This is n’t a treatise on whether the2000swas a decade of movies that represents the best cinema has to offer , but this is a declaration that the 2000s shape how pic were made , enjoyed , and talked about everlastingly after . The1990s was a banner X for motion-picture show . Thrillers likeSilence of the Lambs , law-breaking dramas likeGoodfellas , and darling classic likeShawshank Redemptionfilled the racks of video store back in those day . Now in the 2020s , the 2000s are starting to feel further and further away .

That may be a niggling distressing for some , melancholic for others . Time comes for us all . However , it provides us with some perspective as well , and while the 2000s are n’t ancient history , enough prison term has make pass that we can get a horse sense of how the decade of film influenced the class afterward . And boy , did it charm the direction we consume flick . Even themovies of the 2000s that you ’ve forget abouthave shaped the rest of the century in film . liveliness techniques , the burst of genre films , and even meme have this decade of movie to thank .

The Memeability Of The 2000s

Movies In The 2000s Went Viral Before Going Viral Was A Thing

" Stop attempt to make fetch befall ! " , " That intensify cursorily " , " For Frodo",take your weft of a classic meme , and chance are that they follow from a 2000s movie . The internet was promptly becoming a ubiquitous part of culture in the 2000s , so movie from that decade were in the utter military position to take reward . motion picture likeMean Girls , Anchorman , Casino Royale , andNapoleon Dynamitehave a parallel fandom to the one that simply enjoys them for the picture show they are . These , and many more 2000s movies , birthed literal subreddits of memes years after they premier .

Looking at each single twelvemonth from the 2000s , moving picture aficionados can observe ten incredible classic celluloid from this auspicious decade .

Some movies , likeRace to Witch Mountain , have beenoutshone by the very meme they spawn . " Going viral " was not a thing in the 2000s in the way we mean of it now . But if the phrase had been a part of pop refinement then , we would have been using it to delineate picture show such asThe Departed , Hot Fuzz , Up , The Dark Knight , and more . This is still when the great unwashed had movies on DVDs , and maybe Blu - rays , if they were lucky , meaning people would catch them over and over . That repeat creates liberty , which inevitably leads to memes .

Film year 2000s feature

The Superhero Era Began In The 2000s

Iron Man Introduced The MCU And Changed Everything

For better or for worse , the 2000s preface us to the superhero era of movies . While the 2010s were the efflorescence and the 2020s appear to be the clangor , it was the 2000s that proved to audience , critics , and most importantly , studios , that superhero moving-picture show were viable . Take a look at anylist of the best superhero moving-picture show , and the ointment of the crop are chiefly from the 2000s . Sam Raimi’sSpider - Manfilms , The Dark Knight , Iron Man , X2 , all these films are not just excellent superhero movies , they ’re just first-class movies , period .

Notable Superhero Movies Of The 2000s

Title

How Rachel Zegler’s

Box Office

wanderer - Man(2002 )

$ 821,708,551

A set of Final Destination Bloodlines characters looking concerned in new trailer

Spider - Man 2(2004 )

$ 788,976,453

The Incredibles(2004 )

Regina George in Mean Girls, Aragorn in LOTR The Return Of The King, and Shrek in Shrek 2

Custom Image by Ana Nieves

$ 631,607,053

Spider - Man 3(2007 )

$ 890,871,626

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in the missile test scene in Iron Man looking offscreen

The Dark Knight(2008 )

$ 1,006,222,205

These films showed how you did n’t need to have read every unmarried comedian to understand a fiber . Superheroes were no longer just for immature gentleman’s gentleman . They were spectacular , well - crafted , thrilling , and surprising , everything you could desire out of a motion-picture show . The Dark Knightearned over $ 1 billion at the box office ( viaBoxOfficeMojo ) and even forced the Academy Awards to exchange how many Best Picture campaigner there would be pass forward , jump from five nominee in 2009 to ten in 2010 . Do n’t blank out thata stinger at the end ofIron Manshaped the mod blockbuster diligence for good .

Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) charging the Black Gate in The Return of the King

Fantasy Began To Be Taken Seriously As A Genre

The Lord Of The Rings Opened The Door For Fantasy

Before the 2000s , fantasy was not taken seriously as a genre . In literature , it was certainly a vital while of any country ’s canon , but on the screen , filmmakers could not get it to interpret to wide audiences and critic . Movies likeThe Dark Crystal , Willow , Labyrinth , Highlander , andDragonheartall have their defender , and some were even successful , but they were never considered to be movies with mass market appeal or awards aspirations . That all changed thanks to a untiring New Zealand director by the name of Peter Jackson .

Notable 2000s Fantasy Movies And The Academy Awards

Oscar Nominations

Still from Paranormal Activity showing a bedroom and door open at 3:53 AM

Oscar Wins

The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers(2002 )

6

Far Far Away in Shrek 2.

2

The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King(2003 )

11

Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) using a sword in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

pirate ship of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl(2003 )

5

0

Movies

The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe(2005 )

3

1

Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince(2009 )

HisLord of the Ringstrilogy ended in 2003 withThe Return of the King , shatter box business office records and , more notably , Academy Award make headway records . So came a new long time , an years of illusion . ThoughTheLord of the Ringsended ahead of time in the decade , more fantastic fantasy came along to nibble up the slack . Harry Potter , Pirates of the Caribbean , Pan ’s Labyrinth , the Chronicles of Narnia , andeven theTwilightseries showed that talking animal , magic , and knights in shining armor could move the boxwood office and critical needles . There is noGame of Throneswithout this X .

Found Footage Opened A New Door For Horror

Paranormal Activity Picked Up The Baton From The Blair Witch Project

While fewfound footage horror movieshave managed to match the terror ofThe Blair Witch Project , the traditional get-go of the subgenre , it was the next X that decided they would become a major while of horror go forward . The 1990s were not a big clock time for revulsion . Successful revulsion had to have its lingua in its boldness and tease what was previously pop , like withScreamorI Know What You Did Last Summer . Horror needed a jolt of DOE , andThe Blair Witchbrought it . find footage was suddenly practicable , and the 2000s ran with it .

Notable Found Footage Horror Movies Of The 2000s

conductor

Paranormal Activity(2007 )

Oren Peli

REC(2007 )

Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza

Cloverfield(2008 )

Matt Reeves

Lake Mungo(2008 )

Joel Anderson

journal of the Dead(2008 )

George A. Romero

These ultra - trashy horror films fetch horror back to its source . Paranormal Activity , REC , Lake Mungo , andCloverfieldall prove thatanyone with a camera could make something absolutely terrifying , and it could be successful at the box agency . Other genres got in on the game , likeDistrict 9 . Far from being a flash - in - the - pan , retrieve footage revulsion is here to stay . TheV / H / Sfranchise , The Bay , Creep , Hell House LLC , andLate Night with the Devilcontinue to show that found footage horror is a large way of life to make something worthwhile and scary on the bum .

Computer Animation Overtook Traditional Animation

Few Movies Are Hand Drawn Or Animated In Two Dimensions Anymore

The Disney Renaissance terminate in 1999 withTarzan , and what supercede it force Disney to totally change how it animated its picture show afterward . Shrekpremiered in 2001 and was the first pic to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature . This computer - animated film was a massive box office and critical success and signaled that computer vivification would be the coin of the realm going forwards . automaton , Monster House , Ice Age , and all the Pixar movies insure that even Disney would wrick to computing machine animation for its next phase of animated moving-picture show .

Non-English Language Films And Feature-Length Documentaries Rose In Popularity

There ’s just any reason to have a Best International Feature Film accolade at the Oscars anymore , but in the 2000s , these movies were just begin to get popular . squat Tiger , Hidden Dragon , Pan ’s Labyrinth , andApocalyptowere all subtitled movie that were take on with critical acclaim and loge office success . Now , a year seldom goes by without at least one foreign - language film in the Best Picture category .

farseeing - form documentaries with populist entreaty also start out to premiere in this X . March of the Penguins , Fahrenheit 9/11,Grizzly Man , The Cove , andMan On Wireall occur from the 2000s . Blackfish , Icarus , andFree Soloall have2000smovies to thank for paving the way for them to deliver the goods .