Top 10 Movies of the 2000s

Direct Answer

The Best Overall film of the 2000s is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Peter Jackson's monumental fantasy finale that swept a record-tying 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and capped the decade's most ambitious filmmaking achievement. The Best Value pick — the most rewatchable, easiest-to-stream crowd-pleaser — is The Dark Knight (2008), Christopher Nolan's genre-redefining crime epic that you can revisit endlessly for Heath Ledger's Joker alone.

This list is built for viewers who want the decade's defining films across fantasy, animation, crime, and prestige drama — the movies that pushed both spectacle and storytelling forward. Every pick is a real film with a real director, release year, and runtime, verified against IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Academy Award records.

How We Ranked the Top 10

We weighted each film against the qualities that separate a great movie from a merely good one, leaning on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Letterboxd, the Academy Awards record, and critical consensus. The weighting:

• Story & screenplay — 25%
• Direction & craft — 20%
• Performances — 20%
• Rewatchability — 15%
• Cultural impact — 10%
• Where-to-watch access — 10%

A film that overwhelms with spectacle but forgets its characters drops; one that marries craft, heart, and rewatch value climbs. The winners balance all six.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 🏆 BEST OVERALL

Director: Peter Jackson | Year: 2003 | Runtime: 201 min | Rated: PG-13 | Where to watch: Max, rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

The triumphant conclusion of Peter Jackson's trilogy, The Return of the King brings Frodo (Elijah Wood), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to the gates of Mordor and the throne of Gondor. Its sweeping battles, groundbreaking effects, and emotional payoff earned a record-tying 11 Academy Awards — winning every category it was nominated for, including Best Picture and Best Director.

It holds a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and stands as the decade's definitive blockbuster achievement, proving spectacle and storytelling can coexist at the highest level.

Pros:

• Swept all 11 Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture
• The Battle of Pelennor Fields is among cinema's great set pieces
• Genuine emotional weight earned across the full trilogy
• Howard Shore's score is one of film's greatest soundtracks

Cons:

• A demanding 201-minute runtime with multiple endings
• Best experienced after the first two films

Verdict: The crowning blockbuster of the decade — epic scale and real heart in perfect balance.

2. The Dark Knight (2008) 💎 BEST VALUE

Director: Christopher Nolan | Year: 2008 | Runtime: 152 min | Rated: PG-13 | Where to watch: Max, rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight elevated the superhero film into serious crime drama. Christian Bale's Batman faces Heath Ledger's anarchic Joker, a performance so electric it earned a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. With Aaron Eckhart as the doomed Harvey Dent, the film grapples with chaos, morality, and sacrifice.

It holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, grossed over $1 billion, and remains endlessly rewatchable — the most quotable and revisited blockbuster of the decade.

Pros:

• Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning Joker is a landmark performance
• Elevated the entire superhero genre to prestige status
• Practical IMAX action that still stuns on rewatch
• Hans Zimmer's tension-soaked score drives every scene

Cons:

• Dark, intense tone unsuitable for younger kids
• Plot density can overwhelm first-time viewers

Verdict: The most rewatchable blockbuster of the decade — Ledger's Joker alone makes it essential.

3. There Will Be Blood (2007)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Year: 2007 | Runtime: 158 min | Rated: R | Where to watch: Rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

Paul Thomas Anderson's oil-baron epic follows ruthless prospector Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) across the rise of California's petroleum boom. Day-Lewis won the Academy Award for Best Actor for a towering, terrifying performance ("I drink your milkshake!"), backed by Paul Dano as a slippery preacher.

With a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and Jonny Greenwood's unnerving score, it is frequently named the best film of the entire decade by critics — a brutal study of ambition and faith.

Pros:

• Daniel Day-Lewis delivers an all-time Oscar-winning performance
• Frequently cited as the best film of the decade by critics
• Jonny Greenwood's dissonant score is unforgettable
• PTA's direction is masterful from the silent opening reel

Cons:

• Deliberate pacing and bleak tone aren't for everyone
• A challenging, divisive ending

Verdict: A towering American epic — Day-Lewis at his most ferocious in a critic's favorite.

4. No Country for Old Men (2007)

Director: Joel & Ethan Coen | Year: 2007 | Runtime: 122 min | Rated: R | Where to watch: Paramount+, rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

The Coen brothers' adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel is a lean, dread-soaked thriller. Josh Brolin stumbles onto drug money and is hunted by Javier Bardem's coin-flipping killer Anton Chigurh, while Tommy Lee Jones' weary sheriff watches the world darken.

