2002 was a spectacular year for the film industry: as popular franchises like Harry Potter and Spider-Man kick starter it! Hence, to give justice to other best movies from 2002, which surprisingly didn’t receive as much mass recognition, we have jotted a list of 27!
So in this article, we will discuss the 25 best movies from 2002 as per Metascore ratings. Therefore, keep in mind if the Metascore shuffles, it would directly affect the list. In that case, we will keep you updated with the latest data. Having said that, let’s begin!
Top 10 Recommended Movies From 2002 to Watch in 2023
You can skim through the top 10 best movies from 2002 in the table given below. We have also mentioned the Metascore ratings that helped in deciding the ranking!
| Rank | Movie | Metascore Rating |
| 1. | The Lord of the Rings | 87 |
| 2. | The Pianist | 85 |
| 3. | Adaptation | 83 |
| 4. | Chicago | 81 |
| 5. | The Hours | 80 |
| 6. | Minority Report | 80 |
| 7. | City of God | 79 |
| 8. | Punch-Drunk Love | 78 |
| 9. | Insomnia | 78 |
| 10. | 8 Mile | 77 |
In the list below, we have mentioned the 27 best movies from 2002:-
1. The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers
The director of the second Lord of the Rings movie was Peter Jackson. Although the first part was a commercial hit, The Two Towers is celebrated as the most compelling experience of all time.
- Genre: Fantasy-Adventure
- Rating: 87 Metascore
- Box Office: $947.9 Million USD
2. The Pianist
Centralized around World War 2, The Pianist focuses on Wladyslaw, a polished musician who somehow loses contact with his family. Further, as the severity of the situation kept increasing, he hid in ruins to survive further.
- Genre: Music, Biography, and Drama
- Rating: 85 Metascore
- Box Office: $120.1 Million USD
3. Adaptation
As the name suggests, Adaptation revolves around the screenwriter (Charlie Kauffman) adapting Susan Orlean’s book. However, he struggles with several mental disorders like anxiety, depression, social phobia, etc.
Hence, his twin brother learns about Screenwriting and further attends seminars.
- Genre: Drama and Comedy
- Rating: 83 Metascore
- Box Office: $32.8 Million USD
4. Chicago
Velma is a huge sensation in Chicago’s nightclub who frustratingly kills her cheating husband. Further, she hires Billy Flynn as her defense lawyer, who also defends another murderer, Roxie. The film begins with these two waiting for their respective trial in jail.
- Genre: Musical, Comedy, and Crime
- Rating: 81 Metascore
- Box Office: $306.8 Million USD
5. The Hours
The 2002 psychological drama stars Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore, whose lives are somehow connected by Virginia Woolf’s novel called Mrs. Dalloway.
Here, Nicole Kidman portrays the character of Virginia Woolf and her two best friends, Nicole and Meryl somehow find comfort in her above-mentioned novel.
- Genre: Romance and Drama
- Rating: 80 Metascore
- Box Office: $108.8 Million USD
6. Minority Report
Minority Report heavily relies on future elements like dystopia and utopian eras.
Moreover, the film deep dives into a lot more into how the future will be: that includes brand-new technology that notifies cops about criminals’ intentions. That’s how John Anderton’s innocence was proved when he was wrongfully accused of the crime.
- Genre: Mystery, Action, and Crime
- Rating: 80 Metascore
- Box Office: $358.4 Million USD
7. City of God
Brazillian origin film the City of God revolves around the crises of poverty and violence in Rio De Janeiro. Moreover, the two boys living in that environment ended up growing up in two distinct ways: One is a photographer, whereas the other is a drug dealer.
- Genre: Drama and Crime
- Rating: 79 Metascore
- Box Office: $30.6 Million USD
8. Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love is a Romantic-Drama that focuses on Barry Egan, who struggles with social anxiety and loneliness. So, to cure the same, he initiates calls on the phone-sex platform.
However, he ends up creating a huge problem for him and further messes up his relationship with Lena.
