It was a year of unexpected triumphs. 2003's biggest star has never been on the cover of Vanity Fair. That's because Neo wasn't 'The One' at the box office, Nemo was. But it wasn't just a fish that scored big at the cinema. Monitor readers flapped enthusiastically for birds (Winged Migration) and cheered on a horse (Seabiscuit) in our annual movie poll. Talking of surprises, the pirate genre made a hearty comeback, and several documentaries managed to outgross a film starring Ben Affleck and J.Lo.

Monitor film critic David Sterritt weighs in with his picks for the top 10 films of 2003.

Our editors mine the years movies for some enlightening lists, including the top 10 grossing at the box office, breakout actors, winning documentaries, surprise cameos, women-directed films and more.