Oftentimes, the films that are critically successful aren’t always the ones that are commercially viable, too. This disconnect is represented in two different displays of a film’s success: the box office, and the Academy Awards.
While the box office keeps track of which films make the most money, the Academy Awards are an opportunity for professionals in Hollywood to pay tribute to the best films of the year. That being said, there are many films that were beloved by the Academy that didn’t make waves at the box office, with some even losing money in the process. However, as the Academy Awards prove, sometimes the most memorable films aren’t the ones that make the most money.
Some of the films on this list don’t need the validation of box office results to remain etched in movie history, as they have won best picture or best adapted screenplay for their strengths. Others were instead rewarded for the performances of the actors in the film, who blew away fans even if the films themselves didn’t attract major mainstream audiences. Whichever way you look at it, these films deserved the awards they got — even if audiences at the time didn’t show up.
Citizen Kane
It seems ridiculous to measure the success of a film like “Citizen Kane” by examining box office numbers and Academy Award nominations. The film is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, despite premiering in theaters all the way back in 1941. Directed by and starring Orson Welles, “Citizen Kane” follows a journalist investigating the mysteries surrounding the death of newspaper mogul Charles Foster Kane, roping in numerous people throughout his life who have all had contradictory experiences with the man.
However, when “Citizen Kane” was first released, it was subject to controversy due to the similarities between its titular character and American media baron William Randolph Hearst, with many critics feeling the film was an undeserved attack on the man’s legacy. Hearst’s personal distaste towards the film led to him banning any promotion or mention of it in the newspapers he owned, stifling its advertising campaign. As a result, “Citizen Kane” lost over $160,000 during its initial box office run.
At the 14th Academy Awards in 1941, “Citizen Kane” was nominated for numerous categories, though only took home one trophy: best original screenplay for Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. Nevertheless, its legacy has lived on to this day, making its disastrous box office run a mere fun fact in the film’s indelible history.
The Right Stuff
“The Right Stuff” was written and directed by Philip Kaufman, based on a book by Tom Wolfe centering on the group of American military pilots who were selected to be the first astronauts for Project Mercury in the 1950s. The cast included the likes of Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Sam Shepard, and Barbara Hershey, as well as early appearances from future stars like Jeff Goldblum, Harry Shearer, and Pamela Reed. At the 1984 Academy Awards, “The Right Stuff” received a total of eight nominations, including best picture, best supporting actor for Shepard, and best original score.
Ultimately, “The Right Stuff” nabbed four of its eight nominations: best original score, best film editing, best sound, and best sound effects editing, the latter of which is no longer a category at the Academy Awards. The film was also beloved by critics, with The New York Times calling it “probably the brightest and the best rookie/cadet movie ever made.” However, this critical success didn’t translate to box office results.
Upon its release in 1983, “The Right Stuff” ended up grossing just $21 million at the box office throughout its entire domestic run, failing to break even against its $27 million budget. The film’s failure was disastrous for their production company, The Ladd Company, which had previously seen success with “Chariots of Fire” and “Blade Runner,” but subsequently shut down in 1984.
What Dreams May Come
By 1998, Robin Williams was a certified movie star, having had both commercial success in films like “Good Morning, Vietnam” and “Jumanji,” as well as critical success with performances in “Dead Poets Society” and “Good Will Hunting,” the latter of which won the comedian the Oscar for best supporting actor in 1998. Hot off his Oscar win, Williams’ next role was in the 1998 drama “What Dreams May Come,” where he played a man who dies in a car crash and attempts to save his wife from eternal damnation from the afterlife.
The film was positively reviewed by critics, but was blocked from topping the box office by DreamWorks’ “Antz.” By the end of its run, however, “What Dreams May Come” grossed a total of $55 million domestically, though this paled in comparison to its alleged budget of $90 million. Though it was based on a successful book by Richard Matheson, the original author also denounced the adaptation of his work.
Nevertheless, “What Dreams May Come” still found success at the Academy Awards, nominated for both best art direction and best visual effects, winning the latter over “Armageddon” and “Mighty Joe Young.” Thankfully, Williams wouldn’t have to worry for too long about his post-Oscars career, given that the film was also released the same year as the box office success “Patch Adams.”
Girl, Interrupted
Susanna Kaysen’s memoir chronicling her experiences in a mental institution in the 1960s was a best-seller following its release in 1993. It wasn’t long before the rights to make a film adaptation of it were optioned, eventually signing director James Mangold and stars Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Elisabeth Moss, and Jeffrey Tambor. Ryder and Jolie took center stage as two psychiatric patients who bond with each other despite their crippling diagnoses.
Though there was universal praise towards the performances of Ryder and Jolie, some critics were divided on the movie. Even the original author, Kaysen, criticized Mangold for butchering the original content of her memoir, though even she acknowledged that Jolie’s performance was a highlight. Fortunately, they weren’t the only ones to think highly of Jolie’s performance in the film. The actress went on to win the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2000 for “Girl, Interrupted,” which was also the film’s only nomination at the awards ceremony.
Box office-wise, “Girl, Interrupted” wasn’t as much of a best seller as the book it was based on. It grossed only $28 million domestically against a $40 million budget, making back the rest of its budget with international sales. Still, considering the star power of Ryder and Jolie in 1999 as well as the success of the book, it was quite a disappointment commercially.
