NY Times · Best of the 21st Century
100 Best Films of the 21st Century
The New York Times critics' picks for the greatest films from 2000 to the present. How many have you seen? Add them to your Viewed catalog or Up Next list directly from here.
Source: The New York Times, “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century” (published June 22, 2025).
Parasite
2019
Bong Joon Ho
Mulholland Drive
2001
David Lynch
There Will Be Blood
2007
Paul Thomas Anderson
In the Mood for Love
2000
Wong Kar-Wai
Moonlight
2016
Barry Jenkins
No Country for Old Men
2007
Joel & Ethan Coen
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2004
Michel Gondry
Get Out
2017
Jordan Peele
Spirited Away
2001
Hayao Miyazaki
The Social Network
2010
David Fincher
Mad Max: Fury Road
2015
George Miller
The Zone of Interest
2023
Jonathan Glazer
Children of Men
2006
Alfonso Cuarón
Inglourious Basterds
2009
Quentin Tarantino
City of God
2002
Fernando Meirelles
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2000
Ang Lee
Brokeback Mountain
2005
Ang Lee
Y Tu Mamá También
2001
Alfonso Cuarón
Zodiac
2007
David Fincher
The Wolf of Wall Street
2013
Martin Scorsese
The Royal Tenenbaums
2001
Wes Anderson
The Grand Budapest Hotel
2014
Wes Anderson
Boyhood
2014
Richard Linklater
Her
2013
Spike Jonze
Phantom Thread
2017
Paul Thomas Anderson
Anatomy of a Fall
2023
Justine Triet
Adaptation.
2002
Spike Jonze
The Dark Knight
2008
Christopher Nolan
Arrival
2016
Denis Villeneuve
Lost in Translation
2003
Sofia Coppola
The Departed
2006
Martin Scorsese
Bridesmaids
2011
Paul Feig
A Separation
2011
Asghar Farhadi
WALL·E
2008
Andrew Stanton
A Prophet
2009
Jacques Audiard
A Serious Man
2009
Joel & Ethan Coen
Call Me by Your Name
2017
Luca Guadagnino
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
2019
Céline Sciamma
Lady Bird
2017
Greta Gerwig
Yi Yi
2000
Edward Yang
Amélie
2001
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
The Master
2012
Paul Thomas Anderson
Oldboy
2003
Park Chan-wook
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood
2019
Quentin Tarantino
Moneyball
2011
Bennett Miller
Roma
2018
Alfonso Cuarón
Almost Famous
2000
Cameron Crowe
The Lives of Others
2006
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Before Sunset
2004
Richard Linklater
Up
2009
Pete Docter
12 Years a Slave
2013
Steve McQueen
The Favourite
2018
Yorgos Lanthimos
Borat
2006
Larry Charles
Pan's Labyrinth
2006
Guillermo del Toro
Inception
2010
Christopher Nolan
Punch-Drunk Love
2002
Paul Thomas Anderson
Best in Show
2000
Christopher Guest
Uncut Gems
2019
Josh & Benny Safdie
Toni Erdmann
2016
Maren Ade
Whiplash
2014
Damien Chazelle
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2003
Quentin Tarantino
Memento
2000
Christopher Nolan
Little Miss Sunshine
2006
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
Gone Girl
2014
David Fincher
Oppenheimer
2023
Christopher Nolan
Spotlight
2015
Tom McCarthy
Tár
2022
Todd Field
The Hurt Locker
2008
Kathryn Bigelow
Under the Skin
2013
Jonathan Glazer
Let the Right One In
2008
Tomas Alfredson
Ocean's Eleven
2001
Steven Soderbergh
Carol
2015
Todd Haynes
Ratatouille
2007
Brad Bird
The Florida Project
2017
Sean Baker
Amour
2012
Michael Haneke
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2000
Joel & Ethan Coen
Everything Everywhere All at Once
2022
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Aftersun
2022
Charlotte Wells
The Tree of Life
2011
Terrence Malick
Volver
2006
Pedro Almodóvar
Black Swan
2010
Darren Aronofsky
The Act of Killing
2012
Joshua Oppenheimer
Inside Llewyn Davis
2013
Joel & Ethan Coen
Melancholia
2011
Lars von Trier
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
2004
Adam McKay
Past Lives
2023
Celine Song
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
Peter Jackson
The Gleaners and I
2000
Agnès Varda
Interstellar
2014
Christopher Nolan
Frances Ha
2012
Noah Baumbach
Fish Tank
2009
Andrea Arnold
Gladiator
2000
Ridley Scott
Michael Clayton
2007
Tony Gilroy
Minority Report
2002
Steven Spielberg
The Worst Person in the World
2021
Joachim Trier
Black Panther
2018
Ryan Coogler
Gravity
2013
Alfonso Cuarón
Grizzly Man
2005
Werner Herzog
Memories of Murder
2003
Bong Joon Ho
Superbad
2007
Greg Mottola
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