Action! Suspense! Mystery! 2023 had a little bit of everything when it came to watching movies. For the U.S., this was one of the best years in the industry. Over 9 billion dollars in revenue were generated in 2023, which is a huge difference from the 7.3 billion generated in 2022. However, one of the problems stopping movie making was the SAG-AFTRA strike. And even though the strike did eventually end, only around 100 movies were produced and made it to the big screen. So how did movies do so well last year? Well, one of the largest factors was COVID-19 finally coming to an end. Even with fewer productions than previous years, many people still had the need to get out and go back to semi-normal lives. Due to this, one of the most desired activities was going to the movies. And the theater industry did not disappoint. These 5 movies were the highest grossing films of last year.
- Oppenheimer
Release date: July 21st
One of Christopher Nolan’s biggest hits to date, Oppenheimer was widely received when it first came out to theaters. Making $82.4M in its opening weekend, and $326 Million in the box office. The movie stars Cilian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project. The historical drama follows the story of Oppenheimer and a team of scientists who are sent to work on the Manhattan Project. The movie even had an online war with another popular movie of 2023, Barbie. This war led to a race to see which movie could make the most profit, dubbing it the name, “Barbenheimer”.
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Release date: May 5th
After 6 years since the last one, the Guardians of the Galaxy saga finally came to a close. Directed by James Gunn, Volume 3 had been one of the most awaited sequels in all of the MCU. In its opening weekend, the movie produced $168M in the box office, and it had a total of $844.8M after leaving theaters. This was just shy of the total profit from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, which made $869M. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies stars Christ Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, and Karen Gillan as the main crew. While it is unlikely that a fourth movie will be made, just remember, never say never.
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Release date: June 2nd
With the long-awaited sequel finally coming to theaters, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was one of the most anticipated animated films of 2023. Nearly doubling its predecessor, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse made $381M dollars in the box office. Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Kemp Powers, Across the Spider-Verse was on just about everyone’s watch list for 2023. The movie stars Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moore, as he continues on with his journey from the previous movie. The final movie, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is set to release in March of 2024 and it will be the last movie in this trilogy.
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Release date: April 5th
Making over $579M in the box office, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was the 3rd highest grossing animated film of all time. Directed by Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, the movie follows many of the infamous characters from the multiple video games revolving around the world of Super Mario Bros. While this movie has been awaited by fans for a long time, one of the biggest controversies surrounding the movie was the voice of Mario himself. The voice of Mario turned out to be none other than Chris Pratt, who seems to be in everything nowadays, but many people wondered why it wasn’t the original voice actor, Kevin Afghani. The reason for this was that he had actually retired before the movie went into production, but he still got a cameo at the end of the movie.
- Barbie
Release date: July 21st
The highest grossing film of 2023, Barbie set new records in the box office. Making $636M in the U.S. and over $1.4B worldwide, it’s safe to say that Barbie deserves the title of the best movie of 2023. In the movie, Barbie and Ken, played by Margo Robbie and Ryan Gosling, set out on an adventure to explore the real world. Barbie was such a hit in theaters, that it stayed playing all the way through the end of the year. The movie was directed by Greta Gerwig and was nominated for a total of 8 Academy Awards. Falling short of beating 2022’s highest grossing film, it’s only a matter of time before we see what 2024 has to bring to the table.
