2023 is shaping up to be yet another massive year for the movies, with some of the biggest blockbuster franchises returning to theaters alongside a few new originals from well-renowned filmmakers.
Everything from horror to action to drama and beyond is smashing its way onto the big screen in the coming months, so we’ve created a handy guide for everything you should be keeping an eye on. Buckle up cause it’s a big one.
‘M3GAN’ January 6th (Theaters)
2023 starts off with a modern take on the ol’ creepy doll subgenre of horror movies and looks like it could deliver on some good campy fun to help set the tone for the year. From the most prolific minds in horror - James Wan, the filmmaker behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, and Blumhouse, the producer of the Halloween films, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man - comes a fresh new face in terror. M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by brilliant toy-company roboticist Gemma (Get Out’s Allison Williams), M3GAN can listen and watch and learn as she becomes friend and teacher, playmate and protector, for the child she is bonded to. When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House), Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems - a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.
‘The Pale Blue Eye’ January 6th (Netflix)
Writer and director Scott Cooper teams up with Christian Bale once again in this historical fiction with a dash of mystery thriller thrown in. Bale plays Augustus Landor, a world-weary detective who teams up with a young Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Potter star Harry Melling) to solve a murder at the United States Military Academy in 1830. As chilling and intriguing as any good detective story is, The Pale Blue Eye is the kind of movie that basically demands a second viewing.
‘Skinamarink’ January 13th (Theaters)
Two children (Lucas Paul & Dali Rose Tetreault) wake up in the middle of the night to find their father (Ross Paul) is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. After a while it becomes clear that something is watching over them. This horror picture from writer and director Kyle Edward Ball has been showing early promise as being one of the scariest movies not just the year but of the decade.
‘Plane’ January 13th (Theaters)
Winning the movie title of the year, Plane is a white-knuckle action thrill ride. Pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) saves his passengers from a lightning strike by making a risky landing on a war-torn island - only to find that surviving the landing was just the beginning. When most of the passengers are taken hostage by dangerous rebels, the only person Torrance can count on for help is Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), an accused murderer who was being transported by the FBI. In order to rescue the passengers, Torrance will need Gaspare’s help, and will learn there’s more to Gaspare than meets the eye.
‘Knock at the Cabin’ February 3rd (Theaters)
While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost. From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise).
‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ February 15th (One Night Theatrical Event)
Now that beloved children’s classic Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends are officially in the public domain, it’s unavoidably time for a wonderfully trashy and exploitative horror movie starring the beloved bunch. Now feral and bloodthirsty after years of neglect, Pooh Bear (Craig David Dowsett) and Piglet (Chris Cordell) terrorize Christopher Robin and a group of young women at a remote house. You know what this is. Here’s hoping it’s at least a good and silly time.
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ February 17th (Theaters)
In the biggest littlest Marvel adventure yet, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), along with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), explore the Quantum Realm, where they interact with strange creatures and embark on an adventure that goes beyond the limits of what they thought was possible. Jonathan Majors returns as Kang the Conqueror from Loki in what will undoubtedly be a critical chapter of the MCU’s current Multiverse saga.
‘Cocaine Bear’ February 24th (Theaters)
Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood. Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels, Pitch Perfect 2) from a screenplay by Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), Cocaine Bear is produced by Oscar winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. The Machines).
‘Creed III’ March 4th (Theaters)
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian - a fighter who has nothing to lose. Jordan directs this third installment in the followup franchise to the Rocky saga.
‘Scream VI’ March 10th (Theaters)
Because of the tremendous success directing duo Matt Bettilin-Olpin and Tyler Gillett had with reviving Wes Craven’s legendary Scream series, both directors as well as the new cast of Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding are all returning for the upcoming Scream VI. Neve Campbell sadly won’t be back this time around but Courtney Cox will, and in an even more surprising and exciting move, none other than Scream 4’s Hayden Panettiere will be making an appearance as well. It looks like we’ll finally be leaving Woodsboro behind as the survivors of the last film try to start anew in New York City. But of course, yet another Ghostface killer is on the loose and danger rears its ugly head towards our heroes once again.
‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ March 17th (Theaters)
In this followup to the delightful Shazam!, Billy Batson (Asher Angel / Zachary Levi) and his foster siblings, who transform into superheroes by saying "Shazam!", are forced to get back into action and fight the Daughters of Atlas (Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu & Rachel Zegler) in order to save the world.
‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ March 24th (Theaters)
