2001 was a challenging year, to put it mildly. It was a transformative year, for better and for worse. Americans and the world experienced substantial shifts in terms of politics, culture and global relations. Obviously the terrorist attacks of September 11 were a major, world-changing event, something that altered everything. Literally everything. It led to years of war, economic uncertainty, paranoia and fear and a complete mindset shift for the entire world. We still feel the effects of that day and what followed in the present.
But, as I’ll explain, it was also the world of cinema that changed in 2001. Everything was in upheaval, everything was rapidly altering and it was an uncertain time for the movie industry as well. But it was also a robust and strong time for movies. 2001 was a blockbuster year and the start of an era of blockbusters.
The Top Grossing Films of 2001 (Domestic)
Take a look at the list above and you’ll note that the top three (though I guess you could include the fourth) films were all the starts of new franchises. 2001 marked a new beginning for many Hollywood series. And these weren’t movies that would have just one sequel and that was it, these are movies that spawned multiple big, big hits. In fact, the top three films of 2001 were the launching points for three of the most successful film franchises ever.
With Harry Potter you had a wildly popular movie series based on a wildly popular book series. Each subsequent film became bigger, better and more impressive. It is a series that will have a lasting effect on young (and even older) audiences for years to come.
DreamWorks debuted Shrek, which was a bonafide smash and something of a surprise to Pixar, who were running the animation game at the time. Shrek obviously had many huge sequels but it also started the DreamWorks Animation Era, which more-or-less exists to this day.
And with Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, you had the first chapter in the greatest trilogy of all time and one that would set the bar for blockbuster storytelling.
See, 2001 was the beginning of some truly monumental things.
Audiences came out in droves for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which was no surprise since the books were already selling like hotcakes in 2001. The film had the biggest opening weekend of all time, breaking onto the scene with a hot $90 million. Looking back on it now, that number is mere chump change for modern Hollywood but it was a colossal haul back then and its final gross of $317,575,550 would be considered impressive even by today’s standards.
Sorcerer’s Stone is still the second-most-successful Harry Potter film but it doesn’t come close to the other films critically. By nearly everyones’ accounts, the films only got better and better as time went on and audiences understood that Sorcerer’s Stone was a starting point and that things were only going to go up, up, up in subsequent sequels. But still, the movie holds a special place in many peoples’ hearts.
The Fellowship Of The Ring wasn’t a surprise success but the size of its success was surprising. This film was a huge gamble and no one was really positive it would all pan out. Peter Jackson spent years trying to get his Lord Of The Rings trilogy off the ground and New Line finally gave him the go-ahead, allowing the filmmaker to shoot three movies all at once. Peter Jackson put a lot (and I mean a lot) into the production but so did New Line, who pretty much bet the entire farm on these movies. They weren’t the biggest name in the game, not by a long shot, and if LOTR failed, they failed. That would be it for New Line. But audiences fully supported Fellowship and the movie was a remarkable hit. Not only did people see the movie, they loved the movie. There were many repeat viewings and even more positive responses from audiences and critics alike.
There’s no doubt that Fellowship is an undeniable classic but I also feel that the film performed so strongly because it truly connected with viewers in that troubled Fall of 2001. You have to remember just how rattled the entire United States was following 9/11. Emotions were running high and people were scared and sad and wanting someone to root for. The theme of good versus evil runs throughout all of Lord Of The Rings, it truly is a battle between the righteous and the wicked. It’s about a small group of just people standing up for what is right and taking on a villain who is ruthless, terrifying and will stop at nothing to achieve pure destruction of all the good in the world. That spoke to people, especially at that time. Here were some heroes doing what was right, here were some heroes braving a scary, threatening new world with only resolve, friendship and faith at their side. Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring was a movie that provided a balm for a worried, traumatized nation.
It’s also just an incredible feat of filmmaking.
It’s wild to look at this chart and see Jurassic Park III and Planet Of The Apes — two sure things — rank so low. Sure, $180 million is nothing to sneeze at but those are two films that would easily sit atop the throne in any other year. But, like I said, 2001 was all about new beginnings. Out with the old and in with the new. It was also the start of a run of years where record after record was broken. The following years included movies that surpassed financial expectations again and again and again. If you think the numbers for 2001 are impressive, just wait until you see 2002 next week.