Year of the Monkey: What Pop Culture Was Like 12 Years Ago

— -- The Chinese New Year is being celebrated around the world today and many shopping centers and buildings are adorned with toy monkeys.

The monkey is the ninth of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac cycle. Every 12 years is a Monkey year.

Here's a look back at life in 2004, the last Year of the Monkey.

The Top Movies

2004 was all about sequels.

The top two grossing movies were "Shrek 2" and "Spider-Man 2" respectively, according to boxofficemojo.com.

The sequel "Meet the Fockers" also made the top five list.

A Change in TV

2004 marked an end for many beloved TV series.

The final HBO episode of "Sex and the City" aired in February.

The last last episode of "Friends" aired on NBC in May.

The hit series "Frasier" concluded its long run in May as well.

Academy Awards

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" took home the prize for Best Picture at the 2004 Academy Awards.

Charlize Theron won the Best Actress Oscar and Sean Penn won the Best Actor Oscar for their performances in "Monster" and "Mystic River." The two ended up dating a few years later.

But broke up in 2015 after a year and a half together.

#1 Album

The No. 1 album of the year was Usher's "Confessions" according to Billboard.

Super Bowl

And no one can forget the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake -- which was a little more scandalous than last night's Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars performance.