Every Highest Grossing Film Since 2000 Ranked

Year: 2001

Rest Of The Top Ten:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Monsters Inc., Shrek, Ocean's Eleven, Pearl Harbor, The Mummy Returns, Jurassic Park III, Planet of the Apes and Hannibal.

The very first Harry Potter film, this was the start of one of cinema's most successful franchises and was so commercially successful that the franchise itself didn't match its box office results until the last installment.

Watching this now, one's childhood might be ruined given how badly it's aged in less than 20 years and it's no controversial thing to say that this is one of Harry's weaker adventures. What's most surprising is how this basically copies and pastes JK Rowling's brilliant children's book to the screen yet lacks much of the book's wit, richness and texture. There's a somewhat workmanlike vibe to the entire thing and the child actors were also pretty annoying back then.

At the same time, it's hard to complain about this film. With strong world-building and a real sense of child-like wonder, it's still an enjoyable, warm and well-constructed adventure that, however naff it might seem now, was overall a good start to the franchise.