From ‘Barbenheimer’ to Taylor Swift, here are the most important films of 2023 and why they worked

Call
2023
an
explosive
comeback
at
the
box
office.

There
were
blonde
bombshells
in
“Barbie,”
actual
bombs
in
“Oppenheimer”
and
small-budget
blockbusters
—
each
of
them
aiding
the
theatrical
industry
in
bolstering
ticket
sales
and
drawing
relapsed
customers
back
to
the
big
screen.

With
one
week
left
in
the
year,
the
2023
box
office
has
tallied
$8.8
billion
in
ticket
sales,
about
20%
down
from
the
same
period
in
2019
but
up
21%
over
last
year.

Much
of
that
haul
was
due
to


Warner
Bros.
Discovery’s
“Barbie”
and


Universal’s
“Oppenheimer”
and
“The
Super
Mario
Bros.
Movie.”
Together,
those
three
films
contributed
more
than
$1.5
billion
to
the
domestic
box
office,
according
to
data
from
Comscore.
Globally,
the
films
have
generated
more
than
$3.7
billion
in
ticket
sales.

This
year’s
box
office
wasn’t
just
buoyed
by
big-budget
content.
Several
lower-budget
films
sparked
public
interest,
driving
moviegoers
away
from
their
couches
and
toward
cinemas.
These
films
filled
gaps
in
the
calendar
created
by
Hollywood
labor
strikes
and
challenged
the
status
quo
of
how
the
industry
operates.

There’s
still
room
for
improvement
in
2024,
and
most
industry
analysts
don’t
expect
a
return
to
form
until
2025
after
months
of
production
shutdowns.

But
in
the
meantime,
here’s
a
look
at
some
of
the
most
important
theatrical
releases
of
2023
—
and
why
they
worked.

The
historic
box
office
combination
of
“Barbie”
and
“Oppenheimer,”
dubbed
“Barbenheimer”
by
the
public,
arrived
at
a
time
when
even
the
most
dependable
franchise
movies
had
failed
to
lure
in
audiences.

Their
shared
July
21
release
date
inspired
double
features,
not
direct
competition.
Together,
the
films generated
$244.5
million during
their
first
three
days
in
theaters
—
$162
million
for
“Barbie”
and
$82.5
million
for
“Oppenheimer.”
The
two
films
accounted
for
nearly
80%
of
the
total
haul
that
weekend,
which
ended
up
being
the
highest
grossing
of
the
year
with
$311.3
million
in
ticket
sales,
Comscore
reported.

What
set
“Barbenheimer”
weekend
apart
was
fresh
storytelling,
a
fear
of
missing
out
on
a
cultural
moment
and
a
desire
to
experience
movies
on
the
biggest
screen
possible.

“Barbie”
director
Greta
Gerwig
recalled
lines
of
audience
members
in
New
York
dressed
in
Barbie’s
signature
pink
to
celebrate
the
film’s
opening
weekend.

“Men,
women,
kids
—
everyone
dressing
up
in
pink,
and
no
one
told
them
to
do
that.
That
was
a
spontaneous
thing,”
she
told

Variety
in
a
taped
interview
published
last
week.
“It
was
this
overwhelming
feeling
of
like,
‘Oh,
it
belongs
to
them.
It
doesn’t
belong
to
me.
It
belongs
to
them.
And
they
wanted
to
dress
up.'”

Moviegoers
who
bought
tickets
to
“Oppenheimer”
donned
suits
and
fedoras
to
see
Christopher
Nolan’s
latest
feature.
The
three-hour
biopic
about
J.
Robert
Oppenheimer,
the
father
of
the
atomic
bomb,
was
event
cinema,
boasting
specialty
screenings
of
the
film
in
70mm.

The
meme-worthy
trend
of
seeing
both
in
the
same
day
drove
hundreds
of
thousands
of
people
to
cinemas
over
the
opening
weekend.

Domestically,
“Barbie”
tallied
$636.2
million
during
its
run
in
theaters
and
“Oppenheimer”
snared
$326
million.
Globally,
“Barbie”
secured
$1.44
billion,
and
“Oppenheimer”
scored
$952
million
worldwide.

