See also: 2001 in film, other events of 2002, 2003 in film and the list of 'years in film'.

Events

• May - The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski wins the "Palme d'Or" at the Cannes Film Festival.
• Amélie from Montmartre directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet wins the 2002 Cesar Award for Best Film, Best Director, Best Music, and Best Art Direction.
• December - Star Trek: Nemesis, the tenth film in the successful film franchise, opens to poor box office and lukewarm reviews. It is later announced that this film is expected to be the final Star Trek film for the foreseeable future.

Top grossing films in the U.S.

Please note that these are the top grossing films that were first released in 2002; because they may have made most of their income in a later year, they are probably not the top grossing films for calendar year 2002.

1. Spider-Man (Sony) $403,706,375
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (New Line) $339,789,881
3. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Fox) $302,191,252
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner Bros) $261,988,482
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (IFC) $241,438,208
6. Signs, starring Mel Gibson (Disney) $227,966,634
7. Austin Powers in Goldmember, starring Mike Myers (New Line) $213,307,889
8. Men in Black II, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (Sony) $190,418,803
9. Ice Age (Fox) $176,387,405
10. Chicago (Miramax) $170,687,518

24 films grossed over $100 million. Seven films grossed over $200 million, a new record.

Academy Awards

• Best Picture: Chicago - Loop Films, Miramax Films, Producers Circle
• Best Actor: Adrien Brody - The Pianist
• Best Actress: Nicole Kidman - The Hours

Births

Deaths

• January 13 - Ted Demme, 38, director
• February 15 - Kevin Smith, 38, television actor
• February 21 - John Thaw, 60, actor
• February 22 - Chuck Jones, 89, animator
• February 27 - Spike Milligan, 83, comedian
• March 27 - Milton Berle, 93, comedian
• March 27 - Dudley Moore, 66, actor/comedian
• March 27 - Billy Wilder, 95, filmmaker
• April 9 - John Agar , 81, actor
• April 16 - Robert Urich, 55, television actor
• April 22 - Linda Lovelace, 53, porn star (Deep Throat)
• June 5 - Dee Dee Ramone, 49, bassist/songwriter
• June 29 - Rosemary Clooney, 74, singer/actress
• July 5 - Katy Jurado, 78, Mexican actress
• July 6 - John Frankenheimer, 72, director
• July 9 - Rod Steiger, 77, actor
• July 23 - Leo McKern, 82, actor
• August 16 - Jeff Corey , 88, actor, television director
• August 18 - Dean Reisner , 83, screenwriter
• September 7 - Katrin Cartlidge, 41, actress
• September 11 - Kim Hunter, 79, actress
• September 14 LaWanda Page, 81, actress
• September 16 - James Gregory, 90, actor
• October 2 - Bruce Paltrow, 58, director
• October 10 - Teresa Graves, 54, actress
• October 25 - Richard Harris, 72, actor
• November 3 - Jonathan Harris, 87, television actor
• November 18 - James Coburn, 74, actor
• December 3 - Glenn Quinn, 32, television actor

Other movies released

• 8 Mile
• 24 Hour Party People
• 40 Days and 40 Nights
• About a Boy
• Adaptation
• All About the Benjamins
• American Psycho 2: All American Girl
• Analyze That
• Bad Company
• The Banger Sisters
• Barbershop
• Big Fat Liar
• Blade II
• Blood Work
• Blue Crush
• The Bourne Identity
• Bowling for Columbine
• Brown Sugar
• Cabin Fever
• Catch Me If You Can
• Changing Lanes
• City by the Sea
• Clockstoppers
• Collateral Damage
• Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
• Count of Monte Cristo, The
• Crossroads
• Die Another Day
• Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
• Dragonfly
• Drumline
• Eight Crazy Nights
• Enough
• Equilibrium
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (20th anniversary re-release) 3/22
• Frida
• Friday After Next
• Gerry
• Gangs of New York
• Ghost Ship
• Halloween: Resurrection
• Hero
• High Crimes
• Hop
• The Hot Chick
• Igby Goes Down
• Insomnia
• Irréversible
• I Spy
• Jackass: The Movie
• John Q.
• K-19: The Widowmaker
• Ken Park
• Laurel Canyon
• Like Mike
• Lilja_4-ever
• Lilo & Stitch
• Maid in Manhattan
• Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat
• The Master of Disguise
• Minority Report
• The Mothman Prophecies
• Mr. Deeds
• Murder by Numbers
• National Lampoon's Van Wilder
• The New Guy
• One Hour Photo
• Orange County
• Panic Room
• Possession
• Queen of the Damned
• Red Dragon
• Reign of Fire
• Resident Evil
• Return to Never Land
• The Ring
• Road
• Road to Perdition
• The Rookie
• The Rules of Attraction
• The Santa Clause 2
• The Scorpion King
• The Spanish Apartment (L'Auberge espagnole)
• Scooby-Doo
• Secretary
• Showtime
• Snow Dogs
• Space Station 3-D (IMAX)
• Speak to Me of Love (Parlez-moi d'amour)
• Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
• Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Stuart Little 2
• The Sum of All Fears
• The Sweetest Thing
• Sweet Home Alabama
• SwimFan
• The Time Machine
• The Transporter
• Trapped
• Treasure Planet
• True Colors
• The Tuxedo
• Two Weeks Notice
• Undercover Brother
• Unfaithful
• A Walk To Remember
• We Were Soldiers
• The Wild Thornberrys
• Windtalkers
• XXX
• Zvezda