- Genre: Romance and Comedy
- Rating: 78 Metascore
- Box Office: $24.7 Million USD
9. Insomnia
The Psycho-Thriller film (Insomnia) centers around a murder of a teenage girl.
The police detective further visits her town (Alaska), where the murder suspect plays a psychological game with him, irrespective of their mental state.
- Genre: Mystery and Thriller
- Rating: 78 Metascore
- Box Office: $113.8 Million USD
10. 8 Mile
8 Miles stars Eminem who is portraying the character of Jimmy, an aspiring rapper. The circles around the highs and lows of his life when he chose to compete in a rap battle against a group who are his both on and off-stage rivals.
- Genre: Music and Drama
- Rating: 77 Metascore
- Box Office: $242.9Million USD
11. About A Boy
Will meets Marcus in a single-parent meeting: While Marcus is a 12-year-old troubled boy, Will’s simple goal in attending that meeting is to impress women.
However, the more they start getting along, the more Will becomes responsible. Other than that, the film features double narration, as sometimes you hear Marcus’ thoughts and sometimes Will’s.
- Genre: Comedy, Romance, and Drama
- Rating: 75 Metascore
- Box Office: $130.5 Million USD
12. Catch Me If You Can
Leonardo DiCaprio is playing an A-list con artist (Frank Abagdel) who has successfully deceived people of Millions of Dollars. However, the more his theft gets bolder, the faster he is sought after by FBI agent Carl Hanratty.
- Genre: Drama, Biography, and Crime
- Rating: 75 Metascore
- Box Office: $352.1 Million USD
13. Lilo & Stitch
Lilo and Stitch is an American comedy-drama produced by Walt Disney that centers around two characters called Lilo and Stitch.
Things further take a different route when Stitch (the extraterrestrial creature) shapeshifts into a Dog and further gets adopted by Lilo from an Animal shelter.
- Genre: Animation, Comedy, and Adventure
- Rating: 73 Metascore
- Box Office: $273.1 Million USD
14. Spider-Man
Inspired by comics written by Stan Lee, Spider-Man is a Marvel superhero whose poisonous spider bites. Peter Parker, who Toby Mcguire plays, further gains superpowers, which he uses to fight danger against New York City.
- Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure, and Action
- Rating: 73 Metascore
- Box Office: $1.916 Billion USD
15. The Rookie
The Rookie revolves around John Nolan, who is restarting his life after a major life event and yet pursues his dream of becoming an LAPD officer. However, since he is the oldest Rookie, there is a lot of pressure from those above him.
If he messes up among the young cops and criminals, then he will risk everybody’s life, including his own. On the flip side, if he indeed uses his humor, life experiences, and strong will, then he might as well become a successful one, irrespective of his age.
- Genre: Mystery, Action, and Crime
- Rating: 73 Metascore
- Box Office: $80.7 Million USD
16. 28 Days Later
Led by Cillian Murphy and Naomi Harris, 28 Days Later revolves around the United Kingdom’s havoc: Where a group of survivors is seeking out security to deal with the aftermath of an unexpected virus release.
- Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, and Horror
- Rating: 73 Metascore
- Box Office: $85.7 Million USD
17. Gangs of New York
The 2002’s released Gangs of New York is an iconic historical drama that is directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Kenneth Lonergan, Jay Cocks, and Steven Zaillian.
It deals with that long-running feud between Catholics–Protestants and how it further turns into violence. You can compare the scenario with a group of Irish immigrants protesting against the conscription’s threats.
- Genre: Historical Fiction, Drama, and Crime
- Rating: 72 Metascore
- Box Office: $198.3 Million USD
18. Road to Perdition
The crime-centric film revolves around an assassin whose son somehow witnesses a murder that, unfortunately, is committed by a man he works with. Now, the question is, will the man save his boss or his own son?
