The year 2002 in film saw the release of significant sequels take place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, Stuart Little 2 and Blade II. The year also saw the 3rd installment Austin Powers in Goldmember and the 10th installments Star Trek: Nemesis and Jason X.
March 1 - Paramount Pictures unveils a new opening logo after 16 years of the previous one. The official logo was used from 2002 until December 21, 2011, and featured a temporary 90th Anniversary byline from March 1st to December 27th. The logo was slightly changed in 2010 and used until late 2011.
May – The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski wins the "Palme d'Or" at the Cannes Film Festival.
May 3–5 – Spider-Man is the first film to make $100+ million during its opening weekend in the US unadjusted to inflation.
May 16 – Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones opens in theater. Although a huge success, it was the first Star Wars episode not to be the highest grosser of the year.
Amélie directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet wins the 2002 César Award for Best Film, Best Director, Best Music, and Best Art Direction. Amélie also became the highest-grossing French-language film in the United States ever.
Another French-language film Brotherhood of the Wolf also became the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States in the last two decades.
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
The Pianist, directed by Roman Polanski, Poland
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
The Magdalene Sisters, directed by Peter Mullan, U.K. / Ireland
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
Spirited Away (
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi), directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Japan
Bloody Sunday, directed by Paul Greengrass, U.K. / Ireland
In addition to the wide-release films in the above list, the following films received a limited or regional release.
#
6 Angels – (Japan)
8 Mile, starring Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer – (USA)
8 Women (8 Femmes), starring Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart – (France)
13 Moons, starring Steve Buscemi and Jennifer Beals – (USA)
24 Hour Party People, starring Steve Coogan – (UK)
25th Hour, directed by Spike Lee, starring Edward Norton, Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Brian Cox – (USA)
28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle, starring Cillian Murphy – (UK)
A
Aankhen (Eyes), starring Amitabh Bachchan – (India)
Ada Apa dengan Cinta? (What's Up with Love?) – (Indonesia)
Addicted (Jungdok), starring Lee Byung-hun – (South Korea)
The Adversary (L'adversaire), starring Daniel Auteuil – (France)
Alice
Ali G Indahouse starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Charles Dance, Michael Gambon and Martin Freeman – (UK)
All or Nothing, directed by Mike Leigh, starring Timothy Spall – (UK)
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony – (South Africa/USA)
Amar te duele (Loving You Hurts) – (Mexico)
Amen., directed by Costa-Gavras – (Germany/France/Romania)
Angel on the Right (Farishtai kitfi rost) – (Tajikistan)
Antwone Fisher, directed by and starring Denzel Washington – (USA)
Ararat, starring Charles Aznavour and Christopher Plummer – (Canada/France)
Aro Tolbukhin. En la mente del asesino (Aro Tolbukhin: in the Mind of a Killer) – (Spain)
L'Auberge espagnole (aka Pot Luck), starring Audrey Tautou – (France)
Australian Rules – (Australia)
Auto Focus, starring Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe – (USA)
Avenging Angelo, starring Sylvester Stallone and Madeleine Stowe – (USA)
B
Baader – (Germany)
Back by Midnight, starring Rodney Dangerfield – (USA)
Back to Babylon (العودة إلى بابل) – (Iraq)
Bad Guy (Nabbeun namja) – (South Korea)
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu – (USA)
Balseros (Rafters) – (Spain)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Xiao cai feng or Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse Chinoise) – (China/France)
Bang Bang You're Dead – (USA)
Barbershop, starring Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Eve – (USA)
Bend It Like Beckham, starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers – (UK)
Beneath Clouds – (Australia)
The Best Day of My Life (Il più bel giorno della mia vita), starring Virna Lisi – (Italy)
Better Luck Tomorrow – (USA)
