2004 in film

Years in film
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s 2020 2021 2022
v t

2004 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts. Shrek 2 was the year's top-grossing film, and Million Dollar Baby won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Evaluation of the year[]

Renowned American film critic and professor Emanuel Levy described 2004 as "a banner year for actors, particularly men." He went on to emphasize, "I can't think of another year in which there were so many good performances, in every genre. It was a year in which we saw the entire spectrum of demographics displayed on the big screen, from vet actors such as Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman, to seniors such as Pacino, De Niro, and Hoffman, to newcomers such as Topher Grace. As always, though, the center of the male acting pyramid is occupied by actors in their forties and fifties, such as Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Liam Neeson, Kevin Kline, Don Cheadle, Jim Carrey. In terms of film genres, Levy stated, "The year's most prominent genre was the biopicture, a genre that in the past has suffered from lack of prestige and abundance of clichs. There were a dozen worthy biopictures, including Alexander, The Aviator, Beyond the Sea, Finding Neverland, Hotel Rwanda, Kinsey, Motorcycle Diaries, and Ray. Celebrating entrepreneurs, playwrights, singers, sex researchers, composers, and politicians, they continued to show one alarming bias: They were all about men. You don't have to be a feminist critic or a sociologist to deduct that, as far as real or reel heroes are concerned, women matter less in Hollywood and American society at large. Can't anyone come up with a strong part for a femme-driven bio a la British film Vera Drake, without relegating women to showbiz personae." Levy also stated, "Classic Hollywood cinema, which reached its height during the golden age of studio system and has been in decline, is kept alive by one major force: Clint Eastwood. The "Man With No Name" has become the "Man With the Best Name", a director who's experiencing an unparallel artistic height with “Million Dollar Baby,” a follow-up to the equally sublime Mystic River."^[1]

Highest-grossing films[]

The top 10 films released in 2004 by worldwide gross are as follows:^[2]

Shrek 2 set a new record for total gross by an animated film making it the highest-grossing animated film of all time. The record was later surpassed by Toy Story 3 in 2010. On July 7, Spider-Man 2 reached a $200 million domestic gross in a record time of eight days. On July 18, after 19 days in release, Spider-Man 2 reached $300 million domestically in another record time. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has the highest international revenue of $546 million compared to Shrek 2's $487.5 million.

The Passion of the Christ, directed by Mel Gibson, became the first blockbuster motion picture of 2004 and also the highest grossing R-rated film domestically. Meet the Fockers beat 2003's Bruce Almighty record for the highest-grossing comedy film; both released by Universal.

Events[]

Awards[]

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival)

Fahrenheit 9/11, directed by Michael Moore, United States

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival)

Vera Drake, directed by Mike Leigh, United Kingdom

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival)

Head-On, directed by Fatih Akın, Germany & Turkey

2004 films[]

The list of films released in 2004, arranged by country, are as follows:

• List of American films of 2004
• List of Argentine films of 2004
• List of Australian films of 2004
• List of Bangladeshi films of 2004
• List of Brazilian films of 2004
• List of British films of 2004
• List of Chinese films of 2004
  • List of Hong Kong films of 2004
• List of French films of 2004
• List of Indian films of 2004
  • List of Bengali films of 2004
  • List of Bollywood films of 2004
  • List of Tamil films of 2004
  • List of Telugu films of 2004
• List of Italian films of 2004
• List of Japanese films of 2004
• List of Mexican films of 2004
• List of Pakistani films of 2004
• List of Russian films of 2004
• List of South Korean films of 2004
• List of Spanish films of 2004

Births[]

• January 16 – Harry Collett, English actor
• January 25 - Rohan Chand, American actor
• February 19 – Millie Bobby Brown, English actress
• April 23 - Teagan Croft, Australian actress
• May 22 - Peyton Elizabeth Lee, American actress
• July 16
  • Ruby Barnhill, English actress
  • Amiah Miller, American actress
• September 10 – Gabriel Bateman, American actor
• September 23 - Anthony Gonzalez (actor), American actor
• November 11 – Oakes Fegley, American actor

Deaths[]

Film debuts[]

• Emily Blunt – My Summer of Love
• Eddie Cahill – Miracle
• Josh Duhamel – The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Megan Fox – Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
• Nick Frost – Shaun of the Dead
• Amber Heard – Friday Night Lights
• Jon Heder – Napoleon Dynamite
• Ed Helms – Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story
• Jonah Hill – I Heart Huckabees
• Toby Kebbell – Dead Man's Shoes
• Brie Larson – 13 Going on 30
• Jason Momoa – Johnson Family Vacation
• Chris Pine – The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
• Amanda Seyfried – Mean Girls
• Patrick Wilson – The Alamo

References[]