Occasionally, a film is so striking or poignant that it becomes the topic of study for students across the country. Films, at their best, can be cultural objects used to reflect on society and human relations. Many have been immortalized in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry, which catalogs those films that it has deemed to be of cultural, historic, or aesthetic importance. (These are the 55 best movies ever made.)
To determine the most influential movies of the 21st century so far, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on syllabus citation counts from the non-profit Open Syllabus, an open-source project tallying the number of times a movie, book, or other media has been assigned across a corpus of millions of college syllabi. Movies released in 2001 or later were ranked based on the number of times they appear as assigned films on university syllabi, considering the movies that have been assigned the most to be the most influential. Documentary films were not considered. Supplemental data on IMDb user reviews and Rotten Tomatoes audience and Tomatometer rankings are current as of July 2023. Only movies with at least 2,000 IMDb user ratings were included. Director information is from IMDb.
Click here for a list of the most influential movies of the 21st century so far
Many of these films are indie masterpieces that look at the daily and family lives of marginalized people, including “Moonlight,” which follows a gay Black boy from his tumultuous childhood to an isolated adulthood, and “Fish Tank,” a British film about a teenager living in public housing who can’t keep herself out of trouble.
Several films that university students may study for their superb production design made the list, including “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Moulin Rouge!,” and “Hugo.” Science fiction films that are studied for their ability to project where humanity could be headed include “Arrival,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and “Minority Report.” (These are the best R-rated sci-fi movies of all time.)
50. Arrival (2016)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 102
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (633,887 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 82% (83,786 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 94% (440 reviews)
> Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
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49. Samson and Delilah (2009)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 104
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (3,675 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 76% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 94% (54 reviews)
> Directed by: Warwick Thornton
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48. Fish Tank (2009)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 105
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (63,924 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 79% (10,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 91% (151 reviews)
> Directed by: Andrea Arnold
47. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 106
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (683,967 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 91% (250,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 95% (243 reviews)
> Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro
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46. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 108
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (1,333,240 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 88% (776,325 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 89% (332 reviews)
> Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
45. Australia (2008)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 110
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (121,769 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 65% (261,547 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 55% (223 reviews)
> Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
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44. WALL·E (2008)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 111
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (1,042,798 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 90% (598,663 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 95% (260 reviews)
> Directed by: Andrew Stanton
43. Hunger (2008)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 114
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (71,139 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 83% (50,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 90% (133 reviews)
> Directed by: Steve McQueen
42. Far From Heaven (2002)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 115
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (45,393 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 80% (23,277 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 87% (221 reviews)
> Directed by: Todd Haynes
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41. The Social Network (2010)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 117
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (708,395 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86% (204,423 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 96% (329 reviews)
> Directed by: David Fincher
40. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 117
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (745,547 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86% (97,896 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 92% (310 reviews)
> Directed by: Wes Anderson
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39. Marie Antoinette (2006)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 119
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (113,465 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 56% (262,562 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 57% (214 reviews)
> Directed by: Sofia Coppola
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38. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 120
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (818,017 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 90% (1,155,878 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 91% (289 reviews)
> Directed by: Danny Boyle
37. Cachè (2005)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 121
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (82,717 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 78% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 89% (135 reviews)
> Directed by: Michael Haneke
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36. Hugo (2011)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 121
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (313,007 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 78% (82,996 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 93% (229 reviews)
> Directed by: Martin Scorsese
35. Django Unchained (2012)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 122
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (1,427,183 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 91% (429,752 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 87% (291 reviews)
> Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
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34. The Road (2009)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 124
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (230,284 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 68% (248,535 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 74% (217 reviews)
> Directed by: John Hillcoat
33. Distant (2002)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 125
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (21,719 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 82% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 87% (46 reviews)
> Directed by: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
32. Crash (2004)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 126
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (427,361 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 88% (442,396 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 74% (242 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul Haggis
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31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 126
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (338,254 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 82% (520,031 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 87% (247 reviews)
> Directed by: Ang Lee
30. District 9 (2009)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 126
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (654,962 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 82% (1,178,687 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 90% (314 reviews)
> Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
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29. Inception (2010)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 128
> IMDb user rating: 8.8/10 (2,171,143 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 91% (571,783 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 87% (361 reviews)
