What better way to make my audience feel old than by sharing a list of movies that turn a certain age in 2026? Each year, I watch TikTok videos or read articles about turning a certain age and feel old. My fellow MCDI writer Matthew Fox does rewind reviews that knock it out of the ballpark. Those lists inspired me to share the list of movies turning the big 2-5, yes, 25 years old in 2026. 

The year was 2001, everyone was one year into the new millennium, and they were enjoying Dominic Toretto boosting his first cars, Danny Ocean rounding up the boys for another heist, and Denzel Washington putting cases on guys. Washington went on to win Best Actor for his role in Training Day, and Beautiful Mind took home Best Picture and Director. While Lifehouse’s “Hanging By A Moment” was the number one song. 

Movies Turning 25 in 2026

The Fast and the Furious

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) enjoys the adrenaline of street car racing and his fans treat him like a rock star. After a blazing encounter with the ruthless Johnny Tran, Dom decides to take Brian (Paul Walker), a newcomer to street racing, under his wing. Dom’s sister Mia sees something she likes in Brian, too. Trouble is, neither of them realize he’s an undercover cop, and Dominic and his rival Johnny Tran are both the prime suspects in a case involving dirty money and big-rig hijacking.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The future of civilization rests in the fate of the One Ring, which has been lost for centuries. Powerful forces are unrelenting in their search for it. But fate has placed it in the hands of a young Hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), who inherits the Ring and steps into legend. A daunting task lies ahead for Frodo when he becomes the Ringbearer – to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged.

Ocean’s Eleven

Dapper Danny Ocean is a man of action. Less than 24 hours into his parole from a New Jersey penitentiary, the wry, charismatic thief is already rolling out his next plan. He follows three rules: do not hurt anybody, do not steal from anyone who does not deserve it, and play the game like you have got nothing to lose. With those in mind, Danny works to orchestrate the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history, targeting three establishments owned by the man who is dating his ex-wife.

Training Day

Police drama about a veteran officer who escorts a rookie on his first day with the LAPD’s tough inner-city narcotics unit. “Training Day” is a blistering action drama that asks the audience to decide what is necessary, what is heroic and what crosses the line in the harrowing gray zone of fighting urban crime. Does law-abiding law enforcement come at the expense of justice and public safety? If so, do we demand safe streets at any cost?

Shrek

Once upon a time, in a far away swamp, there lived an ogre named Shrek whose precious solitude is suddenly shattered by an invasion of annoying fairy tale characters. They were all banished from their kingdom by the evil Lord Farquaad. Determined to save their home, not to mention his, Shrek cuts a deal with Farquaad and sets out to rescue Princess Fiona to be Farquaad’s bride. Rescuing the Princess may be small compared to her deep, dark secret.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Adaptation of the first of J.K. Rowling’s popular children’s novels about Harry Potter, a boy who learns on his eleventh birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own. He is summoned from his life as an unwanted child to become a student at Hogwarts, an English boarding school for wizards. There, he meets several friends who become his closest allies and help him discover the truth about his parents’ mysterious deaths.

Donnie Darko

During the presidential election of 1988, a teenager named Donnie Darko sleepwalks out of his house one night and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days. When Donnie returns home, he finds that a jet engine has crashed into his bedroom. Is Donnie living in a parallel universe, is he suffering from mental illness – or will the world really end?

Moulin Rouge!

A young Englishman in the Paris of 1899, becomes infatuated with Satine, a singer at the Moulin Rouge. However, she has been promised by the manager to a Duke in return for funding his next production. As the young lovers meet in secret, Satine’s wedding day draws closer but she hides a fatal secret from both Christian and the Duke.

Black Hawk Down

In 13, the U.S. sends special forces into Somalia to destabilize the government and bring food and humanitarian aid to the starving population. Using Black Hawk helicopters to lower the soldiers onto the ground, an unexpected attack by Somalian forces brings two of the helicopters down immediately. From there, the U.S. soldiers must struggle to regain their balance while enduring heavy gunfire.

More gems from 2001: A Beautiful Mind, Blow, Monsters, Inc. A Knight’s Tale, I Am Sam, Ali, Gosford Park