2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films. Also in 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of that year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five (the first time since the 1943 awards).
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Evaluation of the year
Film critic Philip French of The Guardian said that 2009 "began with the usual flurry of serious major movies given late December screenings in Los Angeles to qualify for the Oscars. They're now forgotten or vaguely regarded as semi-classics: The Reader, Che, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler, Gran Torino, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It soon became apparent that horror movies would be the dominant genre once again, with vampires the pre-eminent sub-species, the most profitable inevitably being New Moon, the latest in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga, the best the subtle Swedish Let the Right One In and the worst the British horror spoof Lesbian Vampire Killers. Documentaries continued to flourish, introducing us to fascinating new worlds: Afghan TV talent shows (Afghan Star), Australian exploitation cinema (Not Quite Hollywood), haute couture (The September Issue). Animation thrived, the 3-D comeback threatened to become permanent rather than a gimmick, and the two were conjoined in a dozen 3-D animated features, the finest being Pixar's Up. Remakes and sequels abounded, none of any merit. The same went for films based on comic strips and graphic novels. British cinema generally bubbled in the doldrums. The well-acted Fish Tank was overrated, as was the dull costume drama The Young Victoria. The best films by native directors were fuelled by our obsession with soccer (Ken Loach's Looking for Eric and Tom Hooper's The Damned United) or directed by foreigners (New Zealander Jane Campion's Bright Star, and two films by Danes: Nicholas Winding Refn's Bronson and Lone Scherfig's An Education). The most original British film was Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor's low-key, low-budget Helen, a formally innovative look at provincial life. 2009 was a mostly undistinguished year for Hollywood, with indifferent films from Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Michael Mann (Public Enemies) and others, and deadly blockbusters such as Angels & Demons and 2012. The Coen brothers, however, were on form, examining their midwestern Jewish roots in A Serious Man, and Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker was the best film yet about Iraq. From Europe we had several striking revisionist accounts of violent resistance to Nazi occupation in the second world war: Flammen & Citronen (Denmark), Max Manus: Man of War (Norway) and The Army of Crime (France). But they were drowned in the tsunami of Quentin Tarantino's lunatic second world war fantasy Inglourious Basterds. The most likable European picture was the Italian Mid-August Lunch, the directorial debut of 60-year-old Gianni Di Gregorio (screenwriter on Gomorrah), and the three most memorably argumentative and provocative were Paolo Sorrentino's Il Divo, Lars von Trier's Antichrist and Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon. The performances I most enjoyed were impersonations: Meryl Streep's Julia Child (Julie & Julia) and Christian McKay's Orson in Me and Orson Welles."[1]
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 2009 by worldwide gross are as follows:[2]
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Worldwide gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avatar | Fox | $2,744,336,793[3][nb 1] |
| 2 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Warner Bros. | $933,959,197 |
| 3 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Fox | $886,686,817 |
| 4 | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | Paramount | $836,303,693 |
| 5 | 2012 | Sony Pictures / Columbia | $769,679,473 |
| 6 | Up | Disney | $735,099,082 |
| 7 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Lionsgate | $709,827,462 |
| 8 | Sherlock Holmes | Warner Bros. | $524,028,679 |
| 9 | Angels & Demons | Sony | $485,930,816 |
| 10 | The Hangover | Warner Bros. | $469,310,836 |
- Excluding the gross from the 2010 re-release.
Avatar surpassed Titanic as the highest grossing film of all time on January 25, 2010. Avatar then became the first film to pass 2 Billion dollars at the box office on January 31, 2010. Avatar was eventually surpassed by Avengers: Endgame as the highest grossing film of all time on July 21, 2019.
