The movies that hit theaters in 2001 have stood the test of time as some of the most important in cinema history. No fewer than three franchises debuted that year that have gone on to become billion-dollar movie series, although only one of them seemed like a sure bet when it was released. The year also saw some critically acclaimed, award-winning movies, the first film that proved Disney was losing its stranglehold on animation, and even a twisty indie thriller that became a cult classic.
The year was also big for every genre, as Shrek became the first DreamWorks movie to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, Moulin Rouge! exciting fans of jukebox musicals, Denzel Washington winning his Oscar for a villain role in Training Day, and a small indie movie called Donnie Darko, exciting sci-fi fans all over the world. All of these movies turn 25 in 2026, and it is a celebration of one of the best years in Hollywood history.
Shrek (May 18, 2001)
The animated movies released 25 years ago had something to compete for that they had never experienced before. The Academy Awards introduced a new award for Best Animated Feature, and this meant that Disney and Pixar had a new award they could compete for without worrying about the crowded Best Picture category. No one could have expected that DreamWorks would rush in and win the inaugural award.
Shrek was a movie that introduced an irritable ogre named Shrek who had to find a way to get all the fairy-tale creatures back to their homes by saving a princess from a dragon. The movie changed how animated films looked, with a groundbreaking animation technique that brought photorealism, as opposed to the hand-drawn animation style, and Shrek helped change animated movies for the years to come.
Moulin Rouge! (May 18, 2001)
It was 25 years ago that Baz Luhrmann released the best musical movie of his career. Moulin Rouge! is a jukebox musical that takes place in the year 1899 in Paris, France, when a poet (Ewan McGregor) falls in love with a dancer named Satine (Nicole Kidman), whom he meets at the legendary Paris nightspot, the Moulin Rouge.
McGregor and Kidman performed their own musical numbers, and the movie went on to receive eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress. This was the first musical to earn a Best Picture nomination since Beauty and the Beast in 1991, and it opened the door for a rush of Oscar-worthy musicals in the 21st century.
The Fast and the Furious (June 22, 2001)
Of the three franchises that launched 25 years ago, the one that wasn't meant to be a huge franchise was The Fast and the Furious. The movie shared a very strong resemblance to the 1990s action movie Point Break, but it replaced extreme sports with street racing, while keeping the gang of thieves and the undercover cop who becomes enamored with them in place.
Vin Diesel left the franchise after one movie, and Paul Walker left after the second. However, this series had legs, and both Walker and Diesel returned for the fourth movie, and now an 11th film will end the franchise in 2028 with Fast Forever. This first movie was a massive success, making $207 million on a $38 million budget, but the best was yet to come.
Training Day (October 5, 2001)
Training Day was a crime thriller with Denzel Washington starring as a corrupt cop named Detective Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as his young partner Jake Hoyt. The movie follows the new partners on a day in Los Angeles, where Hawke realizes that his partner is not on the up-and-up, and has to figure out how he can get out of this situation alive.
Washington won an Oscar for his performance, and it was a rare role for the actor, who usually played more heroic types. Hawke also earned an Oscar nomination for his performance, and the movie went on to gross $104.9 million. This movie set the template for the corrupt cop genre that would become popular in the 21st century, and few actors have done it better than Washington.
Donnie Darko (October 26, 2001)
Image via NetflixOne of the biggest cult classic sci-fi movies in history arrived 25 years ago when Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko hit theaters. The movie was a flop when it was released, and only made $517,375 in its initial run. However, it went on to become a massive cult classic when it arrived on home video, with its mind-twisting and often confusing story anchored by a brilliant performance by star Jake Gyllenhaal.
The movie follows a young man named Donnie Darko who sleepwalks away from his home on a night when an object falls from space and crashes into his bedroom. He was supposed to die, but since he lived, he has to figure out how to save a world that is now slowly unraveling around him. From Frank the Rabbit to the trippy time-loop structure, and the groundbreaking directing work by Kelly, this remains one of the 21st century's best sci-fi indies.
Monsters, Inc. (November 2, 2001)
While Shrek won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film for DreamWorks, Pixar could have easily taken the award home as well. In 2001, Pixar released Monsters, Inc., directed by Pete Docter with a script by Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson. The movie tells the story of two monsters whose job is to scare children in the real world to help fuel the energy in the monsters' realm.
Monsters, Inc. was hugely successful, making $577 million worldwide and ending up as the third-highest grossing movie of 2001. It also has a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the first ceremony in which the award was recognized. The movie turns 25 in 2026 and has received one sequel, with a third in the works.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (November 16, 2001)
Chris Columbus adapted a new young adult fantasy series into a big-budget movie with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Columbus had a successful history of working with young stars, and he directed this film about a young boy who learns he is a wizard and is brought to a magical school called Hogwarts to learn how to use his powers. Columbus succeeded wildly thanks to a fantastic trio of young stars cast in his movies.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone made $975 million on initial release and later crossed $1 billion worldwide after a 2020 reissue. It was the highest-grossing movie of 2001 and ensured the rest of J.K. Rowling's novels would get made into movies, where the world watched these kids grow up in front of their eyes.
Ocean's Eleven (December 7, 2001)
One of the best heist movies ever made was released 25 years ago with Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven. A remake of the classic Rat Pack movie, the 2001 release was superior in every way, with one of the best casts of any movie from that era. With George Clooney and Brad Pitt leading the way, this was a star-studded affair that was only matched by the incredible direction of the casino heist itself.
The plot follows Danny Ocean (Clooney) as he brings in his crew for the casino heist, and then, when the audience realizes the movie has played them as a mark as well as the targets in the film, it delivers one of the best twist endings in any heist movie. The movie made $450 million worldwide and launched a trilogy and a spin-off movie following Danny's sister.
The Royal Tenenbaums (December 14, 2001)
Wes Anderson remains one of the most iconic and recognizable filmmakers working in Hollywood, and his masterpiece arrived 25 years ago with the fantastic comedy-drama The Royal Tenenbaums. The movie stars Gene Hackman as Royal Tenenbaum, the patriarch of a family that has been splintered, thanks in large part to his demanding that his kids maintain excellence in their lives.
With an all-star cast that includes Luke Wilson, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston, Danny Glover, and Ben Stiller, the movie was darkly humorous and delivered one of Anderson's best stories. Anderson and Owen Wilson earned an Oscar nomination for the screenplay, and this remains one of Hackman's greatest late-career performances.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (December 19, 2001)
Peter Jackson took on the task of directing J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels, and the first movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, arrived in theaters 25 years ago. While it fell short of the box office totals of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, it still made $871.5 million worldwide on a $93 million budget, the second-highest-grossing film of 2001.
The movie was also critically acclaimed, earning 13 Academy Award nominations and winning four of them, including Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Original Score (Howard Shore), and Best Visual Effects. The movie ended up with two sequels, which got bigger as they went, and the third movie won all 11 Oscar nominations it received.
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