According to the business news site Marketplace, as of Dec. 5, only 66 movies had gone into general release in America in 2022, down more than a third from 2019 – and many of those had only brief theatrical showings or went straight to streaming.
Have we lost the habit of going to movie theaters – of enjoying the communal experience of watching films in a crowd, sharing our laughs and tears and shivers with a roomful of people? Do we prefer HBO to AMC?
That’s a possibility that certainly has the motion picture industry worried – but there are signs that the experience of theatrical movie-going isn’t dead yet. “Avatar: The Way of Water” topped $500 million in domestic box office through the end of last year (and a breathtaking $1.7 billion worldwide) without going near Disney+ or any other streaming platform and hasn’t stopped yet. And even when it does start streaming, watching it at home just won’t be the same as watching it in a theater, where it can be seen in IMAX 3D – and even, in a few places, so-called 4D, enhanced with environmental effects, including wind and rain. (These are the highest-grossing movies of all time.)
Whether viewers plan on heading to the theater to watch them, or prefer to wait until they show up at home (which may be almost instantaneously in some cases), some films scheduled for release this year have clearly started stimulating interest.
To determine the most anticipated movies of 2023, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on Wikipedia pageviews for upcoming movies slated for 2023. Movies scheduled for release between Jan. 20, 2023 and Dec. 21, 2023 were ranked based on average daily Wikipedia pageviews throughout 2022. Director and cast information came from IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon.
Click here to see the biggest movies people can’t wait to see in 2023
Clearly one way to get folks into the theater is to go big, with spectacles that just wouldn’t be the same when viewed from the couch. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of potential blockbusters on this list, including the latest installments of such enduring franchises as Hunger Games, Spider-Man, Transformers, Indiana Jones, Guardians of the Galaxy, and of course Mission: Impossible. (You might be surprised to learn that Marvel barely makes the top 10 movie franchises of all time.)
There’s star power aplenty, too, with such marquee names as Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Matt Damon, Timothée Chalamet, Michelle Yeoh, and Dwayne Johnson.
You’ll find horror, thrillers, sci-fi, adventure, humor, romance, and more listed here. There’s even a slasher film that will have Walt Disney (whose company lost exclusive film rights to the beloved A.A. Milne characters a year ago) turning in his grave: “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” – in which the title character and Piglet go feral. That’s one you might not want to watch alone.
50. Insidious 5
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 913 per day
> Release date: July 7, 2023
> Directed by: Patrick Wilson
> Starring: Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Andrew Astor
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49. Next Goal Wins
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 968 per day
> Release date: Sept. 22, 2023
> Directed by: Taika Waititi
> Starring: Frankie Adams, Michael Fassbender, Elisabeth Moss, Will Arnett
48. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 982 per day
> Release date: 2023
> Directed by: Wes Anderson
> Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Ben Kingsley
47. The Killer
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,003 per day
> Release date: 2023
> Directed by: David Fincher
> Starring: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Kerry O’Malley
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46. A Haunting in Venice
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,026 per day
> Release date: Sept. 15, 2023
> Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
> Starring: Kelly Reilly, Michelle Yeoh, Kenneth Branagh, Jamie Dornan
45. MISSING
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,035 per day
> Release date: Jan. 20, 2023
> Directed by: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick
> Starring: Nia Long, Storm Reid, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney
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44. The Covenant
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,066 per day
> Release date: April 21, 2023
> Directed by: Guy Ritchie
> Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Beecham, Antony Starr, Alexander Ludwig
43. Renfield
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,112 per day
> Release date: April 14, 2023
> Directed by: Chris McKay
> Starring: Nicolas Cage, Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina, Shohreh Aghdashloo
42. 65
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,114 per day
> Release date: March 17, 2023
> Directed by: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
> Starring: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, Nika King
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41. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,150 per day
> Release date: Aug. 4, 2023
> Directed by: Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears
> Starring: Seth Rogen, Shamon Brown Jr.
40. Ferrari
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,175 per day
> Release date: 2023
> Directed by: Michael Mann
> Starring: Adam Driver, Jack O’Connell, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon
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39. Meg 2: The Trench
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,221 per day
> Release date: Aug. 4, 2023
> Directed by: Ben Wheatley
> Starring: Cliff Curtis, Jason Statham, Sienna Guillory, Melissanthi Mahut
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38. Blue Beetle
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,272 per day
> Release date: Aug. 18, 2023
> Directed by: Angel Manuel Soto
> Starring: Susan Sarandon, Harvey Guillén, Xolo Maridueña, Raoul Max Trujillo
37. Peter Pan & Wendy
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,303 per day
> Release date: 2023
> Directed by: David Lowery
> Starring: Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Joshua Pickering, Jacobi Jupe
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36. Haunted Mansion
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,327 per day
> Release date: Aug. 11, 2023
> Directed by: Justin Simien
> Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto, Winona Ryder, Owen Wilson
35. Extraction 2
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,430 per day
> Release date: June 2023
> Directed by: Sam Hargrave
> Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Daniel Bernhardt, Tinatin Dalakishvili
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34. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,482 per day
> Release date: Nov. 17, 2023
> Directed by: Francis Lawrence
> Starring: Hunter Schafer, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Burn Gorman
