30 OF 2023’s BIGGEST MOVIES!

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[Watch our rundown above or read the complete list – and see the trailers available – below!]

A huuuuge one here: We’re highlighting 30 of what could be the biggest films to come out in 2023! It’s a massive year.

As for what factors we looked at when whittling down the list to these 30, we kept it basic: big studio releases from the U.S. and their potential for financial success. We’ve drawn up the list in order of release dates – Australian and USA release dates included!

By the way, for horror fans, we looked at the horror movies to watch out for in 2023 right HERE.

From Marvel and DC, to animation, to musicals, to true stories, there’s plenty to get through, LET’S GOOOO …

  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Release dates: Australian cinemas February 16th and U.S. cinemas February 17th.

Of course, Marvel’s third Ant-Man film is going to be on the list. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the first chapter of Phase Five, has Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly return as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp, respectively, and this time they’re heading into the Quantum Realm.

A Marvel Ant-Man film is, of course, a big release, but what makes this one a major MCU picture is the fact that it brings in the supervillain Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors. Just to give you an idea at the importance of Kang, Phase Six’s penultimate chapter will be Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which will be hitting cinemas in 2025.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is directed by Peyton Reed, sticking with the film series after directing the previous two Ant-Man films.

  • Creed III

Release dates: Australian cinemas March 2nd and U.S. cinemas March 3rd.

The third Creed film and the ninth film in the overall Rocky franchise is going to be the first without Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. Star Michael B. Jordan is making his feature directorial debut with this high-profile picture. The film brings back Tessa Thompson as Bianca, with Jonathan Majors starring as the film’s antagonist, Damian, a childhood friend of Creed’s and former boxing prodigy, who’s come out of a long prison sentence with a hunger to prove his shot in the ring. Two months in a row as the bad guy for Majors.

  • 65

Release dates: Australian cinemas March 9th and U.S. cinemas March 17th.

Adam Driver and dinosaurs. That’s it. Take my money.

Looks like a fun sci-fi action adventure here. Driver plays a pilot who crashlands on unkown planet that he soon discovers is Earth… 65 million years ago. He finds another survivor from the crash, a young girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt, Love and Monsters), and the two attempt to make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures in an epic fight to survive.

This one is directed and written by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, who wrote A Quiet Place and previously directed/wrote 2019 horror film Haunt. Sam Raimi is among the producers.

  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Release dates: Australian cinemas March 16th and U.S. cinemas March 17th.

Yes, the DC Universe often seems to be in some kind of a mess, but there have, nevertheless, been some good films to come from the jumble. For me, Shazam! was one of the good ones, with infectious energy and a nice level of heart.

I’m looking forward to seeing what director David F. Sandberg does with his sequel, which brings back Zachary Levi as Shazam and Asher Angel as Billy Batson. There’s a massive cast in this one, including Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler as the daughters of Atlas. Fingers crossed it’s another fun ride.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, by the way, is the first of FOUR DC films being released in 2023.

  • John Wick: Chapter 4

Release dates: Australian cinemas March 23rd and U.S. cinemas March 24th.

Keanu Reeves returns as the badass that is John Wick for Chapter 4.

It’s a franchise that’s gone from strength to strength in my opinion, getting more ambitious with its worldbuilding and its seriously jaw-dropping action sequences – Chapter 3 was insane. Chapter 4, again directed by franchise helmer Chad Stahelski, also has an awesome line-up of players: among the new faces are Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Scott Adkins, and Hiroyuki Sanada among others. Plus, returning cast members include Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, and Lane Reddick. Looking forward to it.

  • The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Release dates: Australian cinemas April 5th and U.S. cinemas April 7th.

The classic video game franchise that is Mario gets its third feature film adaptation with this CG-animated adventure. I wouldn’t call myself a die hard Super Mario fan, but I’ve certainly enjoyed a number of the Mario games over the years and, hell, there’s no secret just how massive this brand is. Understandably, the loyal fan base has been looking at this with a microscope, and there’s been a bit of a polarised reception given to the choice of Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario. I’m not too fussed.

