# 2000s in film

The decade of the 2000s in film involved many significant developments in the filmmaking industries around the world, especially in the technologies used. Building on advancements from the 1990s, computers were widely utilized to create effects that would have previously been more expensive and time-consuming, from the subtle erasing of surrounding islands in Cast Away to the vast battle scenes in The Matrix sequels.

## Trends

* The 2000s saw the resurgence of several genres. Fantasy film franchises dominated the box office with The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Star Wars prequel trilogy (beginning in 1999), The Chronicles of Narnia, etc. Comic book superhero films became a blockbuster subgenre following the releases of X-Men, Unbreakable, and Spider-Man; culminating in the unprecedented achievements of The Dark Knight both in terms of revenue and acclaim. Gladiator sparked the revival of historical epics set in ancient times (e.g., 300), and the Bollywood-inspired Moulin Rouge! did the same for live action musical films in the Western world (e.g., Chicago). Hong Kong fight choreographers like Yuen Woo-ping continued their influence in Hollywood with such martial arts films as Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2, even leading to the spread of wire fu into other subgenres alongside filmmaker John Woo's gun fu from the likes of Mission: Impossible 2.
* Certain film categories that were generally not popular in North America became more attractive to western moviegoers. Subtitled non-English language films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, The Passion of the Christ, Pan's Labyrinth, and Apocalypto; as well as feature-length documentaries like Fahrenheit 9/11, March of the Penguins, Earth, and Michael Jackson's This Is It; ended up being very successful.
* Computer animation replaced traditional animation as the dominant technique for animated pictures in American cinema, especially after the release of Shrek, which is the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Further extending to the exploration of motion capture technology in such films as Robert Zemeckis' The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol. However, hand-drawn anime films also gained more exposure outside of Japan with the releases of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo; while stop-motion films earned significant audience interest thanks to Chicken Run, Corpse Bride, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Coraline. DreamWorks Animation was the top animation studio of the decade, with Pixar and 20th Century Fox Animation following close behind (the latter after Fox Animation Studios was shut down on October 31, 2000).
* Major film studios started to focus their budgets on established titles with built-in fandoms to lower the risk of commercial failures and maximize financial profits. Increasing the productions of sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, adaptations, spin-offs, crossovers, and so on; often as attempts to create or revive franchises. Capitalizing especially on nostalgia induced by the likes of Charlie's Angels, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Freddy vs. Jason, Starsky & Hutch, Alien vs. Predator, The Dukes of Hazzard, Superman Returns, Miami Vice, Rocky Balboa, TMNT, Live Free or Die Hard, Transformers, Rambo, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and many others. Out of the 50 highest-grossing films of the decade worldwide, only nine (of which six are animated) are not based on another property, though one of these became the top-grosser of all time: late 2009's Avatar.

## Highest-grossing films

The list has more 2008 and 2007 films in the top 50 than any other year, each with eight. They are followed by 2009, 2005 and 2004, each with six. Figures are given in United States dollars (USD).
List of worldwide highest-grossing films :
| Rank | Title | Studios | Worldwide gross | Year |
| 1 | Avatar | 20th Century Fox | $2,713,395,000 | 2009 |
| 2 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | New Line Cinema | $1,119,110,941 | 2003 |
| 3 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Walt Disney Studios | $1,066,179,725 | 2006 |
| 4 | The Dark Knight | Warner Bros. Pictures | $1,001,921,825 | 2008 |
| 5 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Warner Bros. Pictures | $974,733,550 | 2001 |
| 6 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Walt Disney Studios | $960,996,492 | 2007 |
| 7 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Warner Bros. Pictures | $938,212,738 | 2007 |
| 8 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Warner Bros. Pictures | $929,359,401 | 2009 |
| 9 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | New Line Cinema | $925,282,504 | 2002 |
| 10 | Shrek 2 | DreamWorks Animation | $919,838,758 | 2004 |
| 11 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Warner Bros. Pictures | $895,921,036 | 2005 |
| 12 | Spider-Man 3 | Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures | $890,871,626 | 2007 |
| 13 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky | $887,566,024 | 2009 |
| 14 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Warner Bros. Pictures | $878,643,482 | 2002 |
| 15 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | New Line Cinema | $870,761,744 | 2001 |
| 16 | Finding Nemo | Walt Disney Studios/Pixar | $864,625,978 | 2003 |
| 17 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | 20th Century Fox | $848,754,768 | 2005 |
| 18 | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures | $834,969,807 | 2009 |
| 19 | Spider-Man | Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures | $821,708,551 | 2002 |
| 20 | Shrek the Third | Paramount Pictures/Dreamworks Animation | $798,958,162 | 2007 |
| 21 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Warner Bros. Pictures | $795,634,069 | 2004 |
| 22 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Paramount Pictures/Lucasfilm | $786,636,033 | 2008 |
| 23 | Spider-Man 2 | Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures | $783,766,341 | 2004 |
| 24 | The Da Vinci Code | Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures | $758,239,851 | 2006 |
| 25 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Buena Vista Pictures/Walden Media | $745,011,272 | 2005 |
| 26 | The Matrix Reloaded | Warner Bros. Pictures | $742,128,461 | 2003 |
| 27 | 2012 | Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures | $736,257,842 | 2009 |
| 28 | Transformers | Paramount Pictures/Dreamworks Pictures | $709,709,780 | 2007 |
| 29 | Up | Walt Disney Studios/Pixar | $683,004,164 | 2009 |
| 30 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Summit Entertainment | $669,259,961 | 2009 |
| 31 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky | $655,388,158 | 2006 |
| 32 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Walt Disney Studios | $654,264,015 | 2003 |
| 33 | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | 20th Century Fox | $649,398,328 | 2002 |
| 34 | Kung Fu Panda | Paramount Pictures/Dreamworks Animation | $631,744,560 | 2008 |
| 35 | The Incredibles | Walt Disney Studios/Pixar | $631,442,092 | 2004 |
| 36 | Hancock | Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures | $624,386,746 | 2008 |
| 37 | Ratatouille | Walt Disney Studios/Pixar | $623,707,397 | 2007 |
| 38 | The Passion of the Christ | Icon Productions | $611,899,420 | 2004 |
| 39 | Mamma Mia! | Universal Pictures | $609,841,637 | 2008 |
| 40 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Paramount Pictures/Dreamworks Animation | $603,900,344 | 2008 |
| 41 | Casino Royale | Sony Pictures/MGM/Columbia Pictures | $594,239,066 | 2006 |
| 42 | War of the Worlds | Paramount Pictures/Dreamworks Pictures | $591,745,540 | 2005 |
| 43 | Quantum of Solace | Sony Pictures/MGM/Columbia Pictures | $586,090,727 | 2008 |
| 44 | I Am Legend | Warner Bros. Pictures | $585,349,010 | 2007 |
| 45 | Iron Man | Paramount Pictures/Marvel Studios | $585,133,287 | 2008 |
| 46 | Night at the Museum | 20th Century Fox | $574,480,450 | 2006 |
| 47 | King Kong | Universal Pictures | $550,517,357 | 2005 |
| 48 | Mission: Impossible 2 | Paramount Pictures | $546,388,105 | 2000 |
| 49 | The Day After Tomorrow | 20th Century Fox | $544,272,402 | 2004 |
| 50 | Madagascar | DreamWorks Animation | $532,680,671 | 2005 |

