The 10 highest-grossing movies of 2023
As we approach the end of 2023, looking back at all of the films that have come out over the past year can be daunting. But there have certainly been some brilliant movies that have hit the silver screen over the last 12 months. Whether it’s an expansive epic western from Martin Scorsese, a sensational Un Certain Regard Award-winning human drama from a first-time British director, or a bubblegum extravaganza that had hordes of people dressed in pink charging into theatres, I think it’s fair to say 2023 had it all. But let’s get down to business and take a look at which films truly dominate the box office this year and the top ten highest-grossing films of 2023.
When looking at the list of the ten highest-grossing films of 2023, some surprising entries are making the cut, and others haven’t. Scorsese’s critically acclaimed and brilliant crime western Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonard DiCaprio, comes in at number 31. Only a few places above that at number 29 is Ridley Scott’s searing historical biopic, action-drama, Napoleon. Nestled right in between those two is Scream VI, amassing a whopping $170million at the box office. I guess the slasher franchise is still a sure way to make a quick buck or two.
Further up the list is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, and though we can’t deny the box office power of kids’ movies, something is perplexing and slightly amusing that both these movies ranked higher than Scorsese or Scott’s epics.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which is the big-screen version of her concert, grossed over $200m in its first three months, making it the highest-grossing concert movie of all time, and ranked 20th on the list. Ben Wheatley’s shark sequel blockbuster Meg 2: The Trench, starring Jason Statham as an ocean researcher who battles a man-eating prehistoric shark, ranked at number 13, bringing home $400m at the box office, which would confirm anyone’s belief that filmgoers still can’t get enough of a good old shark movie.
The other movies sitting just outside the top ten are Steven Caple Jr’s seventh instalment of the Transformers franchise, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, ranking in at number 12, and just pipping it to the post, Keanu Reeves’s high-octane kung-fu action flick, John Wick: Chapter 4. Again, both films proving a popular franchise can definitely bring home the bacon for Hollywood studios.
See below the rest of the films that officially make the top ten via official data. There are surprising entries that made the rankings.
The 10 highest-grossing movies of 2023:
10. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Christopher McQuarrie)
Tom Cruise’s adrenaline-fuelled and stunt-filled spy action thriller, with a supporting cast of Simon Pegg and Vanessa Kirby, was being described, by Steven Spielberg no less, as the film that was going to “save Hollywood’s ass”. And in some senses, it did.
Proving once again that Cruise is the undisputed king of action spectacles in Hollywood, the latest addition to the franchise sees Ethan Hunt join a thrilling battle against an AI entity. Drawing a huge number of people to the theatre, it grossed over $567m worldwide at the box office in the process.
9. The Little Mermaid (Rob Marshal)
The Disney live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic made a healthy profit for the studio, grossing $569m at the global box office. It certainly doesn’t have the magic of the original, and with so many of the live-action remakes (though to call this live-action feels a stretch), something is lost when CGI dominates so much of the picture.
The film stays true to the core of the original animation, adding some necessary depth and plot twists to keep it relevant today while preserving the original soundtrack and songs. Halle Bailey gives a brilliant performance as Ariel, embodying everything you’d want from a resilient princess in this literal fish-out-of-water story.
8. The Wandering Earth II (Frant Gwo)
The Wandering Earth II, which is the prequel to the record-smashing hit of the same name, is an adaptation of Liu Cixin’s novel. This Chinese set sci-fi disaster movie sees giant engines and rockets built on Earth which will push Earth out of orbit and away from impending doom, and it’s the younger generation stepping up to the plate in a race against time to save life on the planet.
The film, like its predecessor, is a state-approved bells-and-whistles action spectacle that was made with a colossal budget that would put the latest Marvel movies to shame. Director Frant Gwo does an excellent job filling the frame with panoramic scenes and set pieces of dystopian life on Earth. The film proved to be a huge success, amassing over $600m at the box office.
7. Full Red River (Zhang Yimou)
Another film from the China Film Group Corporation proves China’s skill at making blockbuster cinema and its imposing presence on the global film market. Full Red River, a black-comedy thriller set in 12th-century China, charts a mysterious case following the assassination of an ambassador and a missing letter meant for the Emperor. Conspiracy and paranoia shroud the Emperor’s inner circle as the various guardsmen, courtiers, and informants accuse each other of killing.
The picture was directed by Zhang Yimou, who also directed the The Great Wall, the Matt Damon Chinese action flick, as well as directing two Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing. Full Red River has been suggested by some critics as having a propaganda edge to it. However, it also proved to be financially very successful, taking home a massive $673m at the box office.
6. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers)
Web-slinging its way onto the list is Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Kemp Powers’ animated spin of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Perhaps the most refreshing movie making the cut, this kaleidoscopic animated addition to the Spider-Man mythology raked in $690m. The fact that the film wasn’t another dull CGI spectacle and was still embraced by audiences was certainly a breath of fresh air (take note, Disney).
Featuring a star-studded cast of voices from Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, and Jason Schwartzman, to name a few, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sees Miles Morales spin his web across the multiverse, coming across a group of various Spider-Men from different dimensions that have all been tasked to save the universe. However, the different Spideys all have their own idea of how best to save the world, meaning Miles must take on a new facet of the superhero role to bring the heroes together and finally save the universe.
6. Fast X (Louis Leterrier)
The Fast and Furious saga continues with the 12th instalment in the franchise. This time, bringing Jason Momoa into the fold for more high-speed, heist movie mayhem and earned a tidy $704m at the box office. This is also only part one of the same storyline, so there is no sign of the franchise slowing down anytime soon… Oh boy, how exciting.
The writers of Fast X had the speedo dial for the goofy and ridiculous in the danger zone when penning this instalment. Momoa plays Dante Reyes, the extremely wealthy son of a previous villain in the Fast franchise who Dominic Toretto and his team killed. Reyes is out for revenge, but he not only wants to kill Dom and his “family” but also humiliate them by setting up a fake bank heist that backfires on the team and also happens to destroy entire cities in the process.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (James Gunn)
Director James Gunn took the helm of the third and apparently final addition to the superhero saga. The space-travelling troupe returned for another mission to save the universe; however, Gunn put Rocket the Raccoon at the centre of the story, offering a heart-touching backstory with some darker themes within, creating a far more humanist and personal film compared to the usual Marvel offering.
When Adam Warlock attacks the Guardians at the new headquarters, Rocket the Raccoon is badly wounded and has a kill switch embedded in him. As the rest of the team heads to the headquarters of the manufacturers that created the kill switch, Rocket rests in a state of half-consciousness and recounts his life, telling the story of his early years as an animal that was experimented on by the High Evolutionary, an organisation that sought to enhance wildlife and create new and advanced life forms and a brand new society called Counter-Earth. It turns out that putting a cute furry animal on his deathbed at the centre of the film certainly gets the tears going, and Gunn does a superb job balancing this storyline with big action set pieces.
3. Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)
Christopher Nolan’s ambitious cinematic spectacle tells the tale of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), also known as the “father of the atomic bomb”, and his work on the Manhattan Project, developing the first atomic bomb, and unsurprisingly made the top three by grossing a whopping $951m.
The film has all the hallmarks of a great Nolan spectacle: a star-studded ensemble cast, including Benny Safdie, Robert Downey Jr, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, and Emily Blunt; a beautifully rousing score from Hans Zimmer; stunning visual delights (Nolan refused to use CGI and shot everything in-camera); and Nolan’s clever use of jumping between different timelines throughout.
The film also rattles along at some pace, and Nolan rarely lets up, giving you little time to breathe and digest the plot, instantly taking you from one earth-shatteringly high-stakes decision into another. It’s a hypnotic and tour de force feat that blew away almost everything else at the box office this year.
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Roland Joffé, Annabel Jankel)
The brains behind this film, which is based on the popular Nintendo video game, must be laughing all the way to the bank. Despite its stellar cast of voices from Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Pratt, and Charlie Day, The Super Mario Bros Movie is a soulless, uninspiring, and lazy reimagining that many critics have described as a film that feels like it was made by ChatGPT.
However, kids are less concerned with such matters and are clearly quite content seeing their favourite Italian-moustached duo race around familiar settings, and in return, the film made an eye-watering $1,361,943,444 this year.
Barbie (Greta Gerwig)
Barbie really did take the world by storm this year. Greta Gerwig’s take on the Mattel toy saw Margot Robbie in the lead, with Ryan Gosling having a whale of time as Ken, and created a candy-coloured extravaganza that somehow managed to celebrate the toy manufacturer while satirising consumerist culture. It was an impressive feat, and the film became a kind of modern cinematic phenomenon while amassing a total of $1,441,808,326.
Gerwig and screenwriter partner Noah Baumbach wrote the script during the lockdown, and one assumes it allowed them to work undisturbed, away from meddling studio and toy manufacturer executives. The story opens in Barbieland, a matriarchal society that is populated by various ‘Barbies’ and ‘Kens’. Two versions of the dolls, Barbie, played by Robbie and Ken, played by Gosling, venture into the real world on a journey of self-discovery.
