The Best MOVIES OF THE 2000s
by TheTruthAboutMovies | created - 23 Apr 2011 | updated - 01 Feb 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Mulholland Drive (2001)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 383,652 | Gross: $7.22M
2. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
Not Rated | 145 min | Drama, Mystery
A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.
Directors: Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky | Stars: Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz, Hanna Schygulla, János Derzsi
Votes: 15,925 | Gross: $0.03M
3. The New World (2005)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale
Votes: 89,825 | Gross: $12.71M
4. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,199,918 | Gross: $223.81M
5. Babel (I) (2006)
R | 143 min | Drama
Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, which jump starts an interlocking story involving four different families.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal, Mohamed Akhzam
Votes: 317,085 | Gross: $34.30M
6. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 166,758 | Gross: $2.73M
7. Lost in Translation (2003)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris
Votes: 488,608 | Gross: $44.59M
8. Russian Ark (2002)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, History
A 19th century French aristocrat, notorious for his scathing memoirs about life in Russia, travels through the Russian State Hermitage Museum and encounters historical figures from the last 200+ years.
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov | Stars: Sergey Dreyden, Mariya Kuznetsova, Leonid Mozgovoy, Mikhail Piotrovsky
Votes: 21,809 | Gross: $0.04M
9. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
R | 134 min | Drama, Romance
Ennis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Votes: 382,063 | Gross: $83.04M
10. A Single Man (2009)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
An English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.
Director: Tom Ford | Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult
Votes: 117,734 | Gross: $9.17M
11. A Prophet (2009)
R | 155 min | Crime, Drama
A delinquent Muslim man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss. But his gradual rise through the mob's ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb
Votes: 102,165 | Gross: $2.08M
12. Antichrist (2009)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm
Votes: 136,475 | Gross: $0.40M
13. Marie Antoinette (2006)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan
Votes: 121,834 | Gross: $15.96M
14. The Sun (2005)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, History
Third part in Aleksandr Sokurov's quadrilogy of Power, following Moloch (1999) and Taurus (2001), focuses on Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Japan's defeat in World War II when he is finally confronted by General Douglas MacArthur who offers him to accept a diplomatic defeat for survival.
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov | Stars: Issei Ogata, Robert Dawson, Kaori Momoi, Shirô Sano
Votes: 2,970 | Gross: $0.08M
15. There Will Be Blood (2007)
R | 158 min | Drama
A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds, Martin Stringer
Votes: 640,841 | Gross: $40.22M
16. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
R | 160 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Robert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the resurgent gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
Director: Andrew Dominik | Stars: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 192,765 | Gross: $3.90M
17. Into the Wild (2007)
R | 148 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
Director: Sean Penn | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden
Votes: 657,931 | Gross: $18.35M
18. No Country for Old Men (2007)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 1,059,610 | Gross: $74.28M
19. Broken Flowers (2005)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
As the extremely withdrawn Don Johnston is dumped by his latest woman, he receives an anonymous letter from a former lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. A freelance sleuth neighbor moves Don to embark on a cross-country search for his old flames in search of answers.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, Julie Delpy
Votes: 106,791 | Gross: $13.74M
20. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 848,794 | Gross: $10.06M
21. Closer (I) (2004)
R | 104 min | Drama, Romance
The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen, Julia Roberts
Votes: 235,994 | Gross: $33.99M
22. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
R | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Gerry Robert Byrne
Votes: 1,077,543 | Gross: $34.40M
23. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
R | 102 min | Drama
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Votes: 898,289 | Gross: $3.64M
24. Gangs of New York (2002)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 472,748 | Gross: $77.81M
25. Match Point (2005)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
At a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for an actress who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode
Votes: 228,012 | Gross: $23.09M
26. Distant (2002)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
After his wife leaves him, a photographer has an existential crisis and tries to cope with his cousin's visit.
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Stars: Muzaffer Özdemir, Mehmet Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer, Nazan Kesal
Votes: 22,873 | Gross: $0.10M
27. Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001)
119 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A down-and-out businessman travels to a seaside town, where he meets a woman with unusual sexual powers.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baishô, Mansaku Fuwa
Votes: 2,842 | Gross: $0.06M
28. Dancer in the Dark (2000)
R | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
An Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare
Votes: 116,767 | Gross: $4.18M
29. 21 Grams (2003)
R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician, a grieving mother, and a born-again ex-con.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston
Votes: 245,822 | Gross: $16.29M
30. Hunger (2008)
Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Laine Megaw
Votes: 73,536 | Gross: $0.15M
31. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 702,768 | Gross: $37.63M
32. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 911,683 | Gross: $32.57M
33. The Secret of the Grain (2007)
Not Rated | 151 min | Drama
In southern France, a Franco-Arabic shipyard worker along with his partner's daughter pursues his dream of opening a restaurant.
