Starring on the silver screens: 2023's movie release lineup
For fans of authentic movie-going experiences, fear not! Many movies, both sequels and standalones, are set to launch over the course of 2023.
With COVID-19 (somewhat) behind us, 2022 brought a new wave of audiences to watch movies in the theaters. This resurgence led to box office successes, including two of the highest grossing films of all time, Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water, which grossed hundreds of millions of dollars internationally. This resurgence is likely to be mirrored in 2023, and with that in mind, here’s a look at the films coming out in 2023.
So far, January brought the releases of the sci-fi horror movie M3gan, a film about a rogue AI that turns aggressive, and A Man Called Otto, a family movie where a widower, played by Tom Hanks, learns to soften up and accept his community.
Meanwhile February will kick off a series of movies set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for 2023 with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as well as M. Night Shyamalan’s highly anticipated psychological thriller Knock at the Cabin.
March brings four major mainstream films, the first being Scream VI, which will have difficult shoes to fill, following the critically acclaimed Scream V, which was released in 2022. Following up is a continuation of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) with SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods, and the fourth film in the popular action franchise: John Wick: Chapter 4. Lastly, the new Dungeons & Dragon based movie Honor Among Thieves is set for March.
April holds the release of a highly publicized video game based movie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, bringing one of the most recognizable video game protagonists to the big screen in a newly animated film. In addition to that, the Evil Dead franchise will be kicked off this April with Evil Dead Rise.
May has several movies to launch at the start of summer, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will see the return of the quirky space crew of the MCU. Following that is the tenth film of the quickest and angriest action franchise, Fast and Furious, with Fast X, as well as the latest live action Disney remake, The Little Mermaid.
June will be full of action, with the month starting with a highly anticipated film: Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse, the sequel to 2018’s box office smash hit Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse. Following is another sequel to a popular 2018 film: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which is a follow-up to the popular Bumblebee film. Another DCEU film, The Flash, and the newest submission to the Indiana Jones franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, will hit the silver screen.
July promises the release of Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning, returning Tom Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt to the big screens and celebrating 27 years of the character. There will also be a historical movie, Oppenheimer, about the father of the atomic bomb.
August slows the release schedule down a bit, with the only mainstream movie announced so far being Blue Beetle, a film about the DC hero of the same name. This movie is noteworthy for showing one of the first Hispanic superheroes to take the big screen in a solo live action movie.
September brings a sequel to the popular Conjuring franchise submission, The Nun 2, taking place four years after 2018’s first submission to The Nun duology. Otherwise, not much has been announced for September.
October will bring its Halloween style with a sequel to the 1973 movie The Exorcist, with the 2023 movie sharing a title with the original. Another MCU submission, the film Kraven the Hunter shows the classic Spider-man villain in his own standalone film.
November starts strong with a sequel to the popular 2021 movie, with Dune 2 featuring much of the same cast and crew from the first. There is also a new addition to the popular Hunger Games franchise, with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Finally, December wraps up the year on a strong note, with an unnamed Ghostbusters film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom adding to the DCEU, the Willy Wonka origin film Wonka, and The Color Purple, based on the original 1982 novel. With more movies likely to be announced, the 2023 movie season seems bigger and better than ever.