Almost Famous
“Almost Famous” has seen a lot of success in retrospect, becoming a cult classic and quintessential film depicting the rock-and-roll scene of the 1970s. The 2000 film is semi-autobiographical for its writer and director, Cameron Crowe, who spent his teenage years as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine, just like the protagonist of “Almost Famous.” The film was acclaimed upon release, with film critic Roger Ebert nominating it as the best film of the year.
Surprisingly, “Almost Famous” was also a box office bomb, only grossing $47 million against a budget of $60 million, including international sales. The film was nevertheless showered in awards, including the Grammy Award for best compilation soundtrack album, and Golden Globes for both best film (musical or comedy) and best actress in a supporting role for Kate Hudson. At the Academy Awards, it received four nominations, but only won best original screenplay.
Nowadays, the legacy of “Almost Famous” is much bigger than its box office numbers or Academy Awards victories. A musical adaptation premiered in San Diego in 2019, later transitioning to Broadway in 2022.
The Wolfman
“The Wolfman” is an example of a film that might have had a solid box office turnout, had it not been for the film’s over-inflated budget. The 2010 film starring Benicio del Toro as its titular Universal Pictures monster was victim to a change in directors, extensive reshoots, and even replacements in composers. Its budget ended up totaling $150 million, which the film sadly wasn’t able to make up in worldwide box office returns, only making back $140 million by the end of its theatrical run.
To make matters worse, “The Wolfman” wasn’t a critical darling, either. Rolling Stone wrote of the monster movie, “‘The Wolfman’ isn’t Shakespeare, and it damn well shouldn’t be,” and also criticized the film’s misuse of actress Emily Blunt as the fiancee of del Toro’s actor-turned-Wolfman. Even the president of Universal Studios at the time, Ronald Meyer, called it one of the worst movies the studio had ever put out, despite all the warning signs that seemed to occur during production.
Against all odds, “The Wolfman” did have one thing going for it: Its makeup, which practically transformed Benicio del Toro into its titular monster. It easily won best makeup at the 2011 Oscars against “Barney’s Version” and “The Way Back,” though the film has pretty much faded from the memory of most monster movie fans, and for good reason.
Hugo
It’s quite rare to associate a director like Martin Scorsese with box office failure, but then again, it’s also rare to associate him with theatrical 3D films. Nevertheless, the director dipped his toes into the spectacle for the 2011 drama “Hugo,” adapting the 2007 Brian Selznick book “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” centering around an orphan boy in 1930s Paris, starring Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, and Emily Mortimer.
The film was a critical darling, with many praising Scorsese’s use of visuals as well as the film’s heart and family-centric tone. It was consistently ranked high on critics’ lists of the best films of 2011, and ended up gaining a total of 11 nominations at the 2012 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. “Hugo” ended up winning five of those 11 nominations: best visual effects, best cinematography, best sound mixing, best sound editing, and best art direction.
Despite the high critical praise, as well as the star power both in front of and behind the camera, “Hugo” was a huge box office flop. The film only grossed $74 million domestically against a budget of approximately $170 million, making a total of $185 worldwide. Many attributed the film’s failure at the box office to its Thanksgiving release date opposite box office successes like “The Muppets,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” and “Happy Feet Two.”
Blade Runner 2049
“Blade Runner” wasn’t the biggest box office success when it was released in 1982, despite being a gritty sci-fi flick starring then-megastar Harrison Ford as a cop hunting down malfunctioned synthetic humans known as “replicants.” Even though the film didn’t perform well, it later became incredibly influential to the science fiction genre as a whole. It wasn’t until 2017, however, that the film was finally followed up with a sequel, “Blade Runner 2049,” featuring the return of Ford and new additions to the cast including Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, and Dave Bautista.
Like its predecessor, “Blade Runner 2049” was beloved by critics, with particular praise for director Denis Villeneuve, its central cast, and how it expands upon the “Blade Runner” franchise. The film did receive criticism for its portrayal of women and sexism in the year 2049, though Villeneuve defended the film, telling Vanity Fair in 2017, “‘Blade Runner’ is not about tomorrow; it’s about today. And I’m sorry, but the world is not kind on women.”
“Blade Runner 2049” didn’t fare well at the box office, in an ironic fate similar to the 1982 film. Deadline Hollywood attributed the film’s failure domestically to both the niche audience of “Blade Runner” as a franchise, as well as the film’s nearly three-hour runtime. It ended its theatrical run in the United States with only $92 million made back of its $150 million, only breaking even with its international number.
Marriage Story
As the late 2010s approached and the 2020s neared, it became a lot harder for non-superhero or franchise flicks to make money at the box office. The dominance of streaming services also hindered the ability of many films to have long and successful box office runs. Take, for instance, 2019’s “Marriage Story,” written and directed by Noah Baumbach, starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as a married couple enduring a vicious divorce involving their young son.
The film, like many of Baumbach’s previous works, was a critical darling, praising the performances of Johansson and Driver, as well as supporting actors Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, and Alan Alda. It earned six nominations at the 2020 Academy Awards, including best picture, best actor, best actress, and best original screenplay. However, it only went home with one win, a well-deserved best supporting actress trophy for Laura Dern.
