2000s in film

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 in both 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, Amélie, Hero, The Passion of the Christ, Pan's Labyrinth, and Apocalypto (plus the majorities of Babel and Inglourious Basterds); 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 Shaft, Charlie's Angels, Planet of the Apes, Scooby-Doo, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Freddy vs. Jason, Starsky & Hutch, Alien vs. Predator, Herbie: Fully Loaded, The Dukes of Hazzard, King Kong, 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.

List of worldwide highest-grossing films
Rank	Title	Studios	Worldwide gross	Year	Ref.
1	Avatar	20th Century Fox	$2,923,710,708	2009	^{[# 1]}
2	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	New Line Cinema	$1,138,283,522	2003	^{[# 2]}
3	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	Walt Disney Studios	$1,066,179,725	2006	^{[# 3]}
4	The Dark Knight	Warner Bros. Pictures	$1,001,921,825	2008	^{[# 4]}
5	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	Warner Bros. Pictures	$974,733,550	2001	^{[# 5]}
6	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	Walt Disney Studios	$960,996,492	2007	^{[# 6]}
7	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Warner Bros. Pictures	$938,212,738	2007	^{[# 7]}
8	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	Warner Bros. Pictures	$929,359,401	2009	^{[# 8]}
9	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	New Line Cinema	$925,282,504	2002	^{[# 9]}
10	Shrek 2	DreamWorks Animation	$919,838,758	2004	^{[# 10]}
11	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Warner Bros. Pictures	$895,921,036	2005	^{[# 11]}
12	Spider-Man 3	Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures	$890,871,626	2007	^{[# 12]}
13	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	20th Century Fox/Blue Sky	$887,566,024	2009	^{[# 13]}
14	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	Warner Bros. Pictures	$878,643,482	2002	^{[# 14]}
15	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	New Line Cinema	$870,761,744	2001	^{[# 15]}
16	Finding Nemo	Walt Disney Studios/Pixar	$864,625,978	2003	^{[# 16]}
17	Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith	20th Century Fox	$848,754,768	2005	^{[# 17]}
18	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures	$834,969,807	2009	^{[# 18]}
19	Spider-Man	Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures	$821,708,551	2002	^{[# 19]}
20	Shrek the Third	Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Animation	$798,958,162	2007	^{[# 20]}
21	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Warner Bros. Pictures	$795,634,069	2004	^{[# 21]}
22	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Paramount Pictures/Lucasfilm	$786,636,033	2008	^{[# 22]}
23	Spider-Man 2	Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures	$783,766,341	2004	^{[# 23]}
24	The Da Vinci Code	Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures	$758,239,851	2006	^{[# 24]}
25	The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	Buena Vista Pictures/Walden Media	$745,011,272	2005	^{[# 25]}
26	The Matrix Reloaded	Warner Bros. Pictures	$742,128,461	2003	^{[# 26]}
27	2012	Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures	$736,257,842	2009	^{[# 27]}
28	Transformers	Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures	$709,709,780	2007	^{[# 28]}
29	Up	Walt Disney Studios/Pixar	$683,004,164	2009	^{[# 29]}
30	The Twilight Saga: New Moon	Summit Entertainment	$669,259,961	2009	^{[# 30]}
31	Ice Age: The Meltdown	20th Century Fox/Blue Sky	$655,388,158	2006	^{[# 31]}
32	Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl	Walt Disney Studios	$654,264,015	2003	^{[# 32]}
33	Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones	20th Century Fox	$649,398,328	2002	^{[# 33]}
34	Kung Fu Panda	Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Animation	$631,744,560	2008	^{[# 34]}
35	The Incredibles	Walt Disney Studios/Pixar	$631,442,092	2004	^{[# 35]}
36	Hancock	Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures	$624,386,746	2008	^{[# 36]}
37	Ratatouille	Walt Disney Studios/Pixar	$623,707,397	2007	^{[# 37]}
38	The Passion of the Christ	Icon Productions	$611,899,420	2004	^{[# 38]}
39	Mamma Mia!	Universal Pictures	$609,841,637	2008	^{[# 39]}
40	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa	Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Animation	$603,900,344	2008	^{[# 40]}
41	Casino Royale	Sony Pictures/MGM/Columbia Pictures	$594,239,066	2006	^{[# 41]}
42	War of the Worlds	Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures	$591,745,540	2005	^{[# 42]}
43	Quantum of Solace	Sony Pictures/MGM/Columbia Pictures	$586,090,727	2008	^{[# 43]}
44	I Am Legend	Warner Bros. Pictures	$585,349,010	2007	^{[# 44]}
45	Iron Man	Paramount Pictures/Marvel Studios	$585,133,287	2008	^{[# 45]}
46	Night at the Museum	20th Century Fox	$574,480,450	2006	^{[# 46]}
47	King Kong	Universal Pictures	$550,517,357	2005	^{[# 47]}
48	Mission: Impossible 2	Paramount Pictures	$546,388,105	2000	^{[# 48]}
49	The Day After Tomorrow	20th Century Fox	$544,272,402	2004	^{[# 49]}
50	Madagascar	DreamWorks Animation	$532,680,671	2005	^{[# 50]}

Year	Title	Studio(s)	Worldwide Gross	Ref.
2000	Mission: Impossible 2	Paramount	$546,288,105	^{[# 48]}
2001	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	Warner Bros.	$974,733,550	^{[# 5]}
2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	New Line Cinema	$925,282,504	^{[# 9]}
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	New Line Cinema	$1,119,110,941	^{[# 2]}
2004	Shrek 2	DreamWorks SKG	$919,838,758	^{[# 10]}
2005	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Warner Bros.	$895,921,036	^{[# 11]}
2006	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	Disney	$1,066,179,725	^{[# 3]}
2007	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	Disney	$960,996,492	^{[# 6]}
2008	The Dark Knight	Warner Bros.	$1,001,842,429	^{[# 4]}
2009	Avatar	20th Century Fox	$2,713,395,000	^{[# 51]}

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

See also

References

Highest-grossing films

[1]
"Avatar (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
[2]
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
[3]
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
[4]
"The Dark Knight (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
[5]
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[6]
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[7]
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2793007)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[8]
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 24 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
[9]
"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[10]
"Shrek 2 (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[11]
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[12]
"Spider-Man 3 (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[13]
"Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
[14]
"Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[15]
"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[16]
"Finding Nemo (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[17]
"Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[18]
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
[19]
"Spider-Man (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[20]
"Shrek the Third (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[21]
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[22]
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[23]
"Spider-Man 2 (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[24]
"The Da Vinci Code (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[25]
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[26]
"The Matrix Reloaded (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[27]
"2012 (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
[28]
"Transformers (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[29]
"Up (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[30]
"The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
[31]
"Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
[32]
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Peal (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
[33]
"Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[34]
"Kung Fu Panda (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
[35]
"The Incredibles (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
[36]
"Hancock (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
[37]
"Ratatouille (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
[38]
"The Passion of the Christ (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
[39]
"Mamma Mia! (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 19 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
[40]
"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
[41]
"Casino Royale (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
[42]
"War of the Worlds (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
[43]
"Quantum of Solace (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
[44]
"I Am Legend (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
[45]
"Iron Man (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
[46]
"Night at the Museum (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
[47]
"King Kong (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
[48]
"Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
[49]
"The Day After Tomorrow (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
[50]
"Madagascar (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
[51]
"Avatar (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-18.

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Trends

Highest-grossing films

Highest-grossing film per year

Most acclaimed films of the decade

Awards

List of films

See also

References

External links

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