Top Grossing 2009 Movies

Want to know the best 2009 Movies?  How about the worst 2009 Movies?  Curious about 2009 Movies did at the box office or which 2009 Movies picked up the most Oscar® nominations and Oscar® wins? Need to know which 2009 Movies movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

2009 Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort 2009 Movies by the star or stars of the 2009 Movies listed in table
  • Sort 2009 Movies by domestic box office grosses
  • Sort 2009 Movies by wordwide box office grosses
  • Sort by how 2009 Movies were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each 2009 Movies received….this column will remain 00 / 00 until next February.
  • Sort 2009 Movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
  • Green highlight means the movie is still in theaters and still earning UMR points

The top 25 earners in World Wide Box Office for 2009

Our Yearly Review Pages

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.

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17 thoughts on “Top Grossing 2009 Movies

  1. Hey Steve….Systems’ critic review has been lowered. That was a movie that WoC put into the database….but she only used IMDb as the rating criteria. It currently does have a 9.5 on IMDb but it only had about 95 votes so far. Rotten Tomatoes does not even list the movie….so I had to go deep into my movie books to find a second opinion……that second opinion was not nearly as nice as the 95 votes on IMDb….so the critical rating took a deep tumble. Thanks for noticing that movie being so high in the rankings.

  2. 352 films! Your lists are getting longer! That’s almost a new film every day that year.

    I’ve seen 92 of the 352. Dan, in his post below, has seen 91 films in the cinema! I don’t think I saw more than a dozen on the big screen that year. The most memorable being Avatar, it got me hooked on 3D for a while and I still watch 3D at home on occasion.

    Looking at my files I have 126 films from 2009 in my movie collection.

    Favorites include –

    Astro Boy
    Avatar
    A Christmas Carol
    Cirque du Freak – The Vampire’s Assistant
    Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
    Crank 2
    District 9
    Fantastic Mr. Fox
    Fast and the Furious 4
    Final Destination 4
    GI Joe – Rise of Cobra
    The Hangover
    Harry Brown
    Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
    Ice Age 3 – Dawn of the Dinosaurs
    Inglourious Basterds
    Knowing
    Monsters vs Aliens
    Moon
    Night at the Museum 2
    Nine (animated)
    Ninja Assassin
    Observe and Report
    Pandorum
    Push
    Sherlock Holmes
    Star Trek
    Terminator 4 – Salvation
    Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen
    2012
    Up
    Watchmen
    X-Men Origins – Wolverine
    Zombieland
    zz-China – Blood the Last Vampire
    zz-Japan Anime – Redline
    zz-Japan Anime – Space Battleship Yamato – Resurrection
    zz-Japan Anime – Summer Wars

    Avatar is king but Avengers Endgame is fast catching up, 2.2 billion at time of writing. It may not beat it in adjusted dollars and tickets sold. I wonder if James Cameron is worried he might be dethroned? He has 4 sequels to Avatar planned over this coming decade.

    Highest rated film on the chart I haven’t seen is Systems, never even heard of that one. An obscure foreign movie Bruce? [whispers] Give it the boot and let Up have the top spot. Not nice?

    Good to see Star Trek so high up. I think it was no.1 on my 2000-2009 top sci-fi video.

    Another super epic movie year page Bruce. Nice work. Won’t be long before you start dividing them into months instead of years. [Wink] Vote Up!

    1. Hey Steve….I agree….there are a lot of movies on this page. WoC has done a lot of research on these years….as she has inputed a huge amount of the movies seen here. That would include Systems….which like you I have never heard of. I will do some research on that one and figure out why it is so high. I agree 96% seems very very high.

      Yep…Dan’s total of 91 seen in movie theaters would represent about a decade of movie going for me. I would imagine I see a movie in theaters about once a month. In 2019….4 months in…..and I am at 4 movies seen in theaters….Glass, Shazam, Avengers Endgame and Long Shot.

