The 8 Biggest Movies of 2001, and Whether They Were Any Good

2001 sold a lot of tickets. Most of them went to movies scoring under 5. Here's the top eight by worldwide gross, judged honestly.

The #1 made a billion dollars. You're about to defend it in the comments.

1. 8
   Hannibal (2001)4.4

   Ridley Scott made a fancy sequel nobody actually needed.

   $351.7M worldwide, a C+ CinemaScore and a 4.4 movie.guru score. Hopkins is still magnetic. The movie around him is all gloss and no grip.
2. 7
   Planet of the Apes (2001)3.1

   Tim Burton remade a classic and lost the plot.

   $362.2M worldwide on a reported $100M budget, then a 3.1 movie.guru score. Audiences rate it above only 13% of movies. The makeup worked harder than the script.
3. 6
   Jurassic Park III (2001)3.0

   The dinosaur sequel that plays like a deleted subplot.

   $368.8M worldwide and a 3.0 movie.guru score, the lowest on this list. Sam Neill came back for this. The 49% on Rotten Tomatoes feels generous.
4. 5
   The Mummy Returns (2001)4.5

   Loud, silly, and way more fun than its score admits.

   Critics shrugged with 46% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave it an A− CinemaScore and $444.1M worldwide. Brendan Fraser carries a 4.5 movie with the charm of a 9.
5. 4
   Pearl Harbor (2001)3.9

   A love triangle wearing a history movie costume.

   Reported $140M budget, $449.2M worldwide, 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. Guru's Take is 3.6, under the 3.9 movie.guru score. Michael Bay cared more about the explosions than the people.
6. 3
   Ocean's Eleven (2001)7.4

   The coolest movie on this list, and it isn't close.

   $450.9M worldwide on a reported $85M budget, 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, Guru's Take 8.4. Clooney and Pitt make standing around in suits look like an Olympic event.
7. 2
   The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)8.9

   The best movie of 2001, and it only finished second.

   8.9 movie.guru score, 92 on Metacritic, over 2.2 million IMDb votes, $897.5M worldwide on a reported $93M. Yes, it's mostly walking. Best walking ever filmed.
8. 1
   Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)7.7

   Biggest movie of 2001. Not the best. Not even second.

   $1.03B worldwide and an A CinemaScore. Guru's Take is 7.4, under its 7.7 movie.guru score and behind Ocean's Eleven. A charming castle tour with a thin movie inside.

$286.19 says someone types "but the Quidditch scene" before anyone mentions Ocean's Eleven.

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