In 2001, The Fellowship of the Ring began an epic trilogy while Spirited Away opened a bathhouse to spirits. This selection of 100 notable movies from the decade covers 2000 through 2009, from digital worlds to intimate encounters.

Numbers organize these 100 leading films of the 2000s; they do not rank them. Early fantasy franchises grew alongside independent films with fractured chronology. Later works include superhero spectacles, international dramas, and documentaries.

Top 100 Movies of the 2000s: Fantasy and Adventure

These movies from the 2000s turn imagined worlds into places with their own rules, textures, and emotional stakes.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) — Friendship grounds a vast quest.
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) — A siege unites divided journeys.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) — Spectacle meets a moving farewell.
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) — A child discovers a magical school.
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) — Time bends in atmospheric mystery.
6. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) — Fantasy meets fascist brutality.
7. The Fall (2006) — A fable unfolds across stunning locations.
8. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) — Siblings face a wintry fantasy battle.
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) — Swashbuckling meets mischievous comedy.
10. Stardust (2007) — Fairy-tale romance takes flight.

Animation and Family Stories

The best films of the 2000s include animated works that make color, movement, and visual invention central to storytelling.

11. Spirited Away (2001) — A girl navigates a spirit world.
12. Finding Nemo (2003) — Parental fear drives an ocean adventure.
13. The Incredibles (2004) — Superhero action meets family comedy.
14. Ratatouille (2007) — An unlikely chef celebrates creative craft.
15. WALL-E (2008) — Robot courtship animates an abandoned Earth.
16. Up (2009) — Grief lifts into airborne adventure.
17. Coraline (2009) — Stop-motion makes another home unsettling.
18. Persepolis (2007) — Animation recounts political upheaval.
19. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) — Handmade animation enriches an elegant caper.
20. Shrek (2001) — Fairy tales meet irreverent romance.

Memory, Identity, and Uncertain Reality

A selection of the top 100 movies of the 2000s can trace how filmmakers made confusion an experience rather than a puzzle alone.

21. Memento (2000) — Reverse chronology mirrors damaged memory.
22. Mulholland Drive (2001) — Hollywood dreams dissolve into dread.
23. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) — Erased memories expose romantic loss.
24. Donnie Darko (2001) — Teenage alienation meets fractured time.
25. The Others (2001) — Shadows sustain a controlled ghost story.
26. Adaptation (2002) — Writerly struggle becomes narrative invention.
27. The Prestige (2006) — Magicians turn obsession into misdirection.
28. Synecdoche, New York (2008) — A theater production contemplates mortality.
29. The Fountain (2006) — Interwoven stories imagine love and death.
30. A Scanner Darkly (2006) — Rotoscoping mirrors unstable identity.

Crime and Moral Pressure

These 2000s movies find suspense in narrowing choices. This selection of 100 notable films of the decade favors works with distinctive visual styles.

31. City of God (2002) — Kinetic editing connects lives amid violence.
32. Infernal Affairs (2002) — Mirrored betrayals torment undercover agents.
33. The Departed (2006) — Secret identities make loyalty deadly.
34. No Country for Old Men (2007) — A stolen fortune unleashes relentless suspense.
35. Zodiac (2007) — An investigation becomes corrosive obsession.
36. A History of Violence (2005) — A violent past disturbs domestic safety.
37. Michael Clayton (2007) — A lawyer confronts corporate wrongdoing.
38. Eastern Promises (2007) — A midwife enters a criminal underworld.
39. Memories of Murder (2003) — An investigation exposes flawed policing.
40. The Lives of Others (2006) — Surveillance entangles officer and subjects.

Drama and Relationships

These 2000s films find emotional change in conversations and glances. Several of the decade’s finest films make silence speak.

41. In the Mood for Love (2000) — Restrained encounters become intensely romantic.
42. Lost in Translation (2003) — Strangers find companionship in Tokyo.
43. Brokeback Mountain (2005) — Forbidden love spans years of separation.
44. Atonement (2007) — An accusation reshapes lives across war.
45. There Will Be Blood (2007) — An oilman’s ambition consumes everything.
46. The Wrestler (2008) — A wrestler faces his career’s cost.
47. The Pianist (2002) — A musician survives wartime persecution.
48. Far from Heaven (2002) — Lush melodrama exposes suburban prejudice.
49. Y Tu Mamá También (2001) — A road trip reveals class divisions.
50. The Squid and the Whale (2005) — Divorce becomes painfully funny.

