Popular movies I haven’t seen in the last 15 years
Whenever anyone asks me about a popular movie, they’re flabbergasted that I haven’t seen it. You’d think they’d learn to just assume I’ve seen nothing, but they haven’t yet.
In an effort to accelerate that, here’s a list of the Academy Award Best Picture nominees and top 10 highest-grossing films for the last 15 years. My “I’ve seen it” ratio starts bad and only gets worse over time. Had I not seen most of the Pixar movies because I have a kid, it would be even worse. (My ratio was pretty good before 2000 because I was in high school and had nothing else to do.)
Key: Seen it, Haven’t seen it
2000
- Gladiator
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- Traffic
- What Women Want
- Meet the Parents
- Chocolat
- Erin Brockovich
- Mission: Impossible II
- Cast Away
- Dinosaur
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- The Perfect Storm
- X-Men
- What Lies Beneath
2001
- A Beautiful Mind
- Monsters, Inc.
- Ocean’s Eleven
- Gosford Park
- In the Bedroom
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Moulin Rouge
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
- Shrek
- Pearl Harbor
- The Mummy Returns
- Jurassic Park III
- Planet of the Apes
- Hannibal
2002
- Spider-Man
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Men in Black II
- Die Another Day
- Minority Report
- Chicago
- Gangs of New York
- The Hours
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- The Pianist
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Signs
- Ice Age
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding
2003
- Finding Nemo
- The Matrix Reloaded
- The Matrix Revolutions
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Lost in Translation
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
- Mystic River
- Seabiscuit
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- Bruce Almighty
- The Last Samurai
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- X2
- Bad Boys II
2004
- The Incredibles
- Ocean’s Twelve
- Million Dollar Baby
- The Aviator
- Finding Neverland
- Ray
- Sideways
- Shrek 2
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Spider-Man 2
- The Passion of the Christ
- The Day After Tomorrow
- Meet the Fockers
- Troy
- Shark Tale
2005
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Crash
- Brokeback Mountain
- Capote
- Good Night, and Good Luck
- Munich
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- War of the Worlds
- King Kong
- Madagascar
- Mr. and Mrs. Smith
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Batman Begins
- Hitch
2006
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Casino Royale
- Cars
- The Departed
- Babel
- Letters from Iwo Jima
- The Queen
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
- The Da Vinci Code
- Ice Age: The Meltdown
- Night at the Museum
- X-Men: The Last Stand
- Mission: Impossible III
- Superman Returns
- Happy Feet
2007
- No Country for Old Men
- Juno
- Ratatouille
- I Am Legend
- Atonement
- Michael Clayton
- There Will Be Blood
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Spider-Man 3
- Shrek the Third
- Transformers
- The Simpsons Movie
- National Treasure: Book of Secrets
- 300
2008
- The Dark Knight
- Quantum of Solace
- WALL-E
- Slumdog Millionaire
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Frost/Nixon
- Milk
- The Reader
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- Kung Fu Panda
- Hancock
- Mamma Mia!
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
- Iron Man
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
2009
- The Hurt Locker
- Avatar
- The Blind Side
- District 9
- An Education
- Inglourious Basterds
- Precious
- A Serious Man
- Up
- Up in the Air
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- 2012
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon
- Sherlock Holmes
- Angels & Demons
- The Hangover
2010
- The Social Network
- Toy Story 3
- The Kings’ Speech
- 127 Hours
- Black Swan
- The Fighter
- Inception
- The Kids Are All Right
- True Grit
- Winter’s Bone
- Alice in Wonderland
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
- Shrek Forever After
- The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
- Iron Man 2
- Tangled
- Despicable Me
- How to Train Your Dragon
2011
- The Artist
- The Descendants
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- The Help
- Hugo
- Midnight in Paris
- Moneyball
- The Tree of Life
- War Horse
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
- Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol
- Kung Fu Panda 2
- Fast Five
- The Hangover Part II
- The Smurfs
- Cars 2
2012
- Skyfall
- Argo
- Amour
- Beasts of the Southern WIld
- Django Unchained
- Les Misérables
- Life of Pi
- Lincoln
- Silver Linings Playbook
- Zero Dark Thirty
- The Avengers
- The Dark Knight Rises
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
- Ice Age: Continental Drift
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
- The Hunger Games
- Men in Black 3
2013
- Monsters University
- 12 Years a Slave
- American Hustle
- Captain Phillips
- Dallas Buyers Club
- Gravity
- Her
- Nebraska
- Philomena
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- Frozen
- Iron Man 3
- Despicable Me 2
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- Fast & Furious 6
- Man of Steel
- Thor: The Dark World
2014
- Birdman
- American Sniper
- Boyhood
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Selma
- The Theory of Everything
- Whiplash
- Transformers: Age of Extinction
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Maleficent
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- Interstellar