In the age of the internet, movies don't have to stop at being movies. Often, they find new life as reaction GIFs, image macros, TikTok remixes, and so much more. But what movies have actually become part of the universal meme canon?
While memes have been a staple of the internet since as soon as the world logged online – remember the Oogachacka Baby? – the uptick of social media in the late 2000s spawned the beginning of modern meme culture. Alongside video games, TV, and even literature, movies have inspired countless memes that invite us to acknowledge and even laugh at life's unpredictable ups and downs. Because when words fail us, there's always a good reaction GIF with Denzel Washington to say what we can't.
Here are 32 movies that have spawned iconic internet memes.
32. Motivational Chinese Beaver – A Better Tomorrow (1986)
John Woo's A Better Tomorrow, starring Chow Yun-fat in the role that made him famous, is one of the greatest action movies of all time, a film that defined the heroic bloodshed era of Hong Kong cinema during the late 1980s and 1990s. Unfortunately, poor distribution rights outside Asia have made this gem of world cinema unknown to most English-speaking audiences. But if you're on certain corners of the internet, you might have come across a facially scarred beaver giving an impassioned speech in Cantonese. It's actually a fan-made 3D animated recreation of Chow Yun-fat's big monologue in A Better Tomorrow. The original video was made by a user on Bilibili (the Chinese equivalent to YouTube) to show off their animation skills. It was first posted on Bilibili in November 2022, and a year later the video wound up on TikTok where it spread like wildfire to become a meme. Never mind most admit they don't know what the beaver is saying.
31. What If I Told You? – The Matrix (1999)
What if I told you… that Morpheus doesn't actually say this in The Matrix? In the era-defining sci-fi hit, Laurence Fishburne plays the sage-like Morpheus who mentors chosen one Neo (Keanu Reeves) into waking up and harnessing his potential in the artificial program known as The Matrix. Weirdly, Morpheus doesn't literally say "What if I told you" to Neo, or to anyone in the movie for that matter. But that hasn't stopped the internet from making a million memes inspired by Morpheus and his role in revealing Neo the truth about his false reality.
30. Scarlett Johansson Falling Down – Under the Skin (2013)
Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin is about an alien, played by Scarlett Johansson, who uses her outward beauty to prey on vulnerable men. It’s a creepy, unnerving movie teeming with dark atmosphere that excited critics but repelled moviegoers; Under the Skin bombed at the box office, barely making back its meager $8 million budget in ticket sales. So it might be a surprise how the movie inadvertently inspired one of the funniest memes around.
During production in 2012, paparazzi following Johansson on set in Scotland caught the actress taking a scripted stumble on the sidewalk. We’ve all hit the pavement before, but not all of us are famous actors who've played Marvel superheroes. The image of Johansson preparing to eat concrete inspired countless Photoshop memes that recycled her into MMA fights, playing bongo drums, riding dolphins, or throwing it down as an EDM DJ.
29. "You Mustn't Be Afraid to Dream a Little Bigger, Darling" – Inception (2010)
One of the most memorable (and quotable) moments in Christopher Nolan's hit sci-fi Inception has Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as the character Arthur) challenged by Tom Hardy (as Eames, a master identity thief) to "dream a little bigger." In context, the heroes – who inhabit a dreamscape where they manipulate physics – are pinned down from a vulnerable position, and Arthur is trying to methodically pick off enemies using an assault rifle. Eames, who dreams bigger, suddenly brandishes a giant grenade launcher. It's a funny moment in an otherwise serious thriller. Over a decade after the movie's 2010 release, the scene enjoyed a resurgence on Reddit and social media as a meme, applying to any time where escalation guarantees results.
28. Confused Travolta – Pulp Fiction (1994)
Just as Pulp Fiction is a classic of American cinema, so too is "Confused Travolta" a classic of early 2010s internet. A key moment from the film sees John Travolta's character Vincent, a hitman for gangster Marcellus Wallace, act a touch confused about where to go in his boss' L.A. mansion. Over intercom, Vincent is being addressed to by Marcellus' wife Mia (Uma Thurman), which disorients Vincent. Hence, the confused part in "Confused Travolta."
Given Pulp Fiction's enduring reputation in mainstream pop culture, it's no surprise it found instant meme status after it was posted on Reddit circa November 2012, according to Know Your Meme. Since then, "Confused Travolta" has represented how we all feel when we're unsure about what to do and where to go – and frankly, isn't that us all the time?
