50 Favorite Films from the 21st Century

The recent list of 100 best films of the 21st century in The New York Times inspired me to think about my own list of favorite movies since the year 2000, even though I think 2025 is much too early to begin talking about the best movies of a whole century. Classic movie fans know that today's critical darling can fade into obscurity after a decade or two, even if it took home an armful of awards, while an overlooked flop can become a beloved staple. The NYT list was compiled with the input of some 500 film professionals, but my list of 50 favorite films is purely personal. My list is not meant to be analytical or in any way objective, and I knew when I read the NYT list that there would be little crossover between our picks. If, however, you're looking for some newer movies to watch that aren't already being touted to you by every major publication as "the best," then my picks might be able to help. 

When making my list, I asked myself these questions: 

1) Have I watched the movie more than once? (I keep a log of every movie I have watched since 2010)

2) Did I love it enough to buy a physical copy? 

3) When I think about the movie, what do I really remember about it and how I felt when I saw it? 

4) How often do I quote the movie? Has it become part of my family's shared language? 

Some additional context will also explain - if not justify - my choices. I became a parent in 2001, so I've spent most of this century raising a child while also working both part and full-time, meaning that I saw a LOT of family films and not nearly as many grown-up movies for much of this period, especially when it came to seeing movies in actual theaters. My personal tastes run to indie films (especially from the UK), musicals, smart comedies (but NOT raunchy ones), romantic comedies if they're clever about it, and horror comedies that aren't too graphic or gruesome. I love sci-fi, superhero, and comic book movies, but I don't want them to be joyless or grim because I already get my daily dose of despair from reading the news. Rather than ranking my choices, which I would find absolutely impossible, I'm presenting them in chronological order, so we can stroll through the first 25 years of this cinematic century together. Asterisks indicate my top ten personal favorites from this list!

 

1 O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) *

2 Chicken Run (2000)

3 The Emperor's New Groove (2000) *

4 The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) *

5 Spirited Away (2001)

6 Love Actually (2003)

7 Down with Love (2003)

8 Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

9 Hellboy (2004) 

10 Shaun of the Dead (2004)

11 Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

12 Corpse Bride (2005)

13 Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) 

14 Fido (2006)

15 Hot Fuzz (2007) *

16 Mamma Mia! (2008)

17 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

18 True Grit (2010) 

 

19 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) *

20 The Shape of Water (2011)

21 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) *

22 Warm Bodies (2013)

23 Iron Man 3 (2013)

24 What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

25 Chef (2014)

26 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

27 Hail, Caesar! (2016)

28 The Nice Guys (2016)

29 Hunt for the Wildepeople (2016)

30 Star Trek Beyond (2016)

31 Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

32 Kong: Skull Island (2017)

33 Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

34 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

35 Little Women (2019)

36 Knives Out (2019)

37 Rocketman (2019)

38 Emma (2020)

39 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

40 Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

41 Werewolves Within (2021)

42 Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)

43 Glass Onion (2022) *

44 Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) *

45 A Haunting in Venice (2023)

46 Barbie (2023)

47 Hundreds of Beavers (2023) *

48 Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)

49 The Fall Guy (2024)

50 Superman (2025) *