2000s In Film

The decade of the 2000s in film involved many significant developments in the film industries around the world, especially in the technology used. Building on developments in the 1990s, computers were used to create effects that would have previously been more expensive, from the subtle erasing of surrounding islands in ''Cast Away'' (leaving Tom Hanks' character stranded with no other land in sight) to the vast battle scenes such as those in ''The Matrix'' sequels and ''300''.

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 mainstream blockbuster genre following the releases of ''X-Men'', ''Unbreakable'', and '' Spider-Man''. '' Gladiator'' similarly sparked the revival of historical epic films, while the Bollywood-inspired ''Moulin Rouge!'' did the same for live action musical films in the Western world, where Indian musicals such as ''Lagaan'' and ''Devdas'' also began gaining mainstream exposure. 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 techniques into other subgenres, alongside filmmaker John Woo's gun fu from the likes of '' Mission: Impossible 2''. The battle royale genre also began with the release of the Japanese film '' Battle Royale''.

In addition, film categories not known for their popular appeal in North America became increasingly attractive to moviegoers. Non-English language films such as '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', ''Hero'' (2002), ''The Passion of the Christ'', and ''Pan's Labyrinth''; as well as documentary films like ''An Inconvenient Truth'', ''March of the Penguins'', ''Super Size Me'', and '' Fahrenheit 9/11''; became very successful.

Computer animation replaced traditional animation as the dominant medium for animated feature films in American cinema (especially after the release of ''Shrek''): DreamWorks Animation was the top animation studio in that decade, with Pixar and 20th Century Fox Animation following close behind (the latter after Fox Animation Studios was closed down on October 31, 2000). Further extending to the exploration of motion capture technology in such films as '' Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists'', '' Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'' and ''The Polar Express''. 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 regained popularity thanks to ''Chicken Run'', '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' and ''Coraline''.

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).

Highest-grossing film per year

Most acclaimed films of the decade

According to ''They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?'', a site which numerically calculates reception among critics, the most acclaimed films of the 2000s are:
# '' In the Mood for Love''
# ''Mulholland Drive''
# '' Yi Yi''
# ''There Will Be Blood''
# ''Spirited Away''
# '' Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind''
# '' Caché/Hidden''
# ''Tropical Malady''
# '' Lost in Translation''
# '' City of God''
# ''Brokeback Mountain''
# '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
# ''WALL-E''
# ''Talk to Her''
# ''Dogville''
# '' Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks''
# ''Russian Ark''
# '' The White Ribbon''
# '' The Death of Mr. Lazarescu''
# ''No Country for Old Men''

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''

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

See also

* Film
* History of film
* Lists of films
* Popular culture: 2000s in music, 2000s in sports, 2000s in television

References

;Highest-grossing films
{{reflist, group="#"

Films by decade
Film by decade