The best movies of the 21st century
The top 3 according to 515 votes from people: Parasite · Mulholland Drive · There Will Be Blood. (Updated May 17, 2026.)
The top 25 of The New York Times' 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century (June 2025), voted by more than 500 directors, actors and other film people around the world.
Top 25
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1
Parasite
Bong Joon-ho, 2019. The Kims infiltrate the Parks' house; the first non-English-language Best Picture winner and the NYT's number one.
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2
Mulholland Drive
David Lynch, 2001. An aspiring actress and an amnesiac woman in a dreamlike Los Angeles.
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3
There Will Be Blood
Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007. Daniel Day-Lewis as oilman Daniel Plainview: 'I drink your milkshake!'
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4
Moonlight
Barry Jenkins, 2016. Three chapters in the life of Chiron in Miami; Oscar for Best Picture.
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5
In the Mood for Love
Wong Kar-wai, 2000. Two neighbours in 1962 Hong Kong discover their spouses are having an affair.
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6
No Country for Old Men
Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh, from Cormac McCarthy's novel; four Oscars.
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7
Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki, 2001. Chihiro in the bathhouse of the spirits; the highest-ranked animated film on the list.
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8
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Michel Gondry, 2004. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet erase each other from memory.
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9
Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino, 2009. Brad Pitt's Basterds and Christoph Waltz's Hans Landa in occupied France.
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10
Get Out
Jordan Peele, 2017. A weekend with the girlfriend's parents turns into horror and satire.
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11
Brokeback Mountain
Ang Lee, 2005. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, two cowboys in love over two decades.
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12
Children of Men
Alfonso Cuarón, 2006. A world without births and Clive Owen escorting the first pregnant woman in 18 years.
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13
Mad Max: Fury Road
George Miller, 2015. Furiosa and Max in a two-hour chase across the wasteland.
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14
The Zone of Interest
Jonathan Glazer, 2023. The domestic life of the Auschwitz commandant, next to the camp wall.
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15
The Wolf of Wall Street
Martin Scorsese, 2013. Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, stockbroker of excess.
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16
The Social Network
David Fincher, 2010. The birth of Facebook, written by Aaron Sorkin.
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17
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson, 2014. Monsieur Gustave and the lobby boy Zero in a fictional Central European republic.
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18
Y Tu Mamá También
Alfonso Cuarón, 2001. Two teenage friends and an older woman on a road trip through Mexico.
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19
Zodiac
David Fincher, 2007. The obsession of a cartoonist, a reporter and a detective with the Zodiac killer.
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20
Boyhood
Richard Linklater, 2014. Shot over twelve years with the same actors.
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21
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ang Lee, 2000. Wuxia among the bamboo treetops; the highest-grossing foreign-language film in US history.
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22
Her
Spike Jonze, 2013. Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with an operating system voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
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23
City of God
Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002. Rocket grows up amid the drug wars of a Rio favela.
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24
The Royal Tenenbaums
Wes Anderson, 2001. A family of fallen child prodigies and their scheming father, Gene Hackman.
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25
Phantom Thread
Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017. Daniel Day-Lewis as a 1950s London couturier in his last role before retiring.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (3)
Mulholland Drive at #2, still haven't figured it out 😅
Parasite at #1, the most perfect film of the century.
In the Mood for Love, the most beautiful film ever shot.