The voice cast includes Jack Black as Bowser, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Set Rogen as Donkey Kong, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong.

The film is directed by Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic (collaborators on Teen Titans Go!, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies) and written by Matthew Fogel (The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Minions: The Rise of Gru).

  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Release dates: Australian cinemas May 4th and U.S. cinemas May 5th.

James Gunn’s final Marvel film, at least for the near future after taking on that massive role at DC, will bring together the beloved Guardians of the Galaxy as we’ve known them for one last time.

As that first trailer suggests, this may be one hell of an emotional Marvel film as Peter Quill and his buddies defend the universe again. Of course, there’s a large cast of returning faces, including Dave Bautista, Karen Gillian, and Zoe Saldaña, with newcomers including Will Poulter as the Marvel cosmic messiah that is Adam Warlock. It’s still not a hundred percent if he’s a hero or villain – perhaps somewhere in the middle.

“It’s kind of more complicated than that,” James Gunn has said in an interview with Empire, speaking about Warlock. “But he’s definitely not a good guy. What we’re seeing is the infant form of Warlock, newly out of the cocoon, and he does not understand life very well. He’s basically a baby.”

It could be the last time, or at least one of the last times, we see some of these cast members as these characters – Dave Bautista, for example, has made it pretty clear that he feels it’s time for him to say goodbye to Drax.

  • Fast X

Release dates: Australian cinemas May 18th and U.S. cinemas May 19th.

 

While I haven’t loved all the film in the series, I’ve long been a fan of the Fast and Furious franchise, and have dug the over-top silliness that the films have embraced as the series progressed. 2021’s F9, though… meh. The tenth Fast and Furious is boasting an absolutely massive cast. Not only do we have the usual returning players, such as Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, and Tyrese, but this time you can add Jason Momoa as a villain, Brie Larson, and Jack Reacher star Alan Ritchson. Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Michael Rooker and Scott Eastwood are also among those back.

If some of the reports on the film’s budget are to believed, Universal Pictures reeeeally needs this one to do well. The Wrap, for example, reported that the film’s budget reached around $US340 million, which makes it the most expensive film in the franchise thus far, and, according to a couple of reports I read, perhaps the fifth most-expensive film, ever!

Directing this pricey film is Louis Leterrier, whose credits include The Incredible Hulk, Now You See, The Transporter and Clash of the Titans.

  • The Little Mermaid

Release date: Australian cinemas May 25th and U.S. cinemas May 26th.

Disney’ umpteenth remake is The Little Mermaid, which takes their 1989 animated classic to live-action form. This new Little Mermaid stars Halle Bailey (Bailey, not Berry) as the titular aquatic character, Melissa McCarthy as the evil Ursula, and Javier Bardem as King Triton, with a voice cast that includes Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Awkwafina as Scuttle, and David Diggs as Sebastian.

I’ve said it before, I’m not fussed with news of remakes and reboots – if it sucks, the original remains, if it’s good, great! That being said, it’s been quite a mixed with Disney’s live-action redos; some decent, such as Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, and some… not so good, like Robert Zemeckis’ recent Pinocchio.

At the helm of this new Little Mermaid is Rob Marshall. The Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha director is making his fourth Disney film in a row with this one, following Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Into the Woods, and Mary Poppins Returns.

  • Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Release dates: Australian cinemas June 1st and U.S. cinemas 2nd.

This is the follow-up to the Oscar-winning 2018 CG-animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which I thought was absolutely fantastic; the visuals and combo of animation techniques were out of this world, the story – engrossing and emotional, the voice work – great. Trying to keep expectations in check, but I’ve got high hopes for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which finds Miles Morals (again voiced by Shameik Moore) catapulted across the Multiverse on an adventure that pits him against other Spideys as they face a big new threat.

