Has The Super Mario Bros. Movie already conquered the box office? Find out with this list of the 10 most popular movies of 2023 so far.
The year is only a few months old, and already Hollywood has churned out some memorable movies. The last few weeks have brought moviegoers sequels to such popular franchises as John Wick, Creed, and Scream. And just this past weekend, two new movies, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Air, opened to enthusiastic critical and audience receptions.
How well did they do? And what other movies have succeeded at the box office in 2023? Marvel and DC are represented by the third Ant-Man film and the second Shazam film, respectively. Legacy sequels about a boxer, a monosyllabic assassin, and a masked murderer garnered huge financial returns. Plus, a bear on cocaine managed to take a bite out of the box office. And a certain brotherly duo of Brooklyn’s finest plumbers has won over audiences with their Bowser-beating antics. Below are the top 10 most popular movies of 2023 — so far — based on their domestic box-office earnings.
Note: U.S. domestic box office grosses come via Box Office Mojo on April 19. The list only includes films released in 2023.10. Jesus Revolution — $52 million
In the late 1960s, Chuck Smith (Frasier’s Kelsey Grammer), a Southern California pastor, struggles to inspire his congregation due to his inability to connect with the youth, particularly the hippie movement. One day, Chuck meets hitchhiker Lonnie Frisbee (The Chosen’s Jonathan Roumie), a free-spirited hippie traveling around and spreading the word of Jesus.
Initially skeptical, Chuck and Lonnie eventually find common ground and become an “odd couple” as they partner up to evangelize hippies. The film is based on the true story of the Calvary Chapel movement. Jesus Revolution has done great business so far, grossing $49 million against a $15 million budget. Despite your religious beliefs, if there is a place where you can count on Jesus, it’s at the box office.
Jesus Revolution is now in theaters.9. Shazam! Fury of the Gods — $57.5 million
With DC Studios under new leadership, the new DC Universe will kick off in 2025. However, there are still DCEU properties set to come out before the new DC lineup begins. One of those projects is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the sequel to 2019’s Shazam! In the recently released film, Billy Batson (Darby and the Dead‘s Asher Angel), known by his superhero identity Shazam (Chuck’s Zachary Levi), and his foster siblings are adjusting to their new lives as teenage superheroes.
The teenagers are thrust into a battle with the Daughters of Atlas: Anthea (West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler), Kalypso (Strange World’s Lucy Liu), and Hespera (Fast X’s Helen Mirren). Unfortunately for Fury of the Gods, this might be the only list where its box-office returns are viewed as positive. On a budget of nearly $125 million, the film has only grossed $45 million domestically and $102 million worldwide. It will take a superhero-like effort for the film to break even.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now available digitally and on demand.8. Cocaine Bear — $64.3 million
In a perfect world, Cocaine Bear wins Best Picture at the 2024 Oscars. Cocaine Bear symbolizes escapism at its finest. It’s the type of movie that’s equal parts entertaining and ridiculous. The premise is very easy to understand. A bear ingests cocaine and goes buck wild on a killing spree.
Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels), Cocaine Bear features an ensemble cast that includes Keri Russell (The Americans), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (The Wire), Margo Martindale (The Watcher) and the late Ray Liotta (Blackbird). Based on its domestic gross of north of $60 million, giving drugs to a bear and watching it wreak havoc is a winning movie idea in 2023.