### Highest-grossing film per year

The fantasy genre became the annual top-grosser seven times in a row from four different franchises.
| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Worldwide Gross |
| 2000 | Mission: Impossible 2 | Paramount | $546,288,105 |
| 2001 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Warner Bros. | $974,733,550 |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | New Line Cinema | $925,282,504 |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | New Line Cinema | $1,119,110,941 |
| 2004 | Shrek 2 | DreamWorks SKG | $919,838,758 |
| 2005 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Warner Bros. | $895,921,036 |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Disney | $1,066,179,725 |
| 2007 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Disney | $960,996,492 |
| 2008 | The Dark Knight | Warner Bros. | $1,001,842,429 |
| 2009 | Avatar | 20th Century Fox | $2,713,395,000 |

## Most acclaimed films of the decade

According to Metacritic, which analysed many of the notable 'best films of the decade' lists to compile the results, the top twenty films most often and most notably included in these lists are:
* There Will Be Blood
* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
* Mulholland Drive
* No Country for Old Men
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
* The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
* Spirited Away
* 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
* The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
* The Dark Knight
* Amélie
* Children of Men
* Memento
* Pan's Labyrinth
* United 93
* Wall-E
* Almost Famous
* Brokeback Mountain
* Far from Heaven
* Lost in Translation
As well as this, the ten films released in the 2000s which got the highest average critic scores according to Metacritic are:
* Pan's Labyrinth
* 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
* Ratatouille
* Spirited Away
* The Hurt Locker
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
* Sideways
* Wall-E
* Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
* 35 Shots of Rum
BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century poll of film critics listed the following as the top ten best films of the 2000s:
* Mulholland Drive
* In the Mood for Love
* There Will Be Blood
* Spirited Away
* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
* Yi Yi
* No Country for Old Men
* Zodiac
* Children of Men
* 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
The New York Times' list of "The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far" selected the following as the top five best films of the 2000s:
* There Will Be Blood
* Spirited Away
* Million Dollar Baby
* The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
* Yi Yi
Moviefone's list of "50 Best Movies of the Decade" included the following films in the top five:
* Kill Bill
* City of God
* Battle Royale
* No Country for Old Men
* The Dark Knight
Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino selected the following as the best and most influential films of the decade:
* Battle Royale
* Anything Else
* Dogville
* The Host
* Joint Security Area
* Lost in Translation
* Memories of Murder
* Shaun of the Dead
* Team America: World Police
* Unbreakable

### Awards

The following films received the most acclaim at the Academy Awards during the 2000s.
| Year | Ceremony | Most nominations | Most awards | Best Picture |
| 2000 | 73rd | Gladiator (12) | Gladiator (5) | Gladiator |
| 2001 | 74th | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (13) | A Beautiful Mind and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (4) | A Beautiful Mind |
| 2002 | 75th | Chicago (13) | Chicago (6) | Chicago |
| 2003 | 76th | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (11) | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (11) | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| 2004 | 77th | The Aviator (11) | The Aviator (5) | Million Dollar Baby |
| 2005 | 78th | Brokeback Mountain (8) | Brokeback Mountain, Crash, King Kong and Memoirs of a Geisha (3) | Crash |
| 2006 | 79th | Dreamgirls (8) | The Departed (4) | The Departed |
| 2007 | 80th | No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood (8) | No Country for Old Men (4) | No Country for Old Men |
| 2008 | 81st | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (13) | Slumdog Millionaire (8) | Slumdog Millionaire |
| 2009 | 82nd | Avatar and The Hurt Locker (9) | The Hurt Locker (6) | The Hurt Locker |

## List of films

* 2000 in film
* 2001 in film
* 2002 in film
* 2003 in film
* 2004 in film
* 2005 in film
* 2006 in film
* 2007 in film
* 2008 in film
* 2009 in film