The
success
of
“The
Super
Mario
Bros.
Movie,”
which
reached
$574.9
million
domestically,
is
part
of
an
impressive
streak
of
animated
box-office
hits
for
Universal.
Last
year,
“Minions:
The
Rise
of
Gru”
generated
nearly
$940
million
globally
and
“Puss
in
Boots:
The
Last
Wish”
snared
nearly
$500
million
worldwide.

Meanwhile,
Disney
has
seen
its
animated
content
lag
at
the
box
office
in
the
wake
of
the
pandemic.
Neither
Pixar
nor
Walt
Disney
Animation
has
seen
a
film
top
$480
million
globally
since
2019’s
“Frozen
2.”

Some
analysts
have
blamed
the
sluggish
ticket
sales
on
confusion
in
the
marketplace
over
which
Disney
films
were
streaming
exclusives
and
which
had
wider
theatrical
releases.
Others
said
Disney
has
done
a
poor
job
of
marketing
its
animated
films
to
the
public.

Meanwhile,
Universal
is
looking
to
capitalize
on
its
goodwill
with
parents
and
kids
as
“Migration”
continues
to
play
in
theaters
and
ahead
of
the
2024
debuts
of
“Kung
Fu
Panda
4”
and
“Despicable
Me
4.”

Taylor
Swift
changed
the
music
industry
—
and
then
she
came
for
cinemas.

In
October,
the
multi-hyphenate
pop
star
debuted
her
filmed
Eras
Tour
concert
in
theaters.
The
nearly
three-hour
event
drove
millions
to
theaters
at
a
time
when
the
actors
strike
forced
many

would-be
blockbusters
to
flee
the
calendar.

The
opening
broke
records
for
a
theatrical
concert
release
and
became
the

second-highest
film
opening
in
the
month
of
October.

In
the
excitement,
movie
theaters
designed
specialty
popcorn
buckets,
crafted
boutique
cocktails
and
even
set
up
friendship
bracelet-making
tables
for
Swift
fans,
recreating
a
staple
experience
of
attending
the
live
concerts.

In
total,
Swift’s
film
generated
nearly
$180
million
domestically
and
nearly
$250
million
worldwide.
That
global
figure
is
just
shy
of
the

record
$262.5
million
that
Michael
Jackson’s
concert
documentary
“This
Is
It”
secured
back
in
2009.

Perhaps
the
most
shocking
part
of
Swift’s
trip
to
movie
theaters
was
her
distribution
partner:
cinema
chain

AMC.

Swift
bypassed
Hollywood
studios,
many
of
which
had
tried
to
bid
on
the
rights
to
release
the
film
under
their
banner,
and
inked
a
rare
deal.
The
singer
reportedly
split
57%
of
ticket
sales
with
AMC,
while
43%
remained

with
theaters.
Still,
Swift
is
expected
to
have
kept
a
large
chunk
of
that
share,
according
to
industry
insiders.

The
deal
is
likely
what
led

Beyoncé
to
work
with
AMC
to
distribute
the
documentary
of
her
“Renaissance”
album
and
tour.

The
theater
industry
is
no
stranger
to
alternative
content.
Cinemas
often
show
taped
concerts,
plays
and
musicals,
as
well
as
live
sports
from
organizations
such
as
the
National
Football
League
and
Ultimate
Fighting
Championship.
Then
there
are
showings
of
classic
films,
anime
screenings
and
live-broadcast
Dungeons
and
Dragons
games.

But
none
have
ever
come
close
to
generating
the
fervor
of
Swift’s
Eras
Tour
film.

“Sound
of
Freedom”
also
broke
the
Hollywood
mold
this
summer.

The
film
came
from
a
relative
Hollywood
newcomer
called
Angel
Studios,
which
uses
a
Kickstarter-style
method
of
generating
funds.
In
this
case,
the
studio
raised
$5
million
to
distribute
the
film
after
20th
Century
Fox,
which
previously
held
the
rights
to
it,
was
bought
by
Disney and
shelved
its
release.
“Sound
of
Freedom”
wrapped
filming
in
2018
and
tells
the
story
of
Tim
Ballard,
a
character
inspired
by
a
real-life
government
agent
who
quits
his
job
to
rescue
a
young
girl
from
sex
traffickers
in
Colombia.