Events
| Month | Day | Event |
| January | 22 | The 81st Academy Awards nominations are announced with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leading with 13 nominations, followed by Slumdog Millionaire with 10. Both films are nominated for Best Picture. Heath Ledger is posthumously nominated for Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in The Dark Knight, exactly one year after his death. |
| 25 | The 15th Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony is held at the Shrine Exposition Center, Los Angeles. | |
| Annie Awards ceremony is held in the UCLA's Royce Hall, Los Angeles. | ||
| 31 | The 61st Directors Guild of America Award dinner is held in the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles. | |
| February | 5 – 15 | The 59th Berlin International Film Festival is opened with the world premiere of Tom Tykwer's The International. The Golden Bear prize is awarded to The Milk of Sorrow. The Silver Bears prizes are awarded to Asghar Farhadi, Best Director, Sotigui Kouyaté, Best Actor and Birgit Minichmayr, Best Actress. The festival is closed by the international premiere of George Tillman Jr.'s Notorious |
| 7 | The 61st Writers Guild of America Awards is held. | |
| The 62nd BAFTA Awards ceremony is held in the Royal Opera House, London. | ||
| 21 | The 29th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony is held in Hollywood, California. | |
| 22 | The 81st Academy Awards ceremony is held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. | |
| March | 29 | The 14th Empire Awards ceremony is held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England. |
| May | 31 | The 2009 MTV Movie Awards ceremony was held at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California |
| July | 23 – 2 August | The 9th Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wrocław was held |
Awards
2009 films
The list of films released in 2009, arranged by country, are as follows:
Notable deaths
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 1 | Edmund Purdom | 84 | Italy | Actor, Director | |
| 2 | Steven Gilborn | 72 | US | Actor | ||
| 3 | Pat Hingle | 84 | US | Actor | ||
| 3 | Olga San Juan | 81 | US | Actress, Dancer | ||
| 5 | Ned Tanen | 77 | US | Producer | ||
| 6 | Cheryl Holdridge | 64 | US | Actress | ||
| 6 | John Scott Martin | 82 | UK | Actor |
| |
| 8 | Don Galloway | 71 | US | Actor | ||
| 12 | Claude Berri | 74 | France | Director, Producer, Writer | ||
| 12 | Russ Conway | 95 | US | Actor | ||
| 13 | Patrick McGoohan | 80 | Ireland | Actor, Writer | ||
| 14 | Ricardo Montalbán | 88 | Mexico | Actor, Director | ||
| 14 | Angela Morley | 84 | US | Composer | ||
| 17 | Susanna Foster | 84 | US | Actress, Singer | ||
| 18 | Kathleen Byron | 88 | UK | Actress | ||
| 21 | Charles H. Schneer | 88 | US | Producer | ||
| 25 | Kim Manners | 58 | US | Assistant Director | ||
| 26 | Darrell Sandeen | 78 | US | Actor | ||
| 31 | Clint Ritchie | 70 | US | Actor | ||
| February | 6 | Philip Carey | 83 | US | Actor | |
| 6 | James Whitmore | 87 | US | Actor | ||
| 7 | Molly Bee | 69 | US | Singer, Actress | ||
| 7 | Lesley Brook | 91 | UK | Actress | ||
| 9 | Robert Anderson | 91 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 13 | Dilys Laye | 74 | UK | Actress, Writer | ||
| 19 | Oreste Lionello | 81 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 20 | Robert Quarry | 83 | US | Actor | ||
| 21 | Howard Zieff | 81 | US | Director | ||
| 23 | Laurence Payne | 89 | UK | Actor | ||
| 24 | Edward Judd | 76 | UK | Actor, Readings | ||
| 27 | John Alvin | 91 | US | Actor | ||
