2003 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country- and genre- specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 2003 by worldwide gross are as follows:
+ Highest-grossing films of 2003 Rank Title Distributor Worldwide gross 1 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line $1,118,887,224 2 Finding Nemo Walt Disney Pictures $871,014,978 3 The Matrix Reloaded Warner Bros. $739,412,035 4 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Walt Disney Pictures $654,264,015 5 Bruce Almighty Universal / Buena Vista $484,592,874 6 The Last Samurai Warner Bros. $454,627,263 7 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Warner Bros. / Sony / Columbia $433,371,112 8 The Matrix Revolutions Warner Bros. $427,343,298 9 X2 20th Century Fox $407,711,549 10 Bad Boys II Sony / Columbia $273,339,556
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King grossed more than $1.14 billion, making it the highest-grossing film in 2003 worldwide and in North America and the second-highest-grossing film up to that time. It was also the second film to surpass the billion-dollar milestone after Titanic in 1997.
Finding Nemo was the highest-grossing animated movie of all time until being overtaken by Shrek 2 in 2004.
Events February 24: The Pianist, directed by Roman Polanski, wins 7 César Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Original Music and Best Cinematography. June 12: Gregory Peck dies of bronchopneumonia. June 29: Katharine Hepburn dies of cardiac arrest. November 17: Arnold Schwarzenegger sworn in as Governor of California. December 22: Both of the movies from the Matrix trilogy released in 2003 were shut out of visual effects Oscar consideration by the Visual Effects Award Nominating Committee. December 31: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences mails nomination ballots in which it qualifies 254 films released in 2003 as eligible for Oscar consideration.
Award ceremonies 8th Empire Awards
Awards Category/Organization 9th Critics' Choice Awards January 10, 2004 61st Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 25, 2004 57th BAFTA AwardsFebruary 15, 2004 Producers, Directors, Screen Actors, and Writers Guild Awards 76th Academy Awards February 29, 2004 Drama Musical or Comedy Best Film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Best Director Peter JacksonThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Peter WeirMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the World Peter JacksonThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Best Actor Sean PennMystic River Bill MurrayLost in Translation Johnny DeppPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Sean PennMystic River Best Actress Charlize TheronMonster Diane KeatonSomething's Gotta Give Scarlett JohanssonLost in Translation Charlize TheronMonster Best Supporting Actor Tim RobbinsMystic River Bill NighyLove Actually Tim RobbinsMystic River Best Supporting Actress Renée ZellwegerCold Mountain Best Screenplay, Adapted Jim Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan and Naomi SheridanIn America Sofia CoppolaLost in Translation Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Fran WalshThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Shari Springer Berman and Robert PulciniAmerican Splendor Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Fran WalshThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Best Screenplay, Original Tom McCarthyThe Station Agent Sofia CoppolaLost in Translation Best Animated Film Finding Nemo Finding Nemo Best Original Score The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingHoward Shore Cold MountainT-Bone Burnett and Gabriel Yared The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingHoward Shore Best Original Song "A Mighty Wind"A Mighty Wind "Into the West"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King "Into the West"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Best Foreign Language Film The Barbarian Invasions Osama In This World The Barbarian Invasions
Palme d'Or (56th Cannes Film Festival): Elephant, directed by Gus Van Sant, United States
Golden Lion (60th Venice International Film Festival): The Return (Возвращение), directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia
Golden Bear (53rd Berlin International Film Festival): In This World, directed by Michael Winterbottom, United Kingdom
2003 films By country/region List of American films of 2003 List of Argentine films of 2003 List of Australian films of 2003 List of Bangladeshi films of 2003 List of British films of 2003 List of Canadian films of 2003 List of Chinese films of 2003 List of French films of 2003 List of Hong Kong films of 2003 List of Indian films of 2003 List of Bengali films of 2003 List of Hindi films of 2003 List of Kannada films of 2003 List of Malayalam films of 2003 List of Marathi films of 2003 List of Punjabi films of 2003 List of Tamil films of 2003 List of Telugu films of 2003 List of Japanese films of 2003 List of Mexican films of 2003 List of Pakistani films of 2003 List of Russian films of 2003 List of South Korean films of 2003 List of Spanish films of 2003
By genre/medium List of action films of 2003 List of animated feature films of 2003 List of avant-garde films of 2003 List of crime films of 2003 List of comedy films of 2003 List of drama films of 2003 List of horror films of 2003 List of science fiction films of 2003 List of thriller films of 2003 List of western films of 2003
Births January 2 – Cyrus Arnold, American actor January 4 – Jaeden Martell, American actor February 4 – Edvin Ryding, Swedish actor February 6 - Fabian Penje, Swedish actor February 20 Olivia Rodrigo, American actress and singer William Gao, English actor and singer March 1 – Yasmeen Fletcher, American actress and musician March 3 – Thomas Barbusca, American actor March 6 – Millicent Simmonds, American actress March 12 – Malina Weissman, American actress March 20 – Cooper Hoffman, American actor April 3 – Elsie Fisher, American actress April 9 – Lilia Buckingham, American actress, author and dancer April 13 – Jean Paulo Campos, Brazilian actor April 30 – Emily Carey, English actress and model May 1 – Lizzy Greene, American actress May 19 Daiken Okudaira, Japanese actor JoJo Siwa, American singer, actress and YouTuber May 24 - Megan Stott, American actress June 1 Emjay Anthony, American actor Shailyn Pierre-Dixon, Canadian actress June 2 – Jeremy Ray Taylor, American actor June 3 – Louis Partridge, English actor June 16 – Anna Cathcart, Canadian actress June 18 – Bailey Bass, American actress June 29 – Alexys Nycole Sanchez, American actress July 1 – Storm Reid, American actress July 9 – Marcel Ruiz, Puerto Rican actor July 13 Hannah Cheramy, Canadian actress Wyatt Oleff, American actor August 18 – Max Charles, American actor August 25 – Iñaki Godoy, Mexican actor August 26 - Jake Ryan, American actor August 28 Lexi Underwood, American actress and singer Quvenzhané Wallis, American actress August 30 – Yasmin Finney, English actress September 3 – Jack Dylan Grazer, American actor September 8 - Nicolas Cantu, American actor September 18 – Aidan Gallagher, American actor and musician September 24 – Joe Locke, Manx actor September 25 – Bella Ramsey, English actress September 26 – Sam Nivola, English actor October 27 - Gavin Lewis, American actor November 7 Lara McDonnell, Irish actress Park Ji-hu, South Korean actress November 26 - Asha Banks, English actress and singer December 22 – Joe Anders, American-British actor
Deaths