The highest-grossing films of 2023
The highest-grossing films of 2023 – Several films surprised with box office receipts that turned into huge profits, while productions from major studios stood out despite being surpassed at the box office.
By Megan Sauer
When talking about cinema, not only the artistic factor or the interpretations are taken into account. The box office is usually an element that goes hand in hand as it is a way of measuring the performance of a studio or independent production, and just as the best films of the year are chosen according to the opinions of the public or critics.
The same with those titles that were the biggest box-office hits during that period of time.
In 2023, we saw interesting changes compared to films that usually make a lot of money and surprises were the order of the day.
Finally, large studios came up with fairly novel and fascinating proposals that the public appreciated, and in the end they found their reward.
It didn’t take much risk, since films like Oppenheimer don’t come from something that the Academy would love, for example, but Universal Pictures’ bet on allowing Christopher Nolan to make the project he wanted. The way he planned it gave him one of the highest collections of 2023 at the box office.
The propagation of it within popular culture was an added value that contributed to the achievement, in addition to the fact that its director has many followers of his work.
Barbie was not extremely risky, but it went beyond what the audience could imagine of a live-action starring a doll belonging to a company that continues to produce it to this day, and in its own way it took first place in the worldwide box office.
Superheroes were not left behind despite the fact that the reception of some premieres has been lower due to the doubts that these types of films continue to generate in the public.
What once seemed like a risk for studios every time they decided to adapt a comic is now something monotonous. Fortunately, every once in a while something flashy and solid comes along, like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and makes skeptics regain their faith.
Those changes in the way audiences approach new releases are changing, and many people are expecting more.
The Guardians of the Galaxy reached the top of the highest-grossing films of 2023 (Image: James Gunn)
Therefore, this year we find a list of blockbusters that is different: a meme, “Barbenheimer”, that made an impact outside the cinema and became a cultural phenomenon that rarely happens.
Several big-budget sequels managed to enter the top ten highest-grossing films, despite the fact that previous productions represented a broader triumph for their respective studios, as happened to Mission: Impossible: Mortal Sentence – Part One.
Animated films were among the highest global box office grossers; Titles like Super Mario Bros. The Movie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse shared records and praise for their animation, despite the fact that they fulfilled different roles.
The first, to start a potential franchise, and the second to continue one of the most promising stories in superhero cinema in recent years.
What are the highest-grossing movies of 2023?
This year left us with great surprises and the participation of companies that usually reach the top of the box office, although with an apparent sign of greater diversity in terms of successful proposals in the future of cinema.
Next, we tell you which are the films that raised the most money in 2023, worldwide:
1.- Barbie
Collection: US$1,441,820,453 (Domestic: US$636,220,453 / International: US$805,600,000)
Warner Bros. had a great reason to smile in 2023 thanks to the success of the first live-action Barbie movie, the Mattel doll that has a wide presence in the toy market and in animated productions.
The film starring Margot Robbie surpassed the billion mark after an extensive run in theaters that included a re-release with scenes that were not in the original cut.
Greta Gerwig became the first director to have a film surpass one billion dollars, and Barbie surpassed the studio record held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 by being the fastest film to reach that milestone.
2.- Super Mario Bros. The Movie
Collection: US$1,361,367,353 (Domestic: US$574,934,330 / International: US$786,433,023)
The joint work of Illumination and Nintendo remained at the top of the box office from its premiere in April until the days after the release of Barbie , the only film that could surpass its gross.
Super Mario Bros. The Movie broke box office records.
It was the best IMAX premiere in several Latin American countries, at the time it had the best premiere of the year. It had the most successful first weekend for a video game movie and it also became the most successful in that field.
Mario Bros. was already famous around the world, but its box office gross was still as impactful as the conversation it generated.
3.- Oppenheimer
Collection: US$952,015,985 (Domestic: US$326,081,985 / International: US$625,934,000)
The biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer , the father of the atomic bomb, is director Christopher Nolan ‘s biggest success at the box office thanks to an impressive collection that placed it close to massive productions such as Barbie and Super Mario Bros. The Movie.