| March | 3 | Sydney Chaplin | 82 | US | Actor | |
| 4 | Horton Foote | 92 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 7 | Tullio Pinelli | 100 | Italy | Writer | ||
| 10 | Derek Benfield | 82 | UK | Actor, Writer | Lifeforce | |
| 13 | Betsy Blair | 85 | US | Actress | ||
| 15 | Ron Silver | 62 | US | Actor, Director | ||
| 18 | Natasha Richardson | 45 | UK | Actress | ||
| 21 | John Cater | 77 | UK | Actor | ||
| 21 | John Franklyn-Robbins | 84 | UK | Actor | ||
| 25 | Steven Bach | 70 | US | Producer, Writer | ||
| 29 | Monte Hale | 89 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
| 29 | Maurice Jarre | 84 | France | Composer | ||
| April | 1 | Lou Perryman | 67 | US | Actor | |
| 1 | Miguel Ángel Suárez | 69 | Puerto Rico | Actor | ||
| 4 | Jody McCrea | 74 | US | Actor, Producer | ||
| 5 | Wouter Barendrecht | 43 | Netherlands | Producer | ||
| 8 | Jane Bryan | 90 | US | Actress | ||
| 9 | Michael N. Harbour | 63 | UK | Actor | ||
| 9 | Shakti Samanta | 83 | India | Director, Producer | ||
| 10 | Yevgeny Vesnik | 86 | Russia | Actor | The Adventures of the Elektronic | |
| 12 | Marilyn Chambers | 57 | US | Actress | ||
| 14 | Peter Rogers | 95 | UK | Director | Carry On film series | |
| 18 | Peter Dennis | 75 | US | Actor | ||
| 19 | J. G. Ballard | 78 | UK | Writer, Actor | ||
| 22 | Ken Annakin | 94 | UK | Director | ||
| 22 | Jack Cardiff | 94 | UK | Cinematographer, Director | ||
| 25 | Beatrice Arthur | 86 | US | Actress | ||
| 27 | Feroz Khan | 69 | India | Actor | ||
| May | 1 | Danny Gans | 52 | US | Actor | Bull Durham |
| 4 | Dom DeLuise | 75 | US | Actor, Voice Actor | ||
| 4 | Jane Randolph | 93 | US | Actress | ||
| 7 | Mickey Carroll | 89 | US | Actor | The Wizard of Oz | |
| 11 | Dolores Sutton | 82 | US | Actress | ||
| 15 | Bud Tingwell | 86 | Australia | Actor, Director, Producer | ||
| 18 | Wayne Allwine | 62 | US | Voice actor, voice of Mickey Mouse | ||
| 20 | Lucy Gordon | 28 | UK | Actress | ||
| 28 | Mort Abrahams | 93 | US | Producer | ||
| 28 | Terence Alexander | 86 | UK | Actor | ||
| June | 3 | David Carradine | 72 | US | Actor | |
| 3 | Shih Kien | 96 | China | Actor | ||
| 6 | Mary Howard | 96 | US | Actress | ||
| 10 | Tenniel Evans | 83 | UK | Actor | 10 Rillington Place | |
| 21 | Lorena Gale | 51 | Canada | Actress | ||
| 23 | Ed McMahon | 86 | US | Actor | ||
| 25 | Farrah Fawcett | 62 | US | Actress | ||
| 25 | Michael Jackson | 50 | US | Singer, Songwriter, Actor, Producer | ||
| 29 | Jan Rubeš | 89 | Canada | Singer, Actor | ||
| 30 | Harve Presnell | 75 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
| July | 1 | Karl Malden | 97 | US | Actor | |
| 4 | Brenda Joyce | 92 | US | Actress | ||
| 10 | Zena Marshall | 83 | UK | Actress | ||
| 13 | Beverly Roberts | 95 | US | Actress | ||
| 14 | Dal McKennon | 89 | US | Actor | ||
| 15 | Peggy Ann Clifford | 88 | UK | Actress | ||
| 17 | Walter Cronkite | 92 | US | Broadcaster | We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story | |
| 24 | Harry Towb | 83 | UK | Actor | ||
| 26 | Traugott Buhre | 80 | Germany | Actor | ||
| 26 | Clayton Hill | 78 | US | Actor | ||
| 29 | Joanne Jordan | 88 | US | Actress | ||
| 31 | Jean-Paul Roussillon | 78 | France | Actor | ||
| August | 4 | Blake Snyder | 51 | US | Writer, Producer | |
| 5 | Budd Schulberg | 95 | US | Writer | ||
| 6 | John Hughes | 59 | US | Director, Writer, Producer | ||
| 9 | John Quade | 71 | US | Actor, Stuntman | ||
| 12 | Ruth Ford | 98 | US | Actress | ||
| 12 | Les Paul | 94 | US | Musician | The Dream Catcher | |
| 13 | John Bentley | 92 | UK | Actor | ||
| 26 | Sadie Corré | 91 | US | Actress, Dancer | ||
