2023 box office hits: Every movie that made more than $100 million, from ‘Barbie’ to ‘Trolls Band Together’
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc with theaters in 2021, there were still 14 movies released that year that were able to cross the coveted $100 million mark at the U.S. box office. In 2022, that number jumped up to 18 films that reached $100 million and beyond domestically. So how many feature films released during the current 2023 calendar year will end up becoming box office behemoths? Stay tuned.
To date, the biggest money-maker of 2023 is “Barbie,” which broke all sorts of domestic records when it was released alongside “Oppenheimer” in July. Scroll through our gallery above (or click here for direct access) to see all of the 2023 box office hits that made more than $100 million (so far). The number continues to grow as films released in December are still making money in the new year, including “Wonka” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.”
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1. “Barbie”
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Days to reach $100 million: 2
When Barbie (Margot Robbie) suffers a mid-life crisis, she begins to question everything about her world and her very existence, and Ken (Ryan Gosling) of course tags along for the ride. Greta Gerwig directed the tongue-in-cheek movie from a script co-written by she and Noah Baumbach. Other Barbies and Kens throughout the film are played by, among others, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Simu Liu and John Cena.
2. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 3
Based on Nintendo’s video game franchise, this is the world’s first “Mario” movie since the epic 1993 live-action failure. This time around, co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic went the animated route, with the game’s iconic characters being voiced by Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen and Fred Armisen.
3. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 3
Co-directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, this sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning animated film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” brings back Shameik Moore as the voice of young Miles Morales / Spider-Man. This time around, Miles explores the Multiverse, where he discovers a group of diverse Spider-People.
4. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 3
This is the end. James Gunn’s trilogy for the Marvel Cinematic Universe about quirky intergalactic superheroes concludes with a little extra attention put on Bradley Cooper’s raccoon, Rocket. The other characters played by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff and Vin Diesel also return for one final fight.
5. “Oppenheimer”
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 5
Cillian Murphy portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the creator of the atomic bomb, in Christopher Nolan’s visionary biopic. The film was one-half of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon that arrived in theaters in July 2023 (the other being “Barbie”), with both helping the box office achieve its fourth-biggest weekend in history.
6. “The Little Mermaid”
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 4
Director Rob Marshall’s live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1989 animated film stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Eric and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. Audiences swam in droves to see “The Little Mermaid” on the big screen, as it earned as estimated $118 million over Memorial Day weekend, one of the biggest openings of 2023.
7. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 3
This is the third movie in the Paul Rudd-Evangeline Lilly series after “Ant-Man” (2015) and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018), and also the 31st film overall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Peyton Reed directs “Quantumania,” which notably introduces a new supervillain, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who is able to travel through time and across the multiverse.
8. “Wonka”
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Days to reach $100 million: 13
Director Paul King tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, the popular character from Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” that was later made into a feature film. Timothée Chalamet plays the quirky chocolatier in this new musical version, while Hugh Grant is an Oompa-Loompa.
9. “John Wick: Chapter 4”
Distributor: Lionsgate
Days to reach $100 million: 8
Much like John Wick himself, this franchise packs a punch and won’t be stopped. For the fourth time, Keanu Reeves plays the formerly retired assassin who has returned to his violent nature in order to bring down the criminal organization known as the High Table. Chad Stahelski is also back as director after helming the first three installments of the noir action franchise.
10. “Sound of Freedom”
Distributor: Angel Studios
Days to reach $100 million: 16
Jim Caviezel stars as Tim Ballard, the real-life ex-government operative who strives to rescue hundreds of kids from sex traffickers in Colombia. Alejandro Monteverde directed the film. The production company utilized a unique marketing strategy that asked some patrons to “pay it forward” and allow others to watch the movie in theaters for free.
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11. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour”
Distributor: AMC Theatres
Days to reach $100 million: 5
Based on Taylor Swift’s 2023–2024 worldwide concert series, the concert film is produced by the singer-songwriter and directed by Sam Wrench. After initial negotiations for the movie broke down, Swift worked with AMC Theatres and Cinemark Theatres to come with an exclusive availability window for it to be screened over four consecutive weekends from October to November.
12. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 8
This is the the fifth and final installment in the “Indiana Jones” franchise, with Harrison Ford back yet again as the infamous archaeologist and college professor. This time around he’s joined by Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw and Mads Mikkelsen as Jurgen Voller, with James Mangold taking over the directorial reigns from Steven Spielberg.
13. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One”
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 10
He’s baaack (for the seventh time). Christopher McQuarrie directs Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in the latest “Mission: Impossible” feature film. This time around, the IMF team is in search of two keys that can unlock some of the world’s untold mysteries, and they need to find them before the AI known as “the Entity” does.
14. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”
Distributor: Lionsgate
Films Days to reach $100 million: 11
This prequel to the popular “The Hunger Games” film series is directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera and Viola Davis. The plot takes place 64 years before the first movie, as a young Coriolanus Snow embarks on a journey in which he’ll become the future tyrannical leader.
15. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 10
This marks the seventh film in the “Transformers” live-action franchise and the first to hit theaters since “Bumblebee” (2018). This “Beast Wars” installment is directed by Steven Caple Jr. and serves as a prequel to the original “Transformers” (2007). Cast members include Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz and Dominique Fishback as Elena Wallace, with Peter Cullen once again returning to voice Optimus Prime.
16. “Creed III”
Distributor: United Artists Releasing
Days to reach $100 million: 10
Michael B. Jordan steps behind the camera for the first time as he directs himself as Adonis “Donnie” Creed in this third installment of the “Rocky” spin-off series following “Creed” (2015) and “Creed II” (2018). Jonathan Majors plays a new boxing antagonist, Damian “Diamond Dame” Anderson, and returning once again to the franchise are Tessa Thompson as Bianca Taylor-Creed and Phylicia Rashad as Mary Anne Creed.
17. “Elemental”
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 22
Pixar’s 27th feature film is directed by Peter Sohn and tells the story of the elements of nature living together in Element City. The two main characters, who represent fire (Leah Lewis as Ember Lumen) and water (Mamoudou Athie as Wade Ripple), meet and fall in love despite their noticeable differences.
18. “Fast X”
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 10
Vin Diesel is back again as Dominic Toretto in this 10th installment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. Other returnees include Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges as Tej Parker and John Cena as Jakob Toretto. The film’s director is Louis Leterrier, who’s new to the “Fast” world.
19. “Five Nights at Freddy’s”
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 9
This supernatural horror film is directed by Emma Tammi and is based on the popular video game series. Josh Hutcherson stars as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza who, while dealing with personal family drama, soon realizes the building’s robotic creatures are actually possessed by ghosts.
20. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 28
This animated film serves as a reboot of the popular “TMNT” television series, with Jeff Rowe directing the project. The young voice actors for the four main reptiles are Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo) and Brady Noon (Raphael).
21. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Days to reach $100 million: 17
Jason Momoa is back as the half-Atlantean, half-human king in this DC Extended Universe sequel to “Aquaman” (2018). Directed by James Wan, the supporting cast for “Lost Kingdom” includes Patrick Wilson as Orm Marius, Amber Heard as Mera and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta.
22. “Scream VI”
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 28
The slasher franchise is back and more popular than ever, as this sixth installment has become the highest-grossing “Scream” movie of all time. Co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett welcome back several franchise vets, including Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere, as the latest Ghostface begins their reign of bloody terror, this time in New York City.
23. “The Flash”
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Days to reach $100 million: 18
Directed by Andy Muschietti, this 13th installment in the DC Extended Universe stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash and features the long-awaited return of Michael Keaton as Batman. The plot finds Barry traveling back in time to try to prevent his mother from dying, which results in disastrous consequences.
24. “Trolls Band Together”
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Days to reach $100 million: 51
This is the third movie in director Walt Dohrn’s hair-raising franchise, following “Trolls” (2016) and “Trolls World Tour” (2020). Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick return as Branch and Poppy, respectively, as they try to reunite Branch’s brothers for the boyband phenomenon, BroZone.
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Launch Gallery: 2023 box office hits: Every movie that made more than $100 million
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