International Perspectives

These 100 outstanding films of the 2000s cross cinematic traditions.

51. Yi Yi (2000) — Family life unfolds with patient attention.
52. Amélie (2001) — Whimsy transforms a shy woman’s Paris.
53. Talk to Her (2002) — Care and desire become unsettling.
54. Oldboy (2003) — Imprisonment launches a ferocious revenge mystery.
55. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) — Travel expands political awareness.
56. Cache (2005) — Anonymous tapes disturb buried history.
57. The Host (2006) — A monster attack becomes family rescue.
58. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) — Long takes intensify a clandestine abortion.
59. The White Ribbon (2009) — Village order conceals deep cruelty.
60. A Prophet (2009) — Prison politics shape a ruthless education.

Comedy and Social Satire

Some of the best 2000s films reveal social rules through embarrassment and absurdity.

61. Best in Show (2000) — Dog-show competitors reveal their anxieties.
62. Mean Girls (2004) — School hierarchies become sharp social comedy.
63. Shaun of the Dead (2004) — Zombie chaos disrupts arrested development.
64. Napoleon Dynamite (2004) — Deadpan comedy captures teenage awkwardness.
65. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) — A chaotic road trip unites family.
66. Hot Fuzz (2007) — Action excess invades a quiet village.
67. Superbad (2007) — A party quest tests friendship.
68. In Bruges (2008) — Hitmen confront guilt with dark humor.
69. Burn After Reading (2008) — Misunderstandings become absurd espionage.
70. In the Loop (2009) — Political invective becomes comic weaponry.

Horror and Unease

These 100 notable movies of the 2000s include intimate dread and explosive horror.

71. The Devil’s Backbone (2001) — A haunted orphanage holds wartime secrets.
72. The Ring (2002) — A cursed videotape breeds dread.
73. 28 Days Later (2002) — Deserted streets make epidemic immediate.
74. The Descent (2005) — Tight caves produce relentless terror.
75. The Orphanage (2007) — A mother’s search meets ghostly mystery.
76. Let the Right One In (2008) — Loneliness fuels a vampire friendship.
77. The Mist (2007) — A siege tests community under pressure.
78. The Devil’s Rejects (2005) — Violent pursuit blurs hunter and victim.
79. Paranormal Activity (2007) — Home-video images transform domestic space.
80. Drag Me to Hell (2009) — A curse unleashes grotesque shocks.

Action and Science Fiction

Movies from the 2000s also reimagined action through new digital tools, practical stunt work, and anxieties about the future.

81. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) — Martial arts express longing and restraint.
82. The Bourne Identity (2002) — Amnesia fuels brisk spy action.
83. Minority Report (2002) — Predictive policing challenges choice.
84. Children of Men (2006) — Extended action follows fragile hope.
85. Casino Royale (2006) — A new Bond brings raw intensity.
86. The Dark Knight (2008) — A crime epic tests heroism.
87. Iron Man (2008) — Engineering launches a charismatic superhero.
88. District 9 (2009) — Alien segregation becomes science-fiction satire.
89. Avatar (2009) — Digital landscapes frame environmental conflict.
90. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) — Stylized combat turns revenge operatic.

Documentary and History

These nonfiction films use interviews, observation, and archival material to make complex histories tangible.

91. The Gleaners and I (2000) — Varda discovers lives among discarded things.
92. Bowling for Columbine (2002) — Moore investigates American gun culture.
93. Capturing the Friedmans (2003) — Home movies complicate family testimony.
94. Touching the Void (2003) — Reconstruction conveys mountaineering survival.
95. The Fog of War (2003) — McNamara reflects on wartime decisions.
96. March of the Penguins (2005) — Penguin breeding becomes a survival journey.
97. An Inconvenient Truth (2006) — A presentation explains climate-change evidence.
98. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) — Arcade rivalry becomes character study.
99. Man on Wire (2008) — Reconstruction revisits a high-wire walk.
100. The Cove (2009) — An investigation exposes dolphin hunting.

Choose a Starting Point

Choose The Fellowship of the Ring for spectacle, In the Mood for Love for romance, or Memento for a structural puzzle. Try Hot Fuzz for comic action and Pan’s Labyrinth for a darker fairy tale.