Movie Scenes That Became Viral Memes

Jun 04, 2023

These scenes are quoted, referenced, beloved across generations, and immortalized in memes.

Some movie scenes are legendary. It might be an unexpected plot twist, a particularly dramatic moment, or an iconic shot or finale. These scenes are quoted, referenced, and beloved across generations. And some of them, even the most ordinary scenes that barely leave an impression when you first watch it, become viral memes.

Today's world doesn't rely on words for communication. Visuals, like emojis and memes, now do the talking for us. You want to congratulate a recent college graduate or a newly married couple? Send them the Leonardo DiCaprio Great Gatsby meme. Did someone just crack an obnoxious joke at you? Hit them with the Ray Liotta Goodfellas gif. These movie scenes, and so many others, have become immortalized through internet memes, woven into our everyday conversations. Here are ten movie scenes that became memes and took the internet by storm.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth installment in the Harry Potter film series. Despite its darker story, it does feature some comedic moments, like this popular scene. After witnessing a near-fatal incident with a student, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) are summoned to Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith), who looks at them at wearily and asks, "Why is it, when something happens, it is always you three?" It's a legitimate question, and the internet couldn't get enough of it. This meme is often used to humorously express a situation where a group of three people or characters consistently find themselves involved in certain events or mishaps. The Harry Potter franchise is getting rebooted into a TV show, which is bound to produce countless new memes.

Related: Harry Potter: 10 Storylines the Movies Used but Should Have Expanded on

Leonardo DiCaprio excels at two things: making great films and making great memes. In Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, DiCaprio plays Calvin Candie, a despicable slave owner in 19th century America. There's an iconic scene where Candie hosts a German dentist named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) for dinner. "Oh, Monsieur Candie, you can't imagine what it's like not to hear your mother tongue in four years," says Dr. Schultz. "Well hell, I can't imagine two weeks in Boston," Candie replies. It's a funny joke. But the best part is Candie's smug, obnoxious grin when he hears the uproarious (and undeserved) reaction from his joke. You can now find Candie's stupid expression all over the internet, the perfect response to an unfunny joke or annoying comment.

Nicolas Cage is known for delivering over-the-top performances. A perfect example of this can be found in Vampire's Kiss. Throughout the film, Cage's character, Peter, loses his sanity and sense of reality. His madness really takes over, though when Peter believes that he was bitten by a bat and is turning into a vampire. His behavior becomes increasingly erratic and bizarre, culminating in the "You don't say" scene. Here, Peter goes on a maniacal rant and tells his co-worker, "You don't say" while bulging his eyes and flaring his nostrils. This scene has been widely shared on the internet for Cage's wild and intense expression, used to convey feelings of chaos and confusion. Or just to express something offbeat.

In Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, fading Hollywood star, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), suddenly sits up and points at the TV to call attention to his upcoming scene. This moment had all the ingredients for a viral meme: a comedic still and, of course, Leonardo DiCaprio. Internet users took this screenshot and coupled it with funny text that captured situational reactions and feelings of excited recognition.

Related: How Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Is Quentin Tarantino’s Most Profound Film

Long before Tom Holland and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was Tobey Maguire and Spider-Man. In this film, Wilem Dafoe plays Spider-Man's iconic arch-nemesis, the Green Goblin, and his secret identity and the self-proclaimed scientist, Norman Osborn. While chatting with Peter Parker (Maguire) about his scientific studies, Osborn flashes a smug grin and drops this unintentionally funny line: "You know, I'm something of a scientist myself." Decades later, this moment went viral. People would top this screenshot with a stupid, non-scientific line like "When your mom asks you to fix the internet, but all you do is plug in the router", and then follow it up with Osborn's quote. Dafoe reprises his role as the Green Goblin in the latest Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and drops this line again, giving a nod to the viral meme.

Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby, is an over-the-top, exuberant, and glitzy affair. And no scene encapsulates this more than the introduction of the mysterious, multi-millionaire Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio). It's an explosion of fireworks when we lay eyes on Gatsby for the first time. Literally. Fireworks burst in the background, lighting up the sky, as Gatsby smiles at the camera and raises a glass of champagne in our direction. It's a ridiculous moment that only DiCaprio could pull off. The scene's absurdity turned it into a viral meme that has people all over the internet toasting each other in mock celebration.

Before 2012's The Avengers, the only crossovers we saw in Marvel films were brief cameos. The Avengers changed that, tying superheroes from different franchises together and connecting their stories. Watching these iconic characters meet for the first time was epic, though they didn't always get along. The brilliant but sarcastic Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) was often at odds with Captain America's (Chris Evans) wholesome, boy scout image. There's a scene where Cap makes an innocent comment about understanding a reference about flying monkeys, to which Tony responds with the most incredible and obnoxious eye roll ever. The moment naturally became a meme and turned into the collective eye roll of the internet.