      Good to see you mention Michael Caine’s Harry Brown….that is the first time I ever noticed Sean Harris…..Harris who went on to Mission Impossible fame has a very memorable but brief role in Harry Brown. Caine has said Harris blew him away when they acted together.

      Avatar and The Hangover are my favorite two movies from 2009…..so good to see both on your favorites list….that also includes Star Trek which is also very high on my list as well.

      As for Endgame…..I feel it will catch Avatar in actual gross….but no way it gets either Avatar or Titanic in adjusted worldwide gross….but a 3 billion and change worldwide gross is just insane. Good stuff as always.

  3. After I got married in October 2001, my moviegoing dropped off substantially from 2002 to 2009. I only saw 91 films in cinemas that year. My best film of 2009 was Knowing and my worst was Where the Wild Things Are. These are the 91 I saw.

    9
    2012
    (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
    17 AGAIN
    ALIENS IN THE ATTIC
    ALL ABOUT STEVE
    ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL
    AMELIA
    ANGELS & DEMONS
    ASTRO BOY
    AVATAR
    BLIND SIDE
    BOX, THE
    BRIDE WARS
    BRUNO
    CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY
    CHRISTMAS CAROL
    CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
    CORALINE
    COUPLES RETREAT
    CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE
    CRAZY HEART
    DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS
    DISTRICT 9
    DUE DATE
    DUPLICITY
    EARTH
    FANTASTIC MR. FOX
    FAST & FURIOUS
    FIGHTING
    FIRED UP
    FRIDAY THE 13TH
    G FORCE
    GOODS: LIVE HARD, SELL HARD
    HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE
    HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE
    HAUEUNDAE (KOR.)
    HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU
    HOTEL FOR DOGS
    I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER
    I LOVE YOU, MAN
    ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS
    INFORMANT, THE!
    INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
    INKHEART
    INVENTION OF LYING
    INVICTUS
    IT’S COMPLICATED
    JULIE AND JULIA
    KNOWING
    LAND OF THE LOST
    LOVE HAPPENS
    LOVELY BONES
    MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
    MICHAEL JACKSON: THIS IS IT (DOC.)
    MONSTERS VS. ALIENS
    MY SISTER’S KEEPER
    NEW IN TOWN
    NEXT DAY AIR
    NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN
    NINJA ASSASSIN
    OBSERVE AND REPORT
    OCEANS
    OLD DOGS
    PALL BLART MALL COP
    PINK PANTHER 2
    PLANET 51
    PROPOSAL, THE
    PUBLIC ENEMIES
    PUSH
    RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN
    SHERLOCK HOLMES
    SOLOLIST, THE
    STAR TREK
    STEPFATHER, THE
    SURROGATES
    TAKE OFF (KOR.)
    TAKING OF PELHAM 1, 2, 3
    TAKING WOODSTOCK
    TERMINATOR: SALVATION
    TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE
    TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
    TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON
    UGLY TRUTH
    UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS
    UP
    UP IN THE AIR
    WATCHMEN
    WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
    WHIP IT
    WHITEOUT

    The following 152 2009 films I saw within a year of their release on DVD;

