2003 in film
2003 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country- and genre- specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 2003 by worldwide gross are as follows:| Rank | Title | Distributor | Worldwide gross |
| 1 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | New Line | $1,118,887,224 |
| 2 | Finding Nemo | Buena Vista | $871,014,978 |
| 3 | The Matrix Reloaded | Warner Bros. | $739,412,035 |
| 4 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Buena Vista | $654,264,015 |
| 5 | Bruce Almighty | Universal / Buena Vista | $484,592,874 |
| 6 | The Last Samurai | Warner Bros. | $454,627,263 |
| 7 | Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | Warner Bros. / Sony / Columbia | $433,371,112 |
| 8 | The Matrix Revolutions | Warner Bros. | $427,343,298 |
| 9 | X2 | 20th Century Fox | $407,711,549 |
| 10 | Bad Boys II | Sony / Columbia | $273,339,556 |
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King grossed more than $1.14 billion, making it the highest-grossing film in 2003 worldwide and in North America and the second-highest-grossing film up to that time. It was also the second film to surpass the billion-dollar milestone after Titanic in 1997.
Finding Nemo was the highest-grossing animated movie of all time until being overtaken by Shrek 2 in 2004.
Events
- February 24: The Pianist, directed by Roman Polanski, wins 7 César Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Music and Best Cinematography.
- June 12: Gregory Peck dies of bronchopneumonia.
- June 29: Katharine Hepburn dies of cardiac arrest.
- November 17: Arnold Schwarzenegger sworn in as Governor of California.
- December 22: Both of the movies from the Matrix trilogy released in 2003 were shut out of visual effects Oscar consideration by the Visual Effects Award Nominating Committee.
- December 31: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences mails nomination ballots in which it qualifies 254 films released in 2003 as eligible for Oscar consideration.
Award ceremonies
- 8th Empire Awards
Awards
Golden Lion :
'''Golden Bear :'''
2003 films
By country/region
- List of American films of 2003
- List of Argentine films of 2003
- List of Australian films of 2003
- List of Bangladeshi films of 2003
- List of British films of 2003
- List of Canadian films of 2003
- List of Chinese films of 2003
- List of French films of 2003
- List of Hong Kong films of 2003
- List of Indian films of 2003
- * List of Bengali films of 2003
- * List of Hindi films of 2003
- * List of Kannada films of 2003
- * List of Malayalam films of 2003
- * List of Marathi films of 2003
- * List of Punjabi films of 2003
- * List of Tamil films of 2003
- * List of Telugu films of 2003
- List of Japanese films of 2003
- List of Mexican films of 2003
- List of Pakistani films of 2003
- List of Russian films of 2003
- List of South Korean films of 2003
- List of Spanish films of 2003
By genre/medium
- List of action films of 2003
- List of animated feature films of 2003
- List of avant-garde films of 2003
- List of crime films of 2003
- List of comedy films of 2003
- List of drama films of 2003
- List of horror films of 2003
- List of science fiction films of 2003
- List of thriller films of 2003
- List of western films of 2003
Births
- January 2 – Cyrus Arnold, American actor
- January 4 – Jaeden Martell, American actor
- February 4 – Edvin Ryding, Swedish actor
- February 6 - Fabian Penje, Swedish actor
- February 20
- *Olivia Rodrigo, American actress and singer
- *William Gao, English actor and singer
- March 1 – Yasmeen Fletcher, American actress and musician
- March 3 – Thomas Barbusca, American actor
- March 6 – Millicent Simmonds, American actress
- March 12 – Malina Weissman, American actress