Biggie & Tupac – (USA)
Black and White, starring Robert Carlyle and Charles Dance – (Australia)
Blissfully Yours (Sud sanaeha), directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul – (Thailand)
The Blood Stained Route Map (Pimudun ryakpae) – (North Korea)
Bloody Sunday, starring James Nesbitt – (Ireland)
Blue Gate Crossing (Lan se da men) – (Taiwan)
Boat Trip, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Roger Moore – (USA)
Bolívar Soy Yo (Bolivar is Me) – (Colombia)
El Bonaerense (The Locksmith) – (Argentina/Chile/France/Netherlands)
Book of Love – (USA)
Bowling for Columbine, directed by Michael Moore – (USA)
The Box of Life (Sunduq al-dunyâ) – (Syria)
Broken Wings (Knafayim Shvurot) – (Israel)
Bubba Ho-tep, starring Bruce Campbell – (USA)
The Burial Society – (USA/Canada)
Bus 174 (Ônibus 174) – (Brazil)
Buying the Cow, starring Jerry O'Connell – (USA)
C
Callas Forever, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons, Joan Plowright – (Italy/France/Spain/UK/Romania)
Carrie – (USA)
The Cat Returns (Neko no Ongaeshi) – (Japan)
Champion – (South Korea)
Chance, directed by and starring Amber Benson – (USA)
Chat Room – (USA)
Chen Mo and Meiting (Chen Mo he Meiting) – (China)
Chicago, starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly – (USA) – Academy Award winner for Best Picture
Chinese Odyssey 2002 (Tianxia Wushuang)), starring Tony Leung – (Hong Kong)
Cinema Paradiso: The New Version – (Italy) – (director's cut re-release)
City of Ghosts, directed by and starring Matt Dillon – (USA)
City of God (Cidade de Deus) – (Brazil)
The Clay Bird (Matir Moina), the first Bangladeshi film to be nominated for an Oscar
The Coast Guard (Haeanseon) – (South Korea)
Common Places (Lugares comunes) – (Argentina)
Company (कम्पनी) – (India)
The Confession (Itiraf) – (Turkey)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, directed by George Clooney, starring Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts – (USA)
The Courtesan (Ca-bau-kan) – (Indonesia)
Crackerjack – (Australia)
Crazy As Hell, starring Eriq LaSalle – (USA)
The Crime of Father Amaro (El crimen del padre Amaro), starring Gael García Bernal – (Mexico)
Cry Woman (Ku qi de nü ren) – (China)
The Cuckoo (Kukushka) – (Russia)
Cypher, starring Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu – (USA)
D
The Dancer Upstairs, directed by John Malkovich, starring Javier Bardem – (USA/Spain)
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, starring Emile Hirsch and Kieran Culkin – (USA)
Dark Water (Honogurai mizu no soko kara), directed by Hideo Nakata – (Japan)
Darkness, starring Anna Paquin and Lena Olin – (USA/Spain)
Dead in a Heartbeat, starring Judge Reinhold and Penelope Ann Miller – (USA/Canada)
Deathwatch, starring Jamie Bell – (UK/Germany)
Dekada '70 – (Philippines)
Devdas – (India)
Dirty Deeds, starring Bryan Brown, Toni Collette, John Goodman – (Australia)
Dirty Pretty Things, directed by Stephen Frears, starring Audrey Tautou and Chiwetel Ejiofor – (UK)
Divine Intervention (Yadon ilaheyya) – (Palestine/France/Morocco/Germany)
Dog Soldiers, starring Sean Pertwee and Kevin McKidd – (UK)
Dolls (ドールズ), directed by Takeshi Kitano – (Japan)
Doing Time (keimusho no naka) – (Japan)
Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary – (Canada)
Drunk on Women and Poetry (Chi-hwa-seon) – (South Korea)
Durval Discos (Durval Records) – (Brazil)
E
Elsewhere – (Austria)
Emergency Act 19 (Gimgeubjochi 19ho) – (South Korea)
Enlightenment Guaranteed (Erleuchtung garantiert) – (Germany)
Equilibrium, starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson – (USA)
Evelyn, starring Pierce Brosnan – (Ireland)
The Eye (Gin gwai), directed by the Pang brothers – (Hong Kong/Singapore)
F
FUBAR – (Canada)
Facing the Truth (At kende sandheden) – (Denmark)
Far from Heaven, starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert – (USA)
Fat Choi Spirit (Lik goo lik goo san nin choi), starring Andy Lau – (Hong Kong)
Fidel
Fine Dead Girls (Fine mrtve djevojke) – (Croatia)
The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest, starring Adam Garcia and Rosario Dawson – (USA)
Flower & Garnet – (Canada)
Frida, starring Salma Hayek – (Mexico/USA/Canada)
Full Frontal, directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring David Duchovny and Catherine Keener – (USA)
G
Glowing Eyes (La chatte à deux têtes) – (France)
