The Biggest Box Office Hits and Highest-Grossing Movies of 2023
As we head into the fall movie season, one strike is over, more than a few major releases have been delayed, and the industry is waiting to see if Barbenheimer really meant that the movies are back.
Are the movies back? It’s an open question, one that is curiously thorny to unpack right now considering that much of Hollywood remains on pause. Yes, the WGA strike finally ended when studios at last agreed to fairly pay their writers and find common ground on their demands related to artificial intelligence. However, the SAG-AFTRA strike continues on in the background. Hence major studio tentpoles like Dune: Part Two leaving to find greener pastures.
Still, after what seemed like an anemic summer following the failures of old studio standby franchises via DC and Indiana Jones (The Flash, The Dial of Destiny), and others that just massively underperformed Fast X, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One), folks were wondering if audiences were tired of the movies. Then the gift of Barbenheimer occurred. It turns out audiences were incredibly excited… to at least see Barbie and Oppenheimer. However, does this mean they’re excited to see much else? We’ll find out in the coming months. In the meantime, here are the biggest movies of the year so far, through the first weekend of October.
| Rank | Title | Global Gross | Domestic Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbie | $1,433,382,303 | $633,082,303 |
| 2 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | $1,360,968,281 | $574,934,330 |
| 3 | Oppenheimer | $933,678,125 | $322,500,125 |
| 4 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | $845,555,777 | $358,995,815 |
| 5 | Fast X | $704,709,660 | $145,960,660 |
| 6 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | $689,935,201 | $381,311,319 |
| 7 | The Little Mermaid | $569,626,289 | $298,172,056 |
| 8 | Mission: Impossible – dead reckoning part one | $567,535,383 | $172,135,383 |
| 9 | Elemental | $489,452,209 | $154,426,697 |
| 10 | Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania | $476,071,180 | $214,504,909 |
| 11 | TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS | $438,966,392 | $157,066,392 |
| 12 | John Wick: Chapter 4 | $428,471,898 | $187,131,806 |
| 13 | meg 2: the trench | $394,335,741 | $82,435,741 |
| 14 | indiana jones and the dial of destiny | $383,078,455 | $174,480,468 |
| 15 | Creed III | $275,248,615 | $156,248,615 |
| 16 | The Flash | $270,633,313 | $108,133,313 |
| 17 | the nun ii | $231,159,534 | $76,759,534 |
| 18 | The sound of freedom | $217,274,343 | $183,234,204 |
| 19 | Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves | $208,177,026 | $93,277,026 |
| 20 | insidious: The red door | $188,587,682 | $82,156,962 |
| 21 | teenage mutant ninja turtles: mutant mayhem | $176,705,722 | $117,505,722 |
| 22 | Scream VI | $168,961,389 | $108,161,389 |
| 23 | the equalizer 3 | $158,327,935 | $85,927,935 |
| 24 | Evil Dead Rise | $146,533,054 | $67,233,054 |
| 25 | Shazam! Fury of the Gods | $133,783,006 | $57,638,006 |
You can check out a full schedule of movies still coming out in 2023 here.
For TV release dates, you can check out the schedule here.
We’ll continue to update this article as new numbers come in. Let us know in the comments if your favorite movie made the list or about the underdog you wish had performed better!
Written by