Related: Explained: Why Superhero Movies Are So Popular

Downfall is one of the best and most unique World War II movies out there. It's a German war film that captures the final days of Adolph Hitler, showing his perspective as his infamous reign crumbles around him. There's a scene where Hitler (Bruno Ganz) loses his mind over the prospect of defeat, screaming vehemently in German at his advisors and generals, pounding his fist against the table. Naturally, there are subtitles that tell us what Hitler's saying. But the internet had other ideas for this now famous scene. Numerous iterations of this moment circulated the web, accompanied by fake subtitles that translate Hitler's shouts. And they're always comically ridiculous.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory stars Gene Wilder as its eccentric, and often smug, titular character. Just watch Wonka's introduction of his latest candy, the Everlasting Gobstopper. He tells his factory guests that this is the most secret machine in his entire factory. Their interest piqued, the kids ask him what it does. And of course, Wonka can't resist himself. He leans casually against the machine, grins smugly at his guests, and asks them, "Would you like to see?" It would be decades before this line and screenshot would go viral. But once it did, it made internet history. Wonka's smug expression was coupled with condescending but funny one-liners. The candy maker is set to make his return in the upcoming film Wonka, played by Timothée Chalamet. Who knows, maybe we'll get another viral meme out of Chalamet's performance.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent features a scene where Nicolas Cage, playing a fictionalized, over the top version of himself, is riding in a car with a billionaire and Nick Cage super fan named Javi (Pedro Pascal). And they're both tripping hard on LSD. As they ride along the cliffs of Majorca, Cage slowly turns toward his companion, looking both confused and miserable. And Javi just looks back at him, grinning stupidly from ear to ear, not a care in the world. It's an amazing scene -- and TikTok found a way to make it even better. TikTokers took this scene and added Cass Elliot's Make Your Own Kind of Music, which is not in the actual movie. This song, playing in the background as Cage and Javi exchange looks, is comedic gold, especially when text is added to show the thoughts behind each expression.

This is one of the scenes in Goodfellas that earned Joe Pesci his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. In this scene, the temperamental, trigger-happy gangster Tommy (Pesci) is telling a story that has everyone at the dinner table, including Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), laughing hard. "You're really funny," Henry says at the end of the story. This innocuous comment draws an unexpected reaction from Tommy. The mobster grows serious, glares at Henry, and demands an explanation. The mood in the scene shifts dramatically; all the smiles vanish, the room becomes tense, and Henry looks like he's about to have a heart attack. Tommy eventually reveals that he's messing around, which draws more laughs from the dinner table. And some ridiculous, over-the-top laughs from Henry. Liotta's laughter has since become a viral meme, a popular response for a funny, or an unfunny, joke. An intense movie scene becoming a viral, comedic meme -- funny, ain't it?

Related: The Best Gangster Movie of Each Decade for the Last 100 Years

This meme, known as "The Nodding Man", is one of the funniest five second clips floating around the internet. There's something hysterical about the camera zooming in on this man's bearded face, as he nods quietly in your direction. People often whip out this meme whenever they agree with a post on the internet, even if that post is utterly ridiculous. Unlike most memes on this list, this one requires no added text; that silent and content nod says it all. It also doesn't come from a well-known movie, though it is regarded critically as a great western. In fact, most people believe that this meme features comic actor Zach Galifianakis. But it's actually a bearded Robert Redford, starring in a 1972 film called Jeremiah Johnson.

Who would've thought this scene with Boromir (Sean Bean) from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring would become one of the internet's favorite memes? This scene gathers some of the key players in the film series to discuss what to do with Sauron's evil ring. Elrond (Hugo Weaving) says that one of them (notice how he doesn't volunteer himself at all) must travel to Mordor and cast the ring into the flames of Mount Doom. Overwhelmed and already exhausted by this idea, Boromir delivers this now iconic line: "One does not simply walk into Mordor." This screenshot took over the internet, with people adding their own comedic text over the image, all starting with the words, "One does not simply..."

As incredible as it is, the Star Wars franchise is filled with cheesy lines and moments (but also a lot of iconic ones). And Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is no exception. The romance between Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and Padme (Natalie Portman) has many corny scenes, like when the two of them are frolicking and rolling around in the fields of Naboo. In this same scene, the two of them have a picnic, where they discuss sand in perhaps the most unexciting conversation ever. This scene is comical by itself, but the internet, of course, had to take it to the next level. The moment became a viral meme, where Anakin and Padme engage in a debate or conversation that starts out light-hearted and joyous but then turns comically serious.

Matt is a dreamer and aspiring author, who flops back and forth between loving and hating his work. He loves movies, books, and TV shows that stir his imagination or take him to faraway worlds.