27. "You're Laughing" – Joker (2019)
The Joker's heinous crimes are no laughing matter – or are they? This meme, where Robert De Niro points out an ironic tragedy and ends his statement with "You're laughing," comes from the 2019 movie Joker. The climax sees Phoenix's antihero Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comic, fully transformed into The Joker and sitting on a late-night talk show hosted by his idol Murray Abraham (Robert De Niro). Murray expresses abject horror at The Joker's crimes and his casual attitude about them, leaving him only to say, "You're laughing." The meme version remixes the exact dialogue a bit, but the point remains the same.
26. "No, I Don't Think I Will" – Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame, at one point one of the biggest movies of all time, spawned countless memes in its aftermath. From "Regretful Hulk" to "I See This as an Absolute Win" to… whatever you might call "Thicc Thanos." But most notable of them all is "No, I Don't Think I Will," a line spoken by Chris Evans' Steve Rogers, aka Captain America at the end of the movie. Now of elder age, Steve bequeaths the Captain America mantle to his friend and ally Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). Sam notices Steve wearing a wedding ring, which inspires him to ask Steve about it. Not one to kiss and tell, Steve playfully tells him, "No, I don't think I will." (The movie then fades to a final flashback that confirms Steve used the Avengers' time machine to travel back to his beloved Peggy, to live out their days together.) The meme took off in the wake of Endgame's release in theaters, referencing any time we stubbornly refuse to do something.
25. "I Prefer the Real/Perfection" – X-Men: First Class (2011)
For the discerning memers who desire the real deal (sometimes ironically), there's this moment from X-Men: First Class. Released in 2011, X-Men: First Class chronicles the first mutants to call themselves "X-Men." Halfway through the movie, the mutant Magneto (played by Michael Fassbender) begins a rocky intimate relationship with Raven, aka Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), a shapeshifter whose real form is that of a yellow-eyed, blue-skinned being. Magneto, a mutant radicalist, invites Mystique to bed and insists on having "the real Raven." It's a deep moment that uses physical intimacy and attraction to illustrate these characters' psyches. But the internet has since riffed over it in the way only the internet can.
24. Conspiracy Keanu – Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
An early internet meme, "Conspiracy Keanu" comes from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, one of Keanu Reeves' earliest hit movies. The young Keanu co-stars with Alex Winter in the movie, playing California teenagers who go on a bodacious ride through human history to save their own butts from flunking out of high school. At one point in the movie, Keanu's Ted has a shocked look on his face. It's not over conspiracies that have just dawned on him, however, but a gang of knights that are hot on their tail. Likely due to Reeves' associations with The Matrix, "Conspiracy Keanu" combines both The Matrix and Reeves generally being very funny-looking when he's stunned to synthesize into "Conspiracy Keanu."
23. Willem Dafoe Looking Up – At Eternity's Gate (2018)
It's actually unfortunate what the internet has done to At Eternity's Gate. A critically acclaimed biopic, At Eternity's Gate sees Willem Dafoe play renowned painter Vincent van Gogh in the final years of his life. The movie employs handheld camera movement to vaguely resemble a documentary. This not only honors the imperfect impressionism that defines Gogh's body of work, it also immerses us into the uncontrollable instability of van Gogh's life. "Willem Dafoe Looking Up" happens midway through the movie, when van Gogh is abandoned by Paul Gaugin (played by Oscar Isaac). It's a tremendously sad scene, but without context of the whole movie, Dafoe's pitiful expression and the camera's janky movement is quite funny.
22. I Love Video Games/Me Too – (500) Days of Summer (2009)
Buckle up, because this meme requires some explanation. The 2009 rom-com (500) Days of Summer stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as twenty-somethings in L.A. who go through an emotional situationship. One of the most pivotal moments in the movie is when Tom (Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Deschanel) are seen shopping at a vintage record store. In 2024, the movie found renewed life as a meme, illustrating the contrasts between boy/girl couples and their interests. The most popular example, and the one that started the meme, shows Tom claiming to "love video games" and Summer reply she does too, only for Tom to mean video games like Elden Ring while Summer means Lana Del Rey's "Video Games." This specific exchange does not happen in the movie – Lana Del Rey's song came out a few years after the movie – but that's the internet for ya.
