2002

Academy winner Chicago poster

Chicago

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Should have won

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

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The Academy's ballot

🏆Chicago#1971.14 🎬The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers#186.57 🎬The Pianist#384.23 🎬Gangs of New York#1574.01 🎬The Hours#1873.02

Your #1 was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (#1).

The full slate

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great💰 Box office #1

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Dir. Peter Jackson · Elijah Wood · Ian McKellen · Viggo Mortensen · Sean Astin

IMDb 8.8 (1,961,867 votes) · TMDB 8.4

Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring--but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers--Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron's fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor. Frodo and Sam are trekking to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power while Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn search for the orc-captured Merry and Pippin. All along, nefarious wizard Saruman awaits the Fellowship members at the Orthanc Tower in Isengard.

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City of God (2002)

⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great

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Dir. Fernando Meirelles · Alexandre Rodrigues · Leandro Firmino · Phellipe Haagensen · Douglas Silva

IMDb 8.6 (873,028 votes) · TMDB 8.4

In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.

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The Pianist (2002)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great

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Dir. Roman Polanski · Adrien Brody · Thomas Kretschmann · Frank Finlay · Maureen Lipman

IMDb 8.5 (1,014,231 votes) · TMDB 8.374

The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.

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Catch Me If You Can (2002)

⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great

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Dir. Steven Spielberg · Leonardo DiCaprio · Tom Hanks · Christopher Walken · Martin Sheen

IMDb 8.1 (1,245,426 votes) · TMDB 7.978

A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.

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Infernal Affairs (2002)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Alan Mak Siu-Fai · Andy Lau · Tony Leung Chiu-wai · Anthony Wong Chau-Sang · Eric Tsang Chi-Wai

IMDb 8.0 (138,451 votes) · TMDB 7.807

Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.

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The Bourne Identity (2002)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Doug Liman · Matt Damon · Franka Potente · Chris Cooper · Clive Owen

IMDb 7.8 (615,246 votes) · TMDB 7.48

Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?

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Hero (2002)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Zhang Yimou · Jet Li · Tony Leung Chiu-wai · Maggie Cheung · Donnie Yen

IMDb 7.9 (194,498 votes) · TMDB 7.515

During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.

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Talk to Her (2002)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Pedro Almodóvar · Javier Cámara · Darío Grandinetti · Leonor Watling · Rosario Flores

IMDb 7.9 (120,684 votes) · TMDB 7.57

Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.

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The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Kevin Reynolds · Jim Caviezel · Guy Pearce · Richard Harris · James Frain

IMDb 7.7 (160,440 votes) · TMDB 7.7

Young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes, finds treasure, and reinvents himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.

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#10

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets poster

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #2

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Dir. Chris Columbus · Daniel Radcliffe · Rupert Grint · Emma Watson · Kenneth Branagh

IMDb 7.5 (768,069 votes) · TMDB 7.7

Cars fly, trees fight back, and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts. Adventure and danger await when bloody writing on a wall announces: The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. To save Hogwarts will require all of Harry, Ron and Hermione's magical abilities and courage.

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#11

Minority Report (2002)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #10

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Dir. Steven Spielberg · Tom Cruise · Colin Farrell · Samantha Morton · Max von Sydow

IMDb 7.6 (621,976 votes) · TMDB 7.355

John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

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#12

Road to Perdition (2002)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Sam Mendes · Tom Hanks · Paul Newman · Jude Law · Tyler Hoechlin

IMDb 7.6 (300,982 votes) · TMDB 7.4

Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him.

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#13

Ice Age (2002)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #8

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Dir. Chris Wedge · Ray Romano · John Leguizamo · Denis Leary · Goran Višnjić

IMDb 7.5 (566,373 votes) · TMDB 7.4

Manny the mammoth, Sid the loquacious sloth, and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger go on a comical quest to return a human baby back to his father, across a world on the brink of an ice age.

