The Biggest Films of 2023


January

A Man Called Otto

directed by: Marc Forster

Starring: Tom Hanks, Rachel Keller, Manual Garcia-Rulfo

Old grumpy widower Otto is forced to reevaluate his ways when a new family moves into the neighbourhood.

Empire of Light

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Starring: Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones

A drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times, set in an English coastal town in the early 1980s.

Babylon

Directed by: Damien Chazelle

Starring Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Samara Weaving, Jean Smart

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.

The Fablemans

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Michelle Williams, Gabriel LaBelle, Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen

Spielberg’s latest uses a fictional family to tell the story of his life.

February

The Whale

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, Hong Chau, Samantha Morton

A reclusive English teacher attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Directed by:

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh

After all his adventures and burning through eight lives, Puss in Boots sets out on an epic crusade to find a mythical Last Wish, to restore his nine lives.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Channing Tatum, Salma Hayek

The final in the Magic Mike trilogy sees Tatum’s Mike Lane travelling to London financed by a mysterious wealthy woman (Hayek).

Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

Directed by: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathon Majors, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bill Murray

Marvel’s first film of Phase 5 sees the eponymous pair travel into the quantum universe and coming face-to-face with supervillain Kang (Majors)

March

Creed III

Directed by: Michael B Jordan

Starring: Michael B Jordan, Jonathon Majors, Tessa Thompson

Michael B Jordan makes his directorial debut with the third film from the Rocky spin-off and sees Adonis meeting an old friend and boxer Damian Anderson (Majors), but things turn sour and they take their beef into the ring.

65

Directed by: Scott Beck, Brian Woods

Starring: Adam Driver Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman

An astronaut crash lands on a mysterious planet only to discover he's not alone.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Directed by: David F Sandberg

Starring: Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren, Lucy Lui, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Megan Good, Djimon Hounsou

In this sequel to 2019’s Shazam, the whole Shazam step family must learn to work together to defeat the daughters of Atlanta, Hespera and Kalypso (Mirren and Lui).

John Wick: Chapter 4

Directed by: Chad Stahelski

Starring: Keane Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Hiroyuki Sanada

John is at war with pretty much everyone and Donnie Yen will kick his arse!!!

Stahelski hinted in an interview that we may not have a “happy ending” to chapter 4.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Directed by: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic

Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Charlie Day

Big screen adaptation of the much-beloved Italian plumber, who lands in the Mushroom Kingdom and meets Luigi (Day), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and Princess Peach (Taylor-Joy) and must battle Bowser and Donkey Kong.

April

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

Directed by: John Francis Daley, Jonathon Goldstein

Starring: Chris Pine, Hugh Grant,-Jean Page, Michelle Rodriguez

An all-star cast tries to reboot the franchise will see Pine as a charming thief with his band of unlikely adventurers embarking on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

Evil Dead Rise

Directed by: Lee Cronin

Starring: Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies

This HBO Max feature was shelved and will now release in cinemas. Moving the action out of the woods and into the city, "Evil Dead Rise" tells a twisted tale of two estranged sisters, played by Sutherland and Sullivan, whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

May

Guardians of the Galaxy 3

Directed by: James Gunn

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Plom Klementieff, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki

Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own - a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful. This will see Will Poulter as Adam Warlock who was teased at the end of the last Guardians.

Fast X

Directed by: Justin Lin

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Terese Gibson, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ludacris

Vin Diesel and his team of numpties, spaff off to super cars and spies. The same old bollocks, repackaged and sold off as something new.

The Little Mermaid

Directed by: Rob Marshall

Starring: Halle Bailey, Johan Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Awkwafina

Disney’s live-action remake of their 1989 hit animation.

June

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Directed by: Joakim Dos Santos

Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Issa Rae, Jake Johnson, Daniel Kaluuya

Miles is back in the sequel to one of the greatest animated features ever made will push the limit for the genre; with each Spider-Verse having its own animated style.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Directed by: Steven Caple Jr.

Starring: Ron Pearlman, Anthony Ramos, Peter Cullen, Dominique Fiahback

This film takes the franchise back to the 90’s and is based on the Beast Wars storyline.

The Flash

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Starring: Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Sasha Calle, Billy Crudup, Michael Keaton

DC are getting on-board with the whole multi-verse thing with The Flash and will see Keaton don the cape once again. This film is rumoured to follow the Flashpoint storyline.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Directed by: James Mangold

Starring: Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook

The man with the hat is back and this time he’s bringing the Nazi’s.

James Mangold is a superb director, so fingers crossed for the next instalment.

July

Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Vanessa Kirby, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Plom Klementieff, Shea Wigham, Esai Morales

Tom’s Ethan Hunt is back and they’ve gone full tilt boogie; bringing so much to the fold they’ve split the film into two parts.

Not much of the story has been divulged but the trailer shows promise.

Oppenheimer

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Rami Malek

Nolan is back in a film that looks into the life of the man who created the atomic bomb. Nolan pushes the limits of cinema and this promises to be his boldest project to date.