| 26 | Dominick Dunne | 83 | US | Producer | ||
| 28 | Wayne Tippit | 76 | US | Actor | ||
| September | 4 | Iain Cuthbertson | 79 | UK | Actor | |
| 4 | Carl Reindel | 74 | US | Actor | ||
| 7 | Frank Coghlan, Jr. | 93 | US | Actor | ||
| 8 | Ray Barrett | 82 | Australia | Actor | ||
| 12 | Larry Gelbart | 81 | US | Screenwriter, Producer | ||
| 13 | Paul Burke | 83 | US | Actor | ||
| 13 | Arnold Laven | 87 | US | Director | ||
| 14 | Henry Gibson | 73 | US | Actor | ||
| 14 | Patrick Swayze | 57 | US | Actor, Dancer | ||
| 15 | Troy Kennedy Martin | 77 | UK | Writer | ||
| 16 | Timothy Bateson | 83 | UK | Actor | ||
| 16 | Luciano Emmer | 91 | Italy | Director, Screenwriter | ||
| 17 | Dick Durock | 72 | US | Actor, Stuntman | ||
| 18 | Pearl Hackney | 92 | UK | Actress | ||
| 20 | Katherine Parr | 88 | UK | Actress | ||
| 21 | Robert Ginty | 60 | US | Actor, Director | ||
| October | 9 | Barry Letts | 84 | UK | Actor, Producer | The Cruel Sea |
| 10 | Sean Lawlor | 55 | Ireland | Actor | ||
| 13 | Al Martino | 82 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
| 13 | Daniel Melnick | 77 | US | Producer | ||
| 14 | Lou Albano | 76 | US | Actor, Wrestler | ||
| 14 | Collin Wilcox | 74 | US | Actress | ||
| 16 | Denys Hawthorne | 77 | UK | Actor | The Russia House | |
| 17 | Douglas Blackwell | 85 | UK | Actor | ||
| 17 | Vic Mizzy | 93 | US | Composer | ||
| 17 | Rosanna Schiaffino | 69 | Italy | Actress | ||
| 19 | Joseph Wiseman | 91 | Canada | Actor | ||
| 20 | Hubert Rees | 81 | UK | Actor | ||
| 23 | Lou Jacobi | 95 | Canada | Actor | ||
| 27 | John David Carson | 57 | US | Actor | ||
| November | 4 | David Tree | 94 | US | Actor | |
| 12 | Paul Wendkos | 84 | US | Director, Producer | ||
| 16 | Edward Woodward | 79 | UK | Actor | ||
| 17 | Tony Kendall | 72 | Italy | Actor | ||
| December | 3 | Nathan Boxer | 84 | US | Sound Mixer | |
| 3 | Richard Todd | 90 | UK | Actor | ||
| 4 | Bryan O'Byrne | 78 | US | Actor | ||
| 5 | Garfield Morgan | 78 | UK | Actor | ||
| 8 | Joan Bridge | 97 | UK | Costume Designer | ||
| 9 | Gene Barry | 90 | US | Actor | ||
| 12 | Val Avery | 85 | US | Actor | ||
| 15 | Peter Murton | 85 | UK | Production Design, Art Director | ||
| 15 | Robert Turturice | 60 | US | Costume Designer | ||
| 16 | Roy E. Disney | 79 | US | Studio Executive | Fantasia 2000 | |
| 17 | Alaina Reed Hall | 63 | US | Actress, Singer | ||
| 17 | Jennifer Jones | 90 | US | Actress | ||
| 17 | Dan O'Bannon | 63 | US | Screenwriter, Director, Actor | ||
| 19 | Edith Diaz | 60 | US | Actress | Born on the Fourth of July | |
| 19 | Donald Pickering | 76 | UK | Actor | ||
| 20 | Brittany Murphy | 32 | US | Actress, Singer | ||
| 20 | Shari Rhodes | 71 | US | Casting Director | ||
| 20 | Arnold Stang | 91 | US | Actor | ||
| 21 | Marianne Stone | 87 | UK | Actress | ||
| 22 | Michael Currie | 81 | US | Actor | ||
| 24 | Giulio Bosetti | 78 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 24 | George Michael | 70 | US | Actor | ||
| 30 | Perry Wilson | 93 | US | Actress | ||
| 31 | Glauco Onorato | 73 | Italy | Actor |
References
- French, Philip (13 December 2009). "2009 in review: Film". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- "2009 Worldwide Box Office". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
-
Box Office Mojo
- Total as of 2013: "Avatar (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013.
$2,782,275,172
- Special edition: "Avatar (Special Edition)". Retrieved January 30, 2014.
North America:$10,741,486; Overseas: $22,469,358
- Total as of 2013: "Avatar (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013.