2001 in film

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, popularising young adult novels, and reforming the blockbuster to promote film franchises and cater to fandom communities.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Highest-grossing films

Template:See also The top 10 films released in 2001 by worldwide gross are as follows:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Highest-grossing films of 2001

Rank	Title	Distributor	Worldwide gross
1	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	Warner Bros.	$974,755,371
2	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	New Line	$883,726,270
3	Monsters, Inc.	Buena Vista	$528,773,250
4	Shrek	DreamWorks	$487,853,320
5	Ocean's Eleven	Warner Bros.	$450,717,150
6	Pearl Harbor	Buena Vista	$449,220,945
7	The Mummy Returns	Universal	$435,040,395
8	Jurassic Park III		$368,780,809
9	Planet of the Apes	Fox	$362,211,740
10	Hannibal	MGM / Universal	$351,692,268

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 the finale, 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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

Category/Organization	7th Critics' Choice Awards January 11, 2002	59th Golden Globe Awards January 20, 2002		55th BAFTA Awards February 24, 2002	Producers, Directors, Screen Actors, and Writers Guild Awards	74th Academy Awards March 24, 2002
		Drama	Musical or Comedy
Best Film	A Beautiful Mind		Moulin Rouge!	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Moulin Rouge!	A Beautiful Mind
Best Director	Ron Howard A Beautiful Mind Baz Luhrmann Moulin Rouge!	Robert Altman Gosford Park		Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Ron Howard A Beautiful Mind
Best Actor	Russell Crowe A Beautiful Mind		Gene Hackman The Royal Tenenbaums	Russell Crowe A Beautiful Mind		Denzel Washington Training Day
Best Actress	Sissy Spacek In the Bedroom		Nicole Kidman Moulin Rouge!	Judi Dench Iris	Halle Berry Monster's Ball
Best Supporting Actor	Ben Kingsley Sexy Beast	Jim Broadbent Iris		Jim Broadbent Moulin Rouge!	Ian McKellen The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Jim Broadbent Iris
Best Supporting Actress	Jennifer Connelly A Beautiful Mind				Helen Mirren Gosford Park	Jennifer Connelly A Beautiful Mind
Best Screenplay, Adapted	Christopher Nolan Memento	Akiva Goldsman A Beautiful Mind		Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman and Roger S. H. Schulman Shrek	Akiva Goldsman A Beautiful Mind
Best Screenplay, Original				Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet Amélie	Julian Fellowes Gosford Park
Best Animated Film	Shrek	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Shrek
Best Original Score	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Howard Shore	Moulin Rouge! Craig Armstrong			N/A	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Howard Shore
Best Original Song	"May It Be" The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	"Until..." Kate & Leopold		N/A	N/A	"If I Didn't Have You" Monsters, Inc.
Best Foreign Language Film	Amélie	No Man's Land		Love's a Bitch	N/A	No Man's Land

2001 films

By country/region

• List of American films of 2001
• List of Argentine films of 2001
• List of Australian films of 2001
• List of Bangladeshi films of 2001
• List of British films of 2001
• List of Canadian films of 2001
• List of Chinese films of 2001
• List of French films of 2001
• List of Hong Kong films of 2001
• List of Indian films of 2001
  • List of Bengali films of 2001
  • List of Hindi films of 2001
  • List of Kannada films of 2001
  • List of Malayalam films of 2001
  • List of Marathi films of 2001
  • List of Punjabi films of 2001
  • List of Tamil films of 2001
  • List of Telugu films of 2001
• List of Japanese films of 2001
• List of Mexican films of 2001
• List of Nepalese films of 2001
• List of Pakistani films of 2001
• List of Russian films of 2001
• List of South Korean films of 2001
• List of Spanish films of 2001

By genre/medium

• List of action films of 2001
• List of animated feature films of 2001
• List of avant-garde films of 2001
• List of crime films of 2001
• List of comedy films of 2001
• List of drama films of 2001
• List of horror films of 2001
• List of science fiction films of 2001
• List of thriller films of 2001
• List of western films of 2001

