Movies like Top Gun: Maverick , Jurassic World: Dominion , and most recently Avatar: The Shape of Water have all made huge box office hits in 2022.
That’s good news for moviegoers and the industry, but the bad news is that last year’s viewing figures are still far from pre-pandemic levels .
Could 2023 be the year the industry triumphantly declares that everything is back to pre-Covid?
Here’s a look at 16 titles coming out in 2023 (in chronological release order) that could make all the difference when it comes to how quickly cinema recovers.
1. Before
Based on shocking true events in the American South in the 1950s, Till is the story of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was kidnapped and murdered after being accused of whistling at a white woman .
It shows how Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, faced a nearly impossible fight to get justice for her dead son.
Danielle Deadwyler, who plays Mamie, delivers a powerful performance that could well earn Oscar recognition.
(Premiere: January 2023).
2. Whale (“Balena”)
Actor Brendan Fraser is up for an Oscar for his outstanding performance in one of the most unusual and touching stories of the year.
Fraser plays an obese teacher living in a tiny apartment and desperately trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
The film has been featured at various film festivals and is expected to be a contender for many awards. The rest of the cast, including Hong Chau, Sadie Sink and Samantha Morton, are very supportive.
(Premiere: January 2023 / in the USA – in December). More details can be found on the website – screenings of the Shymkent cinema .
3. Warehouse
Cate Blanchett has received awards and critical acclaim for her portrayal of composer and conductor Lydia Tar, a musician who has reached the pinnacle of her profession.
But everything changes when unexpected pressures begin to affect his life and work.
Blanchett has already won two Academy Awards, winning his first Oscar in 2005 and his second nine years later in 2014.
So, at least mathematically, nine years later, he will receive the prestigious award again in a few months. And he probably will.
(Premiere: January 2023).
4. Fabelmans
This is the most personal film of Steven Spielberg’s half-century career, a fictionalized version of his own childhood, in which he grew up in a single-parent household.
It shows his sometimes rocky relationship with his parents. He explains how he fell in love with cinema as a child. And how that obsession turned into a career that has already earned him two Oscars as a director, and with this film, he may get a third.
(Premiere: February 2023).
5. “Empire of Light”
Sam Mendes’ Love Letter is set in a small seaside cinema in the 1980s and is directed by Oscar winner Olivia Colman.
When a new ticket seller, played by BAFTA winner Michael Ward, is hired, an unlikely connection is discovered. Mendes’ story explores everything from romance to racism, misogyny and mental health .
And Colman, as always, is being talked about as a contender for acting awards this awards season.
(Premiere: March 2023).
6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
“I am Groot.” “I am Groot.” Pause. “I am Groot.”
Translation, if you need it: The galaxy’s favorite misfit group of heroes returns for a mission that’s rumored to put one member of the team in mortal danger this time.
Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldanha, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff and Dave Bautista join Will Poulter, whose character Adam Warlock was first hinted at after the credits in Volume 2.
(Premiere: May 2023). For details, see the ticketon.kz poster
7. “Killers of the Flower Moon”
This promising project has, on paper, perhaps the strongest pedigree of 2023 films .
Award-winning director Martin Scorsese directs award-winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro . And (another possible future Oscar winner) Brendan Fraser.
It is a 1920s drama that follows the investigation of a series of murders of wealthy people in Osage County, Oklahoma, following the discovery of large oil fields.
(Premiere: May 2023 / to be confirmed).
8. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2”
In this animated CGI sequel to 2018’s New Universe, Miles Morales once again travels between alternate universes .
In addition to developing his relationship with Spider-Woman Gwen Stacy, he also comes into contact with a larger group of Spider-People, including an elderly Spider-Man, a British Spider-Man, and a pregnant Spider-Woman.
Shameik Moore returns to voice Miles, joined by Hailee Steinfeld, Issa Rae, and Daniel Kaluuya.
(Premiere: June 2023).
9. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
While the films in the original Indiana Jones trilogy are considered classics by many, the fourth, Power of the Crystal Skull , is known as a dismal failure.
And the film’s supposed plan to pass the baton to Indy’s newly discovered son, Shia LaBeouf’s Matt, appears to have been abandoned.
This time around, Harrison Ford will be joined as Indy by new actors such as Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as well as the return of John Rhys-Davies.
(Premiere: June 2023).
10. “Mission: Impossible – Death Sentence, Part I”
The seventh installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise promises the usual mix of outlandish set pieces, high-octane chases and sphincter-squeezing stunts.
We’re guessing Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt will once again be fighting to save the world from some nefarious global conspiracy.
The first trailers show the expected locations. And are supported by a list of returning characters.
(Premiere: July 2023).
11. Barbie
The first images of the Barbie movie nearly broke the internet. And it’s hard to imagine a more perfect cast than Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the fashion dolls that have been the stars of Mattel’s line for decades: Barbie and Ken.
It’s billed as a romantic comedy, but beyond that, plot details are fairly sparse .
Whatever the plot, viewers are already eagerly awaiting what promises to be a visual feast of primary colors.
(Premiere: July 2023).
12. Oppenheimer
Director Christopher Nolan’s latest epic is the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, often referred to as the father of the atomic bomb .
Oppenheimer was a leading participant in the Manhattan Project , which led to the creation of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.
And he was one of the witnesses to the first ever atomic bomb test in New Mexico.
Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt plays Kitty.
(Premiere: July 2023).
13. “Dune: Part of Souls”
The first Dune film was ambitiously titled Dune: Part One.
But that confidence was confirmed as audiences flocked to what turned out to be the film equivalent of the much-coveted spice from the planet Arrakis .
This film will roughly tell the second half of the original novel by author Frank Herbert .
Timothée Chalamet returns as Paul Atreides, as does Zendaya as Chani. Florence Pugh is Princess Irulan.
(Premiere: November 2023).
14. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”
The original quartet of The Hunger Games films followed the rise of Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence .
Now set more than half a century earlier, this prequel follows a young Coriolanus Snow as he was yet to become a ruthless despot, though there are clues for keen observers.
Tom Blyth plays a young Coriolanus Snow. The film also stars Rachel Zegler and Hunter Schafer.
(Premiere: November 2023).
15. Wonka
The most famous and eccentric chocolate businessman in literature has already been played by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
This time, it’s Timothée Chalamet’s turn to play the younger version of Wonka in this prequel to Roald Dahl’s original story.
The film also stars Sally Hawkins, Olivia Colman, Jim Carter and Matt Lucas.
(Premiere: December 2023).
16. “Napoleon”
The great Stanley Kubrick tried for years to make a film about Napoleon’s life , but never succeeded, abandoning his plans in exile on Elba.
Now Ridley Scott has succeeded where Kubrick failed.
Scott’s version of the emperor’s life uses Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, as a lens through which to view one of history’s most extraordinary characters.
Vanessa Kirby plays Josephine, and Joaquin Phoenix takes on the role of Napoleon.
(Premiering on Apple TV+ in late 2023, TBA).