There was certainly some doubt during the pandemic year of 2020, along with the years that followed, that going to the movie theatre was out of style. However, the alure of the big screen still draws in billions of dollars annually, and box office blockbusters look to be in great shape in 2024. Let’s take a look back to 2023 and see what the highest grossing films of the year were.
No. 10: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’ Marvel is definitely in a tough spot after the massive fan and box office success pre pandemic. Besides the spiderman franchise of films, there has not been anything that has stuck with fans of the MCU. Ant-Man was not much different than most marvel films recently, not horrible but severely underwhelming. The worldwide box office for this movie was $476 million.
No. 9: ‘Elemental.’ Disney and Pixar’s newest animated film looks at four characters that are based on four elements of nature: earth, fire, water and air. Elemental had a massive budget of $200 million and after an opening weekend of just under $30 million, it was deemed a flop. After a disastrous start, the film recovered and not only broke even but ended up returning a profit with a worldwide box office gross of $496 Million.
No. 8: ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One.’ There is no surprise that having Tom Cruise almost guarantees box office success, and ‘Mission Impossible’ was no different. Coming off a massive 2022 with Top Gun, Cruise looked to build with another blockbuster. The seventh film in the series that began in 1996 was met with positive critical and fan reviews. The final worldwide box office for the film was $567 million.
No. 7: ‘Little Mermaid.’ The live action remake of the classic Disney princess film was met with much anticipation from younger and older audiences, and it did not disappoint. The film is relatively the same as before, besides the different cast and live characters. The film was another success for Disney as it raked in $570 million worldwide.
No. 6: ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.’ Following the first iteration of the animated series, the second installment was one of the most anticipated films of the calendar year. Behind the scenes of the movie however, there was a lot going on. Animators have claimed unstainable working conditions, which caused over 100 of them to quit while making the movie. Despite all the expectations and troubles, the film was still able to amass $690 million at the box office.
No. 5: ‘Fast X.’ As the title states, this is the tenth film of the fast franchise, and despite what many would think, there is still a massive appetite for action-packed events. Although American audiences might not care for the films anymore, it is still a powerhouse internationally, where the film grossed 80% of its total number, which ended up totaling $704 million.
No. 4: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3.’ The final installation of this fan favorite Marvel film certainly did not disappoint. Although it did not outgrow the two previous films of the series, it did outgrow any other Marvel phase 5 film. The total for GOG Vol.3 was $845 million.
No. 3: ‘Oppenheimer.’ Christopher Nolan’s three-hour long epic has everything a moviegoer would want in a war film. The A-list cast and captivating storyline was a match made in heaven, and the numbers show. This film truly captures what an in-theater experience is, and the worldwide box office numbers finished at $952 million.
No. 2: ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie.’ The first one-billion-dollar film of the year was a critical and fan “smash” success. Audiences declared it the best animated film of 2023, and one of the best in recent memory. The film grossed $1.36 billion and was on pace to be the biggest box office movie of the year, that was until a certain doll came along.
No. 1: ‘Barbie.’ This Greta Gerwig film solidified that movie theatres are not dead and took the entire world by storm. The Barbenheimer experience during the summer of 2023 will be one of the most memorable moments of pop-culture history and played a massive part in the film’s overall success. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gossling are absolute rockstars in the film, and with those two A-listers at the helm, it is no surprise that ‘Barbie’ was a smash hit. The worldwide box office totaled $1.44 billion and earns the No.1 spot as the highest-grossing film of 2023.