21. #PrattKeeping – Jurassic World (2015)
As Jurassic World made its way to theaters in 2015, the internet was all about #PrattKeeping. The viral trend was inspired by the movie's trailer, which features a cool shot of Chris Pratt's character, a velociraptor wrangler, standing alone against three vicious and unpredictable dinos. Around the same time, Pratt was shaking off his dopey bro image from the sitcom Parks & Recreation and was in the midst of evolving into a proper movie star. So it's little wonder the internet found it amusing that "Andy" from Parks & Rec was now a certified dino-wrangler, which made #PrattKeeping a new trend for all to recreate. The meme peaked when the Smithsonian Museum got in on the action using actual dinosaur skeletons from its collection.
20. The Rock Driving – Race to Witch Mountain (2009)
Before Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson enjoyed a career resurgence in 2011's Fast Five, he was in a slew of family-friendly movies including 2009's Race to Witch Mountain. The Rock stars in the movie as a Las Vegas cab driver who ends up having to drive two alien teenagers to safety. An early scene sees The Rock meet the kids after they've stowed away in his cab; this scene has since lived on as a wildly popular meme where The Rock makes a statement and the girl Sara (AnnaSophia Rob) says something shocking that makes him turn around speechless. The actual scene in the movie plays out way differently, however.
19. Captain America PSA – Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
So, you don't know where this meme is from? One of the best gags in Spider-Man: Homecoming features cameos of Chris Evans, as Captain America, in extremely corny PSAs for public high school students. The joke peaks halfway through the movie when Peter Parker (Tom Holland) winds up in detention and is subjected to another whack-as-heck video about owning up to one's mistakes, with Captain America radiating youth pastor vibes. Note the hilarious way he spins around and sits on a backwards chair. You know, like a cool superhero. At the peak of the MCU's popularity, Marvel fans ran wild with the joke, using Cap to make their own ironic PSAs.
18. But Your Kids Are Gonna Love It – Back to the Future (1985)
The '80s still deliver, don't it? In one of the most iconic scenes in Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly nearly blows his cover as a time traveler from the future by shredding a little too hard on a borrowed Gibson at his parents' high school dance. With the whole gymnasium silent, Marty awkwardly tells them, "I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it." The movie may be decades old, but it's still a classic, and the scene lives on as an enduring meme, for when the memer wants to reference something that is way ahead of its time.
17. Smug Willy Wonka – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Willy Wonka isn't being condescending – at least, not in the now-famous still from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. One of the most popular memes in the early years of Reddit is "Smug Willy Wonka," alternatively known as "Condescending Wonka," which is usually used for, well, smug and condescending comments. ("Oh, you just X?/You must Y" is a common format, but there are countless variants.) Meanwhile, the movie's context for the scene is quite different, as Gene Wilder's eccentric candy maker is actually just excited to show off his secret machine that makes everlasting gobstoppers. What's an everlasting gobstopper? That's a whole other matter…
16. "Three Tickets to Challengers, Please" – Challengers (2024)
While not inspired by any single scene in the movie itself, Luca Guadagnino's steamy drama Challengers, released in early summer 2024, revolves around a highly competitive love triangle between tennis pros. The movie's provocative trailer was enough to make people excited to see Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor volley for Zendaya's affections, and thus "Three Tickets to Challengers" was born. Prolific mainly on Twitter/X, memers regularly posted "Three tickets to Challengers, please" along with a photo of a different throuple situation from pop culture, from Archie and his gal pals on Riverdale to the hot doctors of Grey's Anatomy to – and this one was very popular – Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars: Episode I. The meme died down after Challengers came out, but like all summer flings, it was good while it lasted.
15. Laughing Ray Liotta – Goodfellas (1990)
Ray Liotta's laugh in Martin Scorsese's 1990 classic Goodfellas is so funny, so weird, so emblematic of his character's genuine unease as he becomes a solidified man in the Italian mob, that it's become iconic including as a meme. While screenshots of the scene are mostly used as a reaction image to show outsized laughter, compilations of Liotta's laughter in Goodfellas are also quite popular on YouTube. Liotta's laugh was iconic enough that it warranted the actor to do it again years later for a different character in the 2019 film The Many Saints of Newark, the cinematic prequel to HBO's The Sopranos.