The Marvels

Directed by: Nia DaCosta

Starring: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman, Vellani, Samuel L Jackson

The sequel to Captain Matvel will see Carol Danvers join forces with Ms Marvel. Plot unknown at the time of writing.

Barbie

Directed by: Greta Gerwig

Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Kate McKinnon

Mattel’s Barbie will get her own film where she get banished from Barbieland and has to cope in the real world.

August

Blue Beetle

Directed by: Angel Manoel Soto

Starring: Xolo Maridūena, Susan Sarandon, Harvey Guillen

DC Blue Beetle will see the first Mexican lead film which sees a young teenager finds an alien beetle that gives him superpowers and armour.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Directed by: Jeff Rowe, Kyle Spears

Starring: Seth Rogen, Shanon Brown Jr

CG feature based on the sewer dwelling superhero turtles.

Gran Turismo

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Starring: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Darren Barnet, Emilia Hartford

Follows the life of a teenager who became a professional racing driver through playing PlayStation’s Gran Tourismo

September

The Nun 2

Directed by: Michael Chaves

Starring: Bonnie Aarons, Anna Popplewell, Taissa Farmiga

Sequel to 2018’s horror The Nun

The Equalizer 3

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, David Denman

Third instalment of Fuqua’s The Equalizer; currently no details on plot.

A Haunting in Venice

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Kelly Reilly, Kenneth Branagh

In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.

The Expendables 4

Directed by: Scott Waugh

Starring: Jason Statham, 50 Cent, Megan Fox, Lungdren, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais

The band of elites have to take down an arms dealer and his private army.

October

Kraven the Hunter

Directed by: J C Chandor

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Russel Crowe, Christopher Abbot

Spider-Man villain, Kraven is out to prove he is the worlds greatest hunter in this antihero story from Sony. No word if Spidey will make an appearance yet.

The Exorcist

directed by: David Gordon Green

Starring: Leslie Odom Jr, Ellen Burstyn, Ann Dowd

The first in a trilogy that will lead on from the 1973 film.

True Love

Directed by: Gareth Edwards

Starring: Amat Chadhar-Patel, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney

Plot details unknown at this time

November

Dune: Part 2

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Fergusson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Florence Pugh

Part 2 of DV’s interpretation of the sci fi novel. The first film was huge; the cast has been steadily increasing and the whole second chapter promises to be bigger and grander.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Directed by: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Tom Blyth

A prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, the story follows Coriolanus Snow as a youngster, involved with his creation of the games.

December

Wonka

Directed by: Paul King

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Roman Atkinson, Keegan-Michael Key

King, director of the Paddington films, brings us an original story of Willy Wonka, as he meets the Oompa-Loompas.

The Colour Purple

Directed: Blitz Bazawule

Starring: Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Taraji P Henson, Lou Gossett Jr, Deon Cole

Based on the novel and the musical stage play of that novel set in early 1900’s Southern states at a time of high poverty, a southern woman struggles to find her identity after suffering at ten hands of her abusive father.

And, To Be Confitmed…

Distant

Directed by: Josh Gordon, Will Speck

Starring: Anthony Ramos, Naomi Scott, Zachary Quinto

It follows an asteroid miner who, after crash-landing on an alien planet, must make his way across the harsh terrain, running out of oxygen, hunted by strange creatures, to the only other survivor.

Ghostbuster: Afterlife sequel

Directed by: Jason Reitman

Starring: McKenna Grace, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard

Follow-up to 2021’s Ghostbusters Afterlife. No plot details at the time of writing.

Scream 6

Directed by:Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Starring: Melissa Berrera, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding,Hayden Panettiere, Courtney Cox, Samara Weaving

Direct sequel to the 2022 reboot of the horror franchise that changed the genre. This film will take up where the last film ended and continue with those that survived.

Roosevelt

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio

A biopic of the 32nd president of America who steers the country through The Great Depression and WWII. The project was shelved but it looks like it will finally get a release in 2023.

A Quiet Place: Day One

Directed by: Michael Sarnosk

Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn

Prequel/ spin-off from A Quiet Place. Plot unknown but expect it to be how the creatures arrived and changed mankind.

Fingernails

Directed by: Christos Nikou

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Rox Ahmed

Anna (Buckley) increasingly suspects that her relationship with her longtime partner may not actually be the real thing. In an attempt to improve things, she secretly embarks on a new assignment working at a mysterious institute designed to incite and test the presence of romantic love in increasingly desperate couples.

Roswell Delirium

Directed by: Richard Bakewell

Starring: Kylee Levien, Ashton Solecki, Dee Wallace

During the 1980s the US is hit by a wave of nuclear attacks, and after the fallout those who remain pretend like everything is normal even though they are all experiencing radiation poisoning. A young girl named Mayday tries to make contact on a series of ham radios with her father who is in space on a shuttle mission. Instead of making contact she receives a intergalactic distress call from space that leads her on a journey to Spacerock, the land where Area 51 once was. She is exposed to severe levels of radiation and within days all of her organs start to fail. Knowing that medical treatment won't help her mother Wendy brings her back to Spacerock to give her to the aliens in hopes that they may be able to save her.

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