The Most Significant Movies Releasing In 2023: Even though some of the production pipeline delays and COVID-era hesitancy regarding theatrical releases look to be fading, the debate about the status quo of movie releases will persist in 2023. This doesn’t imply that the release dates of the next 60+ new movies are set in stone or that moviegoers will flock to the theaters in significant numbers before the year 2020. The movie industry is still experiencing feasts and famines, and the plethora of streaming platforms raises more unanswered questions.
However, viewing the projected release calendar for the year and noting that many recent standbys are still in place can be consoling for cinema fans: Lower-budget January thrillers, pretend spring blockbusters, superhero-focused summer tentpoles, some auteur-driven adult counterprogramming, and some streaming movies picking up the slack on star vehicles.
This entails cameos from familiar faces like Tom Cruise and Godzilla and new acquaintances like Spider-Man 2099, M3GAN, and the Cocaine Bear. It also means cameos from classic characters like Indiana Jones, Godzilla, Barbie, Magic Mike, Pazuzu, and Captain Marvel. So grab your seatbelt and watch the potential movies you’ll be viewing this year.
The Most Significant Movies Releasing In 2023
M3GAN
In theaters on Jan. 6
Genre: Horror
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Cast: Allison Williams
M3GAN, a lifelike robotic doll that goes murderously wild and attempts to kill its creator (Allison Williams), is already the internet’s favorite movie of 2023, thanks to a bonkers-looking trailer and an alluring idea. It does this to defend the young girl it has befriended. Although it’s always possible that the film may be overhyped when it debuts, what horror fan could refuse to see Megan’s agile movements in action?
PLANE
In theaters Jan. 13
Genre: Action thriller
Director: Jean-François Richet
Cast: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter

Due to the Covid rise in January of last year, Pure January releases were not given their due. In 2023, Plane hopes to put that right. When their jet crashes into hostile territory—you got it—the suspenseful thriller necessitates a team-up between a determined commercial pilot (Gerard Butler) and a prisoner (Mike Colter).
SKINAMARINK
In select theaters on Jan. 13
Genre: Horror
Director: Kyle Edward Ball
Cast: Jaime Hill, Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault
Before its limited release through IFC Midnight, the upcoming underground horror sensation has already screened at festivals and had a copy circulated online in pirated form (with a streaming debut on Shudder planned for a later date). The word-of-mouth advertising fits the description of the movie, which is reportedly a creepy, low-fi, nightmare-like movie about two youngsters trapped in their own homes. Although the notion has a Poltergeist-like feel, David Lynch, rather than Spielberg from the 1980s, has been compared to Skinamarink.
YOU PEOPLE
On Netflix, Jan. 27
Genre: Comedy
Director: Kenya Barris
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Recognize comedies? A new movie starring Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill would have been a significant event five or six years ago, and it may still be when it is released on Netflix. Given Hill’s tendency to be weird and embarrassing, the one-scene trailer implies a culture-clash comedy in the vein of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
Given that Murphy’s most recent feature was Coming 2 America and his upcoming project is a Beverly Hills Cop revival, this may be our last opportunity to see the master comedian in a stand-alone film for some time. Hill and filmmaker Kenya Barris also co-wrote the screenplay.
INSIDIOUS: FEAR THE DARK
In theaters July 7
Genre: Horror
Director: Patrick Wilson
Cast: Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson
Fear King Patrick Wilson, who appeared in the original two Insidious films, continues to live the horror lifestyle by taking the helm of the fifth installment. Wilson and Rose Byrne return as the parents of Ty Simpkins’ troubled Dalton Lambert, who is now an adult, attending college, and still plagued by strange demons.
THE MARVELS
In theaters July 28
Genre: Superhero
Director: Nia DaCosta
Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani
A body-switch comedy is a sequel to Captain Marvel and the most recent Ms. Marvel TV series; what else? As suggested in a mid-credits sequence during the Ms. Marvel season finale, that is what it appears to be. When using their powers, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), who was last seen jumping into each other’s bodies, also appear to involve Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). The director is Candyman reboot alumna Nia DaCosta.
THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR
On Netflix
Genre: Comedy
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel
Could Wes Anderson release two films in one year? It appears plausible that Anderson would have finished filming this version of a Roald Dahl story, which is geared toward a little older audience than works like Fantastic Mr. Fox, in time for a fall 2023 awards-season release. In the title role, Benedict Cumberbatch portrays a gambler who uses meditation to develop a superpower.
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