For the filmmaker’s followers, it was a matter of time before something like this happened, but we are sure that not even he imagined what was going to happen.
The film starring Cillian Murphy caused such fervor that it was incredible that it was not a usual blockbuster, but a drama based on real events that were also related to the Second World War without resorting to action scenes.
Oppenheimer is the second highest-grossing R-rated film after Joker, and the third highest-grossing release for a film in IMAX.
4.- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Collection: US$845,555,777 (Domestic: US$358,995,815 / International: US$486,559,962)
Only one Disney film in 2023 was a smash hit at the box office, despite other releases pulling in respectable numbers.
In other times, the studio would have had several titles in more positions within this list, and certainly in higher places, but it was the last installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy by James Gunn that stood out.
And he did it with an extremely emotional story that explored everything that was not known about Rocket Raccoon ( Bradley Cooper ), managing to catapult this character as one that will surely be very loved by fans from now on.
5.- Fast and Furious 10
Collection: US$704,875,015 (Domestic: US$146,126,015 / International: US$558,749,000)
Before the tenth installment, the Fast and Furious franchise seemed to have been rejuvenated thanks to the massive public interest in its previous installments.
The one that hit theaters in 2023, on the other hand, showed its age and although it went over US$700 million, it was one of Universal Pictures’ failures, curiously in a year where a film like Oppenheimer triumphed instead of a potential blockbuster.
With a budget of US$340 million, according to Variety, the titanic task of reaching one billion did not happen and it fell short of being considered a success after representing a loss of more than US$140 million.
6.- Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse
Collection: US$690,516,673 (Domestic: US$381,311,319 / International: US$309,205,354)
Spider-Man’s new animated adventure starring Miles Morales ( Shameik Moore ) and Gwen ( Hailee Steinfeld ) reminded fans that you can always continue exploring the multiverse in an exceptional way.
Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse is one of the few superhero films to stand out at the 2023 box office and that is a testament to the animation (and also narrative) work of the team that was responsible for its production.
The fruits came through praise and one of the largest collections of the year.
7.- The little mermaid
Collection: US$569,626,289 (Domestic: US$298,172,056 / International: US$271,454,233)
A “respectable” amount of money is what the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, made.
Just over US$569 million worldwide, with the difference that the film was conditioned to a high budget, so it was forced to raise more money to be considered a success since the bar is too high for Disney.
The actress shone in the adaptation of the classic that certainly deserved better treatment.
8.- Mission Impossible: Mortal Sentence – Part One
Collection: US$567,535,383 (Domestic: US$172,135,383 / International: US$395,400,000)
Ethan Hunt’s ( Tom Cruise ) latest adventure earned a place among the highest-grossing films of 2023, with an unexpected twist.
Production of the long-running action franchise was one of the most expensive of that time period (a reported budget of $291 million) and after its previous success it was assumed it could make a lot of money.
Furthermore, the fact that it held on to its release date as a potential success contributed to its fall even further. For another film it is a great gross, but with this one it did not exceed expectations even though it was enough to reach the top ten.
9.- Elements
Collection: US$496,307,013 (Domestic: US$154,426,697 / International: US$341,880,316)
Pixar’s effort was a love story that was initially going unnoticed by the public until word of mouth gave it a chance.
Apparently, the film would not have been advertised as the story it really was, and when the audience began to know it, everything changed.
Elements was close to US$500 million, an impressive amount of money that loses its shine a bit because it is another inflated budget production that otherwise would have been a success.
10.- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Collection: US$476,071,180 (Domestic: US$214,504,909 / International: US$261,566,271)
The third installment of Ant-Man had the highest-grossing premiere of the trilogy, but it was also the lowest grossing. Its domestic collection was on par with its predecessor, but in terms of its international performance its impact was lower.
By the standards of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the fact that one of his films broke several negative records was a wake-up call and also a source of concern because it was the first cinematic appearance of the great villain of the following phases. It’s more than US$400 million made it the last of the ten highest-grossing films, but it was a failure that cost the studio dearly.
