The Big Picture

2023 was a year filled with drama, action, comedy, horror, and everything in between, as reflected in the diverse range of films that hit the screens. Animated projects offered imaginative and vibrant worlds for both kids and adults, while action blended with drama in films like Napoleon and Ferrari. Horror took center stage, with films like M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s dominating the box office.

Oh, 2023. What a year it’s been. While we’ve all felt the highs and lows that another full year on this giant spinning rock has brought in our personal lives, so has the film industry. The historic actors’ and writers’ strike pitted us all against the studios as examples of its impact could be seen trickling down through other unions in completely unrelated fields. Movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer got audiences back into cinemas for a day of double features, while superhero flicks like The Flash suffered an unforeseen box office defeat. Yes, it’s been a full year, and we can’t wait to see what awaits us in 2024. But, for now, let’s take a moment to reflect on what’s been 12 incredibly lively months packed with drama, action, comedy, horror, and everything in between. Thanks to Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, we can do exactly that in a speedy 13-minute video that combines clips from all (and we mean ALL) of the titles that graced our screens this year.

As we once learned from John Waters, you can’t stop the beat and that’s why we’re thankful to catch clips of our favorite characters from Barbie, M3GAN, Good Burger 2, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, and more break it down and cha-cha slide all the way into 2024. The imaginative and vibrant world of animated projects certainly helped to lighten up our year, with titles including Elemental, Migration, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Wish filled with plenty of entertaining moments for kids and adults alike. Those who have a flair for the dramatics weren’t left behind, as 2023 captivated us with the likes of May December, Finestkind, Blackberry, and Beau Is Afraid.

For those seeking a little action blended into their dramas, titles like Napoleon, The Iron Claw, Ferrari, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes brought a healthy dose of each to cinemas around the world. Speaking of action, audiences hopped into the passenger seat of full-throttle films like Fast X and Gran Turismo with Tom Cruise doing the damn thing in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, all while creature features like Godzilla Minus One showed off whom the real apex predator is. Leave the World Behind really had conspiracy theorists talking and other sci-fi features like The Creator made us rethink our place in the universe.

Horror Reigned Supreme

There’s no arguing that 2023 was the year for horror (this is coming from a biased source who believes that every year is the year for horror). But, to be fair, films like M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s completely dominated the box office, while audiences were left torn about the next chapter in the possession franchise, The Exorcist: Believer. Valak was up to her old tricks in The Nun 2, while Danny and Michael Philippou took the genre to another realm in Talk To Me. Cheese graters became our number one fear thanks to Evil Dead Rise and Scream VI may have unknowingly delivered the franchise’s final scare.

As the video wraps up, you can see the thousands of unsung, tirelessly working heroes who brought these magical moments to us. Set to the tune of Florence & the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over,” which holds a very special place in our hearts following this year’s conclusion of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, viewers can go behind-the-scenes of the high-flying stunts, cinematography, and the rest of the invisible strings holding it all together.

From Collider to all of our readers who have chosen us to bring you the entertainment world’s breaking news, thanks for tuning in. Here’s to a new year filled with incredible cinema.

You can check out the full video below.