Nevertheless, the film’s box office returns weren’t as plentiful. Since it was distributed by Netflix, the film only got a limited theatrical release, and it came out on its streaming service a month later. In total, the film is speculated to have grossed only $2 million at the box office by the end of 2019 against a budget of $18 million, not including streaming revenue.
Judas and the Black Messiah
The early 2020s were a difficult time for movie theaters, given the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in shutdowns for months on end. Many films that were meant to have a theatrical release in 2020 ended up being delayed, and the pandemic even affected film festivals. For example, “Judas and the Black Messiah” had its 2020 release pushed back, eventually premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival both virtually and in-person. The film was finally released on February 12, 2021, though it was simultaneously made available to stream on HBO Max for one month, as with all of the Warner Bros. pandemic releases.
As a result, “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which starred Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party and his relationship with LaKeith Stanfield’s FBI informant William O’Neal, grossed approximately $7 million at the worldwide box office. This was quite a disappointment compared to its $26 million budget, but its simultaneous release on HBO Max allowed the film to be viewed in over 1 million U.S. households by the end of its first month on streaming.
The film was beloved by critics, which translated to its six nominations at the 2021 Academy Awards, winning best supporting actor for Kaluuya (beating fellow nominee Stanfield), as well as best original song for “Fight For You” by H.E.R.
West Side Story
There have been several film adaptations of the musical “West Side Story,” which re-interprets “Romeo & Juliet” in a 1950s New York City setting. However, in 2021 this musical film was directed by none other than Steven Spielberg, with playwright Tony Kushner penning the script. The cast included Rachel Zegler, Mike Faist, and Ariana DeBose, and wasn’t released until December 10, 2021, as a result of COVID-19 delays. Upon its release, the film was acclaimed for its cast, Spielberg’s direction, and fast pace despite being two and a half hours long.
However, as to be expected in the COVID-19 era, “West Side Story” was a major failure at the box office, grossing $76 million worldwide against a budget of $100 million. Disney chairman Bob Iger blamed the film’s poor theatrical performance on the pandemic, as well as the competition against streaming services and other late 2021 releases like “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which dominated the box office at the time.
Nevertheless, “West Side Story” garnered seven nominations at the 2022 Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Spielberg. However, to the surprise of many, the only one it took home was best supporting actress for Ariana DeBose, who stole the show in her performance as Anita, which allowed her to flex her experience on Broadway.
CODA
The biggest surprise of the 2022 Academy Awards was the night’s biggest winner, “CODA,” which took home best picture as well as best supporting actor for Troy Kotsur. The film, written and directed by Sian Heder, centers on Emilia Jones as Ruby, a child of Deaf adults (the acronym for which is the title of the film) who struggles to convey to her family her dream of becoming a singer and attending Berklee College of Music.
Following the virtual premiere of “CODA” at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, the film was purchased by Apple TV+ for distribution. Though its domestic release was via streaming service, it was played theatrically overseas, where it grossed a total of $2 million despite having a budget of $10 million, including Apple’s budget for an awards campaign, which certainly seemed to pay off.
The film was critically acclaimed, with Variety praising Heder’s direction and singling out the film’s warm-hearted tone, calling it “so enthrallingly well-acted, that you may come away feeling grateful that this kind of mainstream dramatic craftsmanship still exists.” “CODA” also garnered criticism from parts of the Deaf community for its portrayal of Deaf characters as unable to understand the beauty behind music. However, the film’s Oscars success made Kotsur the first Deaf man to win an Academy Award for acting.
Movies
30 Best Movies Of 2023 So Far
2023 promises to be a good year for cinephiles. It’s jam-packed with a ton of highly anticipated sequels, spin-offs, and reboots. Titles like “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “Scream VI” have already wowed at the box office, while movies such as “Mission: Impossible 7” promise more action to come.
As always, there are also plenty of original stories being told on screen for all cinematic tastes. Horror auteurs Ari Aster, Brandon Cronenberg, and M. Night Shyamalan have left us wowed with a powerful slate of thrillers and slashers, and between “Creed III,” “Challengers,” and “Next Goal Wins,” it looks like the sports movie genre is mounting a comeback story of its own. To top it all off, Christopher Nolan’s biopic of physicist Robert Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s bizarre comedy based on Barbie both released on the same day.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by this deluge of options? Not to worry. All you have to do is keep an eye on this list for an up-to-date accounting of 2023’s most worthwhile movie experiences.
Updated on August 30, 2023: 2023 promises to be packed with excellent movies. Every time a new classic debuts, we’ll be sure to add it to this list. Be sure to check back often to keep up on the greatest films of the year.
M3GAN
2023 kicked off with the emergence of an instant horror icon in “M3GAN.” M3GAN took the internet by storm before her film even hit theaters, thanks to a highly memetic marketing campaign. Her movie is even better. A highly advanced android with a charming smile, M3GAN is paired with Cady, a young girl reeling from the loss of her parents. At first, M3GAN provides her with comfort and care — but things get ugly when M3GAN gets possessive. Thrilling, clever, and wickedly funny, “M3GAN” is one of the best new horror comedies in years.
Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Runtime: 102 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
An avant-garde horror film made for only $15k, “Skinamarink” chronicles the experience of two children who encounter a malevolent spirit in their home. It’s shot in a grainy black and white that constantly tricks the eye into looking for faces in the shadows. Moreover, apart from barely audible whispers and the occasional shockingly loud noise, it’s basically silent. Though not entirely plotless, “Skinamarink” is an eerie, nightmarish mood piece that might make you feel like a child, terrified of the shadowy corners of your own home. Or, it might put you to sleep — but if it does, you can count on having some very weird dreams.
Starring: Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul
Director: Kyle Edward Ball
Runtime: 99 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 71%
Knock at the Cabin
True to form, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie has divided critics and audiences nearly down the middle. Like most of his films, “Knock at the Cabin” has a sinisterly simple premise: A family’s rural getaway is interrupted by a quartet of strangers who claim that the world will end unless the family sacrifices one of their own. Shot mostly in a single location with a cast of seven characters, it’s another reliable example of Shyamalan’s prowess as a director, as well as his eccentricity as a screenwriter. Fans of his work will be satisfied, but if you couldn’t get into the melodrama and moralizing of “Old,” “Knock at the Cabin” probably isn’t for you either.
Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Runtime: 100 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%
Creed III
2015’s “Creed” remains the finest example of Hollywood’s current “requel” trend, continuing the legacy of boxer Rocky Balboa with a new protagonist who is essentially his opposite. The latest chapter in the saga of Adonis Creed is the first to exclude Rocky completely, and it proves that the new champ is totally capable of standing in his own.
Following in the tradition of his predecessor, leading man Michael B. Jordan has taken the directing reins and put his own visual stamp on the boxing movie, in this case incorporating influences from anime such as “Naruto” and “Dragon Ball.” Though co-star Jonathan Majors’ tremendous performance as the film’s antagonist may be tarnished somewhat by his arrest for alleged domestic violence, “Creed III” is an exciting and emotional blockbuster that holds up alongside the best installments of this storied franchise.
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors
Director: Michael B. Jordan
Runtime: 116 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
John Wick: Chapter 4
Keanu Reeves and his former stunt double Chad Stahelski have done it again in “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the spectacular new entry in their gun-fu epic. This time, the unstoppable assassin is surrounded by an exciting ensemble of global action stars, like Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, and the incomparable Donnie Yen, bringing the martial arts mayhem up to a new level. More than ever, “John Wick’s” fight sequences demonstrate level of craft and imagination that has no equal, at least on the Western Hemisphere.
Though the longest entry in the series to date at a whopping 169 minutes, “John Wick: Chapter 4” dispenses with most of its lore and world-building at the very top, allowing the rest of the runtime to be an almost continuous marathon of gunplay, sword fights, and vehicular warfare. Simultaneously gorgeous, revolting, and hilarious, “John Wick” remains an absolute gem of modern action cinema.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård
Director: Chad Stahelski
Runtime: 169 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Scream VI
After successfully rebooting horror’s most reliable franchise in 2021, the directing duo of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have followed up quickly with a sequel that brings the surviving Woodsboro gang to the Big Apple, where they face yet another stab-happy killer in a Ghostface mask. While each installment in the “Scream” series usually riffs directly on its own place in the life cycle of a horror franchise, “Scream VI” establishes that, as a relatively unprecedented “sequel to a requel,” there’s no clear roadmap to follow. Anything can happen, anyone can die, and no one can be trusted.
While this lack of a clear metatextual mission makes it one of the least-focused chapters in the ongoing saga, “Scream VI” offers terrific tension, gnarly kills, and most importantly, more time with the lovable ensemble introduced in 2022’s “Scream,” who prove to be more than able of carrying the franchise for years to come.
Starring: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Courteney Cox
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Runtime: 123 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Over 20 years after the disastrous first attempt at a “Dungeons & Dragons” film franchise, writer-directors Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley have struck gold with an uproarious fantasy adventure that’s pleasing critics and tabletop gaming enthusiasts alike. Immersed in the mythology of the decades-old RPG setting while remaining totally accessible to the uninitiated, “Honor Among Thieves” centers around a charming group of characters brought to life by stars who are obviously having a total blast. Their quest captures the feeling of a great “D&D” campaign with your friends. Characters with tragic backstories band together and heal each others’ emotional wounds. Complex challenges are solved by bizarre, imaginative, or downright unpredictable means. Plans go awry, monsters are unleashed, and a grand time is had by all.
Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page
Director: Jonathan M. Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Runtime: 134 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%
Rye Lane
In a landscape dominated by huge, effects-driven franchises with international appeal, the once-mighty romantic comedy has, strangely, become a niche genre. In order to catch the public’s attention, modern rom-coms typically need to be mash-ups with flashier genres, as in “Palm Springs” or “Shotgun Wedding.” Not to knock those efforts, but sometimes we crave a simple story of two charming, memorable characters meeting each other, falling in love, getting into trouble, and making it work.
That’s exactly what makes “Rye Lane” so refreshing. It’s essentially all “meet cute,” a full day spent with a likable would-be couple getting to know one another in the lively and specific atmosphere of South London. Clever, colorful, and shamelessly uncomplicated, “Rye Lane” is a the perfect date movie for the next time you’re down to Netflix Hulu and chill.