33. How Do You Live?
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,483 per day
> Release date: July 14, 2023
> Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
> Starring: TBD
32. Evil Dead Rise
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,735 per day
> Release date: April 21, 2023
> Directed by: Lee Cronin
> Starring: Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher
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31. Kraven the Hunter
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,147 per day
> Release date: Oct. 6, 2023
> Directed by: J.C. Chandor
> Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Fred Hechinger, Russell Crowe, Alessandro Nivola
30. Wonka
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,340 per day
> Release date: Dec. 15, 2023
> Directed by: Paul King
> Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Tracy Ifeachor, Rowan Atkinson
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29. Teen Wolf: The Movie
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,452 per day
> Release date: Jan. 26, 2023
> Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
> Starring: Ian Bohen, Holland Roden, Tyler Hoechlin, Crystal Reed
28. Asteroid City
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,461 per day
> Release date: June 16, 2023
> Directed by: Wes Anderson
> Starring: Margot Robbie, Edward Norton, Tom Hanks, Hong Chau
27. Knock at the Cabin
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,656 per day
> Release date: Feb. 3, 2023
> Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
> Starring: Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge
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26. Dune: Part Two
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,703 per day
> Release date: Nov. 3, 2023
> Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
> Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem
25. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,778 per day
> Release date: June 2, 2023
> Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
> Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson
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24. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,787 per day
> Release date: March 31, 2023
> Directed by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
> Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith
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23. The Expendables 4
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,903 per day
> Release date: Sept. 22, 2023
> Directed by: Scott Waugh
> Starring: Jason Statham, 50 Cent, Megan Fox, Dolph Lundgren
22. Red One
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,181 per day
> Release date: 2023
> Directed by: Jake Kasdan
> Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Kiernan Shipka, J.K. Simmons
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21. Creed III
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,626 per day
> Release date: March 3, 2023
> Directed by: Michael B. Jordan
> Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris
20. Beau Is Afraid
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,648 per day
> Release date: April 28, 2023
> Directed by: Ari Aster
> Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Parker Posey, Amy Ryan, Richard Kind
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19. Shazam! Fury of the Gods
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,651 per day
> Release date: March 17, 2023
> Directed by: David F. Sandberg
> Starring: Helen Mirren, Zachary Levi, Lucy Liu, Grace Caroline Currey
18. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,774 per day
> Release date: Feb. 15, 2023
> Directed by: Rhys Frake-Waterfield
> Starring: Natasha Tosini, Amber Doig-Thorne, Craig David Dowsett, May Kelly
17. Cocaine Bear
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,136 per day
> Release date: Feb. 24, 2023
> Directed by: Elizabeth Banks
> Starring: Ray Liotta, Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, Alden Ehrenreich
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16. Killers of the Flower Moon
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,163 per day
> Release date: 2023
> Directed by: Martin Scorcese
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons
15. The Little Mermaid
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,929 per day
> Release date: May 26, 2023
> Directed by: Rob Marshall
> Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem
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14. John Wick: Chapter 4
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,008 per day
> Release date: March 24, 2023
> Directed by: Chad Stahelski
> Starring: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne
13. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,361 per day
> Release date: July 14, 2023
> Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
> Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Pom Klementieff, Vanessa Kirby
12. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,440 per day
> Release date: June 9, 2023
> Directed by: Steven Caple Jr.
> Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Pete Davidson
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11. The Flash
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,629 per day
> Release date: June 16, 2023
> Directed by: Andy Muschietti
> Starring: Michael Shannon, Ben Affleck, Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton
10. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,670 per day
> Release date: Dec. 25, 2023
> Directed by: James Wan
> Starring: Jason Momoa, Ben Affleck, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
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9. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,801 per day
> Release date: Feb. 17, 2023
> Directed by: Peyton Reed
> Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton
8. Fast X
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,870 per day
> Release date: May 19, 2023
> Directed by: Louis Leterrier
> Starring: Nathalie Emmanuel, Michelle Rodriguez, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron
7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,999 per day
> Release date: May 5, 2023
> Directed by: James Gunn
> Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel
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6. Barbie
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,181 per day
> Release date: July 21, 2023
> Directed by: Greta Gerwig
> Starring: Margot Robbie, Emma Mackey, Ryan Gosling, Helen Mirren
5. Scream VI
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,884 per day
> Release date: March 10, 2023
> Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
> Starring: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savoy Brown
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4. The Marvels
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,995 per day
> Release date: July 28, 2023
> Directed by: Nia DaCosta
> Starring: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson
3. Oppenheimer
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 10,449 per day
> Release date: July 21, 2023
> Directed by: Christopher Nolan
> Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 11,896 per day
> Release date: April 7, 2023
> Directed by: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
> Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black
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1. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 17,379 per day
> Release date: June 30, 2023
> Directed by: James Mangold
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
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