- March 20 – Cooper Hoffman, American actor
- April 3 – Elsie Fisher, American actress
- April 9 – Lilia Buckingham, American actress, author and dancer
- April 13 – Jean Paulo Campos, Brazilian actor
- April 30 – Emily Carey, English actress and model
- May 1 – Lizzy Greene, American actress
- May 19
- *Daiken Okudaira, Japanese actor
- *JoJo Siwa, American singer, actress and YouTuber
- May 24 - Megan Stott, American actress
- June 1
- *Emjay Anthony, American actor
- *Shailyn Pierre-Dixon, Canadian actress
- June 2 – Jeremy Ray Taylor, American actor
- June 3 – Louis Partridge, English actor
- June 16 – Anna Cathcart, Canadian actress
- June 18 – Bailey Bass, American actress
- June 29 – Alexys Nycole Sanchez, American actress
- July 1 – Storm Reid, American actress
- July 9 – Marcel Ruiz, Puerto Rican actor
- July 13
- *Hannah Cheramy, Canadian actress
- *Wyatt Oleff, American actor
- August 18 – Max Charles, American actor
- August 25 – Iñaki Godoy, Mexican actor
- August 26 - Jake Ryan, American actor
- August 28
- *Lexi Underwood, American actress and singer
- *Quvenzhané Wallis, American actress
- August 30 – Yasmin Finney, English actress
- September 3 – Jack Dylan Grazer, American actor
- September 8 - Nicolas Cantu, American actor
- September 18 – Aidan Gallagher, American actor and musician
- September 24 – Joe Locke, Manx actor
- September 25 – Bella Ramsey, English actress
- September 26 – Sam Nivola, English actor
- October 27 - Gavin Lewis, American actor
- November 7
- *Lara McDonnell, Irish actress
- *Park Ji-hu, South Korean actress
- December 22 – Joe Anders, American-British actor
Deaths
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 1 | Royce D. Applegate | 63 | US | Actor | |
| January | 1 | Cyril Shaps | 79 | UK | Actor | |
| January | 4 | Conrad Hall | 72 | French Polynesia | Cinematographer | |
| January | 5 | Massimo Girotti | 84 | Italy | Actor | |
| January | 8 | Ron Goodwin | 77 | UK | Composer | |
| January | 11 | Anthony Havelock-Allan | 98 | UK | Producer | |
| January | 11 | Maurice Pialat | 77 | France | Director, Screenwriter | |
| January | 11 | Dick Simmons | 89 | US | Stuntman, Actor | |
| January | 12 | Maurice Gibb | 53 | Isle of Man | Singer, Composer, Actor | |
| January | 13 | Norman Panama | 88 | US | Screenwriter, Director | |
| January | 14 | Mel Bourne | 79 | US | Production Designer | |
| January | 14 | Paul Monash | 85 | US | Screenwriter, Producer | |
| January | 14 | Donald O'Brien | 72 | Ireland | Actor | |
| January | 17 | Richard Crenna | 76 | US | Actor | |
| January | 20 | David Battley | 67 | UK | Actor | |
| January | 20 | Nedra Volz | 94 | US | Actress | |
| January | 21 | John Grieve | 78 | UK | Actor | |
| January | 23 | Nell Carter | 54 | US | Actress | |
| January | 25 | Cliff Norton | 84 | US | Actor | |
| January | 25 | Leopoldo Trieste | 85 | Italy | Actor, Screenwriter | |
| January | 29 | Anthony Eisley | 78 | US | Actor | |
| January | 30 | Mary Ellis | 105 | US | Singer, Actress | |
| January | 31 | William Marlowe | 72 | UK | Actor | |
| February | 3 | Lana Clarkson | 40 | US | Actress | |
| February | 7 | Stephen Whittaker | 55 | UK | Actor, Director | |
| February | 9 | Vera Hruba Ralston | 82 | Czech Republic | Actress | |
| February | 13 | Robert Ivers | 68 | US | Actor, Voice Double | |
| February | 13 | Stacy Keach Sr. | 88 | US | Actor | |
| February | 18 | Jack Brodsky | 70 | US | Producer | |
| February | 22 | Daniel Taradash | 89 | US | Screenwriter | |
| February | 24 | Walter Scharf | 92 | US | Composer, Orchestrator | |
| February | 24 | Alberto Sordi | 82 | Italy | Actor, Screenwriter, Director | |
| March | 3 | Horst Buchholz | 69 | Germany | Actor | |
| March | 8 | Adam Faith | 62 | UK | Actor, Singer | |
