daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). The soundtrack was recorded by Simon & Garfunkel, and featured the hit single “Mrs Robinson”.

The Graduate was released December 21, 1967. It grossed $104.9 million in the United States and Canada, making it the highest-grossing film of 1967 in North America. Adjusted for inflation (as of 2021), its gross is $857 million, making it the 22nd-highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada. It received seven nominations at the 40th Academy Awards, and won for Best Director.

In 1996, The Graduate was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. In 1997, the American Film Institute ranked it the 7th-greatest American film and the 17th-greatest in 2007. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films.