Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
The movies: they are back. Sort of. While the entertainment world as a whole is in flux thanks to strikes-a-plenty, the seeming slo-mo implosion of streaming, and the fact that the entertainment world is always in flux, movies rebounded in a big way in the first half of 2023. Box office results were promising, unless your movie was bad, which is also promising in its own way; and on streaming, movies seemed to pop both when it came to originals, and theatrical movies making their debuts on services for “free,” or VOD. Turns out maybe what people didn’t want was something that was “more of a 10-hour movie” when instead they could watch… A movie.
Granted, not every movie released this year was created equal. There were still those that were better than others. The best even. So far. Of 2023. And that’s what this list is all about, 20 movies that were heads and tails above the rest.
How did we come up with this list? The staff of Decider all submitted their picks for the top movies that came out between January 1, 2023, and June 30, 2023. Those were ranked, weighted, culled together, and resulted in the list you see here. Sure that means some worthy, less-watched movies didn’t make the list. But the list that is below is still well worth your time.
Without further ado, here are the 20 best movies of 2023… So far.
‘Sick’
Co-written by Scream King Kevin Williamson and Katelyn Crabb and directed by Black Summer EP John Hyams, Sick is a pulse-pounding horror thriller that will overcome your reluctance to watch more pandemic content. College students Parker (Gideon Adlon) and Miri (Bethlehem Million) ditch the dorms to quarantine in an isolated palatial lake house owned by Parker’s family and enjoy themselves while the rest of the world huddles indoors. With the arrival of a few unexpected guests (including MVP Jane Adams), the girls soon find themselves in greater danger than they ever could have anticipated. Full of thrills, chills and a twist so wild it’ll make you scream, Sick is an all too timely slasher movie that still resonates in 2023. — Karen Kemmerle
‘You Hurt My Feelings’
Nicole Holofcener delivers a pitch-perfect dramedy with You Hurt My Feelings. It’s quiet yet fascinating, funny while sobering all at once. National treasure Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Beth, a memoirist working on her first fiction novel whose life as she knows it changes in an instant when she overhears her dependable and loving husband (Tobias Menzies) tell her brother-in-law that he doesn’t like the novel. It’ll have you thinking about the little white lies we tell and the weight we place on other people’s opinions of us, wondering if honesty is always the best policy, and marveling at the entire ensemble’s layered performances. — Angela Tricarico
‘The Little Mermaid’
It’s been however many days and I still can’t get “Wild Uncharted Waters” out of my head? Off the bat, people who weren’t wooed by this movie don’t deserve to be listened to. Harsh? Sure, but oh, so true. Like most movies – especially remakes – 2023’s The Little Mermaid has its flaws. The movie was far too scary to appeal to the same audience as the original animated movie and every single line Awkwafina delivered sounded like nails on a chalkboard. But neither of those factors even came close to sabotaging the mind-blowing performance delivered by Halle Bailey or the insatiable chemistry between her and her Prince Eric, Jonah Hauer-King. For Academy Award-winning director Rob Marshall to take a movie with a history as rich as The Little Mermaid and transform it into a fresh and exciting new work is an incredible accomplishment, one which he did with grace and great skill. — Raven Brunner
‘Past Lives’
The understated Past Lives is both gorgeous and devastating. Celine Song crafts a tale of two childhood friends who find each other again as adults after one moves from South Korea to the United States with her family. After seeing star Greta Lee act as a supporting figure in shows like Girls, Russian Doll and The Morning Show for years, it’s rewarding to witness her a lead in Past Lives, where she shows her dramatic chops and shines as Nora, a writer confronted with her past with the arrival of Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). — Greta Bjornson
‘To Leslie’
To Leslie is an emotional character study that follows Oscar-nominated Andrea Riseborough as Leslie, a single mother who won $190,000 in a local Texas lottery, but eventually wasted it all on drugs and alcohol. In a heartbreaking performance of the vulnerability and helplessness that comes with substance abuse, we watch as Leslie continuously disappoints her loved ones and blows her second, third and fourth chances at a better life. The quietly intense film concludes with a small glimmer of hope for Leslie, though the entire journey will keep your eyes glued to the screen. — Emma Becker
‘Chevalier’
Chevalier opens with its eponymous character, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), challenging Mozart (Joseph Prowen) to a violin-off and trouncing the Austrian icon in front of the who’s who of Paris. That specific story might not be true, but Stephen Williams’s beautiful biopic, written by Stefani Robinson, brings one of the great composers of the 18th century back to life. Bologne was the mixed race son of a wealthy French aristocrat and his slave who would go on to dominate his white peers in music and fencing. Chevalier is a film that brings romance and revolution to the liner notes of history. — Meghan O’Keefe