| March | 8 | Karen Morley | 93 | US | Actress | |
| March | 12 | Lynne Thigpen | 54 | US | Actress | |
| March | 15 | Thora Hird | 91 | UK | Actress | |
| March | 13 | Christiane Schmidtmer | 63 | Germany | Actress | |
| March | 16 | Lars Passgård | 62 | Sweden | Actor | |
| March | 18 | Naomi Chance | 73 | UK | Actress | |
| March | 19 | Rick Zumwalt | 51 | US | Actor | |
| March | 24 | Philip Yordan | 88 | US | Screenwriter | |
| March | 27 | Paul Zindel | 66 | US | Screenwriter | |
| March | 30 | Michael Jeter | 50 | US | Actor | |
| March | 31 | Anne Gwynne | 84 | US | Actress | |
| April | 1 | Jean-Yves Escoffier | 52 | France | Cinematographer | |
| April | 2 | Michael Wayne | 68 | US | Producer | |
| April | 4 | Anthony Caruso | 86 | US | Actor | |
| April | 7 | David Greene | 82 | UK | Director | |
| April | 8 | Kathie Browne | 72 | US | Actress | |
| April | 8 | Bing Russell | 76 | US | Actor | |
| April | 9 | Vera Zorina | 86 | Germany | Actress | |
| April | 12 | Sydney Lassick | 80 | US | Actor | |
| April | 16 | Graham Jarvis | 72 | Canada | Actor | |
| April | 22 | Andrea King | 82 | US | Actress | |
| April | 25 | Jesse Nilsson | 25 | Canada | Actor | |
| April | 26 | Peter Stone | 73 | US | Screenwriter | |
| April | 28 | Ciccio Ingrassia | 80 | Italy | Actor | |
| April | 30 | Jim Connors | 56 | US | Actor, Stuntman | |
| May | 3 | Suzy Parker | 70 | US | Actress | |
| May | 6 | Jocelyn Herbert | 86 | UK | Production Designer | |
| May | 9 | Carmen Filpi | 80 | US | Actor | |
| May | 9 | Bernard Spear | 83 | UK | Actor | |
| May | 14 | Wendy Hiller | 90 | UK | Actress | |
| May | 14 | Robert Stack | 84 | US | Actor | |
| May | 24 | Rachel Kempson | 92 | UK | Actress | |
| May | 28 | Martha Scott | 90 | US | Actress | |
| May | 28 | Marc Zuber | 59 | India | Actor | |
| May | 30 | Haskell Boggs | 94 | US | Cinematographer | |
| June | 2 | Richard Cusack | 77 | US | Actor | |
| June | 3 | John Jympson | 72 | UK | Film Editor | |
| June | 7 | Trevor Goddard | 40 | UK | Actor | |
| June | 11 | William Marshall | 78 | US | Actor | |
| June | 12 | Gregory Peck | 87 | US | Actor, Producer | |
| June | 15 | Hume Cronyn | 90 | Canada | Actor | |
| June | 15 | Philip Stone | 79 | UK | Actor | |
| June | 16 | Carlos Rivas | 78 | US | Actor | |
| June | 20 | Fielder Cook | 80 | US | Director | |
| June | 21 | George Axelrod | 81 | US | Screenwriter | |
| June | 21 | Leon Uris | 78 | US | Screenwriter | |
| June | 24 | Barbara Weeks | 89 | US | Actress | |
| June | 27 | David Newman | 66 | US | Screenwriter | |
| June | 29 | Rod Amateau | 79 | US | Director, Screenwriter | |
| June | 29 | Katharine Hepburn | 96 | US | Actress | |
| June | 30 | Buddy Hackett | 78 | US | Actor | |
| June | 30 | Constance Smith | 75 | Ireland | Actress | |
| July | 6 | Buddy Ebsen | 95 | US | Actor, Dancer | |
| July | 7 | Elisabeth Welch | 99 | US | Actress | |
| July | 8 | Marjorie Fowler | 82 | US | Film Editor | |
| July | 9 | Elliott Marks | 61 | US | Still Photographer | |
| July | 21 | Robert F. Blumofe | 93 | US | Producer, Executive | |
| July | 23 | Sheila Bromley | 91 | US | Actress | |
| July | 25 | John Schlesinger | 77 | UK | Director | |
| July | 27 | Karin Booth | 87 | US | Actress | |
| July | 27 | Bob Hope | 100 | US | Actor | |
| July | 30 | Marian Carr | 77 | US | Actress | |
| July | 31 | Frederick Coffin | 60 | US | Actor | |
| August | 2 | Don Estelle | 70 | UK | Actor | |
| August | 6 | Larry Taylor | 85 | UK | Actor, Stuntman | |
| August | 9 | Gregory Hines | 57 | US | Actor, Dancer | |
| August | 10 | Jacques Deray | 74 | France | Director, Screenwriter | |
| August | 30 | Charles Bronson | 81 | US | Actor | |
| September | 1 | Jack Smight | 78 | US | Director | |
| September | 3 | David King-Wood | 89 | Iran | Actor | |
