2021 in film

2021 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, and movie programming.

Evaluation of the year

In his article highlighting the best movies of 2021, Richard Brody of The New Yorker said, "From an artistic perspective, 2021 has been an excellent cinematic vintage, yet the bounty is shadowed by an air of doom. The reopening of theatres has brought many great movies—some of which were postponed from last year—to the big screen, but fewer people to see them. The biggest successes, as usual, have been superhero and franchise films. The French Dispatch has done respectably in wide release, and Licorice Pizza is doing superbly on four screens in New York and Los Angeles, but few, if any, of the year’s best films are likely to reach high on the box-office charts. The shift toward streaming was already under way when the pandemic struck, and as the trend has accelerated it’s had a paradoxical effect on movies. On the one hand, a streaming release is a wide release, happily accessible to all (or to all subscribers). On the other, an online release usually registers as a nonevent, and many of the great movies hardly make a blip on the mediascape despite being more accessible than ever."^[1]

Highest-grossing films

^ Excludes grosses from subsequent re-releases.

2021 box office records

Worldwide, the global box office ended the year at $21.4 billion, a figure 78% higher than 2020.^[4]
China was the highest-grossing country of 2021 with $7.3 billion.^[5]
In the United States and Canada, theaters earned an estimated $4.55 billion throughout 2021, a statistic 100% higher than 2020's $2.28 billion and 60% lower than 2019's $11.4 billion.^[6]

Film records

The Marvel Cinematic Universe became the first film franchise to gross $23 billion, $24 billion, and $25 billion with the releases of Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.^{[citation needed]} Additionally, the MCU became the first film franchise to have ten films gross over $1 billion with the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Spider-Man: No Way Home became the 48th film to gross $1 billion worldwide (the first film to do so since 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), surpassed Spider-Man: Far From Home as Sony's highest-grossing film of all time,^[7] and attained the distinction of being the highest-grossing film not to be released in China (one of the world's biggest box office markets).^[8]
- Also, is the third film to surpass the $800 million mark in North America.
- In Latin America, No Way Home became the all-time highest-grossing film in Mexico ($75 million), and the second all-time highest in Brazil ($55 million), Central America ($12.6 million) and Ecuador ($7.9 million).^[9]
The Battle at Lake Changjin became the highest-grossing non-English film of all time as well as highest-grossing Chinese film of all time.^[10]
- The Battle at Lake Changjin also became the second highest-grossing film in a single market, after Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) in the United States.^[11]^[12]
Hi, Mom became the highest-grossing film by a solo female director, surpassing the record set by Wonder Woman (2017).^[13]
Detective Chinatown 3 set the record for the biggest opening weekend in a single territory, surpassing the record set by Avengers: Endgame in 2019, and had the tenth highest-grossing opening weekend on release.^[14]
Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time again after a re-release in China increased its gross past $2.8 billion.^[15]
The anime film Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020) released in North America in April 2021, with its opening weekend gross of $19.5 million setting the record as the biggest opening for any foreign-language film released in North America.^[16]^{[dubious – discuss]}

Events

Award ceremonies

Film festivals

List of some of the film festivals for 2021 that have been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).

Awards

2021 films

By country/region

By genre/medium

Deaths

Film debuts

Notes

^ From 2016 onward, the category was shifted from the Critics' Choice Awards to the ancillary Critics' Choice Documentary Awards.

