23 Of The Best Movie Opening Scenes That Had People Glued To Their Seats

Those first few minutes of a film can count so much. In the case of these 23 movies, they were everything.

Liezel

• Published in Film & TV
• July 1, 2022

The first few minutes of a film are perhaps its most crucial moment. Why?

That's the part that hooks the audience. It's what keeps us in our seats wanting more because we all know that despite filmmakers giving us trailers, short story descriptions, or teasers, we still count on those first few minutes to see if a movie is really worth watching or not.

Also, it's been proven that people nowadays have short attention spans so if filmmakers can't capture and retain our attention by the first few minutes, they risk us missing important pieces of their film that might affect its overall effect on us, That's why they really have to make it count.

We all know that is not an easy job, of course. It might even be the hardest part to think of aside from the ending or the climax part.

If they do succeed, however, they create openings that become almost iconic and that stay in our minds forever, maybe even more than the entire film. With that, here are some of the best examples of films that have captured audiences from the get-go and have had them glued to their seats from there on.

Keep scrolling and enjoy!

1. Up

This entire opening sequence was a whole story in and of itself and it made many of us sob right even before the real plot of the movie began

2. Finding Nemo

This opening was so devastating and it explained why Marlin was so protective right away

3. Scream

These first five minutes were amazing because of how they immediately killed off Drew Barrymore's character even though she was a household name actress

4. Jaws

Chrissie Watkins' figure getting thrashed around by the unseen shark while she was still screaming for help was one of the most haunting scenes we've seen

5. Mamma Mia!

This is the moment she sends that letter that upturns the entire lives of three busy men

6. The Prince of Egypt

Just hearing Ofra Haza's voice singing "Deliver Us" in these scene gives us chills

7. The Lion King

Until today, this remains to be one of the most beautiful and iconic animation openings out there

8. Booksmart

The affirmation, the dancing - how can anyone not love those in this scene?

9. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the dance fight between Wenwu and Jiang Li was just absolutely mesmerizing

10. Birds of Prey

The opening scene really proved that the filmmaker knew Harley well with how Harley it all was

11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

That narration at the start was so powerful and got us hooked

12. Avengers: Infinity War

When Loki and Heimdall were killed off in the first few minutes, we knew it was going to be a rollercoaster of a film

13. The Social Network

That banter scene between Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara trumps all preconceptions anyone might have had about this film

14. That first scene in Inglorious Basterds built up the tension beautifully

15. Black Widow

It's technically not the first scene but the opening credits gave us the chills and was so dark and really embodied Black Widow's history

16. The Departed

By those first few moments, we already knew we were going to love this film

17. Crazy Rich Asians

We wish we were as powerful as Eleanor Young when she put the hotel worker in his place just like that in this opening scene

18. X-Men

Magneto isn't everyone's favorite mutant but the way his younger self carried that opening scene still gives us shivers

19. The Dark Knight

The entire Joker heist was done so well

20. The Other Guys

This was an epic car chase that we didn't know we needed

21. Deadpool

That opening scene immediately shows you what you're in for

22. Goodfellas

This scene and that little line at the end before the real start of the film is just *chef's kiss*

23. Drive

There are hardly any words spoken but it perfectly builds up the suspense of the film

These films are the perfect examples of the best movie openings of all time. They prove that you don't really need flashy openings or big reveals right at the start.

You just need the right elements to set the tone, the story, and what the audience should want to expect and you've got people hooked. Which one was your favorite opening?

Liezel