    $5 A DAY
    12 ROUNDS
    ACCIDENTS HAPPEN (AUSTRALIA – U.K.)
    ADVENTURELAND
    AGORA
    AMERICAN AFFAIR
    ARMORED
    ART OF WAR III: RETRIBUTION
    AWAY WE GO
    BAD LIEUTENAT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS
    BANGKOK ADRENALINE
    BATTLE FOR TERRA
    BIG FAN
    BROTHERS
    BROTHERS BLOOM
    CHARLIE & BOOTS
    CHICAGO OVERCOAT
    CHOCOLATE
    CIRQUE DE FREAK: THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT
    CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
    COCO BEFORE CHANEL (FR.)
    COLD SOULS
    COLLAPSE (DOC.)
    COUNTDOWN: ARMAGEDDON
    CROSSING OVER
    CURIOUS GEORGE 2: FOLLOW THAT MONKEY!
    DANCE FLICK
    DEVIL’S TOMB
    DORIAN GRAY (U.K.)
    DOWNLOADING NANCY
    DRAG ME TO HELL
    ECHILON CONSPIRACY
    EDUCATION, AN
    EVERYBODY’S FINE
    EVERYMAN’S WAR
    EX TERMINATORS
    FINAL DESTINATION, THE
    FOOD INC. (DOC.)
    FOURTH KIND
    FRAGMENTS
    FUNNY PEOPLE
    G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA
    GAMER
    GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (SWE.)
    GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
    GOOD HAIR
    GRETA
    HALLOWEEN II
    HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT
    HOUSE BROKEN
    HURT LOCKER
    I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY
    IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
    IMAGINE THAT
    IN THE ELECTRIC MIST
    IN THE LOOP
    INTERNATIONAL, THE
    IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666
    JENNIFER’S BODY
    JOB, THE
    JONAS BROTHERS: THE 3D CONCERT EXPERIENCE
    KILLSHOT
    KNUT & FRIENDS (DOC.)
    LAND THAT TIME FORGOT
    LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
    LAST STATION
    LAW ABIDING CITIZEN
    LIMITS OF CONTROL
    LONELY STREET
    MADEA GOES TO JAIL
    MAIDEN HEIST
    MANAGEMENT
    ME AND ORSON WELLES
    MESSENGER, THE
    MISS MARCH
    MOON
    MORE THAN A GAME
    MOTHERHOOD
    MUTANT CHRONICLES
    MY BLOODY VALENTINE
    MY LIFE IN RUINS
    MY ONE AND ONLY
    MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH
    NEIGHBOR
    NEW DAUGHTER
    NEW YORK I LOVE YOU
    NINE
    NINJA
    NOT FORGOTTEN
    NOTORIOUS
    OBSESSED
    ONG BAK 2 (THAI)
    OPEN ROAD
    ORPHAN
    OTHER MAN
    OUTLANDER
    PANDORUM
    PAPER MAN
    PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
    PERFECT GETAWAY
    PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND
    PIRATE RADIO
    POWDER BLUE
    PRECIOUS
    PRINCESS AND THE FROG
    PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE
    RED RIDING: IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1974 (U.K.)
    ROAD, THE
    SAW VI
    SECRET OF MOONACRE
    SERIOUS MAN
    SHADOWHEART
    SHINJUKO INCIDENT (H.K.)
    SHORTS
    SHRINK
    SINGLE MAN
    SOLOMON KANE (FR-CZ-U.K.)
    SORORITY ROW
    SPACE BUDDIES
    SPREAD
    SPRING BREAKDOWN
    STAN HELSING
    STATE OF PLAY
    STILL WAITING
    STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE MOVIE: THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
    STREETFIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF OPUN-LI
    SUNSHINE CLEANING
    SUPER CAPERS
    SURVEILLANCE
    TAKEN
    TELL TALE
    THICK AS THIEVES
    TINKER BELL AND THE LOST TREASURE
    TOURNAMENT, THE
    TRANSMORPHERS: FALL OF MAN
    TRIAGE
    TWO LOVERS
    TYLER PERRY’S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF
    ULTIMATE HEIST (FR-GER)
    UNBORN, THE
    UNCHARTED
    UNDER THE MOUNTAIN (N.Z.)
    UNINVITED, THE
    UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION
    WAR BOYS
    WHATEVER WORKS
    WILD CHERRY
    WONDER WOMAN (cartoon)
    WORLD’S GREATEST DAD
    YEAR ONE
    YOUNG VICTORIA
    ZOMBIELAND

    The following 124 2009 films I have seen since 2011:

