Most movie historians, other pundits and fans have debated endlessly about the greatest year in movie history. There is no clear consensus, except perhaps for 1939, but other years in the discussion generally include 1967, 1975, 1982, 1984, 1994, and 1999. A twelve-month period from the twenty-first century is also thrown into the mix, as 2007 and 2014.
But an argument that isn’t debated nearly as often is the given months within an individual year. Imagine the age-old scenario of a friend asking: If you could go back in time, where would you go? Imagine going back to a lonely week of a certain year when some of your favorite movies ever made were all in theaters at the same time. That could be the case for many months in movie history, which would obviously have more options than the years themselves.
Perhaps the most celebrated month in US cinema history – when taking into account the official theatrical release date of any given film – would be December 2001. There are obviously many months that rival that. But looking at the amount of money made from these films, the number of accolades at major award shows, and the overall quality of the projects themselves, it should be abundantly clear that the past month has been the highest quality American cinema has ever offered. . .
Not to mention that there was something for every movie buff here. Whether you prefer war films, sports films, action-packed adventures or romping through iconic fantasy landscapes, December 2001 had a wide variety of genres, which should no doubt play a role in determining the best month.
Other impressive months in American cinema
August 1967 was one of the first months in cinema history to see several notable films hit theaters at the same time. Audiences had the luxury of choosing between In the dead of night (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), and Point empty (1967). All three of those films have since been held by the Library of Congress in the National Film Registry, which could very well be a record.
Then, in December ’73, moviegoers enjoyed crime movies like Serpico (1973) with Al Pacino and The stab (1973) with both Paul Newman and Robert Redford. There was also the critically acclaimed, supernatural horror film The exorcist (1973), ready to scare the pants off all in attendance. And exactly one year later Black Christmas (1974) had the same effect as a fan-favorite slasher.
Includes other December ’74 movies Young Frankenstein (1974), The towering inferno (1974), Alice no longer lives here (1974), and most importantly The Godfather: Part II (1974). That’s a wide variety of genres, with some absolute classics in the mix. Speaking of, May 1980 had two classics of the horror genre and one of the most influential sci-fi films ever made.
The two horror movies were Friday the 13th (1980) and The shining (1980), while the sci-fi project was natural The Empire strikes back (1980). Not much needs to be said about any of these three films – they are three of the most popular films ever made, to be honest, and apart from Friday the 13th, they are also among the top rated. But not enough variety or volume. But speaking of genre (again), June 1982 saw five absolute behemoths of science fiction.
Poltergeist (1982), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982), Blade Runner (1982), The thing (1982), ed ET the alien (1982) were all available to the public within the same four-week period. There’s never been a more stacked year for that particular genre, and all five of those projects have played a huge part in popularizing that prospect. But still: not enough variety to be considered the best.
June 1989 had a huge balance of success. Critics raved about movies like Dead Poets Association (1989) and Do the right thing (1989), as audiences traveled en masse to see Ghostbusters II (1989), Batman (1989), and Honey, I shrunk the kids (1989). Of course, those commercial successes were also of relative quality.
Once the industry got closer to the twenty-first century, more movies were pumped in from all corners of the United States. So it is clear that more months in movie history were piled up with popular titles. Therefore, the subsequent thirty-day timeframes were much more impressive, not only in terms of genre variety, but also in terms of critical reception, garnered accolades, and success in theaters.
The months that really competed with December 2001
From the get-go, it’s worth noting that December is arguably the most stacked month in the history of cinema in the United States. So in other words, Hollywood often spoils moviegoers with presents when Christmas rolls around. In December 1997 you could enjoy the criminal stint of Jackie Brown (1997), the self-referential terror of Scream 2 (1997), or the excitement in the cage of The boxer (1997).
But there were also several Oscar darlings and financial juggernauts like Good Will Hunting (1997), As well as possible in the given circumstances (1997), Wag the dog (1997), and the transcendental Titanic (1997). And most of them were of the very highest quality. Then, to keep up with the gift-giving trend, December 1999 is the next month worth mentioning.
