2023 was certainly a year for movie critics and definitely gave us something to talk about! From Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”, 2023 was a year for the records when it comes to blockbusters.
When the trailer for Barbie was released, it would be an understatement to say that fans were enthralled. Geta Gerwig is best known for her movies such as Lady Bird, The 2019 adaptation of Little Women and Nights and Weekends. Although not everyone has heard of those Movies, there is a very high chance that you have heard or seen the Barbie movie. The film follows Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, as she navigates through an existential crisis as she tries to find the meaning behind her existence and eventually comes to the realization that her reason for being made is to show younger generations to be original and genuine about themselves. Released July 21, 2023, the movie had a budget of $145 million dollars and made a whopping $162 million dollars just on opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing film of 2023.
Neither an ally or opponent, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was released the same day, dubbing the nickname “Barbenheimer”. In a later released interview done by Variety’s “Actors on Actors’ ‘ starring Robbie and Cillian Murphey, who portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer in the film, they talk about “Barbenheimer” and Robbie states that a producer for Murphey’s film tried to persuade Robbie to move the release date to which she declined. Murphey joked that it was a “good instinct” for her to keep the release date the same, nodding to the irony of a war movie and a Barbie movie coming out on the same day.
The Oppenheimer film takes place during the theoretical physicist’s life and shows how he and Albert Einstein, played by Tom Conti, figure out the atomic bomb, aka The Manhattan Project. The movie has earned $926 million at the worldwide box office and on opening weekend made $82.4 million. However, despite its fame, it did have one successor besides Barbie and that would be The Super Mario Bros. Movie. \
Many fans of all ages were absolutely enthused when the news broke that Universal Pictures, Illumination and Nintendo were coming together to make a Super Mario Bros. animated movie. Starring Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, the movie has grossed $574.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $788.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.36 billion, according to Wikipedia, making it the second bestselling movie of the year. The movie received a 59% on the tomato meter and a 95% on the audience’s score.
In conclusion, the movies listed here are just a small fraction of everything that 2023 had to offer. There were so many fantastic movies and some mostly mid movies, but one thing is for sure: there are still so many places to go with cinema and 2024 and the future of movies is bright.