Our Annual Report turns to the world of film with our 25 Best Movies of 2023 list. Find all of our awards, lists, and exclusive features recapping the year’s best in music, film, and TV here.
At the beginning of 2023, the world of cinema felt like it was standing on a bit of a precipice — sure, in 2022 people had at least gone to see Tom Cruise fly around in a jet plane again, and Cruise was due to also ride a motorcycle off a mountain in the summer. But Cruise alone couldn’t keep theaters afloat; Americans would need more reasons to go to the movies.
Thankfully, those reasons arrived in droves: Multiple animated features redefined what the medium was capable of, while established and emerging auteurs delivered some of the best work of their career. There were heartbreaking true stories, captivating thrillers, daring dramas, and delightful adventures — and perhaps you might have heard something about a little phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. (Or Oppenbarbie, should that be your preference.)
Like any year, there were some flops in the mix and some disappointments from the greats, but there was so much for film fans to be grateful for over the last 12 months, only wetting the appetite further for what’s to come in 2024. Here are the best movies of 2023.
— Liz Shannon Miller
Senior Entertainment Editor
25. All of Us Strangers
All of Us Strangers (Searchlight Pictures)
Directed by: Andrew Haigh
Cast: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy
Studio: Searchlight Pictures
Adapted from the Japanese novel Strangers, Andrew Haigh’s latest is sentimental about the fragilities of life and the slipperiness of queer existence. A lonely writer named Adam (Andrew Scott, never warmer and sadder than here) is coping with the prospect of new love with neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal, brilliantly brittle) and the missed opportunity to know his long-lost parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell). Until, that is, a magical circumstance allows Adam to drop by his parents’ house to see them, crystallized on the day before their death, the same age that Adam is now. It’s a conceit that’s never explained, and good for Haigh on his restraint — that’s not the point. Instead, Strangers soaks us in the melancholy of a modern queer man reassuring his parents, forever stuck in the AIDS-panicked ‘80s, that things will get better for him, a tale anchored by beautiful turns from Haigh’s four leads. — Clint Worthington
24. They Cloned Tyrone
They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix)
Directed by: Juel Taylor
Cast: John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, Jamie Foxx, Kiefer Sutherland, David Alan Grier
Studio: Netflix
Juel Taylor’s funky, acerbic debut was another great surprise this year, a well-paced mix of ‘70s conspiracy sci-fi, blaxploitation, and Peele-ian social commentary. And at the center of it is one of 2023’s most invigorating acting trios: John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx as three low-rung members of an impoverished Black community who find out their degenerated social setting isn’t as organic as it may seem. All through its deeper ideas of social control and racial hierarchies, They Cloned Tyrone never forgets to be charming and downright fun — aided largely by Foxx’s red dwarf of charisma and costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck’s eye-candy costumes. — C. Worthington
23. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount)
Directed by: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant
Studio: Paramount
As Consequence covered upon this film’s original release, Hollywood’s track record with adapting the world’s most famous RPG for the screen has had a lot more failures than successes. But directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein knocked this fantasy adventure out of the park by remembering one key fact about D&D: It’s a game designed to be played with friends, for fun. The charming cast, led by Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Justice Smith, made it easy to fall in love with this rough-and-tumble found family of eventual heroes, and the wit and skill with which the world of the game was brought to life have us keeping our fingers crossed that a sequel will be greenlit sometime soon. — L.S. Miller
22. You Hurt My Feelings
You Hurt My Feelings (A24)
Directed by: Nicole Holofcener
Cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins, Arian Moayed, Owen Teague, Jeannie Berlin
Studio: A24
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and director Nicole Holofcener reunite for a tale of miscommunication, bruised egos, and, yes, hurt feelings. After Louis-Dreyfus’ Beth accidentally overhears her husband Don (Tobias Menzies) criticize her latest creative endeavor, she’s thrown into a crisis of character that exposes both the inherent silliness of hurt feelings and how genuinely affecting those experiences can be. Bolstered by great performances and a tastefully comedic tone, the film manages to get deeply emotional without ever becoming crushingly depressing — quite a feat in 2023. — Jonah Krueger
21. Poor Things
Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Cast: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael
Studio: Searchlight Pictures