Among the cast members and characters is Jason Schwarztman, voicing the villain Spot; Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099; and Daniel Kaluuya as Hobart Brown, aka Spider-Punk. Hailee Steinfeld and Jake Johnson are among the returning cast, back as Gwen Stacy and Peter B. Parker, respectively.

Into the Spider-Verse writers Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, 22 Jump Street) return to write the sequel, this time joined by writer David Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Mortal Kombat).

  • Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Release dates: Australian cinemas June 8th and U.S. cinemas June 9th.

The seventh live-action Transformers movie will be bringing together four factions of Transformers, apart from the Autobots: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will feature the Terrorcons, the Maximals, and the Predacons. Admittedly, this probably means more to longtime Transformers fans than casual viewers, but for casual viewers, just know the film’s bringing in a number of new characters and designs to this universe.

Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, and Luna Lauren Vélez are among the cast members playing human characters, while the voice cast includes Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Pete Davidson, among others.

If you got tired of Michael Bay’s brand of Transformers film, you’ll be pleased to know that, as with 2018’s Bumblebee, Bay is not at the helm – although does remain on board as producer. Directing Rise of the Beasts is Steven Caple Jr., whose credits include 2018 sequel Creed II and 2016 crime-drama The Land.

  • The Flash

Release dates: Australian cinemas June 15th and U.S. cinemas June 16th. 

The Flash. Geez, talk about a big question mark on this list. This has been a long-gestating project in the oh-so bumpy DC universe. It took years and years to get off the ground, and then when a director was finally chosen, filming finally began and all seemed to be getting in order, star Ezra Miller’s behaviour put a further smudge on should have been a purely exciting chapter in the DCEU.

Nevertheless, the film could still be a winner – and a major film in this universe. With a narrative influenced by the comic book storyline Flashpoint, The Flash will have Barry Allen inadvertently create all manner of multiverse mayhem when he goes back in time to prevent his mother’s murder. This multiverse tale will bring in a large array of characters, including the return of past Batmen, Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck; Supergirl, played by Sasha Calle; Iris West, played by Kiersey Clemons; and even General Zod, with Michael Shannon reprising the role.

Directing is Andy Muschietti, who previously helmed the two It films and 2013 horror film Mama.

With the DCEU in a strange state and Warner Bros’ roller coaster history with edits and relationships with creatives, it’s very hard to predict just where The Flash will land on the quality scale. Here’s hoping for the best.

  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Release dates: Australian cinemas June 29th and U.S. cinemas June 30th.

Another project that took years and years to come to fruition. Steven Spielberg had long planned to stay at the helm of the franchise and direct the fifth Indiana Jones film, but he eventually decided to hand the reins to another director, making this the first Indy film not directed by Spielberg. At the helm, Logan, Ford v Ferrari, and Walk the Line helmer James Mangold.

As that first exciting trailer showed, nostalgia, plenty of action, and Harrison Ford once again carrying the hat and whip. The franchise also gets a fantastic actor as its new villain: Mads Mikkelsen, playing a Nazi-turned-NASA employee. The impressive cast includes Antonio Banderas, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Boyd Holbrook, and John Rhys-Davis, who returns as Indy’s buddy, Sallah. Fingers crossed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has been worth the wait.

  • Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One

Release dates: Australian cinemas July 13th and U.S. cinemas July 14th.

In my opinion, Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible film series is one of the rare franchises to have gone from strength to strength, quality entertainment for six films now. Chapter seven is Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One (these titles are getting pretty long).

Director Christopher McQuarrie stays at the helm here after having directed Fallout and Rogue Nation. He’s also directing Dead Reckoning – Part Two. If you’ve read or heard about some of the production stories for this one, you’ll know that it’s been quite the task for McQuarrie and Cruise, navigating a world-hopping production through COVID limitations and a number of jaw-dropping stunts. Of course, Cruise is always looking at how to raise the bar on the stunt side of things – and Dead Reckoning will have one of his craziest exploits yet. You’ve probably seen the marketing for this sequence already; this time, Cruise rides a motorcycle off a cliff.

