A few months ago, Marco Arment listed which of the most popular movies he had seen in the past fifteen years.
This amused me because I’ve also notoriously not seen a lot of popular movies, so I was curious to find out whether I’d seen more or fewer of them than he had.
Below is the list, which is taken from all of the “best picture” Oscar nominees since 2000, and the top ten highest grossing films in that time period.
- If the movie name is bold, I watched it and stayed awake through it
- If the movie name is in italics, I strongly believe that I watched it, but I have no memory of it, probably because I fell asleep in the middle (or the beginning)
- If the movie name has no special formatting, I didn’t watch it
2000
Traffic
Gladiator
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
What Women Want
Meet the Parents
Chocolat
Erin Brockovich
Mission: Impossible II
Cast Away
Dinosaur
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Perfect Storm
X-Men
What Lies Beneath
2000 total watched: 1 of 14
2001
A Beautiful Mind
Planet of the Apes
Monsters, Inc.
Ocean’s Eleven
Gosford Park
In the Bedroom
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Moulin Rouge
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Shrek
Pearl Harbor
The Mummy Returns
Jurassic Park III
Hannibal
2001 total watched: 2 of 14
Cumulative total watched: 3 of 28
2002
Gangs of New York
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Spider-Man
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Men in Black II
Die Another Day
Minority Report
Chicago
The Hours
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Pianist
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Signs
Ice Age
2002 total watched: 2 of 14
Cumulative total watched: 5 of 42
2003
Lost in Translation
Finding Nemo
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Bruce Almighty
The Last Samurai
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
X2
Bad Boys II
2003 total watched: 1 of 14
Cumulative total watched: 6 of 56
2004
Ray
The Incredibles
Ocean’s Twelve
Million Dollar Baby
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Sideways
Shrek 2
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Spider-Man 2
The Passion of the Christ
The Day After Tomorrow
Meet the Fockers
Troy
Shark Tale
2004 total watched: 1 of 15
Cumulative total watched: 7 of 71
2005
Brokeback Mountain
Crash
Munich
Crash
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Capote
Good Night, and Good Luck
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
War of the Worlds
King Kong
Madagascar
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Batman Begins
Hitch
2005 total watched: 3 of 15
Cumulative total watched: 10 of 86
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 1 of 10
2006
The Departed
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
Casino Royale
Cars
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Queen
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Da Vinci Code
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Night at the Museum
X-Men: The Last Stand
Mission: Impossible III
Superman Returns
Happy Feet
2006 total watched: 2 of 15
Cumulative total watched: 12 of 101
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 2 of 12
2007
No Country for Old Men
Juno
There Will Be Blood
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
I Am Legend
Atonement
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Spider-Man 3
Shrek the Third
Transformers
The Simpsons Movie
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
300
2007 total watched: 4 of 15
Cumulative total watched: 16 of 116
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 3 of 16
2008
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Dark Knight
Quantum of Solace
WALL-E
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Kung Fu Panda
Hancock
Mamma Mia!
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Iron Man
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
2008 total watched: 3 of 15
Cumulative total watched: 19 of 131
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 5 of 19
2009
District 9
Precious
The Hangover
A Serious Man
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
The Blind Side
An Education
Inglourious Basterds
Up
Up in the Air
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2012
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Sherlock Holmes
Angels & Demons
2009 total watched: 4 of 18
Cumulative total watched: 23 of 149
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 6 of 23
2010
The Social Network
Inception
Black Swan
Toy Story 3
The Kings’ Speech
127 Hours
The Fighter
The Kids Are All Right
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Shrek Forever After
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Iron Man 2
Tangled
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
2010 total watched: 3 of 18
Cumulative total watched: 26 of 167
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 7 of 26
2011
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol
Kung Fu Panda 2
Fast Five
The Hangover Part II
The Smurfs
Cars 2
2011 total watched: 1 of 19
Cumulative total watched: 27 of 186
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 8 of 27
2012
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Argo
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Ice Age: Continental Drift
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2
The Amazing Spider-Man
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
The Hunger Games
Men in Black 3
2012 total watched: 1 of 19
Cumulative total watched: 28 of 205
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 8 of 28
2013
Gravity
Her
The Wolf of Wall Street
American Hustle
Monsters University
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Nebraska
Philomena
Frozen
Iron Man 3
Despicable Me 2
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Fast & Furious 6
Man of Steel
Thor: The Dark World
2013 total watched: 4 of 18
Cumulative total watched: 32 of 223
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 10 of 32
2014
American Sniper
Boyhood
Interstellar
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Transformers: Age of Extinction
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Guardians of the Galaxy
Maleficent
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2014 total watched: 5 of 18
Cumulative total watched: 37 of 241
Cumulative total watched, but fell asleep: 13 of 37
So, of 241 wildly popular and/or highly esteemed movies from 2000 to 2014, I’ve seen 37, which is 15%. Of these, I’ve fallen asleep 35% of the time.