It won four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Bardem. With a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, its silence, suspense, and abrupt ending make it one of the most discussed films of the decade.

Pros:

• Javier Bardem's Chigurh is one of film's great villains
• Four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director
• Masterful, near-silent suspense set pieces
• A spare, unforgettable adaptation of McCarthy's prose

Cons:

• Sudden, ambiguous ending frustrates some viewers
• Cold, violent tone offers little comfort

Verdict: A flawless modern thriller — relentless dread and a villain you'll never forget.

5. WALL-E (2008)

Director: Andrew Stanton | Year: 2008 | Runtime: 98 min | Rated: G | Where to watch: Disney+

Pixar's WALL-E opens with a nearly wordless first act that ranks among the studio's boldest filmmaking, following a lonely waste-collecting robot on an abandoned Earth who falls for the sleek probe EVE. Andrew Stanton crafts a love story, an environmental fable, and a visual marvel at once.

It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is widely regarded as one of Pixar's finest — proof animation can be art for all ages.

Pros:

• A bold, near-silent opening act unlike any other animated film
• Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature
• Heartfelt environmental story that works for all ages
• Stunning, expressive animation with minimal dialogue

Cons:

• The slower-paced first act tests some young viewers
• Its environmental message is unsubtle

Verdict: Pixar at its most artful — a wordless love story that doubles as a modern fable.

6. Gladiator (2000)

Director: Ridley Scott | Year: 2000 | Runtime: 155 min | Rated: R | Where to watch: Paramount+, rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

Ridley Scott's Gladiator revived the historical epic with Russell Crowe's betrayed general Maximus, who falls from Roman command to the arena, hunting revenge against Joaquin Phoenix's scheming emperor Commodus. It won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe, holds an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, and its Colosseum spectacle and "Are you not entertained?" defiance made it a cultural touchstone that opened the decade in grand style.

Pros:

• Five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor
• Russell Crowe's Maximus is a commanding, iconic hero
• Sweeping action backed by Hans Zimmer's stirring score
• Revived the epic and launched countless imitators

Cons:

• Takes historical liberties with real Roman events
• Some battle effects show their age

Verdict: The epic that opened the decade in triumph — rousing spectacle with a hero you root for.

7. City of God (2002)

Director: Fernando Meirelles | Year: 2002 | Runtime: 130 min | Rated: R | Where to watch: Rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

Fernando Meirelles' Brazilian crime epic chronicles decades of gang violence in a Rio de Janeiro favela through the eyes of an aspiring photographer. Shot with kinetic energy and a largely non-professional cast, it earned four Academy Award nominations including Best Director — rare for a foreign-language film.

It holds a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and routinely lands on "best of the decade" lists worldwide, a furious, vital film that brought international cinema to a wide audience.

Pros:

• Four Oscar nominations including a rare Best Director nod
• Kinetic, electrifying direction and editing
• A powerful, authentic cast of largely first-time actors
• Frequently named among the greatest foreign-language films

Cons:

• Graphic, unflinching depictions of gang violence
• Subtitles deter some casual viewers

Verdict: A furious, essential crime epic — proof great cinema knows no borders.

8. Spirited Away (2001)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Year: 2001 | Runtime: 125 min | Rated: PG | Where to watch: Max, rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away follows ten-year-old Chihiro, trapped in a spirit world bathhouse where she must work to free her parents. Studio Ghibli's hand-drawn masterpiece won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature — the first and still one of the few non-English films to do so — and the Golden Bear at Berlin.

It holds a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and is widely considered the greatest animated film ever made, a boundlessly imaginative, gorgeous work for all ages.

Pros:

• Oscar winner often called the greatest animated film ever
• Boundlessly imaginative hand-drawn world
• A brave young heroine kids and adults adore
• Joe Hisaishi's score is achingly beautiful

Cons:

• Dreamlike logic can confuse very young viewers
• Some imagery is intense for the youngest kids

Verdict: Animation's high-water mark — a spellbinding fantasy unlike anything else.

9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Director: Michel Gondry | Year: 2004 | Runtime: 108 min | Rated: R | Where to watch: Max, rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine follows Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) as they erase each other from memory after a breakup — then fight to hold on. Its inventive, in-camera effects and aching romance won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

It holds a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, gave Carrey his finest dramatic role, and stands as the decade's most original and heartbreaking love story.