God Forbid a Worse Thing Should Happen (Ne dao bog većeg zla) – (Croatia)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (Gojira tai Mekagojira) – (Japan)
Goebbels und Geduldig – (Germany)
The Good Girl, starring Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal – (USA)
The Good Thief, directed by Neil Jordan, starring Nick Nolte – (UK/France/Ireland)
The Guru, starring Jimi Mistry and Heather Graham – (UK/France/USA)
H
He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not (À la folie... pas du tout), starring Audrey Tautou – (France)
Hero (Ying xiong), directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung – (China/Hong Kong)
Highway, starring Jared Leto, Jake Gyllenhaal, Selma Blair – (USA)
Home Room – (USA)
L'homme du train (The Man on the Train), directed by Patrice Leconte – (France)
The Hours, starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep – (UK/USA)
House of Fools (Dom Durakov), directed by Andrei Konchalovsky – (Russia)
Hukkle – (Hungary)
I-J
I Am Dina (Jeg er Dina), starring Gérard Depardieu and Maria Bonnevie – (Norway/Sweden/France/Denmark)
I Love You (Wo ai ni), directed by Zhang Yuan – (China)
Igby Goes Down, starring Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes and Susan Sarandon – (USA)
The Importance of Being Earnest, starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth – (UK)
In America, directed by Jim Sheridan, starring Samantha Morton and Djimon Hounsou – (Ireland/UK)
In the City Without Limits (En la ciudad sin límites) – (Spain)
In This World, directed by Michael Winterbottom – (UK)
Infernal Affairs (Mou gaan dou), starring Tony Leung and Andy Lau – (Hong Kong)
Interstate 60, starring James Marsden, Gary Oldman, Amy Smart – (USA)
Intimate Stories (Historias mínimas) – (Argentina)
InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass (Eiga Inuyasha: Kagami no Naka no Mugenjō) – (Japan)
Irréversible, starring Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel – (France)
K
K-9: P.I., starring James Belushi – (USA)
Kamchatka – (Argentina)
The Kid Stays in the Picture, documentary on Robert Evans – (USA)
A Kind of America (Valami Amerika) – (Hungary)
Kiss the Bride – (USA)
Kruté radosti (Cruel Joys) – (Slovakia)
L
The Laramie Project, starring Nestor Carbonell and Christina Ricci – (USA)
Last Call, starring Jeremy Irons, Neve Campbell, Sissy Spacek – (USA/Canada)
Laurel Canyon, starring Frances McDormand and Christian Bale – (USA)
The Legend of Bhagat Singh – (India)
Life Show (Sheng huo ziu) – (China)
Light Drops (O Gotejar da Luz) – (Mozambique)
Lilya 4-ever – (Sweden/Denmark)
Loonies (Loenatik – De moevie) – (Netherlands)
Lovers' Concerto (Yeonae soseol) – (South Korea)
M
Madame Satã – (Brazil/France)
The Magdalene Sisters, directed by Peter Mullan – (Ireland/UK)
The Man from Elysian Fields, starring Andy García and Mick Jagger – (USA)
The Man Who Saved Christmas, starring Jason Alexander – (USA)
The Man Without a Past (Mies vailla menneisyyttä), directed by Aki Kaurismäki – (Finland)
Marie-Jo and Her Two Lovers (Marie-Jo et ses deux amours) – (France)
Marooned in Iraq (Gomgashtei dar Aragh) – (Iran)
Marriage is a Crazy Thing (Gyeolhoneun michinjishida) – (South Korea)
Marrying the Mafia (Gamuneui yeonggwang) – (South Korea)
Mekhong Full Moon Party (Sibha kham doan sib ed) – (Thailand)
Melinda's World
Men with Brooms – (Canada)
The Missing Gun (Xun Qiang) – (China)
Mondays in the Sun (Los Lunes al Sol), starring Javier Bardem – (Spain)
Moonlight Mile, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Susan Sarandon and Dustin Hoffman – (USA)
Morvern Callar, starring Samantha Morton – (UK)
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer – (India)
My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (Ngo joh aan gin diy gwai) – (Hong Kong)
My Mother's Smile (L'ora di religione) (Il sorriso di mia madre) – (Italy)
N
Names in Marble (Nimed marmortahvlil) – (Estonia)
Narc, starring Jason Patric and Ray Liotta – (USA)
New Best Friend, starring Mia Kirshner and Taye Diggs – (USA)
Nicholas Nickleby, starring Charlie Hunnam, Nathan Lane, Jim Broadbent – (UK/USA)
Noora (The Kiss of Life) – (Iran)
O
Oasis (오아시스) – (South Korea)
Occident – (Romania)
Ogu and Mampato in Rapa Nui – (chile)
Old Men in New Cars (Gamle Mænd i Nye Biler) – (Denmark)
On Line – (USA)
On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate (Saenghwalui balgyeon) – (South Korea)
Open Hearts (Elsker dig for evigt) – (Denmark)
Den osynlige (The Invisible) – (Sweden)