14. Pointing Leo – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
In Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio plays fading Western movie star Rick Dalton who relishes in his last bits of fame before his imminent, inevitable irrelevancy. Towards the end of the movie, DiCaprio kicks his feet up to watch himself in his guest appearance on the classic TV show The F.B.I. along with best friend, stunt man, and chauffeur (played by Brad Pitt). Eventually, Dalton sees himself on the TV, whistling and snapping to mark his moment on the small screen. The meme version crops out Pitt to focus only on DiCaprio, referencing whenever we see whatever we wanted or expected to see in a show.
13. Nodding Man – Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
For the last time: No, this is not Zach Galifianakis. The "Nodding Man," a slow zoom into a bearded man who nods approvingly in a woodsy area, is actually the dashing Robert Redford in the title role of the 1972 Western film Jeremiah Johnson, directed by Sydney Pollack. The scene is as comforting and cozy as it looks, as it's the moment when Jeremiah and his newfound family realize they might actually have a good life together. After being randomly posted on Funnyjunk around 2012, the scene, in GIF form, spread all across the internet with most people mistaking Redford for Galifianakis.
12. "First Time?" – The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
For some people, they're having the worst day of their lives. For others, it's a Tuesday. In the Coen Brothers' anthology Western film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, one segment features James Franco as a nameless bandit (officially credited as "Cowboy") who is eventually arrested and sentenced to hang. Unfazed, he looks over to another elderly man who is weeping. He simply quips, "First time?" Well, for everyone here, it's their last. The scene has spun off into a popular meme, with Franco's casually spoken line serving as a punchline to common but grave misfortunes.
11. Macaulay Culkin and Bees/He Can't See Without His Glasses – My Girl (1991)
In 1991, the coming-of-age romantic drama My Girl left critics underwhelmed. But its sting was felt on younger audiences, likely the first movie to make them realize even the good die young. The movie stars Anna Chlumsky (from Veep) and Macaulay Culkin as preteens who spend an idyllic Pennsylvania summer together in 1972; Culkin's character is an unpopular boy prone to bad allergies. As the kids learn to experience first love, fate takes a dark turn when – spoilers! – Culkin is attacked by bees, triggering a fatal allergy. The movie's emotional climax has Chlumsky at his funeral crying out in denial, "He can't see without his glasses." Now, grown millennials still traumatized by the movie use gallows humor to reference it. (An example: An image macro proposing a "couples Halloween costume" and it's Culkin and a sexy bee costume.)
10. Relieved Denzel – Fallen (1998)
We're all relieved as Denzel when we hear good news. Originating from Fallen, released in 1998, "Relieved Denzel" is a ubiquitous reaction GIF depicting Denzel Washington expressing relief with that signature, million-dollar Hollywood smile. What's funny about the GIF and its popular usage to signify welcome good news is that Fallen is a dark movie. Washington stars as a police detective involved in investigating occult-oriented murders; the context for the scene is Washington's character and his police partner (played by John Goodman) await a phone call that arrives at just the right time – eerily so.
9. "For the Better, Right?" – Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones (2002)
One of the most romantic scenes in the whole Star Wars franchise remains Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and Padme's (Natalie Portman) "Across the Stars" sequence from 2002's Attack of the Clones. But their moment of bliss is briefly soured when the two express opposing opinions on the right way to practice politics. Anakin's potential for the Dark Side is vaguely felt in his insistence that force ought to be used to carry out law and order, which concerns Padme. So it's no surprise that Anakin and Padme's conflict of perspectives have won meme status, becoming a series of images in which Padme realizes Anakin's darker intentions. The scene doesn't play out exactly as the meme does, but the Force is strong in it nonetheless.
8. Cheersing Leo – The Great Gatsby (2013)
Cheers, old sport. Leonardo DiCaprio's prominence as one of the world's most famous movie stars have made him a frequent meme icon, from his laughing in Django Unchained to the more unseemly reality that he doesn't usually date women under age 25. But the most prolific DiCaprio meme is easily "Cheersing Leo," from Baz Luhrman's ostentatious 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. It's the moment when DiCaprio's Jay Gatsby is finally revealed on camera, punctuated by an excellently timed fireworks display. Because how else would Jay Gatsby make an entrance?