Births

• January 1 – Angourie Rice, Australian actress
• February 6 – Gabriel G. Mourreau, Spanish actor
• February 15 – Haley Tju, American actress
• February 16 - Chloe East, American actress
• February 19 – David Mazouz, American actor
• February 24 – Ramona Marquez, English actress
• March 6 – Milo Manheim, American actor
• March 25 – Daisy Tahan, American actress
• April 10 – Noa Kirel, Israeli actress
• April 20 – Ian Alexander, American actor
• April 28 – Madeleine Harris, British actress
• May 3 – Rachel Zegler, American actress
• May 23 – Matt Lintz, American actor
• May 27 – Izabela Vidovic, American actress
• June 1 – Ed Oxenbould, Australian actor
• June 3 – Rhea Norwood, English actress
• June 5 - Lilly Krug, German actress
• June 9 – Xolo Maridueña, American actor
• June 14 – Samuel Bottomley, English actor
• June 16 – William Sorenson, Canadian Representative
• June 21 – Eleanor Worthington Cox, English actress
• July 1 – Chosen Jacobs, American actor
• July 2 – Abraham Attah, Ghanaian actor
• July 10 – Isabela Merced, American actress
• July 11 – Sophia Anne Caruso, American actress
• July 16 – Tom Taylor, English actor
• July 22 – Alisha Newton, Canadian actress
• July 31 – Sean Michael Kyer, Canadian actor
• August 5 – Josie Totah, American actress
• August 6 – Ty Simpkins, American actor
• August 21
  • Dallas Liu, American actor
  • Harry Gilby, English actor
• August 31 – Garrett Wareing, American actor
• September 3 – Kaia Gerber, American actress and model
• September 6
  • Freya Allan, English actress
  • Nuno Gallego, Spanish actor
• September 14 – Matías Recalt, Argentine actor
• September 15 – Emma Fuhrmann, American actress
• September 17 – India Amarteifio, English actress
• September 19
  • Jack Downham, British actor
  • D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Canadian actor
• September 29 – William Healy, Canadian actor
• October 1 – Luna Blaise, American actress
• October 5 – Dalila Bela, Canadian actress
• October 8 – Percy Hynes White, Canadian actor
• October 9 – Louis Hynes, English actor
• October 10 – Blake Cooper, American actor
• October 12 – Raymond Ochoa, American actor and musician
• October 13 – Caleb McLaughlin, American actor
• October 14 – Rowan Blanchard, American actress
• October 19 - Art Parkinson, Irish actor
• October 21 – Ashley Liao, American actress
• October 23 – Mina Sundwall, American actress
• October 27 – Lukita Maxwell, Indonesian-American actress
• November 7 – Amybeth McNulty, Irish-Canadian actress
• November 12 – Raffey Cassidy, English actress
• November 15 – Sadie Stanley, American actress
• November 27 – Morgan Davies, Australian actor
• December 12 - Britain Dalton, American actor
• December 13 – Harley Bird, English actress
• December 14 – Joshua Rush, American actor
• December 16 – Sebastian Croft, English actor
• December 22 - Lily Laight, English actress and singer
• December 28 – Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Canadian actress

