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).
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), (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]
The top 10 films released in 2009 by worldwide gross are as follows:[2]
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Worldwide gross | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avatar | 20th Century Fox | $2,743,577,587 | |
| 2 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Warner Bros. | $933,959,197 | |
| 3 | 20th Century Fox | $886,686,817 | ||
| 4 | Paramount | $836,303,693 | ||
| 5 | 2012 | $769,679,473 | ||
| 6 | Up | Disney | $735,099,082 | |
| 7 | Summit | $709,827,462 | ||
| 8 | Sherlock Holmes | Warner Bros. | $524,028,679 | |
| 9 | Angels & Demons | Sony | $485,930,816 | |
| 10 | The Hangover | Warner Bros. | $469,328,079 |
Avatar surpassed Titanic as the highest-grossing film of all time on January 25, 2010.[3] Avatar then became the first film to earn more than $2 billion at the box office on January 31, 2010.[4] Avatar was surpassed by as the highest-grossing film of all time on July 21, 2019.[5] Due to a re-release, Avatar retook the title from Endgame on March 13, 2021.[6]
| 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 Theatre 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 |
| December | 18 | Avatar is released in theaters, breaking many box-office records, including becoming the highest-grossing movie at the time. |
| 25 | The mystery action movie Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie, is released. It becomes the highest breaking record on Christmas Day in the box office at a gross of $25 million. |
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 84 | UK | Actor | ||
| 2 | 72 | US | Actor | |||
| 3 | 84 | US | Actor | |||
| 3 | 81 | US | Actress, Dancer | |||
| 5 | Robert F. Brunner | 70 | US | Composer | ||
| 5 | 77 | US | Producer, Executive | |||
| 6 | 82 | UK | Actor | |||
| 8 | 71 | US | Actor | |||
| 12 | 74 | France | Director, Producer, Screenwriter | |||
| 12 | 95 | Canada | Actor | |||
| 13 | 80 | Ireland | Actor | |||
| 14 | 88 | Mexico | Actor | |||
| 14 | 84 | UK | Composer | |||
| 15 | 70 | US | Special Effects Artist | |||
| 17 | 84 | US | Actress, Singer | |||
| 18 | 88 | UK | Actress | |||
| 21 | 88 | US | Producer | |||
| 26 | 78 | US | Actor | |||
| 31 | 70 | US | Actor | |||
| February | 6 | 83 | US | Actor | ||
| 6 | 87 | US | Actor | |||
| 7 | 69 | US | Singer, Actress | |||
| 7 | 91 | UK | Actress | |||
| 9 | 91 | US | Screenwriter | |||
| 13 | 74 | UK | Actress | |||
| 19 | 81 | Italy | Actor | |||
| 20 | 83 | US | Actor | |||
| 21 | 81 | US | Director | |||
| 23 | 89 | UK | Actor | |||
| 24 | 76 | UK | Actor | |||
| 27 | 91 | US | Actor | |||
| March | 3 | 82 | US | Actor | ||
| 4 | 92 | US | Screenwriter | |||
| 7 | 100 | Italy | Screenwriter | |||
| 13 | 85 | US | Actress | |||
| 14 | 92 | US | Screenwriter | |||
| 15 | 62 | US | Actor | |||
| 18 | 45 | UK | Actress | |||
| 21 | 77 | UK | Actor | |||
| 21 | 84 | UK | Actor | |||
| 25 | 70 | US | Studio Executive | |||
| 29 | 89 | US | Actor, Singer | |||
| 29 | 84 | France | Composer | |||
| April | 1 | 67 | US | Actor | ||
| 1 | 69 | Puerto Rico | Actor | |||
| 3 | 88 | UK | Makeup Artist | |||
| 4 | 74 | US | Actor | |||
| 5 | 43 | Netherlands | Producer | |||
| 8 | 90 | US | Actress | |||
| 9 | 63 | UK | Actor | |||
| 9 | 83 | India | Director, Producer | |||
| 11 | 63 | UK | Producer | |||
| 12 | 57 | US | Actress | |||
| 18 | 75 | UK | Actor | |||
| 22 | 94 | UK | Director | |||
| 22 | 94 | UK | Cinematographer, Director | |||
| 25 | 86 | US | Actress | |||