‘Nimona’
There’s no other way to say it: Nimona kicks ass. Based on the popular 2015 graphic novel by ND Stevenson, Netflix’s new animated film is a totally metal and totally queer adventure. Chloë Grace Moretz stars as the voice of Nimona, a shapeshifter who teams up with a disgraced knight (voiced by Riz Ahmed), because she’s determined to exact revenge on the rigged society that deemed her a “monster.” Between the dope soundtrack, gorgeous animation, and empowering message, you’ll come away from Nimona ready to burn it all down, in the best way. — Anna Menta
‘Tetris’
One of many movies this year that tells the true (yet often dramatized) story of the invention of a brand or product is Tetris. Apple TV+’s film about the race to secure the distribution rights to the Russian-invented video game often takes on the persona of a Cold War-era thriller with elements of action movies and the best biopics slipping in throughout the run time. Taron Egerton shines here, as he often does, with charisma for days and an urgency to his performance that will make you believe that perhaps securing the rights to Tetris is the most important thing in the world. And as for the music, it utilizes 8-bit versions of songs we know and love like “Holding Out For A Hero” and a remix of the Tetris theme that’ll have you dancing in your seat, in addition to a pivotal scene set to “The Final Countdown.” — Angela Tricarico
‘Creed III’
Michael B. Jordan made a strong directorial debut this year in Creed III while also continuing as the series lead, Adonis Creed. At this point in his career, Creed has retired from boxing and is enjoying life as a father when his childhood friend Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors) comes back into his life asking for help. Their compelling dynamic coupled with Jordan’s refreshing approach to directing reinvigorates the Rocky formula that the previous two entries closely followed. It’s often easy for a franchise to lose its steam by this point, but Creed’s character only becomes richer with each movie. Somehow, with its anime-inspired visuals and fast-paced plot, Creed III leaves you wanting even more. — Radhamely De Leon
‘Scream VI’
Scream finds itself in a New York state of mind as the long-running horror franchise heads to the Big Apple in Scream VI: Ghostface Takes Manhattan. Okay, that’s not the official title of the film, but it’s a little surprising a franchise so steeped in irony and horror movie history didn’t take a bite of the low-hanging fruit. The follow-up to 2022’s successful Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega-led relaunch, Scream VI delivers a familiar yet entertaining whodunnit filled with amusing twists and clever surprises. Barrera once again shines as Sam Carpenter, Hayden Panettiere’s return adds a fun layer of intrigue, and Josh Segarra continues to be the scene stealer of the year. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll enjoy Scream VI. — Josh Sorokach
‘Cocaine Bear’
Bloody, absurd and laugh-out-loud funny, Cocaine Bear rolled into theaters this winter and took plenty of liberties with the true story of a coked out bear found dead in a Georgia forest in the ’80s. The result is a wacky tale from Elizabeth Banks about a terrifying predator who needs more than just a few lines to get her fix — unfortunately for anyone who comes her way, the bear is not only fiending for drugs, she’s out for blood, too. While the film has a solid cast all around, Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Margot Martindale are stand-outs, with Martindale in particular leaving her mark with a final scene that will repulse and intrigue. You’ve been warned. — Greta Bjornson
‘Reality’
Reality took “based on a true story” to a whole new level, resulting in an impressive talent showcase for rising star Sydney Sweeney. Adapted from Tina Satter’s 2019 stage play, Is This A Room, the movie depicts the real-life FBI interrogation of 25-year-old Reality Winner (played by Sweeney), a former NSA translator who was arrested in 2017 for leaking classified documents to the press. Viewers are told from the get-go that all dialogue was taken, verbatim, from a transcript of the actual FBI recording of Winner’s interrogation. It’s a unique acting challenge, and the Euphoria star more than rises to the occasion. She does, in fact, have the range, darling. — Anna Menta
‘Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3’
It’s hard to get definitive endings in a franchise as massive as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even if endings are kind of a necessary component of all stories. But within the MCU exists the Guardians of the Galaxy mini-franchise — and James Gunn’s superhero opus came to a spectacular, messy, cathartic, violent, stupid, and heartfelt end in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. All along the way, the Guardians franchise has been about giving a shit — and that goes for the cast and crew as much as it does the titular team of cosmic jackasses. We’ve all seen plenty of superhero movies where you could tell that the writer or director or producer or star only gave a half of a shit, or maybe three-quarters of a shit. Who cares, though? Those movies still made hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s why the Guardians franchise has always felt so special, so personal, so intimate. That’s why Vol. 3, with a plot that eschews artificially-inflated stakes and boils down to “we have to save one of our own, because ultimately we are all we really have,” was more than just a fun summer blockbuster. We’ve spent nearly 10 years caring about these a-holes, almost as much as Gunn and Co. care about them. Thus this sendoff, a romp through organic conglomerates and counter Earths, was able to push us emotionally in ways that no other MCU movie ever has. Superhero fatigue where? — Brett White
‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’
The transformative Judy Blume novel-turned-film speaks to the universal trials and tribulations experienced by all girls growing up. From first crushes, to first periods, all while moving from New York City to suburban New Jersey, Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) reminds viewers of their adolescence and revitalizes the 1970 story for future generations.The film also features stand-out performances from Rachel MacAdams as Margaret’s mother, Barbara and Kathy Bates as Margaret’s grandmother, Sylvia. — Alex Vena
‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’
One of the greatest animated films ever made, and the rare sequel that surpasses the original, Across The Spider-Verse is a triumph. It’s also, perhaps more importantly: very fun. Returning to the world of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), who now has a little bit of Spider-Man-ing under his belt after the first, Oscar-winning movie, his life is thrown into turmoil after the return of his crush Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and the emergence of villain The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). But it doesn’t stop there as the movie throws in literally hundreds of other Spider-Mans thanks to a multiversal Spider Society, while never losing focus on Miles and his emotional journey. Endlessly visually creative, deeply emotional, and as mentioned, extremely fun, Across The Spider-Verse also boasts the best movie cliffhanger since Empire Strikes Back. It may be years before we see Beyond the Spider-Verse, but audiences will screaming the entire time. — Alex Zalben
‘M3GAN’
It’s nice to have a friend in this laugh-out-loud funny horror flick about a robotic bestie going out of control. Audiences went hard for the bonkers dance sequence featured in the trailer — and the film — but happily that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to M3GAN‘s satirical ambitions. From a hilariously disturbing Furby parody kicking off the movie to the surprisingly poignant finale that nevertheless managed to reference Aliens, M3GAN has the focus of the best horror movies: using their kill-happy main character as a metaphor for something greater, in this case helicopter parenting (or lack thereof), and a healthy dose of how corporations manipulate our children for profit. Bring on the sequel. — Alex Zalben
‘Rye Lane’
Led by Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson, Rye Lane is a British rom-com about two young adults who meet through a mutual friend. They gravitate towards each other after an odd run-in at an art gallery and decide to mend their respective broken hearts. The two embark on a vibrant and wild journey on their attempt to regain what they lost in their previous relationships. The movie skillfully breaks down the foundation of love and paints the pair as close friends who bring out the best in one another, despite what they may be hiding. The plot is unique, the writing is top-notch and the performances are captivating — all of which result in an authentic and timeless story. — Raven Brunner
‘Air’
Air is hands down one of the most entertaining films of the year. This brisk time capsule of ’80s nostalgia centers on the game-changing partnership between a once-fledgling Nike and unproven NBA rookie Michael Jordan. Spoiler alert: They both turn out to be a-okay! Ben Affleck’s confident direction and the deep roster of talented actors combine to make this irreverent charmer the ideal answer to the age-old question “What should we watch tonight?” — Josh Sorokach
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’
Someone in Hollywood must have rolled a nat 20, because Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was a critical hit. If you have no idea what that first sentence means, don’t worry, because Dungeons & Dragons requires no prior knowledge of the popular tabletop role-playing game. For the uninitiated, it’s a delightful adventure film, packed with creative action sequences, laugh-out-loud jokes, and Chris Pine’s irresistible charm. And for the nerds with a character sheet at home, co-directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley have included plenty of references, Easter Eggs, and wink-wink moments. Those magnificent madmen actually did it: They made a great DnD movie. — Anna Menta
‘John Wick 4’
John Wick 4 exceeds the hype. The fourth installment of the popular franchise is a kinetic masterpiece, delivering a kaleidoscopic array of innovative, beautifully crafted action sequences. Director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves combine to imbue the series with a contagious vitality that allows viewers to completely lose themselves amidst the admittedly far-fetched plot. The type of movie best viewed on the big screen, John Wick 4 is an instant action classic. — Josh Sorokach