Starring: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Simon Manyonda
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
Runtime: 82 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
Tetris
2023’s weirdest Hollywood trend is the “business biopic,” telling the stories behind famous products or brands, from Air Jordans to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Alongside the growth of this new subgenre has been the meteoric rise of the video game adaptation, which threatens to supplant comic book superheroes as the new reliable studio tentpole. Director Jon S. Baird’s “Tetris” is riding both of these waves, presenting a dramatized version of the surreal international intrigue surrounding the enormously popular puzzle game. It stars Taron Egerton as Henk Rogers, a struggling video game executive who crosses the Iron Curtain to bring “Tetris” to the West. It’s a comedy that fits neatly into the shape of spy thriller — in other words, the last thing you’d expect from a movie called “Tetris,” and it’s certainly the year’s most unexpected video game movie.
Starring: Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Toby Jones
Director: Jon S. Baird
Runtime: 118 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%
Air
In 2022, longtime creative collaborators Ben Affleck and Matt Damon launched their new production company, Artists Equity, “a creator-focused studio” that aims to give everyone involved in making their films a piece of the profits. So, it’s appropriate that the first release from Artists Equity should be about the intersection between business, art, and celebrity. “Air” stars Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, head of the struggling basketball division at Nike in 1984, who bets his career on a rookie he believes will change the game: Michael Jordan.
The (mostly) true story of the bidding war over Jordan’s endorsement makes for surprisingly fun, light drama, but it also speaks to the studio’s mission to reconsider the relationship between the people who invest in talent and the talent who gives that investment value. That may sound like dry stuff, but crucially, “Air” never becomes more about business than it is about people, which is exactly how it should always be.
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis
Director: Ben Affleck
Runtime: 112 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Do you ever lie awake at night thinking about the coming climate apocalypse and the powerful institutions that would rather profit from it than prevent it? Do you ask yourself, “When is someone going to do something?” and then continue going about your day as if everything is fine? Then you’ll probably enjoy “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” one of the year’s best films that also happens to be a rallying cry to stop waiting for someone to do something and to get up and do it. It’s a taut thriller that borrows the structure and pace of a heist movie to explore the many avenues by which today’s terrifying political and environmental realities are radicalizing a young generation to save the world while they still can. How compelling of an argument does it make? Let’s put it this way: The FBI doesn’t want you to see it.
Starring: Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage
Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Runtime: 99 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Beau Is Afraid
After delivering two acclaimed horror films for A24 (“Hereditary” and “Midsommar”), writer/director Ari Aster has chosen to leverage that credibility to create “Beau Is Afraid,” a sprawling work that is personal, bizarre, and borderline unmarketable. Put as simply as possible, “Beau Is Afraid” is the story of a clinically anxious man struggling to find his way from his decrepit urban home to that of his overbearing mother. This, of course, barely covers it. The film is a three-hour surrealist comedy about childhood trauma and sexual repression, set in the hyperbolically doomed version of America that exists only in the imaginations of paranoid cable news viewers.
Self-indulgent? Absolutely. Unsettling? You bet. But if you’ve got the patience and the stomach for it, “Beau Is Afraid” is one heck of a trip.
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan
Director: Ari Aster
Runtime: 179 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 67%
BlackBerry
At the turn of the 21st century, one company revolutionized the cellular phone market and brought mobile computing into the mainstream. So, why are none of you reading this article on one of their devices right now? “BlackBerry” is a nuts-and-bolts business biopic that’s both a comedy and a tragedy, the story of how a pair of idealistic engineers and one cutthroat businessman changed the world so much that it left them behind. Though laced with obscenity and absurdity, “BlackBerry” is relatively dry compared to crowd-pleasing business story “Air,” which was released around the same time. The personal lives of the Blackberry team are invisible and, ultimately, irrelevant. “BlackBerry” is about the tempestuous relationship between commerce and creativity, which fuels progress, moves nations, and occasionally, crushes dreams.
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Glen Howerton, Matt Johnson
Director: Matt Johnson
Runtime: 119 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The Guardians of the Galaxy in uniform
Marvel Studios
After six years and no shortage of controversy, writer/director James Gunn returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe one last time to complete his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy in spectacular fashion. “Guardians Vol. 3” is like a shockingly violent Pixar movie, tugging on heartstrings and spilling the blood of a surprising number of talking animals while drawing the saga of Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, and the gang to a satisfying conclusion. While not as punchy and concise as the first installment or as emotionally complicated as the second, “Vol. 3” has no shortage of the wit and imaginative action that made this series one of the most beloved in the Marvel franchise.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista
Director: James Gunn
Runtime: 150 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%
Evil Dead Rise
Ever want to watch a horror movie that’s just mean? One where awful things happen to nice folks who’ve done nothing to deserve it, so that you, the kind audience member, can’t as easily assure yourself that this sort of thing could never happen to you? If this is your thing, then you’ve likely already rushed out to see “Evil Dead Rise,” the latest installment in the franchise that launched the career of creator Sam Raimi.