7. "I'm Something of a Scientist Myself" – Spider-Man (2002)
Next to Leonardo DiCaprio and Denzel Washington, Willem Dafoe may be one of the most memed actors in Hollywood. In 2002, Dafoe co-starred in Spider-Man as billionaire CEO Norman Osborn, who later transforms into the villain Green Goblin. The tragedy of his descent into madness is that he initially starts out a surrogate, pseudo father figure to Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), much to the chagrin of his own real son Harry (James Franco). Early in the movie Norman and Peter meet for the first time and immediately bond over a shared love of science. Hence the line, "You know, I'm something of a scientist myself." Removed from context, the line is strange and funny enough on its own. Around 2017, it wound up a meme on 4chan, and is now used to denote when people ironically try to make themselves a peer to someone (or something) smarter. In 2021, Dafoe hilariously recited the line in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
6. "You Don't Say?" – Vampire's Kiss (1998)
As usual, the memers got it slightly wrong. In the madcap 1998 supernatural comedy Vampire's Kiss, esteemed thespian Nicholas Cage plays a literary agent who falls in love with a vampire (Jennifer Beals). A pivotal scene in the movie, where Cage's character mockingly and cruelly puts down his secretary (María Conchita Alonso) features some of Cage's most outlandish face acting of his career. Around 2009, a webcomic recycling Cage's face from the movie went viral on YouTube, leading to its spread elsewhere on places like Funnyjunk, Reddit, and 4chan. Notably, Cage doesn't actually say "You don't say," (you don't say?) but somehow we can all hear him do so in his whispery, raspy voice.
5. Angry Hitler – Downfall (2004)
The 2004 historical war drama Downfall stars Bruno Ganz as notorious Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, in a performance that was hailed by critics as one of the year's best. (Ganz, who was reluctant to play the part at first, meticulously studied Hitler's speeches and mannerisms, going so far as to theorize Hitler had Parkinson's and thus also studied patients of the disease.) An important scene from the movie, which also demonstrates Ganz's deep tissue study of the tyrant, sees Hitler unleash a wrathful tirade after learning his orders were not carried out. In 2010, the scene wound up going viral on YouTube with fake subtitles that imagine Hitler ranting about more trivial contemporary matters, from Marvel's sale to Disney to learning that Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift during her VMA acceptance speech.
4. Patrick Bateman Listens to Music – American Psycho (2000)
We've all been there. Monday morning. Walking into the office, full of people we may or may not despise. So you put on happy music just to get through the agony. In American Psycho, Christian Bale's cold and cruel yuppie (who is also possibly a serial killer) walks into another day at his office listening to "Walking on Sunshine" in his headphones while putting on a detached, don't-bother-me expression. The movie's enduring popularity and resonance with young men have made the whole movie a meme, but this scene specifically has enjoyed endless remixes on TikTok and YouTube. Whether it's anime J-pop or WWE wrestler entrance themes, there's always something playing in Patrick Bateman's ears.
3. Epic Handshake – Predator (1987)
The 1987 action-thriller Predator has spawned dozens of memes. While "Get To Da Choppa" was an early internet favorite, "Epic Handshake" has easily eclipsed it through sheer awesomeness alone. Occurring early in the movie (as in, before all the death and destruction happens), Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers' characters reunite as old war buddies in a sweaty South American bar and greet each other with a handshake turned impromptu armwrestling match. The scene inspired an oil painting, which has become a meme to depict a union or agreement of two equally strong forces.
2. "This Is Sparta!" – 300 (2007)
In 2007, you could not walk 10 feet without hearing someone yell, "THIS IS SPARTA." At the dawn of social media's critical mass usage came 300, Zack Snyder's blockbuster movie adaptation of Frank Miller's stylish graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae. Popularized by the trailer and rocket boosted after the movie's theatrical run, the movie's iconic exchange – "This is madness!" followed by a more declarative "THIS IS SPARTA!" by Gerard Butler's King Xerxes – saw a million remixes on YouTube, GIFs on MySpace, and a catchphrase uttered by gamers pwning n00bs on Halo 3.
1. "One Does Not Simply" – Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Just as one does not simply walk into Mordor, one does not simply become a meme. In Peter Jackson's renowned 2001 film version of J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Boromir (played by Sean Bean) warns the Council of Elrond that "One does not simply walk into Mordor," which addresses the deceptive simplicity of their mission to cast the cursed One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The movie's reverence among audiences has made many of its scenes iconic on the internet. But "One Does Not Simply" is a giant of a meme, flexible and malleable to any situation where the goal is not as easy as it seems.
