2000s Films: Best Movies, Directors And Trends
Trilogies and franchises, the superhero era starting, and DVD box sets on every shelf.
Below: the films worth watching from the 2000s, the directors behind them, what was changing in cinema, and the year-by-year screen highlights from 2000 to 2009.
Useful for a film night, a themed party, a quiz round or working out what someone grew up watching.
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Shop prints and posters Look back to 2000 Look back to 2001 Look back to 2002
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Happy Valentines Day, Bab (Valentines Day Card)
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Best films of the 2000s
- Gladiator (2000).
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003).
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and the seven that followed.
- Spirited Away (2001).
- Shrek (2001).
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
- Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).
- The Departed (2006).
- There Will Be Blood (2007) and No Country for Old Men (2007).
- The Dark Knight (2008) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
Directors who defined the 2000s
- Peter Jackson, who proved an entire trilogy could be shot at once.
- Christopher Nolan, moving from Memento to Batman in seven years.
- Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and the Cornetto films.
- Hayao Miyazaki, finally a household name in Britain.
- Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen brothers at their peak.
Cinema trends of the 2000s
- The trilogy and the shared universe become the default way to plan films.
- Digital projection starts replacing 35mm prints in British cinemas.
- DVD box sets, extras and director's commentaries as a whole second market.
- Marvel's run begins with Iron Man in 2008.
- Piracy and downloading become the industry's stated enemy.
Going to the pictures
- Orange Wednesdays - two for one, and the reason Wednesday was busy.
- Unlimited cards arriving and making cinema a habit again.
- Queuing for midnight Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings screenings.
- The DVD shelf as a thing people arranged and showed off.
Film and television, year by year
- 2000 - Big Brother launched on Channel 4 in July, and Craig Phillips won the first series.
- 2001 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring both opened.
- 2002 - Freeview launched in October and replaced ITV Digital.
- 2003 - The Return of the King and Finding Nemo filled cinemas.
- 2004 - Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor both began.
- 2005 - Doctor Who returned in March with Christopher Eccleston.
- 2006 - Life on Mars, The Inbetweeners' precursors and Torchwood arrived; Big Brother was still huge.
- 2007 - Gavin & Stacey began on BBC Three.
- 2008 - The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! were the films of the year.
- 2009 - Avatar opened in December and became the highest-grossing film ever at the time.
Years covered in the 2000s
- 2000 - The Millennium Dome, the fuel protests and Big Brother arriving from nowhere. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2000
- 2001 - Foot-and-mouth, 11 September and the first iPod. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2001
- 2002 - The Golden Jubilee, the death of the Queen Mother and Pop Idol fever. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2002
- 2003 - Iraq, a record-breaking heatwave and England winning the Rugby World Cup. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2003
- 2004 - Strictly and The X Factor both started, and the year ended with the tsunami. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2004
- 2005 - The Olympic bid, the 7 July bombings and the Ashes coming home. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2005
- 2006 - Arctic Monkeys, the Wii and another World Cup penalty shoot-out. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2006
- 2007 - The iPhone, the smoking ban, the floods and the run on Northern Rock. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2007
- 2008 - The banking crash, a brilliant Olympics and Lewis Hamilton on the last corner. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2008
- 2009 - Recession, MPs' expenses and a Christmas number one campaign that worked. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2009
- That is every 2000s year we have written up so far: 2000 to 2009.
How to use this
- Film night: one film from the decade, the matching party playlist before it, and a quiz round after.
- Quiz round: read a film and ask for the year, or read a director and ask for the film.
- Reminiscence: ask what the first film they saw at the cinema was, and who took them.
- Anyone born in 2000 turns 50 in 2050, 60 in 2060 and 70 in 2070.
Found your words? Now find the card
Shop prints and posters Look back to 2000 Look back to 2001 Look back to 2002
How to write it so it lands
- Check the UK release date as well as the year - plenty of American films reached Britain months later.
- For a themed night, pick the film from the year someone turned eighteen, not the year they were born.
- Ask what the first film they saw at the cinema was. It gets a better story than asking their favourite.
Where to shop next
- Look back to 2000
- Look back to 2001
- Look back to 2002
- Look back to 2003
- Look back to 2004
- Look back to 2005
- Look back to 2006
- Look back to 2007
- Look back to 2008
- Look back to 2009
- 2000s books, films and TV
- 2000s calendar: year by year
- 2000s trivia: fun facts
- 2000s music: albums, artists and songs
- 2000s shopping guide
- The 2000s: the whole decade
- Retro gift guide: the 2000s
- 2000s party playlist
- 00s quiz questions
- Dial-up, MSN and MySpace
- Adverts we can still recite
- Decade music round questions
- Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
- Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
- Decade films: best films and directors by era
- Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
- Decade shopping guides by era
- Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
- Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
- Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
- Decade calendar: every year from 1920
- Decade trivia: fun facts by era
- Decade trivia game: play for points
- Nostalgia gift shop
- Guess the year quiz
- Milestone birthday cards
- Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
- How to make a balloon arch
- Photo booth prop ideas
- Pin badges
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
What are the best films of the 2000s?
Gladiator (2000). The full list above names real films with their release years, from the 2000s.
Which directors defined the 2000s?
Peter Jackson, who proved an entire trilogy could be shot at once. The directors section above covers the rest.
What was cinema like in the 2000s?
The trilogy and the shared universe become the default way to plan films. The trends and going-to-the-pictures sections above cover both the industry and the experience.
Do you sell films or DVDs?
No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a film night.