    ADAM
    AGAINST THE CURRENT
    AUTOPSY
    AUTUMN (CAN.)
    BABY ON BOARD
    BART GOT A ROOM
    BLACK DYNAMITE
    BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY
    BORDER TOWN
    BRAILLE (AUSTRALIA)
    BREAKING POINT
    BRIGHT STAR (U.K.-FR-AUSTRALIAN)
    BROKEN EMBRACES (SP.)
    BURNING PLAIN
    BUTTERFLY EFFECT 3: REVALATIONS
    CABIN FEVER 2: SPRING FEVER
    CARRIERS
    CASINO JOB
    CELL 2
    COLLECTOR, THE
    CONTRACT KILLERS
    CROPSEY (DOC.)
    DEAD LIKE ME: LIFE AFTER DEATH
    DEAD OUTSIDE (U.K.)
    DESCENT: PART 2
    DESDEMONA: A LOVE STORY
    DINNER PARTY
    DIRECT CONTACT
    DOLAN’S CADILLAC (U.K. – CAN)
    DOUBLE IDENTITY
    DRAGONQUEST
    DRIFTER: HENRY LEE LUCAS
    DYNASTY (DOC.)
    EYEBORGS
    FEAR CHAMBER
    FORGET ME NOT
    FRAME OF MIND
    FRANKENHOOD
    FRENEMY
    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL (U.K.)
    FRIDAY AT DEWAYNE’S
    FROM MEXICO WITH LOVE
    GENTLEMEN BRONCOS
    GHOST STORIES 3: CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEAD (DOC.)
    GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE (SW-DEN-GER.)
    GRAVES
    HACHI: A DOG’S TALE
    HALLETSVILLE
    HARDWIRED
    HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEAST
    HAUNTING OF WINCHESTER HOUSE
    HE WHO FINDS A WIFE
    HELLBINDERS
    HESSEN CONSPIRACY (BEL-CAN)
    HORSEMEN
    HURT
    INFESTATION
    INTO THE BLUE 2: THE REEF
    JAILHOUSE, THE
    JANKY PROMOTERS
    LAMB OF GOD
    LAST LOVECRAFT: RELIC OF CHUDHO
    LEGALLY BLONDES
    LESBIAN VAMPIRE KILLERS (U.K.)
    LIFE 101: APRIL’S SECRET
    LODGER, THE
    LONDON BETTY
    LOOKING FOR JACKIE (CAN.)
    LOVE AIN’T SUPPOSED TO HURT 2: THE WEDDING
    MADE FOR EACH OTHER
    MAKEOVER, THE (AUSTRALIA)
    MARC PENSE EXPERIENCE
    MARINE 2
    MEGA SHARK GIANT OCTOPUS
    MERCY
    MOONLIGHT SERENADE
    MYSTERY TEAM
    NOLLYWOOD BABYLON (DOC.)
    NOT EASILY BROKEN
    ONE WEEK (CAN.)
    OWNED
    PARANORMAL ENTITY
    PASSENGERS
    PERKINS ’14
    PERSONAL EFFECTS
    PLAY THE GAME
    PONYO (JAP.)
    POST GRAD
    PRINCESS OF MARS
    RAPPAS
    RED SANDS
    ROBBIN’ IN THE HOOD
    SAM STEELE AND THE JUNIOR DETECTIVE AGENCY
    SCOTT WALKER 30 CENTURY MAN (DOC.)
    SCRATCH, THE
    SEA SNAKES
    SEAMSTRESS, THE
    SHADOW BILLIONAIRE (DOC.)
    SHADOWHEART
    SILENT SAM (CAN.)
    SPINE TINGLER: THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY
    ST. TRINIAN’S (U.K.)
    STATEN ISLAND
    STAY COOL
    STREETS OF BLOOD
    SUMMER’S MOON (CAN.)
    T.A.C.T.I.C.A.L.
    TAKING CHANCES
    TELLING, THE
    TENDERNESS
    TENURE
    TERMINATORS, THE
    THAW, THE (CAN.)
    THREE INVESTIGATORS AND THE SECRET OF TERROR CASTLE (GER – S. AFR.)
    TOMMY AND THE COOL MULE
    TRUCKER
    VELVETEEN RABBIT
    WALLED IN
    WAY OF WAR
    WEATHER GIRL
    WILD STALLION
    WINNING SEASON
    WINTER OF FROZEN DREAMS
    WRONG TURN AT TAHOE