Deaths

Month	Date	Name	Age	Country	Profession	Notable films
January	1	Ray Walston<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	86	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	5	Nancy Parsons	58	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	10	Jacques Marin	81	France	Actor	Template:Hlist
	11	James Hill	84	US	Producer, Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	11	Michael Williams	65	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	15	Ted Mann	84	US	Producer	Template:Hlist
	16	Virginia O'Brien	81	US	Actress, Singer	Template:Hlist
	18	Al Waxman	65	Canada	Actor	Template:Hlist
	21	Sandy Baron	64	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	21	Joseph O'Conor	84	Ireland	Actor	Template:Hlist
	30	Jean-Pierre Aumont<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || style="text-align:center;"| 90 || style="text-align:center;"| France || style="text-align:center;"| Actor || Template:Hlist
	30	John Prebble	85	UK	Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	31	Bert Williams	78	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
February	4	Tony Steedman	73	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	7	Dale Evans<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	88	US	Actress, Singer	Template:Hlist
	10	Lewis Arquette	65	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	11	Sy Gomberg	82	US	Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	14	Charles B. Fitzsimons	76	Ireland	Producer	Template:Hlist
	15	Burt Kennedy	78	US	Director, Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	16	Howard W. Koch	84	US	Producer	Template:Hlist
	19	Stanley Kramer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	87	US	Director, Producer	Template:Hlist
	20	Rosemary DeCamp	90	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	27	Ralf D. Bode	59	Germany	Cinematographer	Template:Hlist
	27	Stan Margulies	80	US	Producer	Template:Hlist
March	6	Kim Walker	32	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	8	Edward Winter	63	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	9	Richard Stone	47	US	Composer, Music Editor	Template:Hlist
	12	Morton Downey Jr.	68	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	13	John A. Alonzo	66	US	Cinematographer, Actor	Template:Hlist
	15	Ann Sothern<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	92	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	16	Norma MacMillan	79	Canada	Actress	Template:Hlist
	17	Ralph Thomas	85	UK	Director	Template:Hlist
	19	Mentor Huebner	79	US	Illustrator	Template:Hlist
	21	Anthony Steel	80	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	22	William Hanna	90	US	Animator, Director, Producer	Template:Hlist
	23	Sully Boyar	77	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	24	Tambi Larsen	77	India	Art Director	Template:Hlist
	26	Piotr Sobociński	43	Poland	Cinematographer	Template:Hlist
April	1	Larry Tucker	66	US	Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	7	David Graf	50	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	7	Beatrice Straight	86	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	10	Nyree Dawn Porter	65	New Zealand	Actress	Template:Hlist
	11	Harry Secombe<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> || style="text-align:center;" | 79 || style="text-align:center;" | UK || style="text-align:center;"| Actor || Template:Hlist
	13	Jimmy Logan	73	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	13	Ken Weston	53	UK	Sound Engineer	Template:Hlist
	14	Hiroshi Teshigahara<ref name="la obit">Template:Cite news</ref>	74	Japan	Director	Template:Hlist
	16	Michael Ritchie	62	US	Director	Template:Hlist
	20	Maria Karnilova	80	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	21	Jack Haley Jr.	67	US	Director	Template:Hlist
	22	Edward Muhl	94	US	Studio Executive
	27	Jack Murdock	78	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	28	Ken Hughes	79	UK	Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	29	Walter Hannemann	88	US	Film Editor	Template:Hlist
May	2	Gina Mastrogiacomo	39	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	3	Ernie Wheelwright	61	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	7	Gary Wissner	37	US	Production Designer, Art Director	Template:Hlist
	9	Leslie Sands	79	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	10	Deborah Walley	59	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	12	Perry Como<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	88	US	Singer, Actor	Template:Hlist
	13	Eddra Gale	79	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	13	Jason Miller<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	62	US	Actor, Director	Template:Hlist
	13	Ralph Tabakin	79	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	14	Mauro Bolognini	78	Italy	Director, Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	14	Peter Griffith	74	US	Actor	Halloween
	14	Armando Nannuzzi	75	Italy	Cinematographer	Template:Hlist
	15	Sacha Vierny	81	France	Cinematographer	Template:Hlist
	16	Joe Baker	72	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	22	Connie Marshall	68	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	22	Whitman Mayo	70	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	22	Jack Watling	78	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	23	Lita Chevret	92	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	25	John W. Holmes	84	US	Film Editor	Template:Hlist
	26	Anne Haney	67	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	27	Ramon Bieri	71	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	29	Russell Saunders	82	US	Stuntman	Template:Hlist
	31	Arlene Francis	93	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
June	2	Imogene Coca	92	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	3	Anthony Quinn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	86	Mexico	Actor	Template:Hlist