It’s another film with a big ensemble: joining Cruise are Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, and Mark Gatiss, among others.

  • Elemental

Release dates: Australian cinemas June 15th and U.S. cinemas June 16th.

This Disney•Pixar CG-animation feature is set in a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together. We follow a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy, who are about to discover how much they actually have in common.

The film is directed by The Good Dinosaur helmer Peter Sohn, with a voice cast includes Leah Lewis (The Half of It) and Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World: Dominion).

That Pixar factory has been delivering heartwarming, layered, tear-jerking pictures for years now. Perhaps in the vein of Inside Out, Eternals could, hopefully, be yet another winner from the hit animation studio.

  • Oppenheimer

Release dates: Australian cinemas July 20th and U.S. cinemas July 21st.

One my most anticipated films of the year. The twelfth film from Inception, Interstellar, and The Dark Knight filmmaker Christopher Nolan is Oppenheimer, based on the true story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who played a major role in the development of the first nuclear weapons.

There’s so much talent here. Apart from Nolan, who also wrote the screenplay, there’s cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who worked with Nolan on Dunkirk and Tenet; editor Jennifer Lame, who edited Tenet and whose credits include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Hereditary; and Tenet composer Ludwig Göransson, who earned an Oscar for his fantastic Black Panther score.

Out of the many star-studded films this year, Oppenheimer has, arguably, the most impressive ensemble. Led by Cillian Murphy, the film’s cast includes – deep breath now – Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Gary Oldman, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Jack Quaid, Casey Affleck, and Dane Dehaan, among otehrs.

  • Barbie

Release dates: Australian cinemas July 20th and U.S. cinemas July 21st.

Yes, a Barbie movie – one that could very well be a huge hit, both critically and at the box office. In the lead role is Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling plays Ken, completely logical casting there. A big supporting ensemble, including Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, and Kate McKinnon.

Giving this film a surprising level of potential prestige is the decision to hire Greta Gerwig as director and co-writer. Gerwig, also an established actress, previously directed 2017’s Ladybird and 2019’s Little Women. She wrote Barbie’s screenplay alongside Noah Baumbach, Gerwig’s real-life partner and an acclaimed filmmaker in his own right, with credits including Marriage Story, Frances Ha, and The Squid and the Wale.

I’m surprised with how intrigued I am to see Barbie. That Stanley Kubrick-homaging teaser trailer was certainly an appealing way to kick off the marketing.

  • The Marvels

Release dates: Australian cinemas July 27th and U.S. cinemas July 28th.

Marvel Studios

The third MCU film of 2023 is The Marvels, a sequel to the Brie Larson-led 2019 film Captain Marvel. Larson is back as Captain Marvel in a film that, as the title suggests, will also include at least two more Marvels: the film will also star Iman Bellani as Ms Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, who had her own Disney+ series last year, and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, the energy-absorbing S.W.O.R.D. agent we met in WandaVision.

Samuel L. Jackson is also on board as Nick Fury and Parasite actor Park Seo-joon has been cast in a still-undisclosed role.

The Marvels is directed by Nia DaCosta, making her third feature film as director following 2021 horror sequel Candyman and 2018 crime-drama Little Woods. Now at 33, Nia is the youngest person to have directed a Marvel film.

  • The Meg 2: The Trench

Release dates: Australian cinemas August 3rd and U.S. cinemas August 4th.

Badass Jason Statham is once again facing an oversized marina predator in this sequel to 2018 sci-fi adventure The Meg. I had high hopes for that film; the potential of Statham taking on a giant shark sounded awesome. But, while the film was somewhat entertaining, it failed to really capitalise on what that simple concept could offer – and they really should have embraced a more brutal approach.

