Best movies of the 2000s: 25 best films of the 2000s, ranked
A new millennium meant new classic films; here are the best movies from the 2000s
Morgan Truder
The 2000s were a decade of cinematic extremes. It was a time when Hollywood blockbusters grew louder, brighter, and more ambitious, while independent filmmakers quietly pushed boundaries in darkened theatres. Animation came into its own, proving it could make you laugh, cry, and think in equal measure. Superhero sagas began to rise to cultural dominance, teen comedies captured the awkward, hilarious truths of youth, and epic fantasies transported us to worlds that felt both impossible and entirely real.
It was also a decade of experimentation. Directors played with time, perspective, and narrative in ways that left audiences talking long after the credits rolled. Some films dazzled with sheer spectacle, others lingered through understated performances or bold visual style. And yes, there were a few missteps along the way, but the sheer volume of great work makes this list a challenge to compile.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 25 movies that defined the 2000s. The films that influenced pop culture, set the tone for the next decade, and still hold up today, whether through unforgettable storytelling, astonishing performances, or jaw-dropping visuals. Some classics you might expect didn’t make the cut, while a few surprising gems snuck in, but all of them left a mark.
25. American Psycho (2000)
Many doubted if a movie of Bret Easton Ellis’s ultra-violent novel could ever be made. Director Mary Harron took on the challenge with spectacular results. American Psycho divided fans and critics alike upon release, but it certainly made an impact.
Christian Bale puts in a star turn as the narcissistic and bloodthirsty Patrick Bateman, whose reign of terror costs the lives of the innocent victims who come into his path. Its gore was too much for some, but for many, it is viewed as a true cult classic
24. Mean Girls (2004)
If you only know Tina Fey from 30 Rock, you need to watch Mean Girls. She only has a small role in this 2000s classic teen movie, but she wrote the screenplay, which isn't just laugh-out-loud funny but is infinitely quotable.
It features all the classic teen movie tropes, new girl comes to class, she meets the cool girls, and she develops a crush on the class heartthrob, but it's filled with dark comedy and humour that still cracks us up over 20 years later.
23. Superbad (2007)
Before the dawn of awkward social comedies that leaned on forced nostalgia or gimmicks, Superbad arrived as a perfectly pitched teen comedy: raunchy, ridiculous, and genuinely heartfelt.
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are endlessly watchable as Seth and Evan, two inseparable friends navigating the chaos of high school parties, first loves, and impending adulthood.
Beneath the relentless laughs, awkward encounters, fake IDs, and alcohol-fuelled disaster, there’s an unmistakable warmth to the story. It’s a movie about friendship as much as it is about chaos, and it set the standard for awkward, smart, and endlessly quotable comedies that followed.
22. The Host (2006)
Bong Joon-ho’s The Host is a masterful blend of horror, comedy, and social commentary that helped cement his status as one of cinema’s most inventive voices. When a monstrous creature emerges from the Han River to terrorise Seoul, a dysfunctional family embarks on a frantic mission to save their youngest member.
Equal parts laugh-out-loud and heart-stopping, the film mixes genre thrills with sharp political undertones, all while delivering unforgettable performances, especially from the endlessly charismatic Song Kang-ho. It’s chaotic, thrilling, and deeply human, proving that monster movies can be as emotionally resonant as they are terrifying.
21. 28 Days Later (2002)
Danny Boyle made a decade-defining film in the 1990s with the iconic Trainspotting, but offered the ‘00s an equally deserving entry with 28 Days Later. It takes a familiar genre (the zombie film) and infuses it with a stark sense of realism and genuine terror.
28 Days Later is one of the most affecting and thrilling horror films of the decade. Boyle’s position as the most exciting British director of his generation remained untouched.
20. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Up until The Truman Show, Jim Carrey was known for his rubber-faced comedy. While Peter Weir’s television satire saw him mix it up a bit, it was Michel Gondry’s unusual romantic fantasy that really changed things.
Carrey was admirably restrained while the traditionally demure Kate Winslet was blue-haired and wild. It was an utterly unique film, simultaneously surreal and heartbreaking, real, bursting with ideas, and it deservedly picked up an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
19. Before Sunset (2004)
Richard Linklater’s follow-up to Before Sunrise takes the delicate, romantic intimacy of Jesse and Celine’s first meeting and turns it into a masterclass in conversation-driven cinema. Set almost entirely on the streets of Paris, the film thrives on the chemistry between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, who effortlessly carry hours of dialogue that feel spontaneous, witty, and achingly real.