Over the Rainbow (오버 더 레인보우) – (South Korea)
P-Q
Personal Velocity: Three Portraits, starring Kyra Sedgwick – (USA)
People I Know, starring Al Pacino, Kim Basinger, Téa Leoni and Ryan O'Neal – (USA)
Philanthropy (Filantropica) – (Romania)
Phone Booth, starring Colin Farrell and Forest Whitaker – (USA)
The Pianist, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody – (France/Poland/Germany/UK)
Pokémon 4Ever (Gekijōban Poketto Monsutā Serebyi Toki o Koeta Deai) – (Japan)
Possession, starring Aaron Eckhart and Gwyneth Paltrow – (USA/UK)
The Powerpuff Girls Movie – (USA)
Public Enemy (Gonggongui Jeog) – (South Korea)
Pumpkin, starring Christina Ricci – (USA)
Punch-Drunk Love, starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson – (USA)
Pure, starring Keira Knightley – (UK)
The Quiet American, starring Brendan Fraser and Michael Caine – (USA/Germany)
R
R.S.V.P. – (USA)
Raaz (Secret) – (India)
Rabbit-Proof Fence, directed by Phillip Noyce – (Australia)
Rachida – (Algeria)
Real Women Have Curves – (USA)
A Red Bear (Un oso rojo) – (Argentina)
Reign of Fire
Respiro, starring Valeria Golino – (Italy)
Ripley's Game, starring John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, Ray Winstone – (USA/UK/Italy)
Road Movie – (South Korea)
Rose Red, starring Nancy Travis – (USA)
Russian Ark (Russkij Kovcheg), directed by Alexander Sokurov – (Russia)
S
Saathiya (Life Partner) – (India)
Salomé, directed by Carlos Saura – (Spain)
The Salton Sea, starring Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio – (USA)
Saving My Hubby (Gudseura Geum-suna) – (South Korea)
The Sea (Hafið) – (Iceland/Norway)
Second Name (El segundo nombre) – (Spain)
Secretary, starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal – (USA)
Secret Things (Choses secrètes) – (France)
Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché) – (Canada)
Sex Is Zero (Saekjeuk shigong) – (South Korea)
Showboy – (USA)
The Singles Ward – (USA)
Skinwalkers, starring Wes Studi – (USA)
The Skywalk is Gone (Tian qiao bu jian le) – (Taiwan)
The Son (Le fils) – (Belgium/France)
Spider, directed by David Cronenberg, starring Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne – (Canada/UK)
Spirit of Korean Celadon (Chongjaui noks) – (North Korea)
Spring Subway (Kaiwang Chuntian de Ditie) – (China)
Springtime in a Small Town (Xiao cheng zhi chun) – (China)
Spun, starring Jason Schwartzman and Brittany Murphy – (USA)
The Star (Zvezda) – (Russia)
Steal, starring Stephen Dorff and Natasha Henstridge – (Canada/UK/France)
Stevie – (USA)
Stolen Summer, starring Aidan Quinn – (USA)
Stones (Piedras) – (Spain)
Suicide Club (Jisatsu Sakuru) – (Japan)
Sunshine State, directed by John Sayles, starring Edie Falco and Angela Bassett – (USA)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Boksuneun naui geot), directed by Park Chan-wook – (South Korea)
T
Tadpole, starring Sigourney Weaver and Bebe Neuwirth – (USA)
Talk to Her (Hable con ella), directed by Pedro Almodóvar – (Spain)
Ten (Dah), directed by Abbas Kiarostami – (Iran)
Terra incognita – (Lebanon/France)
Timequest – (USA)
Together (He ni zai yi qi), directed by Chen Kaige – (China)
Tomorrow La Scala! – (UK)
The Tracker, starring David Gulpilil – (Australia)
The Trials of Henry Kissinger – (USA)
The Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei) – (Japan)
Two Men Went to War – (UK)
U-V
Ultraman Cosmos 2: The Blue Planet (ウルトラマンコスモス2 THE BLUE PLANET) – (Japan)
The Uncertainty Principle (O Princípio da Incerteza) – (Portugal)
Unknown Pleasures (Ren xiao yao) – (China)
Uzak (Distant) – (Turkey)
Valentín, starring Carmen Maura – (Argentina/France/Italy/Spain)
The Visitor – (Australia)
W
Waiting for Happiness (Heremakono) – (Mauritania/France)
Walking on Water – (Australia)
War (Voyna) – (Russia)
The Way Home (Jibeuro) – (South Korea)
Welcome to Collinwood, starring Isaiah Washington, Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy – (USA)
Whale Rider, starring Keisha Castle-Hughes – (New Zealand/Germany)
When Maryam Spoke Out (Lamma hikyit maryam) – (Lebanon)
Where Eskimos Live (Tam, gdzie żyją Eskimosi) – (Poland/U.S.A./UK)
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself – (Denmark/UK)
Women in the Mirror (Kagami no onnatachi) – (Japan)
XYZ
Year of the Devil (Rok ďábla) – (Czech Republic)
List of Argentine films of the 2000s
Abigail Breslin - Signs
Amanda Bynes - Big Fat Liar
Jesse Eisenberg - Roger Dodger
Kevin Hart - Paper Soldiers
Kevin James - Pinocchio