We’ll see what we’re in for with The Meg 2: The Trench, which has an unexpected choice for director: Ben Wheatley, the English filmmaker known for much darker and less studio-driven pictures such as Kill List, Sightseers, and High-Rise. Really not too sure what to expect with Wheatley at the helm of this U.S.- Chinese co-production; hoping for a wild, ultra-entertaining ride.

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Release dates: U.S. cinemas on August 5th and Australian cinemas September 7th.

Paramount Pictures

The TMNT franchise is getting another reboot following the two live-action films. This time, they’re going with a CG-animated feature, coming from The Mitchells vs the Machines co-director Jeff Rowe, who also served as a writer on animated series Gravity Falls and Disenchantment. The script comes from Bad Neighbours 2 and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates writer Brendan O’Brien, and producing via their Point Grey Pictures production banne rare Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

  • Gran Turismo

Release dates: Australian cinemas August 10th and U.S. cinema August 11th.

A coming-of-age sports drama based on the hit video game series of the same name. The film is based on a true story of a teenage Gran Turismo player aspiring to be a real-life race car driver. The cast includes Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, and Orlando Bloom, and the film’s director is Neill Blomkamp, going a bit of a different route after sci-fi films such as District 9, Elysium and Chappie.

  • Haunted Mansion

Release dates: Australian cinemas August 10th and U.S. cinemas August 11th.

This is Disney’s second film based on their dark ride theme park attraction. Eddie Murphy starred in the first, the poorly received 2003 supernatural comedy The Haunted Mansion. This new Haunted Mansion will have Rosario Dawson playing a single mom who moves into a surprisingly affordable New Orleans mansion with her young son. As it turns out, there’s much more to this place than meets the eye.

A nice line-up in the ensemble, including LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Winona Ryder, Dan Levy, Jared Leto, Danny DeVito, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

This is the third feature for director Justin Simien, who previously directed 2020 horror-comedy Bad Hair and 2014 dark comedy-drama Dear White People, which he also adapted into a Netflix series.

  • Blue Beetle

Release dates: Australian cinemas August 17th and U.S. cinemas August 18th.

Another film in the DC extended universe – and another one that I don’t really know what to make of yet. At least there hasn’t been to much a storm surrounding this one.

Blue Beetle will have Cobra Kai actor Xolo Maridueña playing Latino DC character Jaime Reyes, who, in the comics, gains superpowers when an alien Blue Beetle scarab grafts onto him. The cast includes George Lopez, Bruna Marquezin, Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, and What We Do in the Shadows star Harvey Guillén, among others. The film’s villain, Victoria Kord, will be played by Susan Sarandon.

Directing is Puerto Rican filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto, who previously directed 2020 drama Charm City Kings and a small 2015 film titled The Farm.

  • The Expendables 4

Release dates: Australian cinemas on September 21st and U.S. cinemas on September 22nd.

The fourth chapter in the Expendables action franchise will mark the final film in the series for Sylvester Stallone, who has led the franchise thus far and spawned it as director and co-writer of the first film.

Jason Statham, whose been in the ensemble since the first, will be taking the lead of the franchise going forward and is now also serving as producer.

It’s a bit of a timely plot for this one, for better or worse. The film will have the Expendables drawn into a nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia. Eeek.

A big cast coming together for chapter four. Apart from Stallone and Statham, the film brings back regulars Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture. Among the new players: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Andy García, Tony Jaa, Jacob Scipio, and Levy Tran. The film’s villain will be played by The Raid star Iko Uwais.

  • Kraven the Hunter

Release dates: Australian cinemas October 5th and U.S. cinemas October 6th.

Sony Pictures

A Sony-Marvel film here, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson joining Sony’s Spider-Verse as Marvel Comics character Kraven the Hunter, a big-game hunter who’s one of Spidey’s many foes in the comics.