    1. Hey Dan…only 91 movies seen in theaters in 2009….what a slacker….lol. That number still almost beats my total by almost 10 times. A total of 367 movies….I imagine your percentage is close to 99% when looking at wide release movies and about 60% when looking at every movie ever made in 2009. Truly impressive.

      My older boys and I used to read Where The Wild Things Are every night….we were all excited about the movie….saw in on opening night….and like you…..all three of us were very disappointed in that movie. Way too dark of a movie….but it got great reviews…..just not in the Cogerson and Dan households. Terminator Salvation was another disappointing movie I saw in theaters. Huge mistake focusing on a new character versus Bale as John Connor. Heck they made Bale a supporting character in that one.

      Knowing is a fun movie. I like how the puzzle played out…even with the ending being somewhat of a downer. Some lesser known favorites of mine would include Moon with Sam Rockwell, The Prophet…a brutal prison movie and Middle Men. Good feedback as always.

  4. It would appear that by 2009 I had largely lost interest in the kind of movies that they were producing, such as these to me endless boring franchises, the Harry Potter series for example holding no attraction for me whatsoever.

    Accordingly I have seen only 5 of the Top 20 highest grossing films in the tables above, and 4 of them I attended only because my grandchildren wanted to see them –

    Up
    The Blind Side
    Monster v Aliens
    Ice Age
    Night at the Museum.

    Nevertheless I warmly welcome this annual review with a “Vote Up” as I will always have a keen academic interest in the stats and there is no doubt that this is another commendably comprehensive rundown of the movie marketplace in the year concerned.

    Also these reviews never fail to bring back to me some nostalgic memory or other. For example I fondly recall going to see Coraline with my grandson, my granddaughter being too young at only 1 year old.

    I remember that so well because it was on the Sunday that Roger won the French Open for the first time and also equalled Pete Sampras’ then all-time record of 14 tennis grand slams. The following month Fed BROKE the record by winning Wimbledon for the 5th time Today Roger has 20 slams in the bag, which once nobody thought would EVER happen.

    1. Hey Bob….thanks for checking out our 2009 page. The yearly gap is now down to 1996 to 2008……getting excited about finishing this bridge. Looking at the 5 box office ones you saw….you can easily tell that small children were involved in the selection of those movies. I saw 4 of those movies for the same exact reasons. Only The Blind Side escaped the “kids pick the movie” situation. Good stuff about Coraline and your grandchildren and the Roger trivia. Good feedback as always.

  5. I had just finished college in 2009. I went to the theater many times in 2009. I think I saw Avatar 4 or 5 times in theaters. The 3D was the best I had seen and have seen. Others I saw in theaters would include The Hangover, The Taking of Pelham 123, Star Trek and Nine. Nine was the last movie I saw with my mom’s mom. She passed away pretty quickly after seeing that movie, so that movie has a bittersweet memory for me. My biggest question is. Has ten years really gone by since I feel in love the Na’vi people and the planet Pandora? Keep up the good work, sorry you have been frustrated lately.

    1. Hey Helakoski…Avatar in theaters 4 or 5 times? You must have really enjoyed that movie. I only saw that one once in theater..but have seen many times on Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray. I agree with you about the 3D….it is our “demo” dvd when we are showing off our 3D system. I loved The Hangover….a comedy classic that got ruined somewhat by the two really bad sequels…but the original is comedy gold. Thanks for sharing the memory of Nine and your mom’s mom. Thanks for the positive words….good to hear from you.

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