In adapting Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel, Yorgos Lanthimos once again delivers an examination of humanity through the lens of silly people and sheer absurdism. Through fish-eyed shots and Lanthimos’ signature style of dialogue, Emma Stone’s Frankenstein’s Monster (or rather, Willem Dafoe’s Monster) Bella Baxter learns and examines the arbitrary nuances of a quickly developing world as Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) prances her around Europe. For Lanthimos, it’s a surprisingly joyful joint; and yet, the film manages to retain all of the artistry and humanistic curiosity that made his previous work so enthralling. — J. Krueger
20. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé
Beyoncé, photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood
Directed by: Beyoncé
Cast: Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, Megan Thee Stallion, Kendrick Lamar, Diana Ross, Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, LaTavia Roberson, LeToya Luckett, Tina Knowles
Studio: AMC Theaters
As the icon/auteur also did with 2019’s Homecoming, Beyoncé pushed past standard expectations of the traditional concert film by drawing the viewer into her process as a creator, making Renaissance not just a document of her blockbuster tour, but a full-fledged self-portrait of an artist. While those unable to make it to any of her tour dates do get more than a taste of the concert tour’s production and scale, the behind-the-scenes elements are just as compelling: We live inside Beyoncé’s anxieties over daughter Blue Ivy making her debut on stage as a dancer, learn about the physical challenges of performing post-surgery, and most importantly come to understand her dedication to her craft (even when it means telling other people that they’re wrong). — L.S. Miller
19. The Color Purple
The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)
Directed by: Blitz Bazawule
Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Fantasia Barrino
Studio: Warner Bros.
Those familiar with the book or previous film adaptation of Alice Walker’s story of repression and triumph might be surprised by the joy packed into director Blitz Bazawule’s musical version. Because yes, this is a full-throated musical, the songs from the Broadway adaptation fueling the journey of Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi/Fantasia Barrino) from abuse victim to a life of success and happiness. It’s not just Celie’s story, though, with the film’s supporting cast getting plenty of powerful moments, the standout being Danielle Brooks as the irrepressible Sofia — making her a Best Supporting Actress shoo-in, and the essential anchor to the film’s message about standing up for yourself, no matter what. — L.S. Miller
18. Anatomy of a Fall
Anatomy of a Fall (NEON)
Directed by: Justine Triet
Cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis, Jehnny Beth, Saadia Bentaieb, Camille Rutherford, Anne Rotger, Sophie Fillières
Studio: Neon
One of the most unexpectedly compelling whodunnits of the year, in part because it leans so effectively into the messiness that comes with the search for definitive truth. Did a prominent writer (Sandra Hüller, making her first of two appearances on this list) kill her husband? Or was it an accident? Or… was it something else? Director Justine Triet dives hard into the nooks and crannies not just of the titular event, but a complicated marriage that, like most marriages, is impossible to understand from the outside. It’s not a movie that offers easy answers — because like in life, easy answers are never easy to come by. — L.S. Miller
17. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount)
Directed by: Jeff Rowe
Cast: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Ayo Edebiri, Maya Rudolph, John Cena, Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Austin Post, Hannibal Buress
Studio: Paramount
One of many ways 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse shook up the industry was by establishing that there was room for a wide range of visual styles within the realm of kids-targeted animation, setting the stage for projects like the best TMNT movie since the 1990 original. (At least, in the eyes of this life-long Turtles fan.) The rough yet beautiful design fits perfectly with this fresh narrative take on the heroes in a half-shell, which emphasizes the “teenage” part of the title. Leaning hard into the four boys’ yearning to live amongst the humans as the high school-aged kids they are, Mutant Mayhem delivers solid comedy, great action, and some of the year’s best voice performances. — L.S. Miller
16. The Zone of Interest
The Zone of Interest (A24)
Directed by: Jonathan Glazer
Cast: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller
Studio: A24
Based on the novel by Martin Amis as well as the true story of Commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his family’s time living nextdoor to Auschwitz, writer/director Jonathan Glazer proved that there are still new ways to tell stories about one of humanity’s darkest periods. Glazer shot his searing Holocaust drama mere yards from the actual site of Auschwitz, the beauty of the Polish countryside a shocking contrast to the ugliness of the story. And the Big Brother-inspired approach to filming Glazer’s cast, with cameras hidden within the two-story recreation of the Höss family home, brings an almost voyeuristic feel to the narrative. Sandra Hüller in particular proves captivating here — between this and Anatomy of a Fall, the German actress has proven herself to be a talent worthy of note. — L.S. Miller
