The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first installments of the Harry Potter, Fast & Furious, Spy Kids, Monsters, Inc. and Shrek franchises, and The Lord of the Rings and Ocean's trilogies. Significant non-English language films released included Monsoon Wedding, Amélie and Spirited Away. There was one film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, that passed over $1 billion in a re-release of 2020.
The inaugural entries of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings film franchises prompted a shift in both the film and literary communities by propelling fantasy into mainstream culture, popularizing young adult novels, and reforming the blockbuster to promote film franchises and cater to fandom communities.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 2001 by worldwide gross are as follows:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone grossed $974 million, and became the second highest-grossing film of all time. It was also the highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter film franchise before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 surpassed it in 2011.
2001 was the first time that two films released in the same year grossed more than $800 million at the box office, with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring surpassing the milestone.
The highest-grossing non-English film was Studio Ghibli's anime Spirited Away, which was the 15th highest-grossing film of the year.
Events
May 18 – Shrek was released to critical acclaim and went on to win the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature the following year beating out Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and Monsters, Inc. June 22 – The Fast and the Furious is released, launching one of the highest-grossing franchises in film history. August 8 – actors Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman divorce. November 2 – Monsters, Inc. opens with the best ticket sales ever for an animated film and the 6th-best of all time. November 16 and December 19 – The beginning of two acclaimed fantasy film series based on best-selling novels: Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, respectively.
Award ceremonies
6th Empire Awards
Awards
2001 Wide-release films
January–March
April–June
July–September
October–December
Notable films released in 2001
United States unless stated
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12 Hours (12 Horas) - (Puerto Rico) 15 Minutes, starring Robert De Niro, Edward Burns and Kelsey Grammer 3000 Miles to Graceland, starring Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, David Arquette and Courteney Cox The 51st State, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle and Emily Mortimer - (UK) 61*, directed by Billy Crystal, starring Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane
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A.I. Artificial Intelligence, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Haley Joel Osment, William Hurt, Frances O'Connor, Jude Law and Brendan Gleeson Absolute 100 (Apsolutnih sto) – (Yugoslavia) Address Unknown () – (South Korea) The Affair of the Necklace, starring Hilary Swank Ali, directed by Michael Mann, starring Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles and Ron Silver All About Lily Chou-Chou (Rirī Shushu no Subete) – (Japan) All Over the Guy Along Came a Spider, directed by Lee Tamahori, starring Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter The Amati Girls, starring Cloris Leachman, Mercedes Ruehl and Sean Young Amélie (a.k.a. Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain), directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Audrey Tautou and Mathieu Kassovitz – (France) The American Astronaut American Outlaws, starring Colin Farrell, Scott Caan and Ali Larter American Pie 2, starring Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Chris Klein, Shannon Elizabeth and Eugene Levy America's Sweethearts, starring Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Billy Crystal and Catherine Zeta-Jones Amy's Orgasm Angel Eyes, starring Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel Animal (Animalada) – (Argentina) The Animal, starring Rob Schneider and John C. McGinley The Anniversary Party, directed by and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, with Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates Another Life, starring Ioan Gruffudd, Imelda Staunton and Tom Wilkinson – (UK) Antitrust, starring Ryan Phillippe and Claire Forlani As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me (So weit die Füße tragen) – (Germany) Aśoka – (India) Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner – (Canada) Atlantis: The Lost Empire, with the voices of Michael J. Fox and John Mahoney Avalon – (Japan) Ayyam El Sadat (The Days of Sadat) – (Egypt)