| 27 | 69 | India | Actor | |||
| May | 1 | 46 | US | Director, Screenwriter | ||
| 4 | 75 | US | Actor | |||
| 4 | 93 | US | Actress | |||
| 15 | 86 | Australia | Actor | |||
| 18 | 62 | US | Voice Actor | |||
| 20 | 28 | UK | Actress | |||
| 28 | 93 | US | Producer | |||
| 28 | 86 | UK | Actor | |||
| June | 3 | 72 | US | Actor | ||
| 3 | 96 | China | Actor | |||
| 6 | 96 | US | Actress | |||
| 9 | 32 | US | Actor | |||
| 21 | 51 | Canada | Actress | |||
| 23 | 86 | US | Actor | |||
| 25 | 62 | US | Actress | |||
| 25 | 50 | US | Singer, Actor | |||
| 27 | 87 | US | Singer, Actress | |||
| 29 | 89 | Czech Republic | Singer, Actor | |||
| 30 | 75 | US | Actor, Singer | |||
| July | 1 | 97 | US | Actor | ||
| 4 | 92 | US | Actress | |||
| 10 | 83 | UK | Actress | |||
| 13 | 95 | US | Actress | |||
| 14 | 89 | US | Actor | |||
| 24 | 83 | Ireland | Actor | |||
| 26 | 78 | US | Actor | |||
| 29 | 88 | US | Actress | |||
| 31 | 78 | France | Actor | |||
| August | 4 | 51 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 5 | 95 | US | Screenwriter | |||
| 6 | 59 | US | Director, Screenwriter, Producer | |||
| 9 | 71 | US | Actor | |||
| 12 | 98 | US | Actress | |||
| 13 | 92 | UK | Actor | |||
| 16 | 83 | US | Cinematographer, Director | |||
| 21 | 86 | UK | Sound Engineer | |||
| 26 | 91 | UK | Actress, Dancer | |||
| 26 | 83 | US | Producer | |||
| 28 | 76 | US | Actor | |||
| September | 3 | 86 | Canada | Casting Director | ||
| 4 | 79 | UK | Actor | |||
| 4 | 74 | US | Actor | |||
| 7 | 93 | US | Actor | |||
| 8 | 82 | Australia | Actor | |||
| 11 | 75 | South Africa | Actor | |||
| 12 | 81 | US | Screenwriter | |||
| 13 | 83 | US | Actor | |||
| 13 | 87 | US | Director | |||
| 14 | 73 | US | Actor | |||
| 14 | 57 | US | Actor | |||
| 15 | 77 | UK | Screenwriter | |||
| 16 | 83 | UK | Actor | |||
| 16 | 91 | Italy | Director, Screenwriter | |||
| 17 | 72 | US | Actor, Stuntman | |||
| 18 | 92 | UK | Actress | |||
| 20 | 91 | US | Actor | |||
| 20 | 88 | UK | Actress | |||
| 21 | 60 | US | Actor, Director | |||
| 30 | 92 | UK | Producer, Director, Cinematographer | |||
| October | 3 | 77-78 | UK | Producer | ||
| 6 | 94 | US | Actress | |||
| 10 | 55 | Ireland | Actor | |||
| 13 | 82 | US | Actor, Singer | |||
| 13 | 77 | US | Producer, Executive | |||
| 14 | 76 | Italy | Actor, Wrestler | |||
| 14 | 74 | US | Actress | |||
| 17 | 85 | UK | Actor | |||
| 17 | 93 | US | Composer | |||
| 17 | 69 | Italy | Actress | |||
| 19 | 91 | Canada | Actor | |||
| 20 | 81 | UK | Actor | |||
| 23 | 95 | Canada | Actor | |||
| 26 | 85 | Japan | Production Designer, Costume Designer | |||
| 27 | 57 | US | Actor | |||
| November | 4 | 94 | UK | Actor | ||
| 6 | Derek Brechin | 57 | UK | Film Editor | ||
| 12 | 84 | US | Director | |||
| 16 | 79 | UK | Actor | |||
| 17 | 72 | Italy | Actor | |||
| 28 | 81 | Canada | Director, Screenwriter | |||
| December | 3 | 84 | US | Sound Engineer | ||
| 3 | 90 | Ireland | Actor | |||
| 4 | 78 | US | Actor | |||
| 5 | 78 | UK | Actor | |||
| 8 | 97 | UK | Costume Designer | |||
| 9 | 90 | US | Actor | |||
| 12 | 85 | US | Actor | |||
| 15 | 85 | UK | Production Designer, Art Director | |||
| 15 | 60 | US | Costume Designer | |||
| 16 | 79 | US | Studio Executive | |||
| 17 | 63 | US | Actress | |||
| 17 | 90 | US | Actress | |||
| 17 | 63 | US | Screenwriter, Director, Actor | |||
| 19 | 76 | UK | Actor | |||
| 20 | 32 | US | Actress | |||
| 20 | 71 | US | Casting Director | |||
| 20 | 91 | US | Actor | |||
| 21 | 87 | UK | Actress | |||
| 22 | 81 | US | Actor | |||
| 24 | 78 | Italy | Actor | |||
| 30 | 93 | US | Actress | |||
| 31 | 73 | Italy | Actor |