With Raimi as executive producer, the accursed Book of the Dead has opened once again to menace a new cast of (expendable) characters, and the kills, possessions, and sick bloody gags are as gnarly as ever. Get acquainted with a family of cool, well-meaning people whose incredibly rotten luck dooms their entire apartment building to otherworldly torment. And, weirdly enough, get ready to laugh at some of the absolutely tragic things that happen to them.
Starring: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies
Director: Lee Cronin
Runtime: 97 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%
Polite Society
In a musical, characters break into song to express their feelings or advance their agendas, and nobody thinks that’s weird. That’s just how musicals work. In Nida Manzoor’s “Polite Society,” teenage aspiring stuntwoman Ria is on a quest to keep her older sister from marrying a suspicious rich guy, a quest that involves an uncommon number of elaborate fight sequences, and that’s played as totally natural. We know what you’re thinking — why isn’t every movie like this?
A light and vibrant comedy that evokes classic Sammo Hung martial arts comedies, the Edgar Wright oeuvre, and an array of other global influences, “Polite Society” is a sweet treat of a coming-of-age movie that chips away at reality so gradually that its zany excess feels perfectly natural.
Starring: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Shobu Kapoor
Director: Nida Manzoor
Runtime: 113 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” shocked the cinematic world. Instead of simply being Sony’s latest attempt to squeeze as much money out of the Spider-Man movie license as possible, “Spider-Verse” proved to be a legitimate masterpiece — one of the most dazzling animated features of the century and arguably the greatest superhero film of all time. Creating a sequel to “Into the Spider-Verse” was a challenge akin to creating a sequel to “The Matrix,” and we all remember how that was received at the time. How does one follow up a film that shook an entire medium without being a disappointment?
Ironically, the triumphant sequel “Across the Spider-Verse” bears some strong structural similarities to “The Matrix Reloaded.” It advances the characters in unexpected ways, deliberately subverts or undermines expectations set up by the first film, shakes the foundation of its universe multiverse, and leaves the audience on a cliffhanger. The fact that it makes the revolutionary “Into the Spider-Verse” look like a tech demo for the sequel is just the icing on the cake.
Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac
Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Runtime: 140 minutes
Rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
You Hurt My Feelings
“Seinfeld” legend and 11-time Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ latest film is “You Hurt My Feelings,” an indie comedy that reunites her with “Enough Said” writer-director Nicole Holofcener. This time around, Dreyfus portrays an author who’s been struggling to complete the follow-up to her published memoir, only to overhear her husband privately admit that her draft is a disaster. Shook that her trusted partner — who’s been encouraging her work all along — would ever lie to her, she begins to question whether she can trust him at all.
“You Hurt My Feelings” is about as low-stakes as cinema gets. There are no lives or livelihoods on the line, and the inciting incident could be dismissed as a frivolous champagne problem. Nevertheless, its exploration of the tiny, well-meaning lies that we all maintain throughout our lives is revelatory and surprisingly profound. Holofcenter has a lot to say about being a partner and also about being a parent and being a friend. Above all, of course, the film is clever and witty, the kind of comedy that might not make you burst out laughing very often but will constantly tickle your brain’s pleasure centers.
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Runtime: 93 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Asteroid City
Forget the AI parodies and TikTok trends — nobody can do Wes Anderson except Wes Anderson. And, arguably, the quirky and distinctive director is only becoming more himself over time, as “Asteroid City” features all of his familiar hallmarks in abundance. It’s a story within a story about another story, set in a stylized midcentury America, starring a vast company of friends and A-listers spouting improbably clever dialogue. Every shot is precisely composed, every prop and location is totally bespoke, and those angles? You better believe they’re perpendicular. Anderson commands his frame with the care of a cartoonist, and his live-action work has never resembled classic cel animation more closely.
Beyond the patented visual and thematic tropes, “Asteroid City” offers both zany comedy, stirring emotional punches to the gut, and for the first time, a pinch of science fiction. The plot finds a group of parents and young astronomy enthusiasts gathered to show off their space-age inventions, only to have a chance encounter with extraterrestrial life. The characters’ existential shock is reflected in the nature of the film itself. The astronomers are left wondering “what does it all mean?” and so is the audience, but it’s better that way. Its lack of a clear, specific message allows it to sort of be about everything, which is a quality that often separates art from mere entertainment.
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks
Director: Wes Anderson
Runtime: 104 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%
Past Lives
2023’s most stirring romance is “Past Lives,” a tender story of two childhood sweethearts after decades on separate continents. Greta Lee plays Nora, a playwright who immigrated from South Korea to Canada as a child, leaving behind smitten classmate Hae Sung. Years later, they reconnect via social media and attempt to rekindle their romance, but they only finally reunite after Nora has moved to New York and married an American writer. Now in the bizarre position of spending a weekend together, Nora and Hae Sung unpack their feelings and converse about the courses their lives have taken and how different things might have been had they never been pulled apart.
“Past Lives” is a delicate, sensitive film about the ways in our lives are guided by circumstance. Is there such a thing as fate? Does fulfillment in one version of our lives invalidate the potential joys along the road not taken? What does it mean to be the love of someone’s life, and is anyone entitled to more than one? Once the credits have rolled and you’ve flicked the tears from corners of your eyes, expect to spend the rest of your day debating these questions with whoever was sitting next to you.