- Genre: Thriller, Crime, and Drama
- Rating: 72 Metascore
- Box Office: $181 Million USD
19. The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Identity is about a man who’s found unconscious on the street with a bullet-ridden body. However, when he wakes up, there is no tinge of memory. However, the road ahead is full of danger. Will he survive while getting his memory back?
- Genre: Mystery, Action, and Thriller
- Rating: 68 Metascore
- Box Office: $214 Million USD
20. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
When Harry is set to return to the magical world of Hogwarts, Dobby, the house elf, warns him to stay behind. Ignoring his warnings and breaking all the restrictions, Harry somehow reaches Hogwarts and further finds himself in another whole mystery.
- Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Family
- Rating: 63 Metascore
- Box Office: $879.8 Million USD
21. Secretary
A young woman who is recently released from a mental hospital gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer. Further, their professional relationship turns into a sexual one.
Down the line, she starts to discover hidden facets of her personality as she engages more and more in that relationship.
- Genre: Romance, Comedy, and Drama
- Rating: 63 Metascore
- Box Office: $9.3 Million USD
22. Unfaithful
Unfaithful is an erotic thriller film about a couple living in suburban New York City with their eight-year-old son, Charlie. Their marriage is loving but lacks thrill.
The problem arises when the wife indulges in an affair with an attractive stranger.
- Genre: Drama, Thriller, and Romance
- Rating: 63 Metascore
- Box Office: $119.1 Million USD
23. The Big Fat Greek Wedding
The Big Fat Greek Wedding is an American Rom-Com that focuses on Toula, a middle-class Greek-American woman who is still trying to accept her religion. The problem arises when she falls in love with a white man and further tries to convince her family to accept him.
- Genre: Drama, Romance, and Comedy
- Rating: 62 Metascore
- Box Office: $368.7 Million USD
24. The Count of Monte Cristo
This American-Historic film revolves around betrayal when Fernamd falls in love with his Best Friend’s (Dante) girlfriend and further gets the sailor accused of false treason.
Therefore, Dantes is further imprisoned at Chateau Prison on an island for 13 long years.
- Genre: Romance and Adventure
- Rating: 61 Metascore
- Box Office: $75.4 Million USD
25. Ice Age
Ice Age is a computer-animated film which Blue Sky Studios produce. It revolves around three important characters, Manny (Mammoth), Diego (saber-tooth Tiger), and Sid (Sloth), who work together to deliver a lost human baby to their father.
- Genre: Animation, Comedy, and Adventure
- Rating: 61 Metascore
- Box Office: $383.2 Million USD
26. Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones
In Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones, brave Jedi warriors investigate a dangerous plan that could cause trouble in the galaxy. Ten years after meeting, Anakin Skywalker falls in love with Padme Amidala. Watch this movie on Hotstar.
- Genre– Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
- Rating– 54 Metascore
- Box Office– 653.8 million USD
27. Infernal affairs
Infernal Affairs is a story between the Undercover cop and the mole in the police department. Their mission is the same, which is to find out who is the mole and who is a cop. You can watch this movie on Netflix.
- Genre– Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Rating– 75 Metascore
- Box Office– 55.1 million HKD
Related Reads
- Best Movies To Watch On Netflix
- Tinker Bell movie marathon lineup
- Spider-Man Movies Chronological Order
Conclusion: Which Are The Best Movies From 2002?
As of 2023, The Lord of the Rings, The Pianist, and Chicago are the top 3 best movies from 2002. However, the data is based on the Metascore ratings, so in case the rating shuffle (as it tends to happen), the list of best movies from 2002 shuffles is as well!
Therefore, to keep up with updated information, keep tabs on our page!
With that in mind, we hope our article was helpful! Though in case you have any additional queries, you can contact us via the comment section. We will revert soon.
FAQs
As of 2023, The Lord of the Rings is the #1 movie of 2002.
The Beautiful Mind won 4 awards, including Best Picture.
Two weeks’ notice, Reign of Fire and Equilibrium are some of the famous movies from 2002.