> Directed by: Christopher Nolan
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28. Black Panther (2018)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 129
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (676,684 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 79% (88,211 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 96% (525 reviews)
> Directed by: Ryan Coogler
27. Russian Ark (2002)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 132
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (21,221 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 80% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 89% (109 reviews)
> Directed by: Aleksandr Nikolaevic Sokurov
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26. Under the Skin (2013)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 133
> IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (150,450 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 55% (25,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 84% (260 reviews)
> Directed by: Jonathan Glazer
25. Melancholia (2011)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 134
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (189,141 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 67% (25,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 79% (209 reviews)
> Directed by: Lars Von Trier
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24. Minority Report (2002)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 140
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (526,585 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 80% (481,676 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 90% (253 reviews)
> Directed by: Steven Spielberg
23. The Class (2008)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 143
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (35,994 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 82% (10,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 95% (161 reviews)
> Directed by: Laurent Cantet
22. City of God (2002)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 144
> IMDb user rating: 8.6/10 (775,043 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 97% (250,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 91% (165 reviews)
> Directed by: Fernando Meirelles
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21. Avatar (2009)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 147
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (1,156,181 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 82% (1,382,993 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 81% (322 reviews)
> Directed by: James Cameron
20. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 151
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (29,647 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86% (10,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 88% (145 reviews)
> Directed by: Phillip Noyce
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19. The Lives of Others (2006)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 156
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (398,406 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 96% (100,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 92% (164 reviews)
> Directed by: Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
18. The Dark Knight (2008)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 158
> IMDb user rating: 9.0/10 (2,419,864 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 94% (1,831,566 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 94% (345 reviews)
> Directed by: Christopher Nolan
17. Spirited Away (2001)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 166
> IMDb user rating: 8.6/10 (693,872 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 96% (337,321 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 97% (191 reviews)
> Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
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16. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 166
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (369,114 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 87% (100,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 83% (261 reviews)
> Directed by: David Lynch
15. Lost in Translation (2003)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 166
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (432,805 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 85% (337,639 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 95% (232 reviews)
> Directed by: Sofia Coppola
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14. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 172
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (1,036,991 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86% (100,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 97% (438 reviews)
> Directed by: George Miller
13. The Tempest (2010)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 178
> IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (7,708 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 28% (19,176 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 30% (89 reviews)
> Directed by: Julie Taymor
12. Her (2013)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 195
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (567,662 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 82% (101,810 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 94% (283 reviews)
> Directed by: Spike Jonze
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11. No Country for Old Men (2007)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 198
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (900,943 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86% (399,547 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 93% (288 reviews)
> Directed by: Joel & Ethan Coen
10. Persepolis (2007)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 203
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (91,738 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 92% (50,465 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 96% (162 reviews)
> Directed by: Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
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9. Let the Right One In (2008)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 214
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (221,995 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 90% (50,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 98% (195 reviews)
> Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
8. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 223
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (273,711 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 89% (505,354 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 76% (201 reviews)
> Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 239
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (948,653 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 94% (571,910 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 92% (250 reviews)
> Directed by: Michel Gondry
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6. Atonement (2007)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 243
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (262,734 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 80% (227,243 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 83% (219 reviews)
> Directed by: Joe Wright
5. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 245
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (616,488 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 91% (1,922,847 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 92% (269 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul Greengrass
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4. Elephant (2003)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 251
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (92,824 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 79% (59,193 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 73% (161 reviews)
> Directed by: Gus Van Sant
3. There Will Be Blood (2007)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 258
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (544,988 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86% (255,474 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 91% (243 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
2. Adaptation. (2002)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 274
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (194,759 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 85% (188,786 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 91% (211 reviews)
> Directed by: Spike Jonze
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1. Moonlight (2016)
> Est. no. times assigned on college syllabi: 339
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (288,673 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 79% (45,830 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating: 98% (392 reviews)
> Directed by: Barry Jenkins
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