Starring: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
Director: Celine Song
Runtime: 116 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
Barbie
Movie studios may have an embarrassing habit of cowering behind recognizable brands rather than betting on new ideas, but there’s no rule that says a film based on a famous toy line has to be creatively bankrupt. A storyteller with an interesting vision and something meaningful to say can breathe life into even the most plastic premise, and that’s exactly what director and co-writer Greta Gerwig does with “Barbie.” What could have been a lazy crowd-pleaser that simply parades recognizable images and inside jokes in front of a pre-sold audience, “Barbie” uses what we know, love, and hate about the world’s most famous dress-up doll to tell a wacky, imaginative, and genuinely emotional story about the prison that is gender.
“Barbie” may be more ambitious and political than most viewers would expect, but this never comes at the expense of being entertaining. There’s a joyful goofball energy to the entire affair, a sense of play and disregard for rules or grown-up logic that cuts through the pretense and reminds you to have fun. There will be plenty of time to reflect about the patriarchy and the search for self-worth after the credits have rolled.
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera
Director: Greta Gerwig
Runtime: 114 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
Oppenheimer
Ever since the Dark Knight trilogy made Christopher Nolan one of Hollywood’s most popular directors, he’s used that caché to make ambitious, high-concept blockbusters no one else could get a studio to pay for. After parting ways with Warner Bros., Nolan leveraged his status as Hollywood’s hottest free agent to charm Universal into spending millions on a biopic about theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Not only did this gamble pay off with Nolan’s biggest opening weekend for a non-Batman film, it also resulted in what might be his greatest work.
More than simply a historical biopic, “Oppenheimer” combines all of Nolan’s signatures as a filmmaker. It’s a thriller that moves at a breakneck pace, employing a non-linear narrative to play with objectivity vs. subjectivity and create a sense of inevitability around its visual centerpiece, the testing of the first atomic bomb. “Oppenheimer” is a devastating story about one of the most terrible and consequential moments in history that both humanizes and condemns the people behind it, all in awe-inspiring 70 mm IMAX.
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon
Director: Christopher Nolan
Runtime: 180 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
They Cloned Tyrone
The phrase “A Netflix Original Film” does not often inspire confidence, but “They Cloned Tyrone” is exactly the kind of quirky, mid-budget feature we wish they’d invest in more often. Juel Taylor describes his directorial debut as a combination of “They Live,” “The Truman Show,” and “The Matrix,” blended together and poured into the shape of a comedy thriller. John Boyega stars as Fontaine, a small-time drug dealer who stumbles across a government conspiracy to control every aspect of life in his impoverished Black neighborhood. Jamie Foxx is an old hand at playing fast-talking, self-important hustlers, and is in fine form here, but it’s Teyonah Paris who runs away with the movie as the brilliant but stifled Yo-Yo, a “retired” sex worker who seizes on the mystery as an opportunity to finally put her Nancy Drew sleuthing skills to use. Shout-out also to Kiefer Sutherland, who should have a whole new chapter of his career playing the comically evil white man in modern Blaxploitation riffs.
Starring: John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Paris
Director: Juel Taylor
Runtime: 122 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Biosphere
A low-budget sci-fi comedy set in a single location with only two characters, “Biosphere” makes up for its small scale with a really big, weird premise. Sterling K. Brown and co-writer Mark Duplass star as best friends who survive a world-ending disaster inside a hermetically sealed dome. This, however, is only the setup for a much stranger twist that we won’t spoil here. What we can say is that “Biosphere” takes a concept that could easily develop into crude, broadly offensive gross-out comedy and instead explores it sensitively, without sacrificing laughs.
At its heart, “Biosphere” is an exploration of male friendship and masculinity, as time and isolation changes what its characters mean to each other and how they look at themselves. Brown and Duplass’ characters have grown up together and shaped each others’ lives, and not always for the better. Now, they’re literally all they have. “Biosphere” runs on the chemistry between the two actors, and at a good hour and a half, that reaction is totally self-sustaining.
Starring: Sterling K. Brown, Mark Duplass
Director: Mel Eslyn
Runtime: 107 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Tom Cruise’s never-ending battle against gravity continues in the seventh “Mission: Impossible” film, “Dead Reckoning Part One.” Joined by his trusty team and new recruit Hayley Atwell, Cruise’s super-spy Ethan Hunt embarks on yet another death-defying adventure, this time against a rogue A.I. that could irrevocably shift the balance of power on our planet. As usual, the plot of this “Mission: Impossible” flick is crazy complicated, but whether or not you can follow it is basically irrelevant, since the story’s not really what’s bringing anyone to theaters. You’re here to watch Tom Cruise run, drive, and jump off of stuff, and by that measure, “Dead Reckoning Part One” certainly delivers.
“Dead Reckoning Part One” doesn’t approach the perfection of Christopher McQuarrie’s previous directorial effort in the series, “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” but it’s got thrills, laughs, and plenty of spectacular practical stunts that make for really good behind-the-scenes featurettes. There’s a reason “Mission: Impossible” is every film nerd’s favorite action franchise: The filmmakers’ commitment to capturing the action in the lens, no matter how impractically expensive or dangerous it might be, sets it apart.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Runtime: 163 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
It’s probably reductive to refer to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” as Nickelodeon’s answer to “Spider-Verse,” but also, dang, if that was what they were going for, they actually pulled it off. A stylish computer-animated feature that relishes the quirks and expressionistic imperfections of comics and hand-drawn animation, “Mutant Mayhem” fits perfectly into the new era ushered in by Miles Morales.