References

^ Brody, Richard (2 December 2021). "The Best Movies of 2021". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
^ "2021 Worldwide Box Office". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
^ "Top 2021 Movies at the Worldwide Box Office". The Numbers. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^ Tartaglione, Nancy (January 6, 2022). "Worldwide Box Office Climbed 78% In 2021 To $21.4 Billion Amid Covid Flux As Spider-Man Brought The Year Home: Global Studio Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
^ Brzeski, Patrick (January 3, 2022). "China Retains Global Box Office Crown With $7.3B in 2021, Down 26 Percent From 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 2, 2022). "Spider-Man: No Way Home Now 10th-Highest At US Box Office With $610M; 2021 B.O. Ends With $4.55B, +100% From 2020 – Sunday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
^ Pahle, Rebecca (29 December 2021). "Spider-Man: No Way Home Becomes Highest-Grossing Film in Sony Pictures' History". Boxoffice Pro. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
^ "'Spider-Man: No Way Home' could have hit $2 billion at the global box office if it were released in China". CNBC. February 7, 2022.
^ Tartaglione, Nancy (16 January 2022). "'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Tops $1.6B WW & Becomes Biggest Movie Ever In Mexico; 'Scream' Shouts With $49M Global Bow – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
^ "Boxoffice,China Boxoffice,China film Boxoffice,Weekly Boxoffice,Yearly Boxoffice-EntGroup". Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
^ "Biggest Film in a Single Market". The Numbers. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
^ "Le Top Tous Marchés - Films a Plus De 100M$ Dans Un Pays" [Top All Markets - Films Over $100M in One Country]. JP's Box-Office (in French). Retrieved 25 March 2022.
^ "Box Office: China's 'Hi, Mom' Passes 'Wonder Woman' as Top-Grossing Movie from Solo Female Director". Forbes.
^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2021-02-14). "'Detective Chinatown 3' Tops 'Avengers: Endgame' For Biggest Opening Weekend Ever In A Single Market With $398M, IMAX Crushes Records & Performance Perks Up Hollywood Hope – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2021-02-14. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
^ Tartaglione, Nancy (March 13, 2021). "'Avatar' Overtakes 'Avengers: Endgame' As All-Time Highest-Grossing Film Worldwide; Rises To $2.8B Amid China Reissue – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
^ Hoffman, Jordan (May 2, 2021). "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Makes Box Office History". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
^ "Golden Globes Sets Late February Date After Oscars Delay". The Hollywood Reporter. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
^ "Film nominees for the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards have been announced". Critics Choice Association. February 8, 2021. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
^ "Nominations Announced for the 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Screen Actors Guild. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
^ "2021 BAFTA Film Awards Pushed Back to April 11". The Hollywood Reporter. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
^ "Bafta confirms dates for 2021 and 2022 film award ceremonies". www.irishexaminer.com. 12 June 2019. Archived from the original on 24 April 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
^ "Annie Animation Awards Schedule, Rules for 2021 Edition Announced". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
^ "Oscars 2021 Pushed Back by Two Months". 15 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
^ "David di Donatello 2021: nominations". Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
^ Hymavathi, Ravali (18 September 2021). "SIIMA Awards 2020 & 2021: Check Out The Nominations, Ceremony Date And Time Of This Most Awaited Gala Event". The Hans India.
^ "La octava edición de los Premios Platino tendrá lugar en Madrid en octubre". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
^ Kim Nara (September 3, 2021). "부일영화상, 10월 7일 개최…류승완 '모가디슈'·홍상수 '인트로덕션' 등 최우수작품상 후보 [공식]" [Buil Film Awards, held on October 7th... [Official]]. My Daily (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
^ Naresh (5 November 2021). "Suman TV – South Indian Film Awards: సంతోషం – సుమన్ టివి సౌత్ ఇండియన్ ఫిలిం అవార్డ్స్ ప్రమోషన్స్ కి సూపర్ రెస్పాన్స్ – Suman TV". Retrieved 2021-11-14.
^ Lee Min-ji (October 6, 2021). "'제42회 청룡영화상' 11월 26일 개최 확정, 단편영화상 공모 시작(공식)" ['42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards' to be held on November 26th, Short Film Award Competition Begins (official)]. Newsen (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
^ Rosser, Michael (September 21, 2021). "'Titane', 'Happening' among final European Film Awards 2021 feature selection". Screendaily.

External links

List of 2021 films at IMDb
2021 Domestic Grosses at Box Office Mojo
List of 2021 deaths at IMDb
List of 2021 births at IMDb