This year is often regarded as one of the best in history, and many of this last month’s projects have greatly contributed to that success. The cider house rules (1999), The Green Mile (1999), Magnolia (1999), The hurricane (1999), ed The talented Mr. Ripley (1999) all contained some of the best performances of the entire decade, and the overall products were excellent in their own right.
And then we’re not even talking about other hits like Man on the moon (1999), Girl interrupted (1999), ed galaxy quest (1999). Three years later, sticking with the same month again, December 2002 gave the year at hand arguably the best run for its money. Also only a year apart.
Nine different films this month received nominations at the Academy Awards. In fact, of all nine films, they were nominated for a total of 59 of the 112 available awards, with 16 of the 24 wins. How is that possible? Well, not all of the films from that Ceremony have aged particularly well, but some titles certainly did, such as Amendment (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), Catch me if you can (2002), The pianist (2002), and of course The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
That’s an insane lineup, and there would still be five movies worth writing home about if it weren’t paramount to acknowledge November 2012. There are only five known titles, but they are all absolute masterpieces: Flight (2012), Lincoln (2012), Skyfall (2012), Pi’s life (2012), and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Speaking of quality – and there was also the underrated gambling movie Kill them gently (2012). All those projects became highly awarded, with 38 Oscar nominations and nine wins.
Two years later, in October 2014, acclaimed directors such as Damien Chazelle and Alexandro Gonzales Iñárritu both released their respective masterpieces in whiplash (2014) and bird man; or, the unexpected virtue of ignorance (2014). Meanwhile, David Fincher released another great thriller Missing girl (2014). There was also Fury (2014), a war movie starring Brad Pitt, John Wick (2014), one of the highest-rated action films of the century, and Last shift (2014), an underrated psychological horror film.
The last month worth mentioning is November 2017: and no, that’s not just about the release of Thor: Ragnarok (2017) within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There were also Oscar darlings like Darkest hour (2017), Call me by your name (2017), Lady Bird (2017), ed Three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). And after taking into account Pixar’s recent masterpiece Coco (2017), this month should undoubtedly go down in history. But in the end, one stands out above all the others.
December 2001 — Why it stands out
If box office success piques your interest, look no further Under the spell of the ring: the company of the ring (2001). While the final entry of Peter Jackson’s critically acclaimed fantasy trilogy has been cited by many fans as the best project in it, Fellowship may hold up better than the others due to its rock solid narrative structure coupled with the humor of the script.
The actors did a great job too, and honestly thousands more could be written home about its quality. But there was another commercial hit Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Steven Soderbergh’s heist film that grossed $450 million on an $85 million budget. It assembled one of cinema’s most star-studded casts to also garner critical acclaim – and it did Black Hawk down (2001), Ridley Scott’s seminal war film.
Those are three disparate genres that all achieved critical and commercial success across the board. But there was also Michael Mann’s sports film Ali (2001), a science fiction project Vanilla air (2001) with Tom Cruise, and a little romance for the mix by way of Monster ball (2001). None of those three held up particularly well compared to everything else covered this month, but they all put on phenomenal performances with acting nominations at the Oscars for each.
And then there were different parts of life like No man’s land (2001), Iris (2001), A beautiful mind (2001), Gosford Park (2001), I am Sam (2001), and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). That last one stands out as one of the most underrated films to come up in the months mentioned above, and it remains the best film of American author Wes Anderson’s career even after thirty years on the Hollywood scene.
And finally, in terms of genre, if your kids used to watch cartoons in their free time, there were even animated movies like Pokémon: Mewtwo returns (2001) and Jimmy Neutron: Boy genius (2001). Of course, there’s not much to write home about from a critical perspective either way. But overall it didn’t need this month – it was brimming with quality just about everywhere.
Ocean’s Eleven is one of the best-made heist movies ever made, satisfying the needs of crime movie fans everywhere. Black Hawk down has gone down as one of the best war films of the century. And while Ali isn’t the biggest drama the industry has ever seen, it was still a well enough rated project to excite the sports film fans out there.
And of course, The Company of the Ring is arguably the greatest fantasy film to hit the silver screen. That’s quite the variety of genres. And when taking into account more dramatic literary style projects like A beautiful mind, Gosford ParkAnd The Royal Tenenbaumsthere is no doubt that December 2001 is the best month in history cinemas in the United States.