The
Jim
Caviezel-led
thriller
shook
up
norms
in
an
industry
still
trying
to
find
its
footing
after
Covid
lockdowns.
It
snared
more
than
$180
million
at
the
domestic
box
office
during
its
run, outpacing
big
studio
films such
as
Warner
Bros.’
“The
Flash,”
on
a
budget
of
just
$14.5
million.
It
made
nearly
$250
million
worldwide.

Part
of
the
film’s
box-office
success
was
the
result
of
a
unique
campaign
by
filmmakers
to
encourage
ticket
sales:
Moviegoers
could
pay
for
and
essentially
donate
tickets
to
be
claimed
online
by
those
who
may
not
be
able
to
afford
them.
Angel
Studios
calls
the
model
“pay
it
forward.”

The
studio
rose
to
prominence
in
2019
when,
under
the
name
VidAngel,
it
crowdfunded
and
released
the
hit
biblical
series
“The
Chosen.”
However,
the
July
release
of
“Sound
of
Freedom”
raised
the
studio’s
profile
even
further.

“Sound
of
Freedom”
isn’t
the
only
Angel
Studios
title
to
exponentially
overperform
its
budget.
“His
Only
Son,”
a
biblical
drama
released
in
early
2023,
cost
$250,000
to
make
and
generated
$12.4
million
at
the
box
office.
A
crowdfunding
campaign
in
partnership
with
Angel
Studios raised
more
than
$1.2
million
for
prints
and
advertising
costs. The
small-budget-big-returns
formula
is
reminiscent
of
what Blumhouse
is
doing
for
the
horror
genre.

Coming
in
2024
from
Angel
Studios
is
“Cabrini,”
a
film
about
the
Roman
Catholic
missionary
and
future
Saint
Francesca
Cabrini,
and
“Bonhoeffer,”
which
tells
the
true
story
of
German
theologian
and
pastor
Dietrich
Bonhoeffer,
who
stood
up
to
the
Nazis
during
the
Third
Reich.

The
combined
efforts
of
horror
studio
Blumhouse
and
Universal
were
in
full
swing
in
2023,
starting
with
the
January
release
of
“M3GAN.”

With
a
modest
budget
of
$12
million,
not
including
marketing
costs,
the
flick
about
a
fashionable,
murderous
doll
powered
by
artificial
intelligence
snared
$180.7
million
at
the
global
box
office.
It’s
the
latest
success
in
a
string
of
lucrative
theatrical
runs
for
the
horror
genre.

While
Hollywood’s
big-budget
blockbusters
typically
get
the
most
attention,
the
consistently
strong
performance
of
scary
movies
at
theaters
is
good
news
for
the
cinema
industry.

The
horror
genre
continues
to
be
a

major
driver
of
foot
traffic
for
cinemas,
as
its
fans
aren’t
as
preoccupied
with
the
star
power
behind
the
films,
but
rather
how
scary
and
bloody
—
and
fun
—
they
are.

The
tag-team
of
Blumhouse
and
Universal
also
released
a
film
based
on
the
horror
video
game
“Five
Nights
at
Freddy’s”
in
late
October,
just
in
time
for
Halloween.

While
the
film
followed
the
same
distribution
path
as
the
last
two
installments
in
the
Halloween
franchise
and
was
made
available
on


Comcast-owned
streaming
platform
Peacock
the
same
day
it
arrived
in
theaters,
it
still
generated
significant
buzz
and
ticket
sales.

With
a
budget
of
$20
million,
not
including
marketing
costs,
“Five
Nights
at
Freddy’s”
tallied
$137.2
million
domestically
and
$289.3
million
worldwide.

Both
“M3GAN”
and
“Five
Nights
at
Freddy’s”
also
had
the
distinct
honor
of
becoming
cultural
memes.
A
particular
dance
sequence
in
“M3GAN”
was
spoofed
across
social
media

as
well
as
on
“Saturday
Night
Live.”
Meanwhile,
“Five
Nights
at
Freddy’s”
saw
video
and
audio
clips
go
viral
on
TikTok.

Blumhouse
has
four
films
slated
for
release
in
2024
and
three
so
far
for
2025,
including
sequels
to
“M3GAN”
and
2021’s
breakout
hit
“The
Black
Phone.”

Disclosure:
Comcast
is
the
parent
company
of
NBCUniversal
and
CNBC.

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