| September | 4 | Ben Aris | 66 | UK | Actor | |
| September | 6 | Louise Platt | 88 | US | Actress | |
| September | 8 | Leni Riefenstahl | 101 | Germany | Director | |
| September | 11 | John Ritter | 54 | US | Actor | |
| September | 12 | Johnny Cash | 71 | US | Singer, Actor | |
| September | 14 | Jerry Fleck | 55 | US | Production Manager | |
| September | 16 | Sheb Wooley | 82 | US | Actor | |
| September | 20 | Tom Busby | 66 | Canada | Actor | |
| September | 21 | Pamela Gordon | 66 | US | Actress | |
| September | 22 | Gordon Jump | 71 | US | Actor | |
| September | 24 | Lyle Bettger | 88 | US | Actor | |
| September | 25 | Herb Gardner | 68 | US | Screenwriter | |
| September | 26 | George Plimpton | 76 | US | Actor | |
| September | 27 | Fay Helm | 94 | US | Actress | |
| September | 27 | Donald O'Connor | 78 | US | Actor, Dancer | |
| September | 28 | Elia Kazan | 94 | Turkey | Director | |
| October | 1 | Julie Parrish | 62 | US | Actress | |
| October | 3 | Florence Stanley | 79 | US | Actress | |
| October | 5 | Denis Quilley | 75 | UK | Actor | |
| October | 9 | Ruth Hall | 92 | US | Actress | |
| October | 10 | Victoria Horne | 91 | US | Actress | |
| October | 17 | Janice Rule | 72 | US | Actress | |
| October | 17 | Bernard Schwartz | 85 | US | Producer | |
| October | 18 | David Lodge | 82 | UK | Actor | |
| October | 19 | Guy Rolfe | 91 | UK | Actor | |
| October | 20 | Jack Elam | 82 | US | Actor | |
| October | 29 | Steve Yaconelli | 62 | US | Cinematographer | |
| November | 8 | Bob Grant | 71 | UK | Actor | |
| November | 9 | Fred J. Brown | 68 | US | Sound Engineer | |
| November | 9 | Art Carney | 85 | US | Actor | |
| November | 11 | Robert Brown | 82 | UK | Actor | |
| November | 12 | Jonathan Brandis | 27 | US | Actor | |
| November | 12 | Whitfield Cook | 94 | US | Screenwriter | |
| November | 12 | Kay E. Kuter | 78 | US | Actor | |
| November | 12 | Penny Singleton | 95 | US | Actress | |
| November | 14 | Gene Anthony Ray | 41 | US | Actor | |
| November | 15 | David Holt | 76 | US | Actor | |
| November | 15 | Dorothy Loudon | 78 | US | Actress | |
| November | 16 | Albert Nozaki | 91 | Japan | Art Director | |
| November | 18 | Michael Kamen | 55 | US | Composer | |
| November | 20 | Robert Addie | 87 | UK | Actor | |
| November | 23 | Patricia Burke | 86 | UK | Actress | |
| November | 24 | Michael Small | 64 | US | Composer | |
| November | 26 | Gordon Reid | 64 | UK | Actor | |
| November | 27 | Norman Burton | 79 | US | Actor | |
| November | 28 | Edmund Hartmann | 92 | US | Screenwriter | |
| November | 30 | Earl Bellamy | 86 | US | Director | |
| December | 2 | Suzanne Cloutier | 80 | Canada | Actress, Producer | |
| December | 3 | Ellen Drew | 88 | US | Actress | |
| December | 3 | David Hemmings | 62 | UK | Actor | |
| December | 7 | Robert R. Benton | 79 | US | Set Decorator | |
| December | 10 | Sean McClory | 79 | Ireland | Actor | |
| December | 14 | Jeanne Crain | 78 | US | Actress | |
| December | 16 | Madlyn Rhue | 68 | US | Actress | |
| December | 17 | Alan Tilvern | 85 | UK | Actor | |
| December | 19 | Hope Lange | 72 | US | Actress | |
| December | 19 | Les Tremayne | 90 | UK | Actor | |
| December | 22 | Rose Hill | 89 | UK | Actress | |
| December | 27 | Alan Bates | 69 | UK | Actor | |
| December | 29 | Earl Hindman | 61 | US | Actor | |
| December | 29 | Bob Monkhouse | 75 | UK | Actor | |
| December | 30 | John Gregory Dunne | 71 | US | Screenwriter | |
| December | 30 | Anita Mui | 40 | Hong Kong | Actress, Singer | |
| December | 30 | Patricia Roc | 88 | UK | Actress | |
| December | 31 | Peter Donen | 50 | US | Visual Effects Artist | |
| December | 31 | Paula Raymond | 79 | US | Actress | |
| December | - | - | - | - | - | - |