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#14

Adaptation. (2002)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Spike Jonze · Nicolas Cage · Meryl Streep · Chris Cooper · Tilda Swinton

IMDb 7.6 (213,331 votes) · TMDB 7.336

Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman and Orlean's book become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the other's.

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#15

Gangs of New York (2002)

🎬 Nominee

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Dir. Martin Scorsese · Leonardo DiCaprio · Daniel Day-Lewis · Cameron Diaz · Jim Broadbent

IMDb 7.5 (506,815 votes) · TMDB 7.319

In early 1860s New York, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon is released from prison and returns to the Five Points, seeking revenge against his father's killer, William Cutting, a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting's inner circle. Vallon's journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people.

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#16

28 Days Later (2002)

⭐ Top-rated

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Dir. Danny Boyle · Cillian Murphy · Naomie Harris · Brendan Gleeson · Megan Burns

IMDb 7.5 (549,442 votes) · TMDB 7.245

Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs -- and it's absolutely impossible to contain.

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#17

Spider-Man (2002)

💰 Box office #3

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Dir. Sam Raimi · Tobey Maguire · Willem Dafoe · Kirsten Dunst · James Franco

IMDb 7.4 (971,039 votes) · TMDB 7.3

After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.

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#18

The Hours (2002)

🎬 Nominee

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Dir. Stephen Daldry · Julianne Moore · Nicole Kidman · Meryl Streep · Stephen Dillane

IMDb 7.5 (147,346 votes) · TMDB 7.3

The story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a surprising, transcendent moment of shared recognition.

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#19

Chicago (2002)

🏆 Winner

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Dir. Rob Marshall · Renée Zellweger · Catherine Zeta-Jones · Richard Gere · Queen Latifah

IMDb 7.2 (257,101 votes) · TMDB 7.133

Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

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#20

Signs (2002)

💰 Box office #7

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Dir. M. Night Shyamalan · Mel Gibson · Joaquin Phoenix · Rory Culkin · Abigail Breslin

IMDb 6.8 (415,265 votes) · TMDB 6.704

A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

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#21

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones poster

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

💰 Box office #4

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Dir. George Lucas · Hayden Christensen · Ewan McGregor · Natalie Portman · Christopher Lee

IMDb 6.6 (823,888 votes) · TMDB 6.595

Following an assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi investigate a mysterious plot into the heart of the Separatist movement and the beginning of the Clone Wars.

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#22

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

💰 Box office #9

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Dir. Joel Zwick · Nia Vardalos · John Corbett · Lainie Kazan · Michael Constantine

IMDb 6.6 (151,444 votes) · TMDB 6.503

A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.

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#23

Men in Black II (2002)

💰 Box office #5

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Dir. Barry Sonnenfeld · Tommy Lee Jones · Will Smith · Rip Torn · Lara Flynn Boyle

IMDb 6.2 (432,707 votes) · TMDB 6.388

Kay and Jay reunite to provide our best, last and only line of defense against a sinister seductress who levels the toughest challenge yet to the MIB's untarnished mission statement – protecting Earth from the scum of the universe. It's been four years since the alien-seeking agents averted an intergalactic disaster of epic proportions. Now it's a race against the clock as Jay must convince Kay – who not only has absolutely no memory of his time spent with the MIB, but is also the only living person left with the expertise to save the galaxy – to reunite with the MIB before the earth submits to ultimate destruction.

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#24

Die Another Day (2002)

💰 Box office #6

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Dir. Lee Tamahori · Pierce Brosnan · Halle Berry · Toby Stephens · Rosamund Pike

IMDb 6.1 (241,174 votes) · TMDB 5.999

James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.

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How scoring works: films are ranked by a composite of a weighted (Bayesian) IMDb rating — the same method as the IMDb Top 250, so a high score from few voters can't outrank a strong score from many — blended with TMDB. Box office is a tiebreaker and a badge, never part of the score. Raw IMDb ratings and vote counts are shown on each card.