With a heady mix of prestige awards bait and crowd-pleasing blockbusters on the horizon,
here’s a quick snapshot of the biggest Hollywood films coming in 2023.
The Fabelmans
Steven Spielberg, the dream-maker behind such silver screen classics as ET, Jaws and Jurassic Park might not be helming the return to one of his most beloved franchises this year (read on), but he is treating us to this intimate, lightly fictionalised look at his boyhood years, with Michelle Williams and Paul Dano as his parental stand-ins.
Releases Jan 5
Read: ScreenHub – Fabelmans review
Babylon
Margot Robbie goes back to Tinsel Town’s debauched foundations in La La Land director Damien Chazelle’s hooray for Hollywood’s darker side. While it kinda bombed in the US, her presence plus Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star Brad Pitt might help it soar here.
Releases Jan 19
Tár
Aussie film lovers have been beating down the door to see Cate Blanchett as a supremely successful but ever so supercilious classical music conductor whose venerable career begins to unravel in Todd Field’s epic. Again, box office was underwhelming, but the awards buzz is deafening.
Releases Jan 26
Read: ScreenHub’s Tár review: Cate Blanchett conducts herself marvellously
The Whale
The Mummy star Brendan Fraser resuscitated the Saturday afternoon adventure movie during the 90s, then he disappeared. He’s back in hot pursuit of an Oscar via the prosthetic-donning route in Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky’s stagey, kinda leery film about an overweight professor who has shut himself off from the world.
Releases Feb 2
Magic Mike’s Last Dance
Channing Tatum is back (without his top) as smooth-moved southern stripper Mike Lane in returning director Steven Soderbergh’s sultry, sweaty, London-set swansong for the character. Alas, it looks like most of the original cast are gone, but Salma Hayek is along for the snappily choreographed ride.
Releases Feb 9
Women Talking
Actor turned director Sarah Polley has assembled an incredible cast in this dramatic heavyweight about women standing up for their rights in an isolated religious cult. That includes Oscar-winner Frances McDormand alongside nominees Rooney Mara and Jessie Buckley, plus The Crown’s Claire Foy.
Releases Feb 16
Scream VI
The last time the Scream franchise tried to leave Woodsboro behind it didn’t go so well, New York is a better fit for a Ghostface killing spree than LA anyway. Franchise rebooting directors’ Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return to the sixth slasher.
Releases March 9
Evil Dead Rise
Horror lovers will be champing at the bit for the cinematic return of this brain-munching zombie franchise after a small screen segue. Sadly it doesn’t look like Bruce Campbell will star, though he is producing and may yet pop up. The Hole in the Ground director Lee Cronin penned the screenplay with original director Sam Raimi, so we’re quietly optimistic.
Releases April 20
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
It’s a big year for comic book movies (isn’t every year now?) but James Gunn’s weep-seeking finale for the universe’s goofiest heroes is definitely the buzziest. The Zoe Saldana and Chris Pratt-led bonanza is the director’s last hurrah with Marvel, having defected to DC where he’s wiping their slate clean to start again.
Releases May 4
The Little Mermaid
Speaking of Disney, they’ve had a tough time getting young folks in front of their animated movies of late, but Mary Poppins Returns helmer Rob Marshall will be hoping to right the ship with this live action re-do led by luminous singer Halle Bailey.
Releases May 25
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Hailing from Sony’s animated slate and making the multiverse cool before the MCU, this sure-to-be gem picks up on the 2018 adventures of African American-Puerto Rican teen hero Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) and his otherworld analogues, including crush Spider-Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld).
Releases June 1
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Harrison Ford returns to his second most famous role of all time, although this time without Spielberg. Logan director James Mangold steps into this space race era fifth instalment that also brings back John Rhys-Davies and adds Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas and a villainous Mads Mikkelsen.
Releases June 29
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One
That is TOO MUCH punctuation for a film title, but cinemagoers will undoubtedly flock to see ridiculous stuntman Tom Cruise in this opening gambit of the two-part finale to Ethan Hunt’s spy-cap missions. Fallout and Rogue Nation helmer Christopher McQuarrie returns too.
Releases July 13
Barbie
Who knew that one day we’d be clamouring for a movie featuring the world’s best-selling doll? But cast Margo Robbie in the title role, as directed by Greta Gerwig, then drop a trailer referencing Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey and we’re all the way in.
Releases July 20
Oppenheimer
Though they’re going head-to-head, we expect Christopher ‘who needs to hear your lead actors?’ Nolan’s latest ear-bleeding blockbuster to be very different in spirit than Barbie. It’s about the dude who invented the nuclear bomb, after all. Lockdown-era Tenet didn’t exactly bomb, but they’ll be hoping for much bigger box office this time.
Releases July 20
The Marvels
The MCU joins forces fully with its Disney+ sisters in this sequel that unites the might of Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel with Muslim teen hero Ms Marvel (Iman Vellani) plus WandaVision’s Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). That’s a lot to marvel at.
Releases July 27
Dune Part Two
While we’re skipping some second tier comic book entries (Blue Beetle could be fun!), the second half of the year is surprisingly quiet until Arrival director Denis Villeneuve drops the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic. Starring the ubiquitous Timothée Chalamet alongside Zendaya, this one’s sure to be mammoth.
Releases November 2
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Were we clamouring for a prequel to the big screen adaptations of Suzanne Collins’ YA dystopia? We’ll find out towards the end of the year, with a pretty awesome cast standing in for Jennifer Lawrence including Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman and Euphoria star Hunter Schafer.
Releases November 16
Wonka
The second reboot of this Roald Dahl classic – presumably Johnny Depp’s headline-grabbing is a bit much for a kids’ movie – drops just in time for Christmas. Tapping the ever-busy Chalamet as a younger version of the chocolatier, he has able back-up in Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins and Keegan-Michael Key.
Releases December 14
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Patty Jenkins may be smarting from getting booted off Wonder Woman by incoming DC movie boss James Gunn, but we’re sure the pay packet from this almost year-ending Star Wars entry, the first big screen outing since the Skywalker saga closed, will soften the blow.
Releases December 21
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Speaking of shelved DC plans, this will probably mark Jason Momoa’s last dip into Arthur Curry’s skin-tight swimmers, going (webbed?) toe-to-toe with Candyman and The Matrix star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s baddie Manta. Our Nicole and semi-retired Batfleck are riding the last wave.
Releases Boxing Day