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche | Stars: Habib Boufares, Hafsia Herzi, Farida Benkhetache, Abdelhamid Aktouche
Votes: 7,906 | Gross: $0.09M
34. Gladiator (2000)
R | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
Votes: 1,619,248 | Gross: $187.71M
35. Munich (2005)
R | 164 min | Action, Drama, History
After the Black September capture and massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, five men are chosen to eliminate the people responsible for that fateful day.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Marie-Josée Croze, Ciarán Hinds
Votes: 238,223 | Gross: $47.40M
36. 2046 (2004)
R | 129 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Several women enter a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years, after the author has lost the woman he considers his one true love.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ziyi Zhang, Faye Wong, Gong Li
Votes: 61,753 | Gross: $1.44M
37. Tokyo Sonata (2008)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama
An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki
Votes: 11,797 | Gross: $0.28M
38. Borat (2006)
R | 84 min | Comedy
Kazakh TV talking head Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world.
Director: Larry Charles | Stars: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell, Chester
Votes: 441,813 | Gross: $128.51M
39. Intimacy (2001)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A failed London musician meets once a week with a woman for a series of intense sexual encounters to get away from the realities of life. But when he begins inquiring about her, it puts their relationship at risk.
Director: Patrice Chéreau | Stars: Mark Rylance, Kerry Fox, Susannah Harker, Alastair Galbraith
Votes: 13,144 | Gross: $0.10M
40. Chicken Run (2000)
G | 84 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a cockerel apparently flies into a chicken farm, the chickens see him as an opportunity to escape their evil owners.
Directors: Peter Lord, Nick Park | Stars: Mel Gibson, Julia Sawalha, Phil Daniels, Lynn Ferguson
Votes: 212,224 | Gross: $106.83M
41. Kings & Queen (2004)
Unrated | 150 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Parallel storylines tell the current state of affairs for two ex-lovers: Nora's a single mother who comes to care for her terminally ill father; holed in up in mental ward, Ismael, a brilliant musician, plots his escape.
Director: Arnaud Desplechin | Stars: Emmanuelle Devos, Geoffrey Carey, Thierry Bosc, Olivier Rabourdin
Votes: 4,015 | Gross: $0.29M
42. The Piano Teacher (2001)
R | 131 min | Drama, Music
A young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel, Susanne Lothar
Votes: 71,742 | Gross: $1.90M
43. The Banishment (2007)
150 min | Drama, Romance
A trip to the pastoral countryside reveals a dark, sinister reality for a family from the city.
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev | Stars: Konstantin Lavronenko, Maria Bonnevie, Aleksandr Baluev, Dmitriy Ulyanov
Votes: 8,993
44. The Dreamers (2003)
NC-17 | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A young American studying in Paris in 1968 strikes up a friendship with a French brother and sister. Set against the background of the '68 Paris student riots.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, Eva Green, Anna Chancellor
Votes: 131,501 | Gross: $2.53M
45. Last Days (2005)
R | 97 min | Drama, Music
A Seattle musician's life and career are reminiscent of those of Kurt Cobain.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Michael Pitt, Lukas Haas, Asia Argento, Scott Patrick Green
Votes: 23,755 | Gross: $0.45M
46. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 116,246 | Gross: $11.05M
47. Sobibór, October 14, 1943, 4 p.m. (2001)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, History, War
A gripping account of the prisoners uprising at the Nazi extermination camp of Sobibor in 1943.
Director: Claude Lanzmann | Stars: Yehuda Lerner, Francine Kaufmann, Claude Lanzmann
Votes: 596 | Gross: $0.03M
48. The Happening (2008)
R | 91 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
A science teacher, his wife, and a young girl struggle to survive a plague that causes those infected to commit suicide.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Ashlyn Sanchez
Votes: 216,430 | Gross: $64.51M
49. Big Fish (2003)
PG-13 | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A frustrated son tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father's life.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange
Votes: 458,765 | Gross: $66.26M
50. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Socially frustrated Barry Egan calls a phone-sex line to curb his loneliness. Little does he know it will land him in deep trouble and will jeopardize his burgeoning romance with the mysterious Lena.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Andrews
Votes: 177,359 | Gross: $17.84M
51. Man on Fire (2004)
R | 146 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In Mexico City, a former CIA operative swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Dakota Fanning, Radha Mitchell
Votes: 389,433 | Gross: $77.91M
52. Hero (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 187,608 | Gross: $53.71M
53. Mary and Max (2009)
Not Rated | 92 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
In 1976 Melbourne, a lonely 8-year-old girl strikes up a correspondence with an unlikely pen pal: a severely obese 44-year-old New Yorker with Asperger's syndrome.
Director: Adam Elliot | Stars: Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eric Bana, Barry Humphries
Votes: 186,744
54. The Queen (2006)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Drama
After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Alex Jennings
Votes: 115,966 | Gross: $56.44M
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