Unlike conventional romances, Before Sunset isn’t about grand gestures or contrived drama; it’s about the quiet tension of what could have been, the weight of missed opportunities, and the tiny, telling moments that reveal the depth of love and regret. A quiet, profound meditation on time and connection.
18. District 9 (2009)
Peter Jackson teamed up with first-time director Neill Blomkamp to create this surprise hit. District 9 is a thought-provoking exploration of prejudice and xenophobia through the medium of alien discrimination. It has a partially documentary-style approach and brilliant special effects.
Digging deeper, the film is a powerful statement on humanity, taking obvious parallels from South African apartheid and transposing them into the future. A box-office smash, it took seven times its budget and a round of deserved critical acclaim.
17. Children of Men (2006)
While the decade might have been full of showy sci-fi films that acted as mere excuses to waste money on special effects, Children of Men stood out as a rare example of using the genre for good, not evil.
A bleak look at what would happen to the world if people became infertile, it was horribly convincing, choosing realism over sensationalism. Children of Men also features one of the most shocking deaths ever seen on film, one that remains slightly unbelievable to this day.
16. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Guillermo Del Toro’s breathtaking Oscar nominee (predating his winning The Shape Of Water by eleven years) managed to combine inspired fantasy with harrowing wartime drama.
Not an easy feat.His tale of a young girl torn between fascist ‘40s Spain and a magical yet dangerous fantasy world delivered on so many levels that it catapulted Del Toro to the A-List and was the best-reviewed film of the entire decade. Oh, and Pan's Labyrinth made everyone who saw it cry like a baby.
15. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain is heartbreak carved into sweeping landscapes and silences that speak louder than words. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal play Ennis and Jack, cowboys bound by a forbidden love that stretches across decades, weathered by society’s cruelty and personal restraint. The film balances tender intimacy with the harsh realities of rural life, capturing a love story that feels both timeless and tragically specific.
Ang Lee’s direction, Annie Leibovitz-style cinematography, and Gustavo Santaolalla’s haunting score create a quiet intensity that lingers long after the credits roll. It’s a romance that broke boundaries and refuses to let go of your heart.
14. City Of God (2003)
City of God arrived with more confidence and vibrancy than 50 Hollywood action movies combined. It's an electrifying tale of Brazilian street gangs, and it made one hell of an impression.
It was a huge hit in its home country and broke out on a mass scale, scoring four Oscar nominations, including one for director Fernando Meirelles (who went on to direct The Constant Gardener). One of the most vital foreign films of the decade.
13. The Prestige (2006)
Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige is a labyrinth of obsession, rivalry, and dazzling misdirection. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play duelling magicians in turn-of-the-century London, each consumed by the lengths they’ll go to outdo the other. The story twists and folds back on itself, keeping you guessing until the very last frame, while Michael Caine’s quiet, knowing presence grounds the chaos.
Every detail, from the period sets to the Tesla-powered illusions, is meticulously crafted, turning the film into more than a thriller: it’s a meditation on sacrifice, showmanship, and the dark costs of obsession. A movie that’s as clever as it is thrilling, rewarding multiple rewatches.
12. Zodiac (2007)
A fascinating adaptation of a real-life story, David Fincher’s Zodiac explores the story of the mysterious Zodiac killer of the early 1970s.
As detectives draw a blank, it’s left to a newspaper cartoonist to dig deeper into the secrets of a serial killer on the loose in San Francisco, gradually getting caught deeper and deeper into solving the case. The film was not a box office success, but was critically-acclaimed. A subtle classic of a movie.
11. Shrek 2 (2004)
If the first Shrek was a cheeky fairytale twist, Shrek 2 is a full-blown, irreverent, pop-culture-infused party. The sequel ups the ante with bigger laughs, sharper satire, and some of the most memorable sidekicks in animation history, including Puss in Boots in his debut.
Fairy-tale tropes are joyfully subverted, from royal in-law disasters to over-the-top magical antics, all wrapped in a story about love, acceptance, and embracing your own weirdness. With its perfect balance of kid-friendly humour and sly adult jokes, Shrek 2 stands out as one of the best animated films ever made.
10. Spirited Away (2001)
This was many Western folks’ introduction to the wonderful work of Studio Ghibli. And it remains one of the studio's best to this date.