This fast-paced, joke-dense action-comedy has a youthful energy that no previous “Turtles” feature has captured, casting real teens to voice the leads and distinguishing each of them as individuals while also emphasizing the adorable fraternal bond between them. It’s a treat for zoomers and nostalgic millennials alike while also being a fresh take on the classic source material that’s totally accessible to viewers of any age, even without prior interest in the sweet sewer-dwelling heroes.
Starring: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu
Director: Jeff Rowe
Runtime: 99 minutes
Rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
Theater Camp
All great parodies are born from a place of love, and “Theater Camp” is no exception. It’s a mockumentary set at a summer retreat for young singers, actors, and dancers, but rather than centering on the students, “Theater Camp” follows the misadventures of the grown-up amateur thespians who run the place. The stakes don’t get much lower than a theater production starring a bunch of teens and tweens, but campers and counselors alike are deadly serious about their art. For them, Camp AdirondACTS is a haven, the place where they get to find their true calling and become their true selves. So, when the camp is plunged into financial ruin, its very survival may rest on their putting on the show of their lives. At once absurd, sincere, and naturalistic, “Theater Camp” is a worthy modern successor to the Christopher Guest mockumentary oeuvre, sure to become a staple of high school musical afterparties for years to come.
Starring: Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Ben Platt
Directors: Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman
Runtime: 94 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
Landscape with Invisible Hand
What if aliens came to Earth, and instead of ushering in a new age of space exploration or dramatically blowing up our most famous skyscrapers, they opened up businesses and sucked up all of our planet’s wealth? In “Landscape with Invisible Hand,” the Vuvv (who look sort of like fleshy loaves of bread with flippers and eyestalks) have declared Earth a protectorate of their massive space empire, and lucky us, that means making human beings essentially obsolete. The only way out of poverty is to appeal to the new ruling class, and the only thing humans have that the Vuvv don’t is … romance?
“Landscape” follows a high schooler and his family as they try to make ends meet in a world that no longer values them, highlighting the extents to which human beings are forced to debase themselves to survive under capitalism. It’s a lot funnier than it sounds, but no less bleak, particularly given the current state of our own economy, where the purse strings of entire nations and industries are held by people who’ve completely lost touch with humanity. For a kooky but heartfelt examination of modern life, look no further.
Starring: Asante Blackk, Kylie Rogers, Tiffany Haddish
Director: Cory Finley
Runtime: 105 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74%
Bottoms
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. A pair of high school seniors are desperate to lose their virginities before graduation, but they’re complete social disasters who few people notice and almost nobody likes, so they try to reinvent themselves to get the attention of their crushes. It works, but now they’re stuck living a lie, and if the school finds out the truth, they’ll be even worse off than they were before.
It’s a tried-and-true teen comedy format, and in the year 2023, the idea of applying it to the story of a pair of “ugly, untalented gays” isn’t too far out there. Fortunately, “Bottoms” isn’t just “lesbian ‘Superbad'” — it’s much, much crazier than that. To begin with, the horny teens’ plan to pick up cheerleaders is to get a bunch of girls to punch them — and each other — in the face. The result is a wild, bloody instant classic.
“Bottoms” reunites writer-director Emma Seligman with “Shiva Baby” star Rachel Sennott (who also co-writes), who’s a scream as the amoral and hyperverbal PJ. The entire cast shines, even the surprisingly funny Super Bowl champion Marshawn Lynch as the club’s faculty advisor, but we want to take this moment to single out Ayo Edebiri, who’s having an unbelievable 2023. In addition the hit FX series “The Bear,” Edebiri appears in four of the films on this list (“Bottoms,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” and “Theater Camp”). Her performance in “Bottoms” demonstrates her skill at balancing relatable pathos and truly weird sketch-style comedy, and it’s no wonder why she’s everywhere right now.
Starring: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Havana Rose Liu
Director: Emma Seligman
Runtime: 88 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Blue Beetle
“Blue Beetle” has been damned with a lot of faint praise since its release. Poke around its Rotten Tomatoes page, and you’ll find the terms “generic,” “formulaic,” and “by the numbers,” even from critics who enjoyed the film. It’s true that the superhero genre has come a long way from Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” in 2002, which was the template for a generation of big-screen origin stories, but that’s exactly what makes “Blue Beetle” so refreshing.
Cinematic superhero universes, with their sprawling casts and fractured multiverses, have become so complicated and self-referential that they’re practically as impenetrable as their comic book counterparts. You don’t need to have ever seen another superhero movie in order to enjoy “Blue Beetle,” and if it’s your first, you’re just as likely to fall in love with it as “Spider-Man” audiences were 20 years ago. It may not be genre-changing, but it is solidly genre-affirming.
Starring: Xolo Maridueña, George Lopez, Susan Sarandon
Director: Angel Manuel Soto
Runtime: 127 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%
Source: www.looper.com