	4	Joan Vohs	73	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	7	Leonard Tepper	61	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	15	Henri Alekan	92	France	Cinematographer	Template:Hlist
	21	Carroll O'Connor	76	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	21	Vernon Sewell	97	UK	Director, Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	23	Corinne Calvet	76	France	Actress	Template:Hlist
	26	Paul Berry	40	UK	Animator	Template:Hlist
	27	Jack Lemmon	76	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	28	Joan Sims	71	UK	Actress	Template:Hlist
July	2	Jack Gwillim	91	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	3	Mordecai Richler	70	Canada	Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	5	A. D. Flowers	84	US	Special Effects Artist	Template:Hlist
	7	Molly Lamont	91	South Africa	Actress	Template:Hlist
	12	James Bernard	75	UK	Composer	Template:Hlist
	13	Eleanor Summerfield	80	UK	Actress	Template:Hlist
	15	Ted Berman	81	US	Director, Screenwriter, Animator	Template:Hlist
	19	Paul Beeson	79	UK	Cinematographer	Template:Hlist
	21	Sivaji Ganesan	72	India	Actor	Template:Hlist
	29	Alex Nicol	79	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
August	3	Christopher Hewett	79	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	6	Alan Rafkin	73	US	Director	Template:Hlist
	6	Dorothy Tutin	71	UK	Actress	Template:Hlist
	8	Harry Julian Fink	78	US	Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	14	Missy Cleveland	41	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	14	Jackie "Butch" Jenkins	63	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	16	Dave Barry	82	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	18	Jack Elliott	74	US	Composer, Conductor	Template:Hlist
	20	Kim Stanley	76	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	23	Kathleen Freeman	82	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	25	Aaliyah	22	US	Actress, Singer	Template:Hlist
	25	John Chambers	78	US	Makeup Artist	Template:Hlist
	25	Jane Greer	76	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	25	Inigo Jackson	68	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	28	Lawrence B. Marcus	84	US	Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	29	Francisco Rabal	75	Spain	Actor	Template:Hlist
	30	Julie Bishop	87	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
September	2	Troy Donahue	65	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	3	Ferruccio Amendola	71	Italy	Actor	Template:Hlist
	3	Pauline Kael	82	US	Film Critic	None; critiqued films for The New Yorker
	3	Thuy Trang<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || style="text-align:center;"| 27 || style="text-align:center;"| US || style="text-align:center;"| Actress || Template:Hlist
	4	Merrill Connally	80	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	9	Tommy Hollis	47	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	12	Victor Wong	74	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	13	Barbara Matera	72	UK	Costume Designer	Template:Hlist
	13	Dorothy McGuire	85	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	15	Fred de Cordova	90	US	Director	Template:Hlist
	16	Samuel Z. Arkoff	83	US	Producer	Template:Hlist
	25	Evan A. Lottman	70	US	Film Editor	Template:Hlist
	25	Dolores Michaels	68	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	26	Hannes Nikel	70	Germany	Film Editor	Template:Hlist
	27	Helen Cherry	85	UK	Actress	Template:Hlist
	28	Martin Garner	74	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	29	Gloria Foster	67	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
October	9	Herbert Ross<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	74	US	Director	Template:Hlist
	15	Robert Rutledge	53	US	Sound Engineer	Template:Hlist
	17	Jay Livingston	86	US	Composer	Template:Hlist
	19	Ray Lovejoy	62	UK	Film Editor	Template:Hlist
	21	David Lowell Rich	81	US	Director	Template:Hlist
	23	Linden Travers	88	UK	Actress	Template:Hlist
	24	Jaromil Jireš	65	Slovakia	Director	Template:Hlist
	26	Eugene Jackson	58	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	28	Larry Jost	80	US	Sound Engineer	Template:Hlist
	29	Maura Fay	43	Australia	Casting Director	Template:Hlist
	31	Jenny Laird	89	UK	Actress	Template:Hlist
November	5	Roy Boulting	87	UK	Director	Template:Hlist
	6	Anthony Shaffer	75	UK	Screenwriter	Template:Hlist
	7	Bobby Bass	65	US	Stuntman, Actor	Template:Hlist
	12	Albert Hague	82	Germany	Actor	Template:Hlist
	13	Peggy Mount	86	UK	Actress	Template:Hlist
	14	Charlotte Coleman<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>	33	UK	Actress	Template:Hlist
	21	Ralph Burns	79	US	Composer, Arranger	Template:Hlist
	29	Budd Boetticher	85	US	Director	Template:Hlist
	29	George Harrison<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || style="text-align:center;"| 58 || style="text-align:center;"| UK || style="text-align:center;"| Singer, Actor, Producer || Template:Hlist
	29	John Mitchum	82	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
December	1	Danilo Donati	74	Italy	Costume Designer, Production Designer	Template:Hlist
	6	Walt Mulconery	69	US	Film Editor	Template:Hlist
	7	Pauline Moore	87	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	10	Lance Fuller	73	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	15	Wilkie Cooper	90	UK	Cinematographer	Template:Hlist
	16	Roy Brocksmith	56	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	20	Foster Brooks	89	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	20	Edward Evans	87	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	26	Nigel Hawthorne	72	UK	Actor	Template:Hlist
	29	Robert Patten	76	US	Actor	Template:Hlist
	30	Ray Patterson	90	US	Animator	Template:Hlist
	31	Eileen Heckart	82	US	Actress	Template:Hlist
	31	David Swift	82	US	Director	Template:Hlist

External links

• List of 2001 films at IMDb
• 2001 Domestic Grosses at Box Office Mojo
• List of 2001 deaths at IMDb
• List of 2001 births at IMDb