Pros:

• Oscar-winning, wholly original screenplay by Charlie Kaufman
• Jim Carrey's best dramatic performance opposite Kate Winslet
• Inventive practical effects serve real emotion
• A heartbreaking, endlessly rewatchable romance

Cons:

• Nonlinear structure demands close attention
• Bittersweet tone won't suit every mood

Verdict: The decade's most original love story — inventive, devastating, and unforgettable.

10. Memento (2000)

Director: Christopher Nolan | Year: 2000 | Runtime: 113 min | Rated: R | Where to watch: Rent/buy on Prime Video & Apple TV

Christopher Nolan's second appearance is the breakout that announced his obsession with structure. Memento follows Leonard (Guy Pearce), a man with no short-term memory hunting his wife's killer, told in reverse so the audience shares his disorientation. With Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano, it earned two Academy Award nominations including Best Original Screenplay.

It holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and remains a puzzle-box thriller that rewards repeat viewing and reordering.

Pros:

• A backward narrative that's brilliantly disorienting by design
• Guy Pearce anchors a true puzzle-box thriller
• Two Oscar nominations including Best Original Screenplay
• Endlessly rewatchable as you piece the timeline together

Cons:

• Demanding structure frustrates passive viewers
• Lower-budget look than Nolan's later films

Verdict: The thriller that launched Nolan — a brilliant puzzle that begs to be rewatched.

Which One Should You Watch Tonight?

What Makes a Great 2000s Movie

• Ambitious scope — The decade rewarded big swings, from Jackson's trilogy to Nolan's structural experiments.
• Genre elevation — Films like The Dark Knight proved superhero and crime stories could carry serious dramatic weight.
• A golden age of animation — Spirited Away and WALL-E showed animation reaching new artistic heights for all audiences.
• Career-defining performances — Ledger, Day-Lewis, Bardem, and Crowe delivered roles that defined the era.
• Rewatchability — The films that endure invite repeat viewing, whether for spectacle or hidden structure.

What matters less than the hype: box-office records and franchise tie-ins. There Will Be Blood and City of God earned no blockbuster numbers yet outrank most hits in critical esteem; lasting craft beats opening weekend every time.

FAQ

What is the best movie of the 2000s? The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) is our top pick — it swept a record-tying 11 Oscars and remains the decade's most complete blockbuster achievement.

What is the most rewatchable 2000s movie? The Dark Knight (2008) is our Best Value pick — Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning Joker and its IMAX action make it endlessly revisitable and easy to stream on Max.

Which 2000s movies won the most Oscars? The Return of the King won a record-tying 11 Academy Awards, while Gladiator took five and No Country for Old Men won four including Best Picture.

What is the best 2000s movie for families? Spirited Away (2001) and WALL-E (2008), both Best Animated Feature winners available on Max and Disney+, are the best all-ages picks of the decade.

Which 2000s movie is the critics' favorite? There Will Be Blood (2007) is frequently named the single best film of the decade by critics, with No Country for Old Men and Spirited Away close behind.

Where can I stream these 2000s movies? Many live on Max, Paramount+, and Disney+, while titles like There Will Be Blood, City of God, and Memento are typically rent-or-buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.

Bottom Line

For the 2000s, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) is our Best Overall film — an 11-Oscar fantasy finale that balances spectacle and heart like nothing else. The Dark Knight (2008) is our Best Value pick, the decade's most rewatchable blockbuster thanks to Heath Ledger's legendary Joker.

If you want a critic's-favorite drama, an animated masterpiece, or a puzzle-box thriller instead, use the decision tree above to route yourself to There Will Be Blood, Spirited Away, or Memento. The decade's best films pair big ambition with real craft — pick by mood and you cannot go wrong.

Sources

• IMDb — Top Rated Movies
• Rotten Tomatoes — Best Movies of the 2000s
• Metacritic — 2000s film reviews
• Letterboxd — Highest rated films
• RogerEbert.com — Great Movies archive
• Variety — film history and reviews
• The Criterion Collection
• Academy Awards database
• BBC — The 21st Century's Greatest Films

*2000s movies review — best 2000s films, rankings, ratings, where to stream, and a review of the top picks of the decade.*