The film will also be starring Alessandro Nivola as one of the villains. Fred Hechinger and Christopher Abbott are also baddies, playing Chameleon and the Foreigner, respectively. The cast includes West Side Story Oscar winner Ariana DeBose as Calypso, a voodoo priestess and Kraven’s love interest, as well as Russell Crowe and Levi Miller in undisclosed roles.

A bit of a change of pace for director J.C. Chandor, known for A Most Violent Year, Triple Frontier, Margin Call and All is Lost.

  • Dune: Part Two

Release dates: Australian cinemas November 2nd and U.S. cinemas November 3rd.

Another one my most-anticipated films is second part of Dune, from master filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. The sequel to Villeneuve’s 2021 sci-fi epic tackles the second half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel and reunites us with Paul Atreides, again played by Timothée Chalamet. Paul’s journey continues as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.

It really is a year full of incredible ensembles. Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, and Javier Bardem are among the returning cast members. Among the new members: Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, and Tim Blake Nelson. Can’t wait.

  • The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Release dates: Australian cinemas November 16th and U.S. cinemas November 17th.

A prequel to The Hunger Games, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes us back to an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, who, of course, will go on to become the tyrannical President of Panem. Donald Sutherland played Coriolanus in the previous films; the young Coriolanus is played by Tom Blyth, whose credits include series Billy the Kid and The Gilded Age. The plot finds Coriolanus assigned to mentor Lucy, played by West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler, a girl tribute from impoverished District 12.

The supporting cast includes Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Burn Gorman, Peter Dinklage, and Viola Davis. Directing is Francis Lawrence, who has plenty of experience in this world, having directed three of the previous four Hunger Games movies.

  • Wish

Release dates: U.S. cinemas November 22nd and Australian cinemas November 23rd.

Disney

An animated adventure from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Wish is a fantasy musical featuring a voice cast led by West Side Story Oscar winner Ariana DeBose and Alan Tudyk. The film will tell the story of a 17-year-old girl, Asha (voiced by DeBose), who, along with a goat named Valentino (voiced by by Tudyk) explores a kingdom where wishes can literally come true. Pleading to the stars for guidance, Asha ends bringing down a star that can communicate through pantomime.

The film is directed by Chris Buck, whose directing credits include Frozen, Frozen 2, and Tarzan, and Fawn Veerasunthorn, who was head of story on Raya and the Last Dragon.

Wish is to be blending a watercolor style with 3D CG animation and feature songs by Grammy nominee Julia Michaels.

  • Wonka

Release dates: Australian cinemas December 14th and U.S. cinemas December 15th.

Warner Bros.

Two big films in two for Timothée Chalamet. Not long after Dune: Part Two, we’ll see the talented actor belting out some tunes as a younger version of Willy Wonka. This is a musical prequel to Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and will follow a young Wonka and his adventures prior to opening that world-famous factory.

Joining Chalamet are Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Jim Carter, Matt Lucas, Natasha Rothwell, Olivia Colman, and Rowan Atkinson.

The film is directed and co-written by Paul King, who helmed both beloved Paddington movies. King also penned the screenplay with actor-turned-writer Simon Farnaby; the two previously penned the script for Paddington 2.

  • Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Release dates: U.S. cinemas December 25th and Australian cinemas December 26th.

Warner Bros.

The fourth DCEU film for 2023 is Jason Momoa-starring sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, directed by James Wan. I mostly enjoyed the first Aquaman and have been looking forward to see Momoa in a sequel, but this is another DC film that comes with a few clouds. A big question mark surrounds just how James Gunn and Peter Safran plan to iron out the DC’s big-screen future, and whether or not that includes Momoa as Aquaman. This sequel also brings back Amber Heard, which has been a disconcerting factor for many, particularly following the highly publicised courtroom showdown between Heard and Johnny Depp.

The film also stars Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, and Nicole Kidman. We’ll see what we end up with here.