A young girl is whisked away to another world and is put to work in a magical bathhouse in which she encounters strange creatures and characters. Spirited Away is a magical movie, full of heart.
9. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Another showing for Tarantino in the list after Kill Bill (Volume One), this defiantly misspelt revisionist telling of the end of World War II saw him at his absolute best.
Not only did we get the classic mix of violence and one-liners, but he also infused the story with depth and a real heart, making it a hit commercially and at the Oscars, where it bagged a bunch of nominations. It also saw a win for Christoph Waltz, who delivered a standout turn as the evil ‘Jew Hunter’.
8. Old Boy (2003)
Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy is the kind of thriller that lingers long after the credits roll. A masterclass in revenge cinema, it follows Oh Dae-su, imprisoned for 15 years without explanation, as he seeks answers, and a reckoning, once released.
The film’s relentless tension, jaw-dropping twists, and iconic single-take hallway fight sequence make it a visceral experience unlike anything else of the 2000s. Darkly stylish, emotionally brutal, and endlessly inventive, Oldboy blends psychological torment with cinematic flair, proving that revenge stories can be as artful as they are shocking. It’s intense, it’s disturbing, and it’s impossible to forget.
7. No Country for Old Men (2007)
The Coens had one hell of a time in the ‘90s. They made Fargo and The Big Lebowski. The ‘00s were a tad slower (Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers were misfires), but things picked up when they won Best Picture at the Oscars for their blistering adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s classic thriller.
No Country for Old Men also brought Javier Bardem to our attention with his Oscar-winning turn as iconic villain Anton Chigurh.
6. The Departed (2006)
The third of Scorsese’s gangster films, The Departed, was to the ‘00s what Goodfellas was for the ‘90s. Based on a Hong Kong movie with the endlessly pleasing title Infernal Affairs, it’s a classic tale of organised crime, undercover work and fluid identities.
The Departed was thrilling, keeping you guessing the whole way. Critics agreed. The movie won four Oscars, further establishing Scorsese’s legendary status.
5. Gladiator (2000)
Director Ridley Scott used the 1960s Hollywood classic Spartacus as the starting point for Gladiator, and created a cinematic epic which stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the epic historical films of yesteryear.
Gladiator features a suitably dynamic performance by Russell Crowe as the wronged Gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius. The film was a box office smash, grossing $500m and bagging five Oscars. A bona fide old-school blockbuster, in every sense of the word.
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
While this tour de force was one of the all-time great Batman films and a demonstration of Christopher Nolan’s talents for producing a dense, claustrophobic, but epic movie, The Dark Knight will always be remembered for Heath Ledger’s astonishing performance as The Joker.
It would turn out to be his final film. In his own words, he played the character as a “psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy” and in doing so created one of the most iconic performances of all-time, recognised with his posthumous Oscar award.
3. In the Mood for Love (2001)
Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece isn’t just a movie; it’s a mood. Every frame drips with longing, regret, and unspoken desire, from the slow-motion glances in narrow Hong Kong corridors to the rain-slicked streets that seem to mirror the characters’ emotions. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung deliver performances so precise and restrained, you can feel every word they don’t say.
Coupled with Christopher Doyle’s sumptuous cinematography and Shigeru Umebayashi’s haunting score, In the Mood for Love turns heartbreak into pure poetry. It’s a film that lingers long after the credits roll, the kind you keep returning to, discovering new shades in its elegance and melancholy each time.
2. There Will Be Blood (2007)
A critically-acclaimed masterpiece set in California, but filmed in Texas, There Will Be Blood is an epic tale of oil, wealth, domination and betrayal. It was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
It features a towering performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as oil prospector Daniel Plainview. And the soundtrack is superb, courtesy of Radiohead’s mercurial guitarist Johnny Greenwood.
1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003)
Some things just can’t be split up. Peter Jackson’s monumental adaptation of Tolkien’s Middle-earth saga isn’t three films, it’s one epic, sprawling, meticulously crafted journey told across three instalments. Filmed back-to-back over a single production, the trilogy delivers an unbroken emotional arc, with every character, landscape, and storyline meticulously interwoven.
From the lush Shire to the volcanic heart of Mordor, Jackson’s vision balances spectacle and intimacy, while Howard Shore’s score, Weta’s groundbreaking visual effects, and a cast at the peak of its powers combine to make this one of cinema’s rare perfect achievements. Treating it as one entry feels right